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The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World
Get all three novels in Neal Stephenson's New York Times bestselling "Baroque Cycle" in one e-book, including: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World. This three-volume historical epic delivers intrigue, adventure, and excitement set against the political upheaval of the early 18th century.
960 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2014
933 people are currently reading
1059 people want to read
About the author
Neal Stephenson
89 books28.8k followersNeal Stephenson is the author of Reamde, Anathem, and the three-volume historical epic the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World), as well as Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Zodiac. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 7, 2017
I chose the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson because I wanted a long read and because this author has written other books that I enjoyed. Perhaps if I knew this trilogy of books ran to 2700+ pages I might have had second thoughts but my Kindle doesn’t deal with page numbers. I like to think that I would have read these novels anyway. It certainly was not a sprint: it was a journey – a journey in time, a mental journey, and involving lots of journeying by the books’ characters. Stephenson takes us to the 17th and early 18th century. This time period represents a transitional age in that the way men lived upon the earth was changing, in much the same ways that we are in a transitional age now.
Quicksilver introduces us to the Alchemists, who wished to find a way to turn base metal into gold. Quicksilver is mercury, which fascinated Alchemists with its unusual behaviors as a metal that is liquid at room temperature and a metal that beads and rolls around as if it were solid. It was felt that quicksilver, so often found near gold deposits, was somehow transformed into gold by some kind of mysterious natural process. The Alchemists were almost done with their investigations, having failed so often in their endeavors. But the experimentations they had conducted gave them a great scientific curiosity about everything in the world around them, both nonliving and living. Out of the Alchemists came a group known as Natural Philosophers and we had the very beginning of Physics.
These were the days of Isaac Newton in England and Hooke in England and Huygens, a Dutchman, and Gottfried Leibnitz, a German. These men explored the insides of living things, they looked at everything under lenses that improved in quality as the trilogy progressed. They created “the algebra” and they began to see that all things were made of smaller things (atoms to Newton, monads to Leibnitz). Newton and Leibnitz both claimed to have come up with “the algebra” which made these two great men opponents and caused educated folks to divide into two camps depending on which great man they backed.
Stephenson gives us a fictional character to serve as a go-between for these great gentlemen who did not always agree with each other. Daniel Waterhouse is the character who speaks to all of the principals. He also avoids much of the Catholic – Protestant divide of the times by coming from a family that is neither. His father is persecuted for his beliefs, but Daniel is not. Daniel serves as our man in London and in Massachusetts where he is trying to set up the Massachusetts’ Institute of Technological Arts. (He is not the founder of MIT.)
The other two books in this trilogy - which jumps around in time and place - although not quite as neatly and tidily organized as I am making them sound, are called The Confusion and The System of the World. They take us out of London with a vagabond. On the “Continent”, we follow two very unusual fictional characters. We follow Eliza, the stunning and extremely intelligent ex-Turkish slave, captured by a French aristocrat with her mom and sold into slavery in Turkey. And we have Jack Shaftoe, a poor Englishman, also extremely intelligent, who becomes the King of the Vagabonds. Eliza and Jack fall in love when he rescues her from the Turks but their paths diverge. Eliza becomes wealthy by learning to invest in the Dutch “stock market” of the day. Dutch economics are superior to other nations earlier due to the trade of the Dutch East India Company. Eliza becomes a member of the court of Louis XIV and becomes a familiar figure at Versailles. Jack gets captured and becomes a slave rower on a ship bound for Africa. But he is too brilliant to stay down for long. Jack makes a plan, makes some friends and ends up taking us to visit all the world that was known at that time.
Jack’s plan involves stealing gold as part of a plan of retribution against the Frenchman who enslaved Eliza. He does not realize that this is known as the Solomonic Gold because it is bound to mercury. The nature of this particular gold had everyone chasing Jack and his men all over Christendom and beyond and puts his life in mortal jeopardy more times than you will want to count. The Alchemists and the Natural Philosophers are thrown into a total tizzy over this gold and several of our favorite characters barely escape with their lives and only manage it through the rather extreme machinations of Daniel Waterhouse and those he ropes into assisting him. Thus ends the age of Alchemy.
What follows are the beginnings of the Industrial Age. Here as magical science wraps up and practical science begins, just here when someone invents the “Engine that Uses Fire to Pump Water” and a contest offers a prize to anyone who can come up with a way to determine “the longitude” when on a sea voyage, things are as chaotic as they are here at the end of the Industrial Age in our real world.
