Quicksilver

Book One of The Baroque Cycle

By: Neal Stephenson

Narrated by: Neal Stephenson (introduction), Kevin Pariseau, Simon Prebble

Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In this first volume of Neal Stephenson’s genre-defying epic, Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues 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.

The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson’s award-winning series, spans the late 17th and early 18th centuries, combining history, adventure, science, invention, piracy, and alchemy into one sweeping tale. It is a gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive historical epic populated by the likes of Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV, along with some of the most inventive literary characters in modern fiction.

Audible’s complete and unabridged presentation of The Baroque Cycle was produced in cooperation with Neal Stephenson. Each volume includes an exclusive introduction read by the author.

Listen to more titles in the Baroque Cycle.

©2003 Neal Stephenson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“[The “Baroque Cycle”] will defy any category, genre, precedent, or label – except genius….Stephenson has a once-in-a-generation gift: he makes complex ideas clear, and he makes them funny, heartbreaking, and thrilling.” ( Time)

“A book of immense ambition, learning, and scope, Quicksilver is often brilliant and occasionally astonishing in its evocation of a remarkable time and place.” ( Washington Post Book World)

4 star listen

This book does a great job of presenting Issac Newton and the royal society as a work of fiction. I am unsure how closely Neal follows actual history, but it is very insteresting regardless. The book does some rambling but manages to build up to plot peaks regularly.

