Rating: 
Summary: Your patience during Quicksilver is rewarded
Review: After an uneven, but good read in Quicksilver, I entered The Confusion with high hopes and a little trepidation. As I suspected, my patience with the meandering of Quicksilver was richly rewarded with the Baroque Cycle's ripping middle installment. The Confusion is a great book and tremendously fun.
I think summarizing the plot of an 800 page novel would be futile, and better done on the novel's official website. But the return of Jack Shaftoe in Bonanza (one of the two books which comprise The Confusion) has to be one of the great seagoing adventures of all time. From the Barbary Coast, to Egypt, Hindustan, Japan, across the Pacific and beyond he is the everyman of 17th century nautical calamity. If a difficulty could be visited upon a traveler, Jack gets it. I keep thinking of examples to throw out, but the action set pieces are so well done and so riveting you will just have to take my word - Bonanza is as butt kicking an action adventure as you will find.
Jack's adventuring is interspersed chronologically with Eliza's intellectual maneuverings in The Confusion's other book - Juncto. Her political and economic ascendance undergoes horrible setbacks and personal devastation. In Quicksilver, Eliza came off as somewhat cold and manipulative and she was not entirely appealing as a heroine. The Confusion humanizes her and gets you pulling for Eliza to escape the Byzantine web of French and English politics.
The Confusion uses the same speculative fiction elements as Quicksilver - examining past technologies through a temporal lens as if they were state of the art. Instead of some retroviral nerve agent, they have phosphorus. Instead of hackers they have cryptologists. This is technologically driver fiction of the highest order - fascinating, informative and fun. You just have to use your mind (it is fiction folks) and imagine when calculus was a radical intellectual development.
The Confusion is a compelling story, deftly connecting the threads from Quicksilver and leading us to what will certainly be an exciting conclusion. Somewhat muted in The Confusion is Daniel Waterhouse and Natural Philosophy, but I suspect The System of the World will deal with both. If you had complaints about pacing and lack of action in Quicksilver, I can see your point but give The Confusion a chance anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Yet Again
Review: After reading Quicksilver, though I already had my copy of The Confusion, I had to take a bit of a breather and I read The Bourne Supremacy, though once I was a few pages into it I couldn't help myself looking forward to The Confusion. That's not to say that Ludlum is not enjoyable to read, but there's so much lacking in his work compared to Stephenson's.
The Confusion, as many have mentioned, is a combination of two books, one following Jack Shaftoe in his literally round-the-world exploits, the other following Eliza, Duchess of Qwhglm, etc., as she continues to rise in Europe's aristocracy. It's an ingenious device to combine the two novels in one, as the reader is left with a cliffhanger in one chapter of the first novel and spurred on in reading the other so he can learn the outcome of the first.
At it's heart, so far, the Baroque Cycle is a love story. Jack and Eliza are a classic couple, torn apart by forces (for the most part) beyond their control. Around them the world of the 16th century continues to swirl, a storm of political, economic and social change, which in reality left no life untouched. Jack and Eliza seem to somehow be caught in many of the pivotal locations and events of the age, and as readers, we get swept along with them. Along the way, of course, we get a dose of the science that Stephenson loves to explain, as well as a good chunk of geography, social satire, and humor.
Stephenson, while he may be getting more long winded, is getting better and better. I hate to pick favorites, because there are so many incredible authors out there, but he is certainly near the top in my book. Can't wait for The System of the World!
Rating:
Summary: A rich, enthralling adventurous book
Review: Neal Stephenson is at its finest, here. The charachterization, the storytelling, the historical reconstruction, are superb. You get to feel there, in the historical period, along with Jack and Eliza and the other wonderful charachters. Recommended for the lovers of historical novels, particularly the history of science (albeit even romance and adventure have their part,here).You'll get to know Newton and Leibniz as you never knew them, between a stormy voyages, amorous intrigues and treasure hunts. A masterpiece!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: Stephenson's very long historical novel, the sequel to Quicksilver is here! Confusion courses with Stephenson's scholarship but is rarely bogged down with too much historical detail. Stephenson is especially impressive in his ability to represent dialogue over the evolving worldview of seventeenth-century scientists and enliven the most abstruse explanation of theory. Though replete with science, the novel is as much about the complex struggles for political ascendancy and the workings of financial markets. Further, the novel's literary ambitions match its physical size. Stephenson narrates through epistolary chapters, fragments of plays and poems, journal entries, maps, drawings, genealogic tables, and copious contemporary epigrams. Stephenson has matched ambition to execution, and his faithful, durable readers will be both entertained and richly rewarded with a practicum in Baroque science, cypher, culture, and politics as the story continues. I'm always sad to finish long novels, because life seems so mundane afterward. For fun, if you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Perhaps, most of all, it was because Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program 'insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. I also really liked Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects,' which NASA tried to ban. The possibility of NASA and Government cover-ups makes truth stranger than fiction, which is based on someone's truth. Anyway great reading all.
