In the year 1689, a cabal of Barbary galley slaves -- including one Jack Shaftoe, aka King of the Vagabonds, aka Half-Cocked Jack -- devises a daring plan to win freedom and fortune. A great adventure ensues -- a perilous race for an enormous prize of silver ... nay, gold ... nay, legendary gold. In Europe, the exquisite and resourceful Eliza, Countess de la Zeur, is stripped of her immense personal fortune by France's most dashing privateer. Penniless and at risk from those who desire either her or her head (or both), she is caught up in a web of international intrigue, even as she desperately seeks the return of her most precious possession. Meanwhile, Newton and Leibniz continue to propound their grand theories as their infamous rivalry intensifies, stubborn alchemy does battle with the natural sciences, dastardly plots are set in motion ... and Daniel Waterhouse seeks passage to the Massachusetts colony in hopes of escaping the madness into which his world has descended. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Quicksilver von Neal Stephenson

About the Book Set against the backdrop of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, "Quicksilver" brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in a time of breathtaking genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined an age. Book Synopsis Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox.And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance.A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.And it's just the beginning ... Review Quotes "Genius . . . You'll wish it were longer." -- Time magazine"[QUICKSILVER] explores the philosophical concerns of today . . . through thrillingly clever, suspenseful and amusing plot twists." -- New York Times Book Review"Sprawling, irreverent, and ultimately profound." -- Newsweek"A sprawling, engrossing tale." -- Seattle Times"Stephenson's new machine is a wonderment to behold. A-" -- Entertainment Weekly"An astonishing achievement." -- Sunday Telegraph"[QUICKSILVER] is a rare thing: a 1,000-page book that you don't want to end. -- San Antonio Express-News"[O]ften brilliant and occassionally astonishing ...[QUICKSILVER] has wit, ambition and ... moments of real genius." -- Book World"[A]n awe-inspiring book, stuffed with heart-stopping action scenes ... and a treasure trove of forgotten historical lore." -- Book"Dense, witty, erudite ... and gripping ... a far more impressive literary endeavor than most so-called "serious" fiction." -- Independent

#1 New York Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson is, quite simply, one of the best and most respected writers alive. He's taken sf to places it's never been (Snow Crash, Anathem). He's reinvented the historical novel (The Baroque Cycle), the international thriller (Reamde), and both at the same time (Cryptonomicon).Now he treats his legion of fans to Some Remarks, an enthralling collection of essays--Stephenson's first nonfiction work since his long essay on technology, In the Beginning...Was the Command Line, more than a decade ago--as well as new and previously published short writings both fiction and non.Some Remarks is a magnificent showcase of a brilliantly inventive mind and talent, as he discourses on everything from Sir Isaac Newton to Star Wars.

The Mysteries Of The Universe The first time I encountered in another myopia and narrow mindedness was about 10 years ago. I was at a class in Colorado, and one of the people there was the creator of Holosync, and I was a regular user, a fan of Holosync at the time. In one of

Quicksilver Volume One of the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson 2003 Hardcover with Dust Jacket First Edition, First Printing William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishing Printed on acid-free paper 927 Pages A Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2004), winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2004). This thick volume is in good condition. There is slight wear on it. The pages are complete. I see no folds, tears, or handwriting on them. The spine is solid. The dust jacket is in good condition with some wear on it, mostly on the edges. Please view the photographs for details. If you have any questions about this book, please don't hesitate to ask. Free shipping via Media Mail.

About the Book Set against the backdrop of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, this first installment of Stephenson's multi-volume epic is available in mass market. The Baroque Cycle brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in a time of breathtaking genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined an age. Book Synopsis In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe -- in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight. From the Back Cover In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe -- in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight. Review Quotes "Genius . . . You'll wish it were longer." -- Time magazine"[QUICKSILVER] explores the philosophical concerns of today . . . through thrillingly clever, suspenseful and amusing plot twists." -- New York Times Book Review"Sprawling, irreverent, and ultimately profound." -- Newsweek"A sprawling, engrossing tale." -- Seattle Times"Stephenson's new machine is a wonderment to behold. A-" -- Entertainment Weekly"An astonishing achievement." -- Sunday Telegraph"[QUICKSILVER] is a rare thing: a 1,000-page book that you don't want to end. -- San Antonio Express-News"[O]ften brilliant and occassionally astonishing ...[QUICKSILVER] has wit, ambition and ... moments of real genius." -- Book World"[A]n awe-inspiring book, stuffed with heart-stopping action scenes ... and a treasure trove of forgotten historical lore." -- Book"Dense, witty, erudite ... and gripping ... a far more impressive literary endeavor than most so-called "serious" fiction." -- Independent

A chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of \"Half-Cocked Jack\" Shaftoe -- London street urchin-turned-legendary swashbuckling adventurer -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox. . . and Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent a contentious continent through the newborn power of finance.

It's not quite correct to say that Neal Stephenson is prolific, but at the same time it's an almost dangerous understatement. In the 30 years that he's been publishing Stephenson has written about fifteen books, and a book every two years doesn't seem like great shakes when compared to Stephen King or Philip K. Dick's terrifying abilities to grind out novels (56 and 49 respectively that we know of). But, while a book like 11/22/63 requires at least some research and a book like The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch requires just a TON of meth, a book like Quicksilver requires a jaw-dropping amount of research and balls the size of a SmartCar just to get started. Stephenson is described by Cracked.Com's Robert Brockway as a man who "once wrote a book about a virtual-reality bushido master/pizza delivery man named Hiro Protagonist, but has since devoted his entire writing career to meta-history at the expense of all the world's forests" and "who is apparently out to drown the world in his books to avenge some childhood slight." Stephenson has "only" written about fifteen books, but as near as I can tell at least five of those books are about everything. I know that sounds like an overstatement, but Cryptonomicon is approximately 1000 pages, takes place in two decades and on five continents, and aside from its main plot and characters spends a fair amount of time discussing Chinese currency, municipal building ordinances, RPGs, subsistence patterns of various Native Americans, calculus, the place of technology in mythological structures, and the possibility of mapping the streets of London based on seemingly random data. When I was researching Stephenson so that I could figure out exactly how much of the universe he's crammed into 15 books I came across the term "maximalism" for the first time and immediately understood it because Stephenson's been showing me maximalism for 10 years and I only just now found the proper term to describe it. So anyway, that's how Stephenson writes. You thought you were going to just be reading a novel about VR samurai but instead you got to strap in for an exciting discussion of Sumerian mythology and information theory too. FUCK YES. I'm ashamed to admit it but the first time I saw part of The Baroque Cycle at a bookstore I sneered at it. As best I can recall I was thinking something like "Aw, man, here's this awesome sci-fi/cyberpunk author whose books I love and I'm going to have to stop reading him because he's started writing bullshitty history books." I'd like to go back in time and smack myself in the head for how wrong I was. These books are still sci-fi/cyberpunk(ish) and totally kick-ass, they just happen to take place in the 1600s. Ridiculous anachronism abounds and does wonders to humanize insane geniuses such as Issac Newton and Robert Hooke. Oh, and the series is freaking enormous. There are eight books in three volumes and each volume is about 900 pages. It's so good. There's so much delicious speculative historical fiction to dive into. Volume One - Quicksilver Quicksilver Daniel Waterhouse is the the son of a Puritan and college roommate of Issac Newton; he tries to find his foothold in the world only to deal with plagues, fires, cut-up dogs, and the King of England blowing up his father. Liberal discussion of calculus, pirates, and the Tower of London included. King of the Vagabonds Jack Shaftoe, born low and fighting to stay that way, is drawn into bizarre intrigues and rituals by the lovely