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| Topics | | messages | Last message | | | 50 Book Challenge : Shinyone's 50 for 2009 | | 88 | shinyone, Yesterday 8:58am |  |
| 50 Book Challenge : Jintster's 50 book birthday challenge | | 55 | jintster, Friday 11:58am | |
| 75 Books Challenge for 2009 : justchris 2009 | | 232 | justchris, Wednesday 10:18pm | |
| 1010 Category Challenge : divinenanny's 1010 challenge | | 46 | divinenanny, Wednesday 3:57am | |
| FantasyFans : Abandoning ship mid-trilogy | | 46 | ashleyckrr, November 4 | |
| 1010 Category Challenge : Miela's 1010 List | | 21 | Miela, November 1 | |
| History at 30,000 feet: The Big Picture : Classical Studies | | 21 | geneg, October 22 | |
| Book talk : Things I’ve noticed: Dune really wrecked Science Fiction | | 31 | MonkeyRobo, September 6 | |
| Literary Snobs : August 2009 Reading | | 106 | CliffBurns, August 31 | |
| 999 Challenge : divinenanny's 999 challenge | | 1 | divinenanny, July 28 | |
| Science Fiction Fans : Anti-Recommendations | | 82 | justifiedsinner, June 20 | |
| What Are You Reading Now? : What You Are Reading the Week of 25 April 2009 | | 212 | Breez, May 28 | |
| 75 Books Challenge for 2009 : AlcottAcre's 2009 Reads, Take 4 | | 284 | TadAD, May 3 | |
| The Green Dragon : Most HATED books | | 199 | cal8769, April 19 | |
| 75 Books Challenge for 2009 : wid_get's 2009 non school related challenge | | 4 | fantasia655, March 4 | |
| The Green Dragon : favourite wizard/s | | 43 | Severn, November 2008 | |
| What Are You Reading Now? : Do you read voluminous books? Will you recommend them? | | 27 | belinthesun, July 2008 | |
| The Green Dragon : Books that you have enjoyed the most~ fiction | | 44 | Severn, July 2008 | |
| The Green Dragon : How To Feel Loved - Not | | 50 | Severn, July 2008 | |
| What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 5 July 2008 | | 264 | Whicker, July 2008 | |
| FantasyFans : Fantasy Set in the Past | | 41 | Ilithyia, July 2008 | |
| The Green Dragon : The Do Not Bother To Read Before You Die Thread | | 70 | theduckthief, July 2008 | |
| Science Fiction Fans : Recommendation | | 29 | bobmcconnaughey, July 2008 | |
| Book talk : Neal Stephenson | | 17 | reademwritem, June 2008 | |
| Book talk : Guess the Book Ver 2.0 | | 308 | thorold, June 2008 | |
| List Five Books Parlour Game : A coat of many colours | | 24 | lakingston, May 2008 | |
| Combiners! : Combining Withdrawal | | 20 | PaulFoley, May 2008 | |
| Early Reviewers : May books are up! | | 57 | medievalmama, May 2008 | |
| 50 Book Challenge : Samjane's 50 Books starts here | | 2 | sussabmax, May 2008 | |
| Reading Globally : Pacific Islands | | 18 | sigridsmith, April 2008 | |
| Bug Collectors : cover annoyance! | | 26 | boekerij, April 2008 | |
| Dormant: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : Anyone else disappointed? and what next? | | 21 | FrannyUsa, April 2008 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Have you been bad recently (bought any books), Part 4 | | 431 | clamairy, April 2008 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Tell us what you are reading now, Part IV | | 161 | littlebookworm, March 2008 | |
| Dormant: Bug Collectors : Fiction Listed in MPBYDH: Non-fiction | | 3 | hailelib, February 2008 | |
| Dormant: Book talk : Which book did you give up reading this month? Why? | | 69 | usnmm2, February 2008 | |
| Dormant: Book talk : Neal Stephenson | | 6 | RBH228, February 2008 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 5 January 2008 | | 170 | abealy, January 2008 | |
| Dormant: Science Fiction Fans : [Snow Crash], proof that the Hugo Awards are paid for? | | 24 | aprillee, December 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Books that begin with "Q" | | 36 | reconditereader, December 2007 | |
| Dormant: Reading Resolutions : Five big books you will read in 2007 | | 95 | RSHabroptilus, December 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Non-quality-related reason for quitting a book | | 39 | MrsLee, November 2007 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 13 October 2007 | | 167 | Cariola, October 2007 | |
| Dormant: Science Fiction Fans : What is your fave book/author? | | 50 | sussabmax, September 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Island | | 19 | MrsLee, September 2007 | |
| Dormant: Science Fiction Fans : Favorite scifi from the last 10 years | | 90 | pivox, August 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Current To Be Read Lists | | 22 | hobbitprincess, June 2007 | |