Rating:
Summary: The Plot Thickens: Suprises: The characters develop.
Review: The book being reviewed here is one of three books which are from the Baroque Cycle Trilogy by Neal Stephenson. Since there does not yet appear to be one title under which I can post my review, I have triplicated this review and placed the same review under all three titles. The sequence is Quicksilver, The Confusion, and the System of the World.
I read voraciously of both fiction, non-fiction and that in-between category of historic fiction in which one can learn considerably about the age but still enjoy the plot of an ideal narrative, or, in the case of the Baroque Cycle, an intertwining of several narratives. In the last say, three years, I have read literally hundreds of books and I can unequivocally name the three most influential works (apart from "Postcards of Nursing," the one I wrote myself, of course,) during that period. They are the 20 Aubrey/Maturin historic novels of Patrick O'Brian, "Shantaram," by Gregory David Roberts, and the three books in the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.
I find it hard to critique Stephenson's work. His writing and research genius is so far beyond my poor abilities that if I come across an aspect of his writing which gives me pause, I have to look to my own deficiencies rather than his. But nowhere did I find the book to be condescending. And the subtle (and not so subtle) humor was superb.
And the characters: Ah the characters. When I had finished the books, I felt I *knew* Isaac Newton, Leibniz, Hooke, and Wren. Half-Cocked Jack and Dappa were real to me. Eliza lived and breathed.
Also, I began to discover that I was beginning to understand the international monetary system and the trappings of power surrounding it. I began to appreciate the conventions of letter-writing, the mind set when years might go by between a correspondence and its reply. I felt I understood something of the tangled tapestries of royal affairs in the 18th century. I was transported. Utterly. Words fail me.
Each book in the trilogy was better written than its predecessor, and the first one was superb. When I was reading O'Brian's novels, and was on say, novel #5 in the series, I was in heaven, knowing that I had 15 and a half (so to speak) more novels to go. When I was finally finished with 20, I started grasping at straws. I went to see the movie which, to my delight, showed me something of the ship HMS Surprise, but to my extreme disappointment, miscast Maturin so badly that it robbed the film of its portrayal of one of the most complex characters in literature. I read the unfinished #21. Not enough. It was only when I came across Quicksilver that I began to let go of the O'Brian characters and came to "invest" in Stephenson's.
And yet, by the time I was halfway through the "System of the World," the final of the three books, I began anticipatory grieving. I knew I might not see these folks again in such a personal light. They had become my friends. The fact that I had already read Cryptonomicon, a work by Stephenson based in part on one of the descendants of Dr. Waterhouse, was not a consolation. I miss those folks. I will probably read the books again in a year or two, but until then, since O'Brian is dead, and since probably Roberts will not top his first novel, I will have to wait for another of Stephenson's books. By the way, and this is not a spoiler, the resolution of the Baroque Cycle is thoroughly complete and intensely satisfying. It's just too bad it's over.
Rating:
Summary: Really Awesome, but the not so awesome Quicksilver is first
Review: The Confusion follows two separate plots: that of the galley slave turned pirate Jack Shaftoe, and that of the off-and-on fabolously rich French noblewoman Eliza. As Stephenson leaves one plot to cover the next he leaves a cliffhanger, so you have to keep reading through the other plot to get back to the first and find out what happens. This isn't annoying or obvious since both novels are good and they tie in with each other - both are taking place simultaneously and Jack and Eliza have history together.
I eagerly read the prequel to this book, Ouicksilver, when it came out only to be bored and disillusioned. The earlier book drags, and in a 600+ page book, thats bad. This is the biggest flaw of The Confusion: I am not sure if someone could read The Confusion and know what was going on without first having read Quicksilver. The plot is pretty complex and I had read the setup. I think skipping Quicksilver could be done, but wouldn't be best for someone trying to read and enjoy.
The Confusion is an excellent historical science fiction novel. It is a very awesome book. However the previous book in the trilogy drags and would likely have to be read first. So there is a good book here, but you have to get to it via some route or other.
Rating:
Summary: A great Confusion that's entertaining
Review: The Confusion is a wry, sometimes serious, sweeping adventure story in which much of the action resembles a cross between The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Wall Street, with a bit of Master and Commander and The Three Musketeers thrown in. True, there are pages and pages of scientific discussions, as well as hints of building a computer, plus more financial dealings than Donald Trump could keep track of. There's also a tender and globetrotting love story that reminds one of a tragicomic Cold Mountain, as well as more gutsy, educated, daring women than can be found in either Tolkien or Jordan. There's Eliza, the female protagonist who makes Martha Stewart look like a homemaking hobbyist, the Satanist Duchess of Oyonnax, the brilliant precocious Princess Caroline, the pirate queen Kottakka and let's not leave out Jack Shaftoe and his gutsy band of slaves turned entrepreneurs.
