Rating: 
Summary: Beware the aether
Review: J. Gregory Keyes continues the Age of Unreason with "A Calculus of Angels" and unlike some previous reviewers, I didn't find it too disappointing. Instead of two simultaneous plots there's three: Adreinne and Crecy in what's left of France (I never really liked her subplot as much, but this one does improve it with her manus ocultus), Ben Franklin and Sir Isaac in Prague (Prague is the last stronghold of the Habsburgs against the onslaught of Peter the Great, as usual a great subplot where Ben finds love in unlikely places), and the American expedition to Europe (my second favorite subplot, although Red Shoes's dream visions were really confusing at first). One high point I particularly enjoyed, much like the first one, is meeting some of the famous people of the 18th century: Peter the Great, Charles XII, even a 6 year old Maria Theresa. Similar to that is the American Expedition sailing around part of Europe and Africa, studying the aftermath of the comet, which was quite interesting. The only low point i found is that instead of "alchemy as science" which Newton's Cannon put forward, this one just flat out says its magic. After a while, Adrienne refers to Crecy as a "sorceress" for example. But that doesn't retract from the overall enjoyment, and you may find it (like me) to be a real page turner.
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Summary: A twisted look at history through Ben Franklin's eyes!
Review: One of the most imaginative stories I've read in years, combining 18th century history & its well-known characters with magic. This is actually the 2nd book in a series (Newton's Cannon being the first), & continues the story of Ben Franklin & Issac Newton after the destruction of England by an astroid. "Calculus" brings Cotton Mather, Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard the Pirate) & a Choctaw named Red Shoes together on a quest to find out what happened to England. Ships sent previously have never returned & none have arrived from England in 2 years. Meanwhile, Ben Franklin & Issac Newton are in Prague working on such things as magic shoes & trying to avoid the various armies that are battling each other in the absence of an English power. The remaining core characters in this fascinating story, the former mistress of Louis XIV & her former French guard, escape from one villain & into the hands of another (Peter the Great). All of these characters come together, through various twists & turns & interesting revelations, in the end. Of course, the ending will lead to another book, but find out for yourself. It's a great read, but you might want to start with "Newton's Cannon" first.
Rating:
Summary: A twisted look at history through Ben Franklin's eyes!
Review: One of the most imaginative stories I've read in years, combining 18th century history & its well-known characters with magic. This is actually the 2nd book in a series (Newton's Cannon being the first), & continues the story of Ben Franklin & Issac Newton after the destruction of England by an astroid. "Calculus" brings Cotton Mather, Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard the Pirate) & a Choctaw named Red Shoes together on a quest to find out what happened to England. Ships sent previously have never returned & none have arrived from England in 2 years. Meanwhile, Ben Franklin & Issac Newton are in Prague working on such things as magic shoes & trying to avoid the various armies that are battling each other in the absence of an English power. The remaining core characters in this fascinating story, the former mistress of Louis XIV & her former French guard, escape from one villain & into the hands of another (Peter the Great). All of these characters come together, through various twists & turns & interesting revelations, in the end. Of course, the ending will lead to another book, but find out for yourself. It's a great read, but you might want to start with "Newton's Cannon" first.
Rating:
Summary: A thrilling Epic that can only top offKeyes's NEWTONS CANNON
Review: THe novelwas great i couldn't put down I am a big tolkien fan i thought at first he wouldn't be a good writer i was proven wrong. i am waiting for the third book, When is it coming out anyway?
Rating:
Summary: The best Science fiction I have ever read
Review: This book is amazing. If you haven't read the first one; you need to. If you have then you don't need my review.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow starter, but it builds
Review: Unlike the first volume (Newton's Cannon), A Calculus of Angels takes a while to get going. The fascination of the alternative science is hobbled by too much fantasy too fast: as one other reviewer points out, it has suddenly become flat-out magic.Still, Keyes draws quite a portrait of the devestation of Europe following a direct hit from a comet, and the characters remain vivid. In the case of young Ben Franklin, he is if anything more compelling now that he is well into adolescence and is discovering acquaintaince with pride, foolishness, and limitations to his own powers. And, about midway through the book, once people stop wandering about aimlessly and chattering inconsequentially and the narrative threads begin to show some direction, the book really hits a stride. Other reviewers have already summarized the basic outline of the plot, but as all these forces (Peter the Great, Adrienne, Ben Franklin, Newton, Charles XII, Blackbeard, Cotton Mather, and our Choctaw friend Red Shoes) converge on Venice the reader can scarcely imagine what cataclysm is next. And cataclysm comes, nicely inviting the reader onward into the series.
Rating:
Summary: Picaresque, but precise, leaves you hungry for more.
Review: Very "visual", scenic settings employed by Mr. Keyes, his episodic novels (Part One and Two) keep three, sometimes four plots together in a tight, page-turning, narrative. Dialog is somewhat more stiff, and a bit less plausible, but at least it doesn't get in the way. The characters very well delineated, Newton comes off as cantankerous, aloof, and obsessive as he probably was. Blackbeard is like every schoolboy's pirate fantasy. Some of the other characters, the Venetian Riva, for instance, seem to be drawn from life. There's message and moral here, too: all the classical stuff, hubris as the cause of downfall, redemption through love; oh yes, and Mr. Keyes seems to be making the historical point that the vaunted "Age of Reason" was not all it's cracked up to be in the history books, since if they had possessed a powerful science (like ourselves), they might have plunged the world into a deeper chaos than our much-abused 20th century.
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