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Quicksilver
Dec. 23rd, 2003 11:19 amAfter more than two months, I finally finished "Quicksilver" last night.
And to think, I'm going to have to do it all over again when "The Confusion" comes out in April and "The System of the World" in September.
It's not really fair to Stephenson to review "Quicksilver" on its own. It would like reviewing "The Fellowship of the Ring" on its own. Suffice to say that it held my interest throughout most of its vast length and I learnt a great deal about the history of the Baroque period
Stephenson is, at least some of the time, a wonderful writer, but in a novel of this length, it is inevitable that even he occasionally nods. One can also criticise some of the character developments. Eliza is the archetypal NS superwoman character. Fair enough, but although Jack is certainly a dude, it was unclear to me why he was the King of the Vagabonds (he doesn't actually spend a great deal of time with them), much less why his exploits should have been immortalised in prose.
It could be argued that "Quicksilver" would be twice the book at half the length. Certainly, although all of Stephenson's obsessions are there, this is a much more leisurely ride that his previous books. Nevertheless, until we have the whole, it is best to reserve judgment.
Perhaps in Volume II, we will find out what happened to the ostrich feathers, although I suspect that Eliza for one will no longer have need of the money they raise. I'm also looking forward to finding out just what is so unusual about the Minerva. And hearing more of Isaac Newton's side of the story.
And it seems fairly clear that Enoch Root is some kind of supernatural being.
And to think, I'm going to have to do it all over again when "The Confusion" comes out in April and "The System of the World" in September.
It's not really fair to Stephenson to review "Quicksilver" on its own. It would like reviewing "The Fellowship of the Ring" on its own. Suffice to say that it held my interest throughout most of its vast length and I learnt a great deal about the history of the Baroque period
Stephenson is, at least some of the time, a wonderful writer, but in a novel of this length, it is inevitable that even he occasionally nods. One can also criticise some of the character developments. Eliza is the archetypal NS superwoman character. Fair enough, but although Jack is certainly a dude, it was unclear to me why he was the King of the Vagabonds (he doesn't actually spend a great deal of time with them), much less why his exploits should have been immortalised in prose.
It could be argued that "Quicksilver" would be twice the book at half the length. Certainly, although all of Stephenson's obsessions are there, this is a much more leisurely ride that his previous books. Nevertheless, until we have the whole, it is best to reserve judgment.
Perhaps in Volume II, we will find out what happened to the ostrich feathers, although I suspect that Eliza for one will no longer have need of the money they raise. I'm also looking forward to finding out just what is so unusual about the Minerva. And hearing more of Isaac Newton's side of the story.
And it seems fairly clear that Enoch Root is some kind of supernatural being.
