Neal Stephenson

Has anyone read (or is reading) the Baroque Cycle by Stephenson? I just started 'Quicksilver'. I like it, for the moment. But you have to keep concentrated. Are there any websites, or blogs, with info on this book, and the sequels? Maybe where I could find list of different persons, places,...
All the best.

Personally I hated it. It drags on and on, not a lot happens, the characters become obnoxious if they don't start out that way already, it doesn't have any of the ideas, creativity and spark of his SF work, and manages to retain 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.

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. Given, its been a year and a half since I read it, so my memory could be a bit faulty.

I also quite enjoyed Quicksilver but I think you would need a good knowledge of the setting to get the most out of it. Also read his Cryptonomicon but felt it lost its way a little especially towards the end.

Started 'em, didn't make it through the first. It just felt tedious to me.

Read them all and loved (or at least liked) them, but I am a huge Stephenson fan. It helped to constantly check the wiki dedicated to the series. Alas, it is no longer available.

Diamond Age is definitely his best.

How long did the Metaverse web site last? By the time I got to the third book (I read them as they were published), I had forgotten who was who, which somewhat ruined the story, and the site was already missing.

I thought Snow Crash was his best, but Diamond Age was a close second.

Quicksilver was okay, I thought. I loved Cryptonomicon, however. I haven't read any of his others yet.

I could never get into Snow Crash but i enjoyed Quicksilver and Cryptonomicon quite a bit.

I enjoyed the Baroque Cycle, but agree that it was perhaps a bit longer than it needed to be. I think Snow Crash and Diamond Age are both works of genius. I found the endings much more satisfying on a second read. Cryptonomicon is excellent too, but like limerts I'm a bit of a Stephenson fanboy and can't think of anything of his I *haven't* liked. :)

I like economics and history of science so I liked the Baroque Cycle. When I started Quicksilver I wasn't sure what Neal was doing so it took me a bit to get into it. Laying the foundations of modern economics and science into fiction worked for me. Our world didn't have to turn out like it did. Around the same time I was reading the trilogy I also read Guns, Germs, and Steel which worked well.

I used the web site mentioned above also. Too bad it's gone. Doesn't bode well for the permanence of things posted on the web. Maybe somebody printed it out and has it in a binder.

I enjoyed the Baroque Cycle, but then I'm a big Stephenson fan and I like long books. I don't know of any reference sites, sorry.

There were about 30 or so pages of Snow Crash that I liked - when Hiro was talking to The Librarian. I also liked the political constructs and Metaverse. The rest was a waste of time for me. I only read it for my bookclub and struggled almost the entire way. I can't imagine even looking at another book by him.

I appear to be in the minority here but couldn't resist putting in my 2 cents worth.

Apparently, the jury is still out there. I'm still with part one of the Baroque cycle. It's a bit slow from time to time, but the general idea is still interesting. It's something I can read on my morning commute, but not in the evening on my way back, too tired.

I gave up on Stephenson, at least for the time being. Instead I went back to real history books. I'm reading A. Weir (Six wives of henry VIII), that's a lot more fun to me.

#15: Yes — she's very readable. The last I read of hers was Innocent Traitor about Queen Jane which was a very good read. Eleanor of Aquitaine which I read earlier was if I remember correctly a bit of a harder read because of trying to keep track of the complicated relationships between the characters.

Cryptonomicon is one of the few books that both my husband and I enjoyed (the other was Memoir From Antproof Case). He loved the perl script and the economics stuff; I enjoyed the plot and still chuckle when I think of that guy using a tie he bought at an airport as a tourniquet. I haven't read his other books yet, but I have a feeling I would enjoy them.

Libby Cone aka reademwritem