former slave Eliza. The unlikely pair ask questions about the nature of money and encounter all sorts of obstacles in their attempt to collect, control, or at least follow, specie. Jack has an unfortunate, though much-deserved, interaction with a large harpoon. Odalisque As Eliza's knowledge of finances grows she is caught up in drama all around Europe; Dr. Waterhouse has fallen out of Issac's favor but caught the eye of the King of England (not the one who blew up his father, a different king). Waterhouse and Eliza are wrapped up in intrigues separately and together. Dr. Waterhouse wishes he'd known to hydrate more. Volume Two - The Confusion Bonanza Jack Shaftoe has found himself chained to an oar with a scheming cabal of slaves. They manage to free themselves and scrape up some scratch before improbably becoming food for insects and then royals in India. After losing their gains to a pirate queen they convince her that she should finance a ship for them, then sail to Japan, Manila, and cross the Pacific to end up in South America before braving Europe once more. The Juncto All that Daniel Waterhouse wants to do is sail away to America but people keep insisting that he owes a debt to England. Daniel's cohorts in the Royal Society work hard to try to gain political control an Eliza takes advantage of the essentially bankrupt island. Daniel convinces Sir Issac Newton that he might be good at running the Mint as the debate between Newton and Liebniz grows in furor and venom. Volume Three - The System of the World Solomon's Gold Daniel Waterhouse makes it back to London just in time to be almost blown up by an Infernal Device. Jack Shaftoe is messing with money and causing Issac Newton no end of trouble, while Eliza is embroiled in the intrigues of the Hanoverian court because of the death of Electress Sophie. Currency Eliza and Daniel work together to improve technology, end slavery, and un-fuck England. Daniel and Issac manage to chase down and capture Jack on the eve of an enormous upheaval that sends Princess Caroline rushing out of the country, but no one but Jack knows what's been done to the Pyx, a box that holds samples of money as a safeguard for the mint. Peter the Great makes a stop in London and terrifies essentially everyone with his size and frustration. The System of the World Since Daniel and Issac have found out that Jack was responsible for polluting the Pyx they have been trying to track down the parties responsible for Jack. One Charles White becomes problematic until he is disposed of by a cannon duel, which really only makes him more trouble. Jack is hung at Tyburn before a Mobb that disapproves of the situation at exactly the same time as Daniel is busy acting as Issac's alchemical understudy and fighting off death by arcane means. Everything is an enormous mess, but in the end it looks like London is as much better off for having burned metaphorically as literally. I have no idea how to review, or even effectively summarize, these wonderful books. They are too full and rich and startlingly dense for me to even say what they're about. I could spend fifteen hundred words describing one percent of this series and then I'd still have only described one percent and you'd have no idea what they're really talking about. But basically they're about an elderly scholar and a middle-aged criminal saving the world with the help of a harem slave, several savants, a watchmaker gone bad, half of the royalty in Europe, and one immortal wizard. Good luck parsing that. And please read The Baroque Cycle because it kicks three thousand pages of ass. Cheers, - Alli Stephenson, Neal. Quicksilver. Harper Collins. New York: New York. 2003. Stephenson, Neal. The Confusion. Harper Perennial. New York: New York. 2005. Stephenson, Neal. The System of the World. Harper Perennial. New York: New York. 2005.

