Books 1-3 (Volume 1) of the Baroque Trilogy

Very intriguing and intensely cerebral, the novel is slightly weighed down by an overabundance of philosophical and scientific discourse. However, it is a truly satisfying read that I recommend to those interested in philosophy or those who are seeking to travel several decades in the baroque period (1660s through the early 1700s in this novel). You will certainly travel with the author as the details are not in short supply, and the descriptions quickly place you into the correct context.

Much of the books follow the real and imagined life of Isaac Newton and his fellow Natural Philosophers and Alchemists. Both Newton and his fellow Royal Society comrades are exquisitely intriguing, both for their minds as well as for the drama that follows them in their lives. Book two departs for a time to the life of Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. "Half-cock Jack" leads an entertaining life, with and without Eliza, leaving the reader wanting much more of his exciting adventures and witty conversations. Although we lose sight of Jack near the end of this volume, we do maintain contact with Eliza and the life that she has chosen to lead.

After the reader has resigned herself to the fact that these are separate stories of a single time period, the link between the seemingly thus far unrelated stories comes later in the volume. As the connection came later than I'd hoped, I was glad to remember that there were another 2000 or so pages in the trilogy. ( )

I don't even know where to begin with this one, I just have some thoughts about it:
- I struggled a lot reading this.
- I really liked it.
- I don't know why.
- For some reason I think I liked this book more because I loved Cryptonomicon. ( )

I am a very big fan of Stephenson. Coming to his work through Snowcrash and Reamde and the wonderful Cryptinomicron. This is just as great. And I get to journey a little through some fascinating history and science along the way. Really great. ( )

This book has all the things I've come to expect from Stephenson in spades, and yet ended up only mildly enjoyable.

It's very dense. Even reading carefully sometimes it feels like you're skimming with all the little bits and bobs thrown in everywhere. And I'm sure if I had a better grasp of English history I'd have appreciated it more. The range of characters is very broad, and trying to relate who's doing what to whom is a challenge.


I love his humour, and the way you trip over it from time to time when you least expect it.


Probably my biggest beef with it is the completely helter skelter style of the thing. There's just too many different types of narrative all jammed in there, and it just doesn't hang together. When a novel this size has no flow, why the heck publish it all at once in one volume? Add the abrupt changes (or outright endings) scattered here and there, and it was just too unfinished feeling for me.

I loved chunks of it, and I can't decide if the rest just had to be separated out better for me to enjoy it, or dropped on the cutting room floor.

Don't read this as your first Stephenson novel. But if you like others his written by all means give this a try. To me, it wasn't up to part, but I suspect I'm in the minority. ( )

I got bored with this book and took it back to the library unfinished. ( )