The Baroque Cycle is a tale that will either entertain you over many a rainy and sunny day or will cause you to completely lose your patience and perhaps throw it at a wall. (Don’t throw your Kindle). Although I sometimes felt a bit crazed when I read for half a day and only progressed through 2% of the book, I never really wanted to stop reading it and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it’s not an experience I can recommend to anyone. You know if you are a reader who will love this or yawn over this. As for me I will eventually download another Stephenson tome and while away some more idle hours by allowing my mind to be taken somewhere/time else. (It is also a love story of sorts.)
“At some point, says Neal Stephenson by way of Daniel Waterhouse, the whole System will fail, because of the flaws that have been wrought into it…Perhaps new sorts of Wizards will be required then. But – and perhaps this is only because of his age, and that there’s a longboat waiting to take him away – he has to admit that having some kind of System, even a flawed and doomed one, is better than to live forever in the poisonous storm-tide of quicksilver that gave birth to all of this.
Quicksilver introduces us to the Alchemists, who wished to find a way to turn base metal into gold. Quicksilver is mercury, which fascinated Alchemists with its unusual behaviors as a metal that is liquid at room temperature and a metal that beads and rolls around as if it were solid. It was felt that quicksilver, so often found near gold deposits, was somehow transformed into gold by some kind of mysterious natural process. The Alchemists were almost done with their investigations, having failed so often in their endeavors. But the experimentations they had conducted gave them a great scientific curiosity about everything in the world around them, both nonliving and living. Out of the Alchemists came a group known as Natural Philosophers and we had the very beginning of Physics.
These were the days of Isaac Newton in England and Hooke in England and Huygens, a Dutchman, and Gottfried Leibnitz, a German. These men explored the insides of living things, they looked at everything under lenses that improved in quality as the trilogy progressed. They created “the algebra” and they began to see that all things were made of smaller things (atoms to Newton, monads to Leibnitz). Newton and Leibnitz both claimed to have come up with “the algebra” which made these two great men opponents and caused educated folks to divide into two camps depending on which great man they backed.
Stephenson gives us a fictional character to serve as a go-between for these great gentlemen who did not always agree with each other. Daniel Waterhouse is the character who speaks to all of the principals. He also avoids much of the Catholic – Protestant divide of the times by coming from a family that is neither. His father is persecuted for his beliefs, but Daniel is not. Daniel serves as our man in London and in Massachusetts where he is trying to set up the Massachusetts’ Institute of Technological Arts. (He is not the founder of MIT.)
The other two books in this trilogy - which jumps around in time and place - although not quite as neatly and tidily organized as I am making them sound, are called The Confusion and The System of the World. They take us out of London with a vagabond. On the “Continent”, we follow two very unusual fictional characters. We follow Eliza, the stunning and extremely intelligent ex-Turkish slave, captured by a French aristocrat with her mom and sold into slavery in Turkey. And we have Jack Shaftoe, a poor Englishman, also extremely intelligent, who becomes the King of the Vagabonds. Eliza and Jack fall in love when he rescues her from the Turks but their paths diverge. Eliza becomes wealthy by learning to invest in the Dutch “stock market” of the day. Dutch economics are superior to other nations earlier due to the trade of the Dutch East India Company. Eliza becomes a member of the court of Louis XIV and becomes a familiar figure at Versailles. Jack gets captured and becomes a slave rower on a ship bound for Africa. But he is too brilliant to stay down for long. Jack makes a plan, makes some friends and ends up taking us to visit all the world that was known at that time.
Jack’s plan involves stealing gold as part of a plan of retribution against the Frenchman who enslaved Eliza. He does not realize that this is known as the Solomonic Gold because it is bound to mercury. The nature of this particular gold had everyone chasing Jack and his men all over Christendom and beyond and puts his life in mortal jeopardy more times than you will want to count. The Alchemists and the Natural Philosophers are thrown into a total tizzy over this gold and several of our favorite characters barely escape with their lives and only manage it through the rather extreme machinations of Daniel Waterhouse and those he ropes into assisting him. Thus ends the age of Alchemy.
What follows are the beginnings of the Industrial Age. Here as magical science wraps up and practical science begins, just here when someone invents the “Engine that Uses Fire to Pump Water” and a contest offers a prize to anyone who can come up with a way to determine “the longitude” when on a sea voyage, things are as chaotic as they are here at the end of the Industrial Age in our real world.
