"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
In the second book, Stephenson introduces Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. "Half-Cocked" Jack (also know as the "King of the Vagabonds") recovers the English Eliza from a Turkish harem. Fleeing the siege of Vienna, the two journey across Europe driven by Eliza's lust for fame, fortune, and nobility. Gradually, their circle intertwines with that of Daniel in the third book of the novel.
The book courses with Stephenson's scholarship but is rarely bogged down in its historical detail. Stephenson is especially impressive in his ability to represent dialogue over the evolving worldview of seventeenth-century scientists and enliven the most abstruse explanation of theory. Though replete with science, the novel is as much about the complex struggles for political ascendancy and the workings of financial markets. Further, the novel's literary ambitions match its physical size. Stephenson narrates through epistolary chapters, fragments of plays and poems, journal entries, maps, drawings, genealogic tables, and copious contemporary epigrams. But, caught in this richness, the prose is occasionally neglected and wants editing. Further, anticipating a cycle, the book does not provide a satisfying conclusion to its 900 pages. These are minor quibbles, though. Stephenson has matched ambition to execution, and his faithful, durable readers will be both entertained and richly rewarded with a practicum in Baroque science, cypher, culture, and politics. --Patrick O'Kelley
Neal Stephenson is the bestselling author of the novels Reamde, Anathem, The System of the World, The Confusion, Quicksilver, Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Zodiac, and the groundbreaking nonfiction work In the Beginning . . . Was the Command Line. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 3485598-n
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780060833169
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. 0.5. Seller Inventory # 0060833165-2-1
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 0.5. Seller Inventory # 353-0060833165-new
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780060833169
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9780060833169
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLING22Oct2018170000695
Book Description Softcover. Condition: New. Reprint. In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues 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. Seller Inventory # DADAX0060833165
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues 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. Set against the backdrop of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, this first installment of Stephenson's multi-volume epic is available in mass market. The Baroque Cycle brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in a time of breathtaking genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined an age. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780060833169
Book Description Condition: New. . Seller Inventory # 52GZZZ00T94A_ns