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drbroel's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
clockless's review against another edition
5.0
I am not up to the task of reviewing this. If you liked Quicksilver, and love discussions about money, keep going -- this one is worth it. I do wish Stephenson would find a synonym to "diverse" though.
gobblebook's review against another edition
4.0
As often happens with Neal Stephenson books, I had the sneaking suspicion throughout the series that I'm not quite smart enough to really understand everything that's going on, but I still had a rip-roaring great time reading this book. The characters are typical Stephenson characters (he often has the self-deprecating, adventurous, dumb-yet-geeky male and the witty, hyper-intelligent, sexy, manipulative female - I can't help but think these are two sides of Stephenson's own personality). I love the science fiction approach to historical fiction. Really amazing stuff.
xeni's review against another edition
5.0
This book continues on from Quicksilver. It was actually the first one I bought in the trilogy (I couldn't tell which one came first; the version I bought didn't say it clearly) so it was also the first one that I read. It was a bit daunting, at first, because I didn't have the background from book 1, but since I already knew most of the history (learned it the dry way: in school) it was still a very enjoyable read!
Stephenson really brings his characters to life. They aren't just historical names anymore, but all of a sudden I understood the WHY in history. Perhaps Stephenson just made up all those reasons, but since there isn't much evidence to the contrary, I feel any historical fiction author is allowed to do thus. At least it makes the story more interesting!
Stephenson really brings his characters to life. They aren't just historical names anymore, but all of a sudden I understood the WHY in history. Perhaps Stephenson just made up all those reasons, but since there isn't much evidence to the contrary, I feel any historical fiction author is allowed to do thus. At least it makes the story more interesting!
oracle_of_madness's review against another edition
5.0
The continuation of Jack, Eliza and Daniel's tales is a masterpiece. This story runs through the last ten years of the 17th century and on into about the first five years of the 18th century. Every topic that defines this time period is covered in this Volume and covered with beautiful detail. There are several parts of this book that I completely breezed through because it was so incredibly exciting, particularly with Jack. However, much of this Volume is a slow read. I read slowly to be sure to pick up every detail and to simply enjoy Stephenson's amazing writing style.
kim_n31's review against another edition
5.0
This book is aptly named, but still wonderful. Had a bit of the same "wait, what?" problem I did with Quicksilver, but I was more able to just let it flow by then.
sansserifsigma's review against another edition
4.0
This book (like the entire Baroque Cycle) is going to take sometime to unpack in my brain. First uncooked impression is that it's better than Quicksilver, since it has a single (well two, con-fused) plot from the beginning to the end, which will link up with the third volume. We'll see, and most importantly we'll see if I can make heads or tails of this whole series at the very end.
REREAD:
Not only is this book both endlessly fascinating and horribly boring, it seems like the more boring parts are the most interesting parts. The half with all the action and swordfighting and vagabonding (Bonanza) I found skipping over to get to the endless letters between European nobles talking about politics and finance (Juncto). I also forgot how funny some of the book can be, in a very dry sort of way. It's good.
REREAD:
Not only is this book both endlessly fascinating and horribly boring, it seems like the more boring parts are the most interesting parts. The half with all the action and swordfighting and vagabonding (Bonanza) I found skipping over to get to the endless letters between European nobles talking about politics and finance (Juncto). I also forgot how funny some of the book can be, in a very dry sort of way. It's good.
dstuart's review against another edition
4.0
Really good bridge in this trilogy. Much better than most middle books. The book had a completely different tone than the first, much more of a swashbuckler (although the first also had its moments.) I very much look forward to the third.
This shit is like Harry Potter for relatively sharp adults: fun, harmless. Stephenson does a little much with the descriptions of places, but he makes up for it with pirate battles, samurai, Versailles intrigue, etc.
This shit is like Harry Potter for relatively sharp adults: fun, harmless. Stephenson does a little much with the descriptions of places, but he makes up for it with pirate battles, samurai, Versailles intrigue, etc.
joelshults's review against another edition
4.0
An apt title. There is a lot to keep up with in this series. It's still great, though.