| Dormant: Science Fiction Fans : Defining Science Fiction | | 50 | Navigator7, June 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Any books that were a real challenge to slug through? | | 51 | pollysmith, June 2007 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 31 Mar 2007 | | 145 | LynCollett, June 2007 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 10 Mar 2007 | | 125 | stringcat3, May 2007 | |
| Dormant: Science Fiction Fans : Recommendations, Of a Modern Sort | | 39 | avaland, May 2007 | |
| Dormant: Esoterica : The Last Five Books Your Read | | 15 | Hera, May 2007 | |
| Dormant: Science Fiction Fans : Message Board | | 91 | jmgold, April 2007 | |
| Dormant: 50 Book Challenge : kyleblack's list | | 11 | kyleblack, April 2007 | |
| Dormant: Book talk : Need help before Noon CST | | 19 | tiffin, March 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : "Beware the Ides of March" | | 50 | Busifer, March 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : What have you pre-ordered? | | 54 | punkypower, February 2007 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 3 Feb 2007 | | 127 | neekeebee, February 2007 | |
| Dormant: Book talk : More fun with libraries/Rainbow | | 33 | annabethblue, January 2007 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : Your Top Five for 2006 | | 104 | momom248, January 2007 | |
| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Where do you read, and in what position?? | | 25 | MrsLee, January 2007 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 30 Sep 2006 | | 100 | Oocels, October 2006 | |
| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 16 Sep 2006 | | 87 | nickhoonaloon, October 2006 | |
| 75 Books Challenge for 2009 : Hobbit lit 2009 | | 184 | alcottacre, Today 1:43am |
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| 50 Book Challenge : bluesalamanders 2009 | | 76 | bluesalamanders, Sunday 10:16pm |
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| Club Read 2009 : Bob McConnaughey's 2009 reading | | 259 | arubabookwoman, September 28 |
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| Awful Lit. : I can't believe I wasted my time on this con't... | | 223 | Depressed_Bird, September 15 |
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| Awful Lit. : I can't believe I wasted my time on this... | | 465 | Hunterin, September 14 |
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| 75 Books Challenge for 2009 : Magemanda's 75 books for 2009 | | 89 | magemanda, September 3 |
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| Book talk : Books that everyone loves and you hate | | 501 | bookladykm, August 8 |
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| Club Read 2009 : Joycepa's 2009 reading, Part 2 | | 283 | MusicMom41, July 11 |
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| 75 Books Challenge for 2009 : AlcottAcre's 2009 Reads, Take 5 | | 314 | nannybebette, June 10 |
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| FantasyFans : Very heavy fantasy - recommendations please! | | 42 | Zare, March 13 |
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| 75 Books Challenge for 2008 : The Chronicles of Wunderkind | | 206 | TheTortoise, January 2 |
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| Book talk : Loooonnnnngggg Novels | | 94 | Mr.Durick, December 2008 |
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| The Green Dragon : Next Round of 'What are you Reading Now?' | | 245 | mrgrooism, October 2008 |
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| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Do you have BABLE? | | 79 | Vampir, March 2008 |
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| Dormant: The Green Dragon : Books you've read that you should have enjoyed... | | 31 | clamairy, March 2008 |
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| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 3 November 2007 | | 180 | Lantzy, November 2007 |
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| Dormant: FantasyFans : Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. | | 53 | onetrooluff, October 2007 |
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| Dormant: The Green Dragon : What are your favorite genres besides fantasy? | | 48 | tiffin, March 2007 |
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| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : Your Bottom Five for 2006 | | 103 | dchaikin, January 2007 |
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| Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 9 Sep 2006 | | 89 | janehyde, November 2006 |
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... Hooke, Christopher Wren, Huygens, Liebniz... among others. I think it is impossible to read only one of the books, but Quicksilver is the first.
