Neal Stephenson's "The Baroque Cycle"

[bookslover]

Has anyone read the three humungous novels that make up Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle - Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World? Together, they total about 2600 pages of reading.

There is a long review (entitled "The Half-Bound World") of the Cycle by John Derbyshire at the website of the journal The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Society (www.thenewatlantis.com). I haven't read any of the books yet, though Derbyshire's review makes me want to. An excerpt from his review:

The deep theme of the "Cycle" is the birth of modern ways of thinking in science, religion, politics, and business. In all these zones, contrasts between the old and the new are clearly drawn. Nor are we allowed to forget that those contrasts often appeared in the same person, as in the case of Isaac Newton. No one did more to establish modern styles of thought about the physical world; yet Newton was obsessed by alchemy and by hidden messages in the Bible.

There's much more to this, as Derbyshire points out. Read the whole thing.
The novels sound fascinating.

 

[CDM]

Has anyone read the three humungous novels that make up Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle - Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World? Together, they total about 2600 pages of reading.

There is a long review (entitled "The Half-Bound World") of the Cycle by John Derbyshire at the website of the journal The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Society (www.thenewatlantis.com). I haven't read any of the books yet, though Derbyshire's review makes me want to. An excerpt from his review:

The deep theme of the "Cycle" is the birth of modern ways of thinking in science, religion, politics, and business. In all these zones, contrasts between the old and the new are clearly drawn. Nor are we allowed to forget that those contrasts often appeared in the same person, as in the case of Isaac Newton. No one did more to establish modern styles of thought about the physical world; yet Newton was obsessed by alchemy and by hidden messages in the Bible.

There's much more to this, as Derbyshire points out. Read the whole thing.
The novels sound fascinating.

I have heard that Quicksilver is one of the most intelligent and provocative sci-fi novels ever written. It has been on my Amazon wish list for years now.

 

[CDM]

Also, see Cryptonomicon.

Here is the official site for Cryptonomicon.

Coolest title for a book ever.

 

[CDM]

Also, Snow Crash and the one that made him famous Cyberpunk. These books have been at the top of my must read list in my "Pleasure Reading" category.

Unfortunately, that list will collect dust with the "Seminary reading" list taking precedence.

 

[etexas]

I felt "Cycle" was a bit slow and tedious , having said that literature is art and art is subjective. You might want to borrow rather than purchase to get a feel for the writing, you might well like it.