To try to describe the plot in this review does the book an injustice. The battle scenes supply grit, blood and guts galore, the political and financial intrigues make our dot-com fueled stock market look tame and Bush and Kerry's economic plans straightforward. There are failed and successful invasions, battles over lost love, worries over budgets and currencies, battles on the high seas, and women and men seducing each other for king and country, and sometimes for love. There's even a custody battle. As the French say, plus ça change, plus ça reste la même chose.
Although I had not read the first volume, I found The Confusion not confusing, but a delightful linguistic and suspenseful alchemy by a master.
Rating:
Summary: The board is set, the pieces are in place...
Review: The journey through the Enlightenment continues, as Neal Stephenson makes your eyes cross and your head ache with 900 pages of rich historical fiction leading us to... well, it's getting clearer, but we don't know quite yet.
While Newton contemplates theology and nuclear physics, Liebnitz struggles to construct digital computers and relational databases, Waterhouse's Juncto restructures England's economic system, and Eliza of Qwghlm spies her way across Europe, Jack Shaftoe and his band of former galley slaves (including, for a time, the ubiquitous Enoch Root) take on planet earth with a raid-and-trade circumnavigation.
Many additional characters, including William of Orange, Louis Quatorze, and at times, seemingly the entire population of Parliament and Versailles add rich complexity and dimensionality to the tale. Be prepared to meet the politest man in France, an Armenian slave spewing 20th-century busino-babble, gentlemen pirates, masterless samuri, a Malibar Queen, and Mexican Inquisitors. You can feel the world opening up to naval commerce and exploration, while Europe staggers under endless wars, market crashes, economic depressions ("confusions") and continuous political intrigue.
"The Confusion," unlike "Quicksilver," leaves us at an acceptable intermission. Many threads have reconverged by 1702, and the stage is set for a another good-time tome.
Rating:
Summary: Viva_La_Revolucion!! Viva Stephenson!!
Review: The revolution of the western mind continues in Stephenson's second volume of his Baroque Cycle.
By "con-fusing" (this is a Stephensonism, not mine) the fictitious lives & passions of the epic's main characters, Jack Shaftoe & Eliza, with real events and equally real/colorful characters of the late 17th century, Stephenson has accomplished something which no teacher before him has...
THE CONFUSION con-currently conquers the following subjects (among many, many others):
- the dawn of a truly global economy
- the pre-teen years of the commodities & futures markets
- the minting of hard currency
- the injection of fiat
- the role of the New World in revitalizing and further confusing international relations
- the pioneering minds of the Utilitarian Enlightenment (not of the artistic sort that has come to dominate discussions of the Enlightenment).
- the conflicting motives of the Roman Catholic Church, the various Protestant denominations, and the Oligarchy of the European nations/principalities of the latter 17th Century
- the boundless nature of the human spirit
- the nature of love itself
Needless to say, in order to envelop all the above while con-fusing it with a story of such enthralling intrigue, the Confusion is a megolith of a novel... but it is truly as awe-full (full of awe) as it is awesome!
Can't hardly wait for the third volume.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Briliant
Review: This is a beast of a book, wild, ferocious and full of mystery. One of those mysteries is the origin of the modern world. Using the medium of fiction, Stephanson strips away layer after layer of recieved wisdom and shows us how a few extrodinary people, and a great deal of ordinary ones, invented the modern notions of finance, banking, credit, trade, stock markets, globalization and the little matter of science. Yes, these people invented science as we know it. And Stephanson will show you the world they inhabited, page after page, untill you feel that you are amongst the greatest minds Europe ever produced. Which is not to say that The Confusion is all about dry academic discourse. The first page of the book finds Jack Shafto miraculusly cured of syphilis, wandering confusedly on a beach while a fifteen hundred gun salute is fired in the honor of the Caliph. From there, we are engaged in one of the best travelouges, adventure stories and general assembiledges of all out mayhem ever collected in one volume. In the spirit of equal oppertunities, this is not strictly a lads book. Equal time is given to Eliza, a former Harem virgin,and by her own wits and courage created a duchess in two nations. Also, by the end of the book, a mother of three. Now, this is a long book, and jam packed with details. Like the art which insipred it's name, the book contains ever increasing levels of ornimentation and detail, built on mathimatically and geometricly pure lines. Well, curves actually. Quite often, the reader can become lost in the welth of images and imagry. Not to worry. Stephanson provides both Newton and Liebinitz to explain the nature of those curves and ornimentation. Even if the titans occasionally disagree.
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