The history of science is only one layer, though - it is also about money and banking, and bizarrely enough it is an adventure story as well.
... Yes, the same. But this stuff is very different from Snow Crash. Not to mention the books (Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver, Confusion & The System of the World /last three are the Baroque Cycle, but they are all connected/) would had benefited from an editor, to say the least. Still, I enjoyed ... Stellar, have you read The Man who Knew Too Much, the Robert Hooke bio? If so, what did you think?
In his Baroque Cycle Neal Stephenson touches the evolution of science and the scientific method. Of course it's fiction, but the depiction of the Royal Society around 1670 is... interesting. ... C-4 - Science fiction
0/1
1) Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
2) De kronieken van Cadwal: Station Araminta - Jack Vance
3) Blood Music - Greg Bear
4) Excession - Iain M. Banks
5) Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman 1. A big fat Neal Stephenson novel - Quicksilver (darn Touchstone refuses to accept author's name) I was just at a site today where an online reviewer was complaining about a Neal Stephenson book called Quicksilver and how he found it pretty padded - it's a shame too as I (and the reviewer) both like Neal Stephenson normally. ... term "electrical generator" has 8 syllables and therefore can't be used when composing haiku in the heat of battle. I have Quicksilver ready to read, but it will be awhile. It's not as big as this one, but I'm back in school and need to do some other reading first. ... pitch, "Anathem" moves along calmly and discursively. The discursiveness hasn't bugged me, in sharp contrast to the Baroque Cycle novels' intrusively excessive wordiness.
#11 - Folks might enjoy the secret history of modernism an intriguing novel of Brit/colonial academia set in Gre ... ... pitch, "Anathem" moves along calmly and discursively. The discursiveness hasn't bugged me, in sharp contrast to the Baroque Cycle novels' intrusively excessive wordiness. ... strongly third Snow Crash, which I consider a classic of sorts. I'm not familiar with Diamond Age. I think I'll let Quicksilver linger on the book shelf a bit longer. Definitely interested in your take on Anathem. ... Anthem a try or not. I really liked Diamond Age and snow crash was quite fun, but I just hated every single word of quicksilver than I'm reluctent to spend even just a few minutes on Stephenson again. Which of his previous books is Anthem most like? ... (14-06-2009)
4. Eon - Greg Bear (11-06-2009)
5. Anathem - Neal Stephenson (03-03-2009)
6. Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
7. A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller
3. Historical adventure (Da Vinci Code like)
1. The Venetian Betrayal ... ... should have gone for the hardback version so I could at least lay it down on a table to read. I've actually got a copy of Quicksilver coming too because I've enjoyed Cryptonomicon so far. I think it's just about as big. I'm a little over a third through it, just like you.
Here's ... ... after I've read one book, I'm happy to stop there. But there are many trilogies I've happily read all the way through! The Baroque Cycle, Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders, Assassin series, Tawny Man series, (I read them all but the Soldier Son trilogy was very boring going!), etc. etc. etc. ... ... seems to be necessary and to me at least is annoying.
Morrow seems to have been influenced by Neal Stephenson's Baroque Trilogy. Feisty, clever heroine tick; adventures around the world tick; C17th scientists and politicians as characters tick. But his scope is much narrower and the ... ... Love, the cat who walked through walls.
Niven/Pournelle collaborations. One was plenty.
The last two volumes of the baroque cycle. Neal Stephenson. And i really like his books up till that point.
