Quicksilver

Volume One of The Baroque Cycle

Paperback, 927 pages

English language

Published Nov. 19, 2004 by Perennial.

ISBN:
978-0-06-059308-7
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OCLC Number:
56669004

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4 stars (10 reviews)

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 …

16 editions

reviewed Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (The Baroque cycle -- v. 1)

Review of 'Quicksilver' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

What a mess! This volume commits several heinous sins; the Sin of Protagonist Switching occurs twice. The Sin of Rambling Aimlessly occurs through out. The Sin of Being Pointless might possibly be redeemed in the remaining volumes...but can I be bothered to read them?

There are fun and exciting passages that account for the two star rating but they are islands floating on the structural swamp.

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Subjects

  • Eighteenth century
  • Adventure stories
  • Scientists
  • Seventeenth century
  • Alchemists
  • Fiction

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