Quicksilver

Quicksilver

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.

Author Neal Stephenson Published 2003-09-23 Type Fiction Genre Adventure Themes Adventure, Historical fiction Age Group Adult

Quicksilver is a historic fiction novel by Neal Stephenson and published on 2003-09-23 and makes up the first three volumes of The Baroque Cycle. The book consists of three smaller books, Quicksilver, The King of the Vagabonds, and Odalisque. The sequel is The Confusion.

The book follows three characters made up for the story as they interact with an otherwise historical England during the days of Isaac Newton, Gottfried Leibniz, Robert Hooke, and various other members of the Royal Society.

Personal

Own?	Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.
Read?	Audiobook read by Kevin Pariseau and Katherine Kellgren.
Finished	2016.

Having read Snow Crash, I was already a fan of Stephenson, and, when I saw Quicksilver on clearance for only seven dollars, I had to buy it. I originally started reading this book shortly after it was published, but never finished the first book. A few years later, I re-started it, and finished book 1 and almost book 2, but gave up on it. I later found an audio book version of it and restarted it from the beginning. It's a daunting read, but extremely worth it.

Review

Overall:

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• For the vast majority of the book, I enjoyed the story and characters which is quite a feat considering how long the book is.
• The attention to detail on the various cultures of the time and the vast array of historical figures is astounding.
• I liked the inclusion of the ancestors from the Cryptonomicon. The Shaftoes, Waterhouses, and Roots had impressive lineages.
• The character Enoch Root, who seems to have discovered the philosophical mercury, is particularly interesting.

Bad

• While I thoroughly enjoyed the characters Jack and Eliza, I kept wishing they would have more interactions with the members of the Royal Society, as I wanted to know more about the scientific discoveries.
• The Shaftoe and Waterhouse link from the Cryptonomicon goes too far, to the point of being unbelievable.
• There seemed to be a bit of padding, parts of the story that were unimportant to the plot, but even they weren't very tedious.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Covers

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  The US first edition cover uses the LTC Pabst Oldstyle typeface over an old mechanical drawing. The coloration is a silvery mercury-like color. It's a bit dull but fitting.

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass
Bechdel test?	Unknown
Strong person of color character?	Unknown
Queer character?	Unknown

Links