Robert Anton Wilson. If you want conspiracy theory SF try Jack Womack, going, ... 29. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
I was happy to have a quiet night at home tonight so that I could finally finish this behemoth. Most of the time while I was reading it I was thinking that Cryptonomicon was better, but I found myself reaching the end and wanting to go grab the next volume ... ... theoretically have lots more time to read, I have started a couple of biggish books that I have been waiting to read: Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson and Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. I am going to really, really try not to rush through them.
I still need to finish ... ... you're going to find because Stout had a policy that, though the calendar years passed, Nero and Archie never aged. :-)
Quicksilver has never managed to catch my eye enough for me to read it. I don't know why. I have his Anathem on the TBR pile just waiting for a time when I feel like a ... ... you're going to find because Stout had a policy that, though the calendar years passed, Nero and Archie never aged. :-)
Quicksilver has never managed to catch my eye enough for me to read it. I don't know why. I have his Anathem on the TBR pile just waiting for a time when I feel like a ... I'm struggling through The Confusion by Neal Stephenson (the second in a massive trilogy). I enjoyed Quicksilver in the most part, but these books need a serious amount of concentration to get the most out of them. ... - my first Nero Wolfe novel which I listened to in audiobook form and I had a great time with it!; recommended
181. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson - this book is not what I think of as traditional historical fiction, but Stephenson's take on historical fiction; I enjoyed this book ... #170: I am still on the first book, Quicksilver. At this point (about 200 pages in), I am still not sure where it is taking me. #39: I am currently reading Quicksilver, too. I have not yet reached the second part of the book, though. I am reading the trilogy in preparation for reading Stephenson's Cryptonomicon later this year. Well, what a book to reach 30 with - took me ages! And two more in the trilogy, hope I don't get too bogged down :-)
30) Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
"It is so very hard to classify this book - the first in an extremely weighty trilogy (this book alone weighs in at over 900 pages!) Is it ... ... it took me a couple of tries (and twelve dollars in library fines, but that's another story) -- the Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World are a sort of 'prequel' to Cryptonomicon. They're more historical fiction in style, but also deal with ... ... Maguire re-read
10. Thursday Next, First Among Sequels, Jasper Fforde
11. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
12. Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson
13. Confusion, Neal Stephenson
14. System of the World, Neal Stephenson
Books Read AFTER 2/27 - Non School related
MARCH:
1 ... ... book club
Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link SantaThing book
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson Although I heartily disliked it you could try the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. Alternate history in detailed depth.
Lord Foul's Bane is worth trying, I love Donaldson's works. It is certainly heavy fantasy, but not historical in any way. There is a detailed world, with some urban ... Recently started the enormous tomb Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson it's a good start, we'll see how it develops. ... two books in print, or even hear about them in some way, shape, or form.
Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle trilogy (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World) are all easily over nine hundred pages and all quite wonderful for the historical-fiction-magical-realism-etc. ... ... be a bad idea to skip it, although the majority of the reviews on LT seem to disagree with me. "Tepid" was my reaction to Quicksilver--so far, Cryptonomicon is the only one I'm glad I read. I should add that Snow Crash is very entertaining at first--it's when Stephenson started to get all ... The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson maybe?
No fantasy? there are lots of fantasy and Sci fi series which would let you stay with the characters quite a while...
Recently...
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson
A River Never Sleeps by Roderick L. Haig-Brown
And I recently re-read and thoroughly enjoyed the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser R.I.P.
E ... 44) Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson--Simply put, this book is AWESOME. I read Stephenson's Quicksilver a few years ago and thought it was way overrated, but I was willing to give him another try when I found out this book covered two of my favorite historical topics: WWII and cryptography. Al ... 1/2 way through Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan, and getting ready to start Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. I seem to be on a cyberpunk kick at present. >26 or The Baroque Cycle.
... but I'm interested by #36 which claims name of the rose wasn't so bad? Any other supporters for this view?
Quicksilver I don't like historical fantasy /alternative history much anyway, and this is a prime example of why I don't.