The Baroque Cycle is a tale that will either entertain you over many a rainy and sunny day or will cause you to completely lose your patience and perhaps throw it at a wall. (Don’t throw your Kindle). Although I sometimes felt a bit crazed when I read for half a day and only progressed through 2% of the book, I never really wanted to stop reading it and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it’s not an experience I can recommend to anyone. You know if you are a reader who will love this or yawn over this. As for me I will eventually download another Stephenson tome and while away some more idle hours by allowing my mind to be taken somewhere/time else. (It is also a love story of sorts.)
“At some point, says Neal Stephenson by way of Daniel Waterhouse, the whole System will fail, because of the flaws that have been wrought into it…Perhaps new sorts of Wizards will be required then. But – and perhaps this is only because of his age, and that there’s a longboat waiting to take him away – he has to admit that having some kind of System, even a flawed and doomed one, is better than to live forever in the poisonous storm-tide of quicksilver that gave birth to all of this.
November 27, 2018
Here are my reviews of Volumes 1 - 3:
1. Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, #1)
2. The Confusion (The Baroque Cycle, #2)
3. The System of the World (The Baroque Cycle, #3)
1. Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, #1)
2. The Confusion (The Baroque Cycle, #2)
3. The System of the World (The Baroque Cycle, #3)
June 18, 2021
First off, even though this is a trilogy packed into a single volume this story is LONG. I usually read fast, and these 3 books took me as much time to read as all of ASOIAF Each book within itself is a very long book, and you will have points when you are plodding through wondering why Stephenson isn't getting on with it. However, as with all Stephenson books, there is a reason for this that just may not be resolved until much later. Regardless of the length, the ride that this story takes you on is so worth all of the time you'll spend reading this.
I don't want to give anything away, but I have more love for Eliza, Jack Shaftoe and Daniel Waterhouse than I have for any other characters in years.
And there is a connection with Cryptonomicon besides the family names, so if you enjoyed that do yourself a favor and set aside a couple months to read the Baroque Cycle.
I don't want to give anything away, but I have more love for Eliza, Jack Shaftoe and Daniel Waterhouse than I have for any other characters in years.
And there is a connection with Cryptonomicon besides the family names, so if you enjoyed that do yourself a favor and set aside a couple months to read the Baroque Cycle.
January 21, 2018
I am at a loss to sum these books up simply. Baldly, the Baroque Cycle is an extended romp on the Enlightenment, and, with Cryptonomicon, on the value of money once it becomes abstract, divorced from real-world commodities such as silver or gold. Now, this summary says as much about this vast work as a description of a skeleton of a swallow does about flocks of live birds twittering in an autumn sky. Although the author classifies them all as SF - there are one or two fantastical elements in all of them - the four books represent a towering literary achievement in any genre.
March 12, 2019
Ok, I really want to get here and write a review, because all of the reviews of this series/book that i find are complaining about how he goes on and on about walking through London, traveling across Europe, daily life in Paris, Versailles, Germany, The Netherlands, Cambridge (England), Massachusetts, and so forth. For me, this was one of the best parts of the series. The fact that he provides so much detail puts me right in the middle of things, and helps me to visualize the world of this book in a way that most books do not accomplish. Furthermore, while he is describing the current world of the main characters, he's also conveying other information to the reader about what will happen, providing backstory, and accomplishing other tasks necessary to the story. Most books' main goal is to convey the plot and perhaps encourage you to have some feelings for the main characters along the way. But this book, besides doing these things, gives you the whole world. Except, instead of being a fantasy world of the future, it is the *mostly* real world of the past. Yes, there is the alchemy thing that is a little fantastical which technically makes this book science fiction, but practically speaking, it is a work of historical fiction.
I do think it helps to have a basic knowledge of European history from, say, the times of Henry the 8th up through Napoleon, because this knowledge helps you to follow the story more easily, and to get some of the jokes or subtle stories, which sometimes hinge upon the reader knowing what is ultimately going to happen. This applies to big events but also little things. For example, the transition from using coins as money to paper as money provides one of the undercurrents of this book. At one point, one of the characters has to explain to another what a banca is, because it is a new term for them. I'm there reading like, "haHAH and now we call them BANKS!", and that kind of thing.
