Quicksilver

[ASRomatifoso]

About 150 pages into it and while I am enjoying it a lot. I don't think it's going to be like Snow Crash, which remains to this day one of the single most enjoyable experiences of my life. Cryptonomicon was also great. I like Stephenson a ton and am hoping I will like this more as it goes along. It kind of seems like a grand showy gesture that will ultimately not have anything of merit in it. I hope I am wrong. Thoughts?

Just finished The Fortress of Solitude a couple of weeks ago, reread The Dark Tower series in preparation for Wolves of the Calla, and am grinding my way through Guns, Germs, and Steel for the third time. Love that book so much!

 

[Morwen]

I finished Quicksilver a couple of weeks ago. It's definitely worth it. I guess many people will find the first half somewhat dry, but I had the time of my life with it. And the second, more swashbuckling part, was delightfully wicked. Stephenson is having fun, even though he takes a long time saying it.

I loved it: the dark humor, the nerdiness, the tongue-in-cheek anachronisms, the characters (flat? who said they are flat? Flat my... differential!), and the painstaking way of explaining things, they are all a joy to read.

Now, if only the second volume would come soon... It's not fair, the way he left the plot at the first one...

 

[Terry]

Now, if only the second volume would come soon... It's not fair, the way he left the plot at the first one...

Yeah, he pushed more levels of indirection onto the stack than he popped off. I found that irritating. However, it was a good read, and I guess that "unresolved" feeling will keep me eager for the next part...

--Terry.

 

[Morwen]

The problem with Quicksilver is that it has no clear plot so far. It has a lot of subplots and events and is a gripping good read, but try and answer the question "What's it about?" and you're in trouble.

Of course, in general, is about the Illustration. Or calculus. Or academia. Or political upheaval. Or hacking. Or... See what I mean?

However, it's the kind of book where you don't need to skip to the end. The journey is worthy in itself.

 

[Hexxenhammer]

I'm over halfway through it and am enjoying it a lot. If I remember correct we won't have long to wait for the next one, I think it comes out in about 6 months. And then the last book 6 months after that.

 

[Morwen]

That's good to know. Except for my wallet. And my wrists. I read while walking to and from the lab, and let me tell you, Quicksilver wasn't an easy book to handle. No matter how much experience you have in reading-while-walking. And it was the hardcover. Argh.

Have any of you seen the wiki about the series? Pretty interesting, too.

(Edited to include link)

 

[Small Town Jesus]

I enjoyed Quicksilver even more than Cryptonomicon. I love the geeky way Stephenson will go off on a tangent about the history of currency and minting or the way he equates Newton and his peers to the maths nerds of today.

After I finished I went out and bought a book about Robert Hooke, an untill recently neglected figure in English history, now finally getting the recognition he deserves.

I can't wait for April and the second book. Maybe I should move to Qwghlm.

STJ