#45 Sean Williams has written some reasonably ... I'm really weird, I have read Cryptonomicon at least trice, and the Baroque Cycle twice (I think). Of course, lots of sequences were you can just flip pages until the real story resumes, at least in the Cryptonomicon, but I still both enjoyed and liked it.
I liked The name of the rose as ... Books CAN be a good gift, though. I gave my dad Cryptonomicon one Yule and he subsequently went on to buy and read the Baroque Cycle, plus LOTS of books on WWII and cryptography, and biographies and historic texts about the period described to the late 17th century and science history.
Another, ... I could never get into Snow Crash but i enjoyed Quicksilver and Cryptonomicon quite a bit. Quicksilver was okay, I thought. I loved Cryptonomicon, however. I haven't read any of his others yet. I enjoyed Quicksilver but found the sequel, whose title I can't remember, to be a complete bore. Where Quicksilver is pretty much about baroque era scientific research and discovery, the little I read of the second book seemed to be a love story that was poorly done, and completely uninteresting. ... ... the worst features - he just does not know how to end a book.
Diamond age was brilliant (apart from the ending), Quicksilver just isn't. Quicksilver? I'm sure it's not, but I'm getting desperate here. ... from each other by title an author alone? I can't find the thread.
Hm; neither can I.
Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver and The System of the World are each two distinct works. ... rt:
Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel
1215 The Year of Magna Carta by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
City of God by E.L. Doctorow for the 1% challenge
After the Quake by Haruki ... Actually, according to Amazon, Anathem is 32 pages shorter than Quicksilver. I need to read the rest of the cycle sometime.... >14 Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver and The System of the World are each two separate works (Quicksilver is the first volume of both the original 3-volume edition and the later 8-volume edition of The Baroque Cycle; The System of the World is the 3rd of the first and the 8th of the second, so ... ... Shors
The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Blood and Roses - Helen Castor
Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
Shield of Three Lions - Pamela Kaufman
The Ve ... I resent the idea of Quicksilver being a Gross Exposition but I know we have different opinions on that... so I'll respect the choice anyway ;-) Quicksilver - I like Neal's writing, but this I was just bored by. It goes on and on and on with annoying characters little action and no sense of direction whatsoever.
Jane Eyre - get a grip women.
Also Gardens of the moon - I quite liked the premise, but too many characters, too ... ... man who knew too much, a bio about Robert Hooke, on extended loan from my father.
I guess he got intrigued when he read The Baroque Cycle (Cryptonomicon, which was a gift to him from me, had him reading into crypto history; he's that kind of person) and as my parents can't store one more ... ... Club
31. Breakfast of Champions
38. Twilight (no touchstone; author is Stephenie Meyer)
42. Quicksilver
50. Night Watch (can't find touchstone; author is Terry Pratchett)
... nowehere near as good as diamond age which could have done with a harsh editor to cut some of the unecessary verbiage. Quicksilver is even more long winded without the redeeming technological implications of a future society. SO I'd say avoid at all costs. However to be fair, some people ... The Baroque Cycle is tremendous, but so sprawling that it is taking me a long time to get through it. Cryptonomicon is far and away his best work, although Snow Crash is also wonderful. Neal Stephenson, William Gibson and Iain M. Banks redefined Science Fiction philosojerk (#2)--I really liked Cryptonomicon as well. Have you read Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World)? A big time commitment, but well worth it, in my opinion. ... of Insanity, Questions of Gender: Perspectives and Paradoxes (why touchstone dead?), Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, Quicksilver (I liked it a lot and I don't think you need Cryptonomicon to enjoy the series), and The Quiet Therapies: Japanese Pathways to Personal Growth. Quicksilver. Not to everyone's liking, though. 'Steampunk' SF. And to really appreciate it you have to read Cryptonomicon before. Both are 900+ tomes. But if you like them you have two more 900+ page books to follow up with (Confusion and System of the World) ;-) ... Eddings
Probably loads of other Queens too - touchstone Queen give 99+ including Queen of Angels by Bear
Quicksilver by Stephenson
None of which I'd actually recommend you seek out. Queen of Angels is OK ish, if you can get it dirt cheap.