I also believe that, if you are a reader of Stephenson who is coming out of Snowcrash or Cryptonomicon, and you are looking for more of this, you may be slightly confused because, although he continues the themes such as history of the world through the lens of science, economics and computer systems being indelibly intertwined, the guy who isn't a scientist but understands scientists better than they understand themselves, characters who just do stuff without worrying about it or sweating at all, etc, since it is based in the late 1600s-early 1700s, all of these themes are (obviously) addressed in the context of that time, which means theres no new tech funness. But I don't really care about new tech, so its fine.
I'm a reader whose favorite genres are historical fiction and science fiction, and I think one of the reasons I love this series so much is because it is successful in both, as well as being written carefully and with great detail. If you have the patience to let yourself get into it, I say go for it.
Honestly, it took me a while to even understand what the what was going on my first time through. But I'm ok with that - I eventually got there. Right now I'm on my second time through, via audiobook, and the audiobook does help a lot because it makes some of the denser dialog easier to digest. If you want to read it but are struggling, this might be the way to go.
I do think it helps to have a basic knowledge of European history from, say, the times of Henry the 8th up through Napoleon, because this knowledge helps you to follow the story more easily, and to get some of the jokes or subtle stories, which sometimes hinge upon the reader knowing what is ultimately going to happen. This applies to big events but also little things. For example, the transition from using coins as money to paper as money provides one of the undercurrents of this book. At one point, one of the characters has to explain to another what a banca is, because it is a new term for them. I'm there reading like, "haHAH and now we call them BANKS!", and that kind of thing.
I also believe that, if you are a reader of Stephenson who is coming out of Snowcrash or Cryptonomicon, and you are looking for more of this, you may be slightly confused because, although he continues the themes such as history of the world through the lens of science, economics and computer systems being indelibly intertwined, the guy who isn't a scientist but understands scientists better than they understand themselves, characters who just do stuff without worrying about it or sweating at all, etc, since it is based in the late 1600s-early 1700s, all of these themes are (obviously) addressed in the context of that time, which means theres no new tech funness. But I don't really care about new tech, so its fine.
I'm a reader whose favorite genres are historical fiction and science fiction, and I think one of the reasons I love this series so much is because it is successful in both, as well as being written carefully and with great detail. If you have the patience to let yourself get into it, I say go for it.
Honestly, it took me a while to even understand what the what was going on my first time through. But I'm ok with that - I eventually got there. Right now I'm on my second time through, via audiobook, and the audiobook does help a lot because it makes some of the denser dialog easier to digest. If you want to read it but are struggling, this might be the way to go.
January 16, 2021
Sweeping is an understatement for this tome. I still think about the pivotal characters, wondering what happened to them next. I learned, at least I believed there was some truth or learning and not just tall tales, about Newton and Leibnetz, politics and the lives of Persons Of Quality, and chuckled at the contemporary references, Monty Python, for one. No matter if the stories were not fact based, they were engaging, thrilling, cleverly woven and suspenseful. Mostly, though, I marveled at the craftsmanship of composing an epic tale with incredibly complex callbacks and foreshadowing for every major character. What a ride.
August 27, 2017
An online acquaintance had recommended this to me and as the whole collection was only 5€ on Amazon (Kindle) I went for it. I had no idea just HOW long the whole thing is or what I was letting myself in for. I got off to the slow start as the first book drops you right in without much of an introduction and to be honest, I found the first part set in Massachussetts fairly boring. Things started to click together for me when Jack and Eliza first meet in Vienna and travel Germany together. I haven't laughed so much at fabulous dialogue in years and both are incredible characters.
On occasion the books do get bloated, but Stephenson takes you on an amazingly informative journey through the baroque era and early science that left me with huge respect for those early scientists like Newton and Leibnitz and how they shaped our modern world. In Eliza he created a fantastic female heroine that should be a role model for any young girls in the world and Jack is certainly the most dashing swashbuckling crazy hero ever. How Stephenson came up with his elaborate schemes is beyond me. As a dabbling writer myself, I can't express in words how much I admire his fantasy in coming up with all of these plots.
The Baroque Cycle has given me so much inspiration for research and finding more about people and their time. Strangely I live only 2.5 hrs from Hanover but have never been there or even thought about the place. Now visiting the castles is on my top list of things to do. Next month I'll be visiting a new exhibition on the "German princesses" in Kensington Palace as Caroline of Ansbach, of whose existence I had not been aware, was one of my favorite characters in the books.
