| In an epic story that ranges between 1655 and 1713, and from Massachusetts Bay Colony and London to the silver mines of Saxony and the wars against the Turks in what eventually become Austria and Hungary, Stephenson chronicles the thoughts and adventures of characters from the lowliest Thames River scum to the kings of England and France, their courts, and the distant relations who plot against them. Daniel Waterhouse is a mediocre scientific mind, friend and classmate of Newton at Cambridge in the 1660s, and through Dan we meet many of the other celebrated British scientists of the time -- when alchemy is giving way to the Scientific Revolution, but the two are still hard to tell apart. Jack Shaftoe, a Thames River "mudlark" and his brother Bob seek their fortunes as mercenaries on the continent, and Jack eventually hooks up with Eliza, a whip-smart and erotically inventive gal enslaved up north and raised in a Turkish harem. Eliza makes her way back up the map, becoming acquainted with Dr. Leibniz, nobles of the French court of Louis XIV, and William of Orange, plotter to the English throne. London burns, the plague returns, Protestants and Catholics war against and torture one another in various times and places, pagans hold their ceremonies in the mountains of Eastern Europe, and many other surprising things (as well as familiar Stephenson themes such as cryptography) pass across these sprawling 916 pages -- the first part of a projected trilogy called "The Baroque Cycle." Historic figures who appear in cameo range from young Ben Franklin to Samuel Pepys. Dense and complicated, mostly readable save for some slow sections, this 2003 extravaganza may prove too much for fans of Stephenson's past sci-fi (I know at least one person who began to reread it as soon as he finished), and too playful and cockeyed for readers of more traditional historic fiction. On the other hand, it just might hook both. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1600-1899 - Romance/Romance Problems Yes Kind of romance: Life of a profession: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Job/Profession/Status story Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - long lived adults Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast Europe Yes European country: - England/UK - France City? Yes City: - London Misc setting Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - orgies - impregnation/reproduction - actual description of hetero sex - Boob talk! - Weiner talk! Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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