Queen of sorcery is a very ... ... The Stress of Her Regard is set around the lives of Byron, Shelley et al. The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson Quicksilver, The Confusion and The System of the World are clearly historical in setting and have fantasy elements too.
(Not sure why Neal Stephenson's name doesn't ... ... about economics. He writes about social and political systems, where economics plays a part, but not the whole as does Quicksilver. ... I feel that if someone made it through that, I could at least read about it. I couldn't though beyond a certain point.
Quicksilver was one for me that I was very disappointed to have to put down. It simply got more graphic than I wanted in my brain, but I was really enjoying it up to that ... (sorry for the accidental double post) ... characteristics of "Science fiction", without actually being "science fiction". There are enough of them (Quicksilver, Pattern Recognition, etc.) to constitute a distinct sub-genre, but I can't for the life of me come up with a name for this stuff.) > #11
Ah, yes, Quicksilver and it's two siblings! The books were a conceit. They were written to investigate the origins of our modern way of thought as if some of the historical characters thought as we did (rational, scientific, fingers on the economic pulse) rather than as most people did ... ... Rediker and The Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover (through Early Reviewers). I've been slogging through Quicksilver (Neal Stephenson) for quite a while now, and hopefully will finish that this week. I'm about to start Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution ... Still plodding through Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. Yesterday I started The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker which is excellent so far. My current commute-book is Bookmark Now!, a collection of essays by young writers which I'm enjoying.
{Some touchstones are ... ... are sometimes referred to as Pacific Islanders.
Pacific islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania 1 (although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago),
Melanesia means black islands. These include New Guinea (the largest Pa ... ... preferably all.
Maybe some Neal Stephenson - a desert islan might be the only place where I could plough through the baroque cycle. ...
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Iron Council by China Mieville
Edit: Forgot one I wanted to add: Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson ... that needless "Hogwarts Battle" scene!!) The Prologue was crappy, but that's not news.
I'm going to start reading Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson next, it looks big and detailed enough to fill a gap. If you haven't read The Baker's Boy by J.V. Jones you might give that a try, I think ... #1 - I enjoyed Quicksilver - read the whole cycle twice..., and Pattern recognition was, at least, OK :-)
Have to run to work now, add my TBR later ;-) ... The ones I added today are as follows.
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Quicksilver: The Baroque Cycle 1 by Neal Stephenson
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
I also have the entire ... So... like r_f said somewhere up there in the message stratosphere I really enjoyed Quicksilver (and Confusion and The System of the World... and Cryptonomicon /which accidentally got me into reading a couple of pop science books on crypto + crypto history.../).
So, all great minds are not ... ... Eliot's Silas Marner and Mill on the Floss. I couldn't put down any of Neil Stephenson's books, particularly the Baroque Cycle, but I LOVE historical fiction, and I found his writing to be extraordinarily evocative for the genre.
I think the hardest for me to ever get through was ... ... 5 pages I had to put it down to think.
I am sorry to hear that some people had issues with The Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle. When I started reading these books I could hardly put them down. Plus Half-Cock Jack has to be the coolest character in history. ... we have to hurt Neal Stephenson, there are books that deserve it far, far more. I've heard rather unkind things about Quicksilver and the other two, which is why I avoided them like the plague.
Cryptonomicon was fun, but tedious as all hell at times. Quicksilver it didn't help that I really didn't care for or even about the characters either. I know Busifer disagrees with me and loved this. But I found it a huge slog. 20000 leagues under the sea isn't much better - a little bit of action and pages and pages of fish descriptions - I mean I ... ... I'd consider "the best" - Pashazade, Effendi & Felaheen + Stamping Butterflies; Snowcrash + Cryptonomicon and Quicksilver, Confusion & The System of the World; Left Hand of Darkness + Dispossessed + ...; The Foreigner : a novel of first contact Universe books...