I will definitely need to re-read the whole thing at least once, too. I moved on to reading Cryptonomicon but while it was similar in its elaborate plotting and had more Waterhouses and Shaftoes to befriend, it just wasn't the same as Daniel, Eliza and Jack. I wish HBO would tackle this and turn it into another huge TV show like Game of Thrones. Anyway, if someone wants to talk about the Baroque Cycle, please do get in touch with me, I'd love to talk more to like-minded people.
On occasion the books do get bloated, but Stephenson takes you on an amazingly informative journey through the baroque era and early science that left me with huge respect for those early scientists like Newton and Leibnitz and how they shaped our modern world. In Eliza he created a fantastic female heroine that should be a role model for any young girls in the world and Jack is certainly the most dashing swashbuckling crazy hero ever. How Stephenson came up with his elaborate schemes is beyond me. As a dabbling writer myself, I can't express in words how much I admire his fantasy in coming up with all of these plots.
The Baroque Cycle has given me so much inspiration for research and finding more about people and their time. Strangely I live only 2.5 hrs from Hanover but have never been there or even thought about the place. Now visiting the castles is on my top list of things to do. Next month I'll be visiting a new exhibition on the "German princesses" in Kensington Palace as Caroline of Ansbach, of whose existence I had not been aware, was one of my favorite characters in the books.
I will definitely need to re-read the whole thing at least once, too. I moved on to reading Cryptonomicon but while it was similar in its elaborate plotting and had more Waterhouses and Shaftoes to befriend, it just wasn't the same as Daniel, Eliza and Jack. I wish HBO would tackle this and turn it into another huge TV show like Game of Thrones. Anyway, if someone wants to talk about the Baroque Cycle, please do get in touch with me, I'd love to talk more to like-minded people.
May 11, 2020
Neal Stephenson is arguably my favorite writer.
This series of books recently became available as a gesture by the author at the commencement of the SHELTER IN PLACE edict. It seemed like an opportunity to focus and dedicate some time to a series of books that demand both.
I've tried to get into Quicksilver twice before. Each time I would get just a little bit further, but never more than 10% of the way in an immense volume.
There is just no getting around it. This is just not for me. Believe me, I've tried. I've read everything by Stephenson and recognize that there's a trial by fire within the first 300 or so pages. The novels can be dry or ear-deep in details that make it very challenging to stay involved...and then the books will grab you and it's almost as if you've finally learned a language and can proceed to thoroughly enjoy the ride.
Not this. Too much of a chore. I'm sure I'll try again...but will pick up where i left off this time.
This series of books recently became available as a gesture by the author at the commencement of the SHELTER IN PLACE edict. It seemed like an opportunity to focus and dedicate some time to a series of books that demand both.
I've tried to get into Quicksilver twice before. Each time I would get just a little bit further, but never more than 10% of the way in an immense volume.
There is just no getting around it. This is just not for me. Believe me, I've tried. I've read everything by Stephenson and recognize that there's a trial by fire within the first 300 or so pages. The novels can be dry or ear-deep in details that make it very challenging to stay involved...and then the books will grab you and it's almost as if you've finally learned a language and can proceed to thoroughly enjoy the ride.
Not this. Too much of a chore. I'm sure I'll try again...but will pick up where i left off this time.
July 25, 2017
I rarely give up on books, and I enjoy long books (and this is LONG). In theory the plot sounds most interesting - a romp through the western 18th century political, social, and scientific landscapes through a wide range of different characters eyes. I can't quite decide why I don't like this book, on paper it checks all of the boxes for me - but life is too short to continue to slog through a 2,000+ page trilogy that-I-just-do-not-like. I may try it again at some point in the future, thankfully I had checked out the electronic version from my local library so there is no buyers remorse.
January 6, 2021
Way too much fun for a book of important ideas! Engaging characters, superb plot twists, head-spinning philosophy--this book has it all: history, science, religion, romance, adventure, pirates, cryptography, ostriches (!--all taking place in the complex and unruly Age of Enlightenment. Admittedly, some of the 2,600+ pages were slow-going, but persistence paid off, and I was sorry when it ended. I'll definitely be re-reading. Again.
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May 13, 2021One of my favorite novels ever
I have just finished The Baroque Cycle for the second time since its publication almost two decades ago. I loved it even more this time around. It is clever, consistently interesting, it challenges me to learn more, and it makes me laugh. I have no doubt I'll read it again in four or five years.
I have just finished The Baroque Cycle for the second time since its publication almost two decades ago. I loved it even more this time around. It is clever, consistently interesting, it challenges me to learn more, and it makes me laugh. I have no doubt I'll read it again in four or five years.
