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flok 's review for:
Quicksilver
by Neal Stephenson
I first started this in 2011 or 2012 - I'd been told great things about it and Stephenson, and picked up a cheap paperback copy from a charity shop. During two weeks summer holidays I made it to just over 200 pages and then I gave up as it'a heavy book to carry during my commute, a few pages had started to fall off, and I was concerned how slow my reading rate was.
Later I got an e-reader, and borrowed Reamde and Anathem from the library. I really loved both. That prompted another go at Quicksilver during a holiday - even less successful than the first.
Now the library have added Quicksilver to their catalogue, so I was determined to finally get through it.
I started back in April - a few interruptions as I couldn't always re-borrow straightaway! But 4 months later, I have finally finished reading it and gone straight into The Confusion!
I see Stephenson categorizes the Baroque Cycle as science fiction as it touches on many scientific themes, but historical fiction is a better description imho.
Book One is set in Boston 1713, but the main narrative concerns the life of Daniel Waterhouse from 1655 to 1673. Daniel's father Drake is described as an "Independent trader, political agitator, leader of Pilgrims and Dissidents" - putting him at the center of political and religious disputes. Daniel's interests are more scientific, he studies at Cambridge where he becomes friends (sort of) with Isaac Newton, he's mentored by John Wilkins and becomes a member of the Royal Society.
I found this first book a terrible drag. We learn about the upheavals in London and England at the time, about some of the scientific discoveries and experiments, but two main problems: at times it reads like a series of anecdotes rather than any story moving forward, and Daniel's a terrible central character: he's a passenger. He finds himself in the middle of events, but isn't driving anything himself.
Book Two is where things get interesting. We're first introduced to the Shaftoe brothers as kids, but promptly fast forward to 1683, when Jack has become a vagabond on the continent. He finds himself taking on soldier work when Vienna is under siege from the Ottoman Empire, and inadvertently rescues Eliza, a young woman from the fictional island of Qwghlm, who had been taken as a slave to Barbary, and later traded with Constantinople. Jack and Eliza are two colourful characters and the action is fast-paced: Jack's exploits have made him legendary among vagabonds, and Eliza's got brains, esp. when it comes to trade and money. The two get on the road together, heading towards Amsterdam. We travel with them through Bohemia and Saxony, and in Leipzig they meet the Doctor: Leibniz. Eliza strikes up a friendship with him - she's interested in making money, but also as he discusses cryptography etc.
Our two main characters separate again a while after reaching Amsterdam, Eliza makes a bit of a name for herself due to her trading skills, and gets to know the French ambassador as well as William of Orange. Jack heads back to France and spoils a royal party, adding to the legend of the King of the Vagabonds. As he heads back to Amsterdam, he's joined a scheme to try and impress Eliza, but he's got brawns, not brains, and book Two reaches full circle when Jack is taken as a slave by the Corsairs from Barbary a mere two years after Vienna.
Book Three starts tying what's happening in England to the continent. Charles II has died, the new King is rumoured to be a Catholic, and plots to unseat him - invading from Holland - are under way. Daniel has risen in rank, and is close to many important figures. He and Eliza meet in the Hague as Huygens is a common friend. Eliza moves to Versailles and the court of Louis XIV. She helps many nobles with their investments and gets made a Countess. We also meet Jack's brother Bob. There's plenty of intrigue, and a lot of the narrative is conveyed through Eliza's (encrypted) letters to Leibniz, as well as her (intercepted) journal. As we conclude book Three, there's been a Revolution in London, James II has fled, and Eliza's had a baby, although very few people know the real story: a two layered deception: officially she's adopted an orphan, people in the know (inc. the supposed father!) believe the son of the powerful Duc d'Arcachon is the father but the deception goes further. Daniel Waterhouse's resigned to die from a stone bladder, but others members of the Royal Society, inc. Sam Pepys and Robert Hooke trick him and get him on the operating table.
I hovered between 3 and 4 stars - by now I know characterization isn't always Stephenson's strong point, but I really had problems with Daniel. But I really enjoyed the book once Book One had concluded, and there's such a wealth of information. Jack and Eliza may not be very realistic, but following their adventures and intrigues is fun, and unlike Daniel their fictional adventures actually somehow drive the historical action. (In book 3, Daniel takes some credit for the peaceful revolution, but I struggled to see how). I went with 4 because I've now jumped straight into the second volume of the cycle, and I'm glad I did complete reading the book this time!
Reamde and Anathem were much easier for me as I cared more about their themes than I do for 17th c. history. But even though it can be tricky at times distinguishing facts from fiction - there's a large cast of minor characters too, many historical, others fictional - there was a lot of knowledge about the period to pick up. I still wish some of the science was made more interesting, but I liked reading about Hooke who seems forgotten today compared to some of his contemporaries. Trade and money is another recurrent theme, and it's interesting to read about the differences between Amsterdam, London, France and other places.