As ... Quicksilver I know lots of people who loved it. I've loved earlier works by neal Stephenson but this was just turgid. 900 pages of turgid dull dross. I have better things to do with my time. More ideas for you
Count of Monte Christo and of course Neal Stephenson's latest offerings in the Baroque cycle.
And I'm sure you are all eagerly awaiting Deathly Hallows which I suspect might be my challenge for the year, along with its oversized precursors.
I'm not generally ... I've waded a hundred pages or so into Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver. I'm hooked at this point, which is good since it's so long. At this point it's making me want to read a biography of Newton--or take calculus again. Maybe I can find a fluxions class. ... I are known to disagree on Neal Stephenson - while Snow Crash is excellent I think the quadruple of Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver, Confusion and The System of the World is great reads. But I deliberately left them out in my former post as books +900 pages each is, well... if you don't ... ... probably more than half of them
Pashazade - Effendi - Felaheen
Snow Crash
The Diamond Age
Cryptonomicon
Quicksilver - Confusion - The System of the World
The earthsea trilogy - Tehanu
Worlds of Exile and Illusion
Quite a few books from my youth -
The sands ... ... works, Constant Gardener for example will provide a lot of discussion, now that he's moved out of the spy trade.
Quicksilver ? I really didn't like this, but I know its recieved a lot of praise. Historical, a bit of mystery a bit of general fiction fantasy crossover. Its long ... ... it and I still haven't decided which "side" is a "good" aspect of our modern society.
But for me there is no spark in Quicksilver It started just about ok, I was wondering where it was going to go, answer nowhere really, by halfway through I was bored, and fed up with the characters. Maybe ... ... wasn't that happy with The Diamond Age, even though I have read it more than once, but I LOVED Cryptonomicon and think Quicksilver and its sequels are even better. I know his work is not widely appreciated but I really enjoy the convoluted stories he writes. He connects closely with the ... ... than an american one! I like my humour as it is!
#40 - I don't. I'm enjoyign snow crash and loved The Diamond Age but Quicksilver really didn't agree with me at all. I came very close to not finishing it, and was very glad to move onto something else afterwards. I've no inclination to read ... #68, esotericspryte, have you read Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle (starting with Quicksilver)? If you haven't, and you enjoyed Cryptonomicon, I'd highly recommend it. Very long, and sometimes a bit baggy, but worth the ride. ... reading sf, mostly of the alternate history or steampunk or hard sf varieties... Neal Stephenson and his Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World), including Cryptonomicon; Jon Courtenay Grimwood and his Arabesque Cycle (Pashazade, Effendi, Felaheen) ... ... 7)
2. The Road Home by Jim Harrison (Jan 17, 07)
3. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Jan 24, 07)
February
4. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (Feb 8, 07) (This is also published as 3 separate novels. Keeping as a single for now)
5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Da ... ... right now and hope to read the others in the Penguin Deluxe Edition series this year.
Neal Stephenson: I finished Quicksilver so far this year and would like to get through the other two novels in his Baroque cycle.
The third "series" in my list if you want to call them that, is St ... I preordered Quicksilver. It took almost 24 months for it to arrive! Before that I preordered Cryptonomicon...
I've also preordered most of Grimwoods' books, and some of Pratchetts, if I remember correctly.
:-) I started reading Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson in Oct 2006. The first two-thirds is pretty enjoyable, but then the story starts to drag. I stopped reading in Nov 2006, and haven't picked up the book since.
(sorry, missed the part about books you gave up this month) ...maybe Enoch Root/The Red of Quicksilver et al. should be considered a modern wizard? If so, I would put him on my list! In a way he is the facilitator behind most of modern history, the way Stephenson has it done in the novels featuring him ;-) ... and finish off the last few pages.
later: corrected 1600s to 1800s, thanks amysue (I think I had a comparison with the Baroque Cycle in my mind as I wrote).
... n
The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes
Black American Short Stories
Golden & Grey by Louise Arnold
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories (and Other Disasters) by Jean Shepherd
The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence ... I don't share them - and as a consequence I own most of his books. But I've learnt to skim parts of it.