November 1, 2024
Very researched novel
A good lesson in 17th century global social, cultural, and political history. It's also a novel. It's form is documentary, it's plot is picaresque, and it's characterization is... beside the point. A major stylistic feature is its mashup of archaic language and modern-ish slang. (As the author would have it, "zargon".) A roaring yarn with fun filled facts!
A good lesson in 17th century global social, cultural, and political history. It's also a novel. It's form is documentary, it's plot is picaresque, and it's characterization is... beside the point. A major stylistic feature is its mashup of archaic language and modern-ish slang. (As the author would have it, "zargon".) A roaring yarn with fun filled facts!
July 10, 2017
I managed, with great difficulty, to trudge through the first of the three books in this work. I found it to be very difficult to get through certainly compared to Stevensons other work. In general I was disappointed, and gave it up.
August 13, 2024
This is a re-read for me and happily enough, it is just as good the second time around! The mixture of fictional and real characters works to a "T."Loved it. Can't wait to get on two the next two volumes.....
January 16, 2018
One of my two favorite Sci-Fi authors. This series is worth reading a bunch of times. Not only an excellent story, but really good at the historical details.
January 22, 2019
Simply unputdownable.
March 21, 2019
Wow! 9 months invested in this awesome work. Never a dull moment and well worth the time and energy.
September 24, 2019
Spectacular
I couldn’t put it down, which is quite something for a book of this length. Recommend reading it on Kindle for the dictionary feature - you’ll learn many words!
I couldn’t put it down, which is quite something for a book of this length. Recommend reading it on Kindle for the dictionary feature - you’ll learn many words!
June 25, 2022
Holy crap that was a long book. Well I guess 3 books or is it 8 books?
January 18, 2026
This is an extremely, EXTREMELY long read which took me the better part of a year to complete, but I very much liked it.
BC is a work of historical fiction with a whole mess of characters, topics, plots, and subplots covering a 60 year time period between the late 1600s and mid 1700s. Honestly there is too much to explain what all happens but in general it's about the Natural Philosophers and other thinkers who laid the groundwork for science as we know it, finance, economics, mathematics etc. it includes major characters such as Isaac Newton, Liebniz, Hooke, William of Orange, King Louis XIV, and on and on.
I learned a tremendous amount about the history and life at the time, as I read this on Kindle and as such could look up names, places, and references events on Wikipedia to get more context and history.
I've been a Neal Stephenson fan for years, and this was a great read, but be warned: it is LONG. Depending on printing, as much as 4000+ pages in total!
BC is a work of historical fiction with a whole mess of characters, topics, plots, and subplots covering a 60 year time period between the late 1600s and mid 1700s. Honestly there is too much to explain what all happens but in general it's about the Natural Philosophers and other thinkers who laid the groundwork for science as we know it, finance, economics, mathematics etc. it includes major characters such as Isaac Newton, Liebniz, Hooke, William of Orange, King Louis XIV, and on and on.
I learned a tremendous amount about the history and life at the time, as I read this on Kindle and as such could look up names, places, and references events on Wikipedia to get more context and history.
I've been a Neal Stephenson fan for years, and this was a great read, but be warned: it is LONG. Depending on printing, as much as 4000+ pages in total!
December 19, 2019
Wow!! What an amazing trilogy! Loved all three. The only parts that I paged through quickly were the over extended discussions of science or theory. You need to read all three books (I read them individually) to fully appreciate the scope and wonder of Stephenson's work. Wow again!
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May 6, 2017I'M ALWAYS HARPING ON ABOUT IT BUT MOAR MEMERS SHOULD SLOG THEIR WAY THROUGH THE BAROQUE CYCLE SO THEY CAN GO BACK AND READ MY FAVOURITE BITS ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE.
YOU DON'T MAKE IT SOUND TERRIBLY APPEALING.
IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY, REALLY GOOD, BUT IT'S NEAL STEPHENSON AND YOU HAVE TO TRUST HIM TO TIE THREE MASSIVE BOOKS WITH MULTIPLE NARRATIVES TOGETHER.
IN DECEMBER I WANT TO READ BOOKS THAT I HAVEN'T PICKED MYSELF. SO I THOUGHT MEMERS COULD LIST SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE BOOKS OR THE BEST BOOKS THEY'VE READ THIS YEAR OR WHATEVER, AND THEN I WILL USE RANDOM.ORG TO PICK EIGHT OF THOSE TITLES MENTIONED BY MEMERS AND READ THEM! I PROMISE TO SHARE IMPRESSIONS.
