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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.
meelatron's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
At one point, possibly the most fun I've ever had reading a book.
citizenkahn's review against another edition
5.0
This series keeps on getting better. I never imagined the 17th century and the history of commerce could be this engaging. Stephenson does a masterful job telling a tale of Europe's journey into the modern age via the lives of real and delightfully imagined characters. A worthy read.
lostinthelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Wow I think this edition was even better than the first! Once again I learnt so much about history and economics through these colourful characters. I must say I preferred Eliza's story to Jack's and was disappointed to see it tail off towards the end. Nevertheless this was a great sequel and I can't wait to read the culmination of this saga.
skolastic's review against another edition
4.0
Neal Stephenson is clearly having the time of his life writing these books, and The Confusion continues on nicely.
It drops the "three books, each about a single character or pair of characters" structure from Quicksilver in favor of two books intermingled: Bonanza, following Jack's adventures following his being sold into slavery at the end of Quicksilver, and The Juncto, following Daniel and Eliza navigating European politics.
Bonanza is a tremendously fun adventure tale that stretches the boundaries of belief just enough to be consistently amusing. If I were to dock it any points, it would be that it suffers too much from -- as the last part of Quicksilver did -- Stephenson eliding large stretches of time in order to move the plot along. The ending is a little pat, but makes for a hell of a Stephensonian "slam cut to black" while also neatly answering the question of where Jack is at the beginning of Quicksilver.
The Juncto, like Odalisque before it, is choppy, but manages to improve on its predecessor. Daniel ends up being absent, or just glimpsed through his letters, for much of the story (reasonable, considering his surgery at the end of Quicksilver), and most of the focus goes to Eliza, who is shaping up into an interesting character.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this -- I actually think I'll bump Quicksilver to a 5 -- and I'm looking forward to finishing off The System of the World this fall.
It drops the "three books, each about a single character or pair of characters" structure from Quicksilver in favor of two books intermingled: Bonanza, following Jack's adventures following his being sold into slavery at the end of Quicksilver, and The Juncto, following Daniel and Eliza navigating European politics.
Bonanza is a tremendously fun adventure tale that stretches the boundaries of belief just enough to be consistently amusing. If I were to dock it any points, it would be that it suffers too much from -- as the last part of Quicksilver did -- Stephenson eliding large stretches of time in order to move the plot along. The ending is a little pat, but makes for a hell of a Stephensonian "slam cut to black" while also neatly answering the question of where Jack is at the beginning of Quicksilver.
The Juncto, like Odalisque before it, is choppy, but manages to improve on its predecessor. Daniel ends up being absent, or just glimpsed through his letters, for much of the story (reasonable, considering his surgery at the end of Quicksilver), and most of the focus goes to Eliza, who is shaping up into an interesting character.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this -- I actually think I'll bump Quicksilver to a 5 -- and I'm looking forward to finishing off The System of the World this fall.
sanserifsigma'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.
ineffablebob's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All the comments from book 1 apply here as well. I liked this one slightly better because there was more Eliza, who is far and away my favorite character. Unfortunately she faded away in the latter part of this book.
katidid's review against another edition
2.0
Oh my god if I read any more tedious exposition I'm going to find you and throw this book at you. And it's big, it'll hurt. It'd be a lot smaller if you just told the story. Oh, and now you skip the part of the story with the action just so you can tell me what happened in more tedious exposition? Fuck You Neal Stephenson, I used to like you!
mwosnitz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
owlmoose's review against another edition
1.0
Might get another star if I ever get around to finishing it, but so far it's a confusing, complicated mess that's even less compelling than the first book in the cycle.