This one takes some explaining. The Baroque Cycle is a massive work by Neal Stephenson – a sort of prequel to his information-opus Cyptonomicon that focuses on several of the characters’ ancestors in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Together, The Baroque Cycle forms one 2600 page story, though it was published as three separate novels at six-month intervals (and then later as eight smaller novels). The first entry, Quicksilver, won the Clarke. It finished third in the Locus voting in 2004, but the final two-thirds were both eligible in the next year, and they won as a single unit. The first novel, Quicksilver, does start slow, so I can see why the Locus voters passed it by, though it does get quite good after 300 pages or so. The second novel, The Confusion, is a work of genius. The third novel overstays its welcome (after reading for thousands of pages, I found myself yelling “get on with it already!” during the home stretch). Really, The Baroque Cycle should be seen as one work, so it is fitting that Locus grouped them together (and I’m doing the same). So, 2600 pages, huh? The Baroque Cycle is daunting, and at the end, it’s a fairly uneven work. Fundamentally, it’s about the dispute between Leibniz and Newton over who invented Calculus. This was a real fight between two genius men who were also crucial political figures in British history – part of the dispute is about science and the politics of science, but it also involves questions of scientific professionalization, struggles over the British crown, the birth of high finance, the prehistory of information technology, and the nature of God and the cosmos. If you groaned or gave a weary sigh during any part of that description, run away now. Run as fast and as far from these novels as you can. However, if you’re at least mildly intrigued by a 2600 page novel of scientific disputes and political intrigue, there’s a decent chance that you will enjoy yourself here. Stephenson livens things up with the picaresque hero Jack Shaftoe. In contrast to the Stephenson’s invented scientist character, Daniel Waterhouse, Jack is an uneducated clown who has wild, swashbuckling adventures across the globe. He starts out as a mercenary and vagabond in Quicksilver, then spends most of The Confusion as a pirate. Bridging the two stories is Eliza, a beautiful young woman who goes from harem slave to aristocrat over the decades-long story, and sponsors schemes in the criminal, political, scientific and financial world that the Cycle so masterfully jumps between (and often combines!) We follow these three characters for most of the novel from their youths in the 1660s to 1714 (the Hannoverian succession for those keeping score at home). Waterhouse lets Stephenson explore the scientific revolution and England’s burgeoning Royal Society, and especially its superstars, Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton. He uses Jack Shaftoe to delve into the underworld and to tell a series of comic adventure stories. Eliza takes us into the worlds of royal courts and early modern trade and finance. As history, it’s generally accurate and rather ingenuous. Several historical characters make cameos or play large roles, including several kings, queens, and scientists (a young Ben Franklin even pops in early on). Stephenson has his facts straight and more than once I would look up a particularly unlikely-seeming event or meeting and find that it really did happen more or less as Stephenson described. There is some artistic license taken – Stephenson puts a witch execution in New England a few decades after they had stopped, for instance – but that’s really where Stephenson’s genius comes in. Yes, the main characters are his creations, and yes, there are several improbably (and impossible scenes). At one point, Stephenson even stages a Disneyesque musical number in a Jack Shaftoe scene. But all of these moments only serve to bring the history even more vibrantly alive. What exactly does this all have to do with science fiction then? Well, there are some moments that are pure fantasy (an immortal sorceror appears, and much of the plot turns on some alchemical gold – both are elements carried over from Cryptonomicon). But, more fundamentally, these are novels about science. They explore the implications of science by taking real discoveries and exaggerating them or carrying them to extreme ends. Leibniz really did consider building a mechanical calculator, and is thus one of the prehistoric pioneers of the computer. In Stephenson’s world, he gets to build his calculator. This is science fiction at its most pure. This is my third Stephenson review, and it should be clear by now that I’m a fan of his work, and especially his irreverent, witty, and discursive writing style. I’m also a fan of historical settings and richly drawn worlds, so, it’s not a surprise that I loved these novels. Stephenson’s tics are all still here – especially his tendency to run off on long tangents that can turn into academic lectures. You either love it or hate it, and if the latter, you’re going to have a hard time with Stephenson and the hardest time of all here. I did say that this is an uneven work. Quicksilver takes a while to get going. The Confusion is probably the best thing that Stephenson has ever written and one of my favorite novels. System of the World was painful to get through at times. It’s a nice two or three hundred page epilogue to the first two parts…stretched out to nine hundred pages (for symmetry’s sake?). In System, for once, Stephenson’s diversions aren’t all that interesting, there’s a great deal of repetition (you will grow sick of the phrase “Trial of the Pyx”), and the characteristic long-winded descriptions just aren’t that interesting. I’d suggest skimming the final volume if you can bring yourself to do so. It also wouldn’t hurt to bone up on history before delving in – I gave up on Quicksilver when it first came our, but I found it a much breezier read after reading up on seventeenth-century English history for a class I was teaching. In summary, it’s a highly rewarding set of novels that I can’t recommend highly enough…so long as you’re interested in history, can tolerate Stephenson’s quirks, and you can hold your nose and make your way through some slow portions. The Confusion alone is worth these obstacles though. Grade: A

Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson - The Baroque Cycle #1 - Vintage Paperback Book Nicely aged vintage copy. Yellowed pages.