But it's a book that definitely requires you to commit to it, progress can be slow especially in the first book.
Later I got an e-reader, and borrowed Reamde and Anathem from the library. I really loved both. That prompted another go at Quicksilver during a holiday - even less successful than the first.
Now the library have added Quicksilver to their catalogue, so I was determined to finally get through it.
I started back in April - a few interruptions as I couldn't always re-borrow straightaway! But 4 months later, I have finally finished reading it and gone straight into The Confusion!
I see Stephenson categorizes the Baroque Cycle as science fiction as it touches on many scientific themes, but historical fiction is a better description imho.
Book One is set in Boston 1713, but the main narrative concerns the life of Daniel Waterhouse from 1655 to 1673. Daniel's father Drake is described as an "Independent trader, political agitator, leader of Pilgrims and Dissidents" - putting him at the center of political and religious disputes. Daniel's interests are more scientific, he studies at Cambridge where he becomes friends (sort of) with Isaac Newton, he's mentored by John Wilkins and becomes a member of the Royal Society.
I found this first book a terrible drag. We learn about the upheavals in London and England at the time, about some of the scientific discoveries and experiments, but two main problems: at times it reads like a series of anecdotes rather than any story moving forward, and Daniel's a terrible central character: he's a passenger. He finds himself in the middle of events, but isn't driving anything himself.
Book Two is where things get interesting. We're first introduced to the Shaftoe brothers as kids, but promptly fast forward to 1683, when Jack has become a vagabond on the continent. He finds himself taking on soldier work when Vienna is under siege from the Ottoman Empire, and inadvertently rescues Eliza, a young woman from the fictional island of Qwghlm, who had been taken as a slave to Barbary, and later traded with Constantinople. Jack and Eliza are two colourful characters and the action is fast-paced: Jack's exploits have made him legendary among vagabonds, and Eliza's got brains, esp. when it comes to trade and money. The two get on the road together, heading towards Amsterdam. We travel with them through Bohemia and Saxony, and in Leipzig they meet the Doctor: Leibniz. Eliza strikes up a friendship with him - she's interested in making money, but also as he discusses cryptography etc.
Our two main characters separate again a while after reaching Amsterdam, Eliza makes a bit of a name for herself due to her trading skills, and gets to know the French ambassador as well as William of Orange. Jack heads back to France and spoils a royal party, adding to the legend of the King of the Vagabonds. As he heads back to Amsterdam, he's joined a scheme to try and impress Eliza, but he's got brawns, not brains, and book Two reaches full circle when Jack is taken as a slave by the Corsairs from Barbary a mere two years after Vienna.
Book Three starts tying what's happening in England to the continent. Charles II has died, the new King is rumoured to be a Catholic, and plots to unseat him - invading from Holland - are under way. Daniel has risen in rank, and is close to many important figures. He and Eliza meet in the Hague as Huygens is a common friend. Eliza moves to Versailles and the court of Louis XIV. She helps many nobles with their investments and gets made a Countess. We also meet Jack's brother Bob. There's plenty of intrigue, and a lot of the narrative is conveyed through Eliza's (encrypted) letters to Leibniz, as well as her (intercepted) journal. As we conclude book Three, there's been a Revolution in London, James II has fled, and Eliza's had a baby, although very few people know the real story: a two layered deception: officially she's adopted an orphan, people in the know (inc. the supposed father!) believe the son of the powerful Duc d'Arcachon is the father but the deception goes further. Daniel Waterhouse's resigned to die from a stone bladder, but others members of the Royal Society, inc. Sam Pepys and Robert Hooke trick him and get him on the operating table.
I hovered between 3 and 4 stars - by now I know characterization isn't always Stephenson's strong point, but I really had problems with Daniel. But I really enjoyed the book once Book One had concluded, and there's such a wealth of information. Jack and Eliza may not be very realistic, but following their adventures and intrigues is fun, and unlike Daniel their fictional adventures actually somehow drive the historical action. (In book 3, Daniel takes some credit for the peaceful revolution, but I struggled to see how). I went with 4 because I've now jumped straight into the second volume of the cycle, and I'm glad I did complete reading the book this time!
Reamde and Anathem were much easier for me as I cared more about their themes than I do for 17th c. history. But even though it can be tricky at times distinguishing facts from fiction - there's a large cast of minor characters too, many historical, others fictional - there was a lot of knowledge about the period to pick up. I still wish some of the science was made more interesting, but I liked reading about Hooke who seems forgotten today compared to some of his contemporaries. Trade and money is another recurrent theme, and it's interesting to read about the differences between Amsterdam, London, France and other places.
But it's a book that definitely requires you to commit to it, progress can be slow especially in the first book.