As these things go Quicksilver was not the worst - I still give that distinction to Cryptonomicon with it's lengthy analyzis of... well, what some religions puts as one of the ultimate sins, ... ... repetitively at that, but he delved further and further into pornography. Blah. I threw it away.
Neil Stephenson's Quicksilver affected me the same way. What angered me about that is, I was totally into the story, loving his writing style, then he just took it too far for me to enjoy. Di ... ... for the characters to develop... For added depth, IF you liked Crypto when your through it I'd recommend tha Baroque cycle (Quicksilver, Confusion & The System of the World). It is kind of related ;-)
I'd add that I share your view that this is not SF. There are those that consider the Bar ... ... Well, I also read that in 10th grade and couldn't understand it, so perhaps I'll give Russian Lit another try.
Quicksilver - I like fantasy and historical fiction - though I seem to have mixed results with alternate histories. This and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell very much ... ... is less clearly fantasy but might be worth a read if you liked this style of writing too. Personally I *loathed* Quicksilver but my history of science is good enough that I was bored reading it, but The Confusion and The System of the World were well worth it. ... is not... but neither do I feel it's fantasy.
I think it got tagged that way in the same way I tagged the Baroque-suite (Quicksilver et al) from Neal Stephenson SF - because that's what he have written before. Even if it was a while since, as Cryptonomicon hardly reads as SF either.
A ... ... a large willow... nice and quiet, the sounds of the waves lapping the roots of the tree... I distinctly remembers reading Quicksilver there and then.
I used to read at cafés, but that was in my late teens/early twenties and I'll gladly if not proudly admit that I mostly did it to seem ... I would have a hard time picking only five for the *best* list, but this was fun :)
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson I was really enjoying this book and thought I had found a new author to love, but 500 some odd pages into the story he got way too descriptive of sexual activities and my mind ... Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson (Quicksilver + The Confusion + The System of the World)
All fun and games until somebody loses an eye by Christopher Brookmyre
Coloring Outside the Lines by Roger Schank
and one kept in reserve, ... ... only The Big U and Zodiac are worse, and I REALLY enjoyed reading both Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle of which Quicksilver is a part. ... off any others. Stephenson normally writes really gripping stories diamond age is one of my all time favourites, but quicksilver was just dull. pages and pages of it too.
I do enjoy a lot of SF and Fantasy but I'll agree it isn't all high reading. Rowling is okay, peaked at about ... ... of years ago I always finished books, but recently I've become a lot more discerning. I just put Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver aside after 700 odd pages, although I might finish it later. The modern vernacular used by the characters really annoyed me.
I did see somewhere on this site ... I have put aside Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver. Even though I'd read around 700 pages, the way it is written was really grating on me, especially the use of modern language by the characters. I'll probably finish it at some point in the future. For an authentic look into the past I started ... Managed to get through around 350 pages of Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver. It's split into three books, finished the first one and now into the second. Its interesting but a bit long winded so far. I think there's a great four or five hundred page novel in its 900 pages.
Also started Tim F ... ... Llewellyn. A book I've meant to read for some time, and I wish I'd read it sooner now. Fantastic book.
Now started Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. The first of his books I've read, but my wife has read a few and really enjoyed them. Seems interesting so far ... which was inspired a) by my recent Restoration England kick after reading Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, etc), b) by the DVD release of the Libertine, and c) by my love of all things Graham Greene related. Prior to that was The Machine in Ward Eleven by Cha ... ... Neal Stephenson is a good read, Cryptonomicon in particular. Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle (which starts with Quicksilver) could almost be classified as historical fiction with science as a theme, but he has other more "traditional" (though less "hard") works which are worth a read ... Glad to be a part of this fine group, and such busy posters, as well. I'm sure it's the coffee. Has anyone here read Quicksilver or finished Neal Stephenson's Baroque trilogy? I own each of them, but I've been 20% into Quicksilver for weeks now, and i've been reading it during that time! I ...
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