JOAN DIDION'S BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER; THE HANDMAID'S TALE; NEAL STEPHENSON'S BAROQUE CYCLE, I FOUND THE FIRST HARD-GOING BUT THE SECOND TWO ARE MUCH QUICKER PACED; DAVID PEACE'S NINETEEN SEVENTY-SEVEN, WHICH IS GRIM AS FUCK BUT HIS PROSE IS RLY INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT SERIAL MURDERS YOU MIGHT PREFER GB84; THE YELLOW BIRDS; AND ONCE YOU BREAK A KNUCKLE, WHICH IS A BUNCH OF INTERLINKED SHORT-STORIES.
I WISH I HAD ANOTHER BIG DOORSTOPPER OF A SATISFYING BOOK LIKE THE LUMINARIES OR JONATHAN STRANGE OR WOLF HALL.
TRY THE BAROQUE CYCLE. OR ANY OF NEAL STEPHENSON'S BOOKS, RLY.
I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE BAROQUE CYCLE. /o\
READ THAT! I FOUND THE FIRST ONE A BIT OF A SLOG BECAUSE IT'S BASICALLY AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DANIEL WATERHOUSE, ISAAC NEWTON AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY, BUT THE REST OF THE PLOT IS ALL SPIES AND HEISTS AND MUCH MOAR ACTION-Y. IT'S RLY GOOD.
DON'T READ IT.
LOL NEAL STEPHENSON BUT I RLY LOVED TREE BAROQUE CYCLE AND IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY THINGS I HAVE READ ABOUT A LOT OF THAT PERIOD OF HISTORY SO I SOMETIMES FIND MYSELF ASSUMING SOMETHING WAS ACTUAL HISTORY WHEN IT WAS JUST BAROQUEFAX.
LOL NEAL STEPHENSON
I READ THE FIRST ONE AND THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GOOD BUT HAVEN'T READ THE OTHER TWO. AND LOL WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT DOING THAT I FEEL LIKE I'D HAVE TO READ THE FIRST ONE AGAIN, AND LOL IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I READ ANY STEPHENSON THAT I'M NOT SURE I COULD HANDLE IT.
YOU DON'T MAKE IT SOUND TERRIBLY APPEALING.
IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY, REALLY GOOD, BUT IT'S NEAL STEPHENSON AND YOU HAVE TO TRUST HIM TO TIE THREE MASSIVE BOOKS WITH MULTIPLE NARRATIVES TOGETHER.
IN DECEMBER I WANT TO READ BOOKS THAT I HAVEN'T PICKED MYSELF. SO I THOUGHT MEMERS COULD LIST SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE BOOKS OR THE BEST BOOKS THEY'VE READ THIS YEAR OR WHATEVER, AND THEN I WILL USE RANDOM.ORG TO PICK EIGHT OF THOSE TITLES MENTIONED BY MEMERS AND READ THEM! I PROMISE TO SHARE IMPRESSIONS.
JOAN DIDION'S BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER; THE HANDMAID'S TALE; NEAL STEPHENSON'S BAROQUE CYCLE, I FOUND THE FIRST HARD-GOING BUT THE SECOND TWO ARE MUCH QUICKER PACED; DAVID PEACE'S NINETEEN SEVENTY-SEVEN, WHICH IS GRIM AS FUCK BUT HIS PROSE IS RLY INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT SERIAL MURDERS YOU MIGHT PREFER GB84; THE YELLOW BIRDS; AND ONCE YOU BREAK A KNUCKLE, WHICH IS A BUNCH OF INTERLINKED SHORT-STORIES.
I WISH I HAD ANOTHER BIG DOORSTOPPER OF A SATISFYING BOOK LIKE THE LUMINARIES OR JONATHAN STRANGE OR WOLF HALL.
TRY THE BAROQUE CYCLE. OR ANY OF NEAL STEPHENSON'S BOOKS, RLY.
I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE BAROQUE CYCLE. /o\
READ THAT! I FOUND THE FIRST ONE A BIT OF A SLOG BECAUSE IT'S BASICALLY AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DANIEL WATERHOUSE, ISAAC NEWTON AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY, BUT THE REST OF THE PLOT IS ALL SPIES AND HEISTS AND MUCH MOAR ACTION-Y. IT'S RLY GOOD.
DON'T READ IT.
LOL NEAL STEPHENSON BUT I RLY LOVED TREE BAROQUE CYCLE AND IT IS ONE OF THE ONLY THINGS I HAVE READ ABOUT A LOT OF THAT PERIOD OF HISTORY SO I SOMETIMES FIND MYSELF ASSUMING SOMETHING WAS ACTUAL HISTORY WHEN IT WAS JUST BAROQUEFAX.
LOL NEAL STEPHENSON
I READ THE FIRST ONE AND THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GOOD BUT HAVEN'T READ THE OTHER TWO. AND LOL WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT DOING THAT I FEEL LIKE I'D HAVE TO READ THE FIRST ONE AGAIN, AND LOL IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I READ ANY STEPHENSON THAT I'M NOT SURE I COULD HANDLE IT.
June 20, 2024
While I can understand how some readers might be put off by this writer's style and wordiness, I find him comfortable and familiar (except for all the mathematics: ever since my lazy 4th grade teacher employed flash cards, I've suffered from math anxiety, and not even switching to a Waldorf school could cure me). The language in this series is often archaic, so it helped me a LOT to read it on a Kindle with access to a dictionary and Wikipedia. But as these stories take place several centuries ago, I think it is justified. (My dad taught English and drama in my high school; we consumed mass quantities of Shakespeare, plus T.S Eliot, Milton, some challenging James Joyce, and the even more challenging Beowulf, etc.)
Some readers might be frustrated by the central romantic theme, but I consider it more realistic, which is odd considering this is a fantasy work.
But connections between alchemy (magic) and "chymestry" (science), as taken on by Isaac Newton, Leibniz, and others, intrigued me. If you're interested in the history of chemistry and currency (I didn't think I was, but then I read it all with fascination), then this might just grab you.
Some readers might be frustrated by the central romantic theme, but I consider it more realistic, which is odd considering this is a fantasy work.
But connections between alchemy (magic) and "chymestry" (science), as taken on by Isaac Newton, Leibniz, and others, intrigued me. If you're interested in the history of chemistry and currency (I didn't think I was, but then I read it all with fascination), then this might just grab you.
January 24, 2024
These incredible books changed everything for me. From the way I see the world to the way I see myself, reading these books was completely transformative. Stephenson is a master storyteller, and I can only imagine the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the construction of this yarn. If you like history (sometimes turned on its head), a sprawling cast of characters, a hint of magic - just a hint - and being told a truly great story in multiple forms these books will more than satisfy. It's a challenging read - no page blasting - because every single word is specifically and artfully chosen. Jack Shaftoe, the protagonist, is easily my favorite literary character. His journey becomes your journey, and the people you meet along way....oh my! This is one of my favorite stories to play "Cast the HBO Series" with others who have read the books. And finally, the final book in the series, The System of the World, is one of the few books that left me sobbing upon completion. Not because it has a sad ending, but because the magnificent tale had come to a perfect end.
July 19, 2015
The reader should recognize from the start that this is a "three thousand page novel." The volume and books into which it is subdivided represent different points of view on a single revolutionary process - the industrial revolution and the rise of classical liberalism. The story relegates rulers, soldiers, and inventors to background positions, focusing instead on proto-scientists, financiers, women, and crooks.
The Baroque Cycle is a true epic, including round-the-world travel and the intertwined life stories of several characters. Its listing as fantasy is due solely to occasional visits by Enoch Root (apparently the immortal wandering Jew) who affects the story "hardly at all" and embodies disappointment in the ideals of alchemy.
The Baroque Cycle is a true epic, including round-the-world travel and the intertwined life stories of several characters. Its listing as fantasy is due solely to occasional visits by Enoch Root (apparently the immortal wandering Jew) who affects the story "hardly at all" and embodies disappointment in the ideals of alchemy.
July 18, 2016
This is a huge story with lots of big ideas in it. However the characters are engaging and the ending is a real payoff. I enjoyed the story and the science. It is a tad overwritten in some spots but this cycle has been on my bucket list for a while and I am glad I read it.
June 2, 2022
A well-researched, thought-provoking trilogy of novels about the metamorphosis of alchemy into modern science in the 17th & 18th centuries. Clarke Award winner, 2004; Locus SF Award winner, 2005; Prometheus Award, 2005.
Want to read
January 7, 2016I am not going to finish it...I don't have the stamina.
September 11, 2016
Phenomenal scale and scope, the Age of Enlightenment comes to life in these pages.
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