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Loading... Quicksilverby Neal Stephenson
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No current Talk conversations about this book. In the end, it was rewarding. ( ![]() Amazing in scope, but too long. Great characters and containing historical accuracy which will teach everyone something. I enjoyed it, although I can see how the style might be somewhat laborious to some. It's the first in a trilogy, so full opinion will be awhile in coming. A historical fiction surrounding scientists in the 1600-1700s UK. Like any typical Neal Stephenson novel, there is a good amount of technical information and humor. At moments this can be incredibly interesting and a great read. At other times it can be difficult to get through. The main issue I have with this book though is that there is no storyline. The characters were a bit basic and there was nothing holding me to them. fiction
"A great fantastical boiling pot of theories about science, money, war and much else, by turns broadly picaresque and microscopically technical, sometimes over-dense and sometimes too sketchy, flawed but unarguably magnificent, Quicksilver is something like a Restoration-era Gravity's Rainbow." "A book of immense ambition, learning and scope, Quicksilver is often brilliant and occasionally astonishing in its evocation of a remarkable time and place -- Europe in the age of Newton, Pepys and Locke, to name just a few of the myriad characters who flock across its pages." Is contained inContains
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 and important literary talents of our time. And it's just the beginning ... No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54 — Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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