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In an alternate eighteenth-century Europe devastated by alchemical disaster, Sir Isaac Newton and his able assistant, Benjamin Franklin, confront enemies who seek humankind's destruction Sir Isaac Newton's discovery of philosopher's mercury in 1681 gave rise to a remarkable new branch of alchemical science. Forty years later, the world stands poised on the brink of a new dark age . . . England is in ruins, crushed by an asteroid called to Earth by the very alchemy Newton unleashed. show more France is in chaos following the long-delayed death of Louis XIV. Cotton Mather, Blackbeard, and the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes set sail from the American colonies to investigate the silence lying over the Old World. And in Russia, Tsar Peter the Great, now host to the evil entity that kept the Sun King alive, seizes a golden opportunity for conquest as he marches his unstoppable army across a devastated continent. Meanwhile Newton and his young apprentice, Ben Franklin, hide out in Prague, awaiting the inevitable violent collision of all these disparate elements--human and demonic alike--while a fugitive Adrienne de Mornay de Montchevreuil pursues the secrets of the malakim and her own role in their conspiracy to obliterate humankind. The second volume of the Age of Unreason series, Greg Keyes's masterwork of alternate history, A Calculus of Angels brilliantly expands the scope of the world he introduced in Newton's Cannon as an unforgettable cast of historical heavyweights collide on a different Earth where magic and science coexist. show lessTags
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7/10
Some of the plot twists were a little hard for me to follow and the whole story line with Red Shoes is beyond me, I must confess. But I am fascinated with the Ben Franklin/Isaac Newton and Adrienne/Crecy storylines and, of course, all the clever inventions. Ready to dive into the next book.
Some of the plot twists were a little hard for me to follow and the whole story line with Red Shoes is beyond me, I must confess. But I am fascinated with the Ben Franklin/Isaac Newton and Adrienne/Crecy storylines and, of course, all the clever inventions. Ready to dive into the next book.
This one picks up right where the previous book left off. In this alternate Earth, historical figures from the 1700's study science and magic and produce amazing new discoveries - but are they inspired by angels, or by something with harm to humans in mind? The various governments of the time struggle to control the new technologies and magics, and defeat each other in the various wars of Earth at that time in history. This has a great feeling of realism with great characters in a very different Earth. Good stuff.
Feb12:
Characters: Still young Ben, very nice. I liked his friends a lot. Isaac could have been developed more, but oh well. And I loved the pirates.
Plot: Still very good. Nice to transform into a post-apocalyptic nature.
Style: Still very consistent with his other work.
Characters: Still young Ben, very nice. I liked his friends a lot. Isaac could have been developed more, but oh well. And I loved the pirates.
Plot: Still very good. Nice to transform into a post-apocalyptic nature.
Style: Still very consistent with his other work.
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Author Information
62+ Works 14,013 Members
Greg Keyes is the New York Times best-selling author of
the novels The Waterborn, The Blackgod, plus The Age of
Unreason tetralogy. He has also written the Star Wars:
New Jedi Order novels Edge of Victory I: Conquest, Edge
of Victory II: Rebirth, and The Final Prophecy, as well as
tie-ins to the popular Elder Scrolls video game franchise.
He lives show more in Savannah, Georgia. show less
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Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Calculus of Angels; A Calculus of Angels
- Original title
- A Calculus of Angels
- Original publication date
- 1999
- Dedication
- For my grandparents,
Earl and Helen Ridout - First words
- Peter flinched at the single drop of blood that spattered onto his coat.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Content once more, he watched the night go by.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 576
- Popularity
- 50,944
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.58)
- Languages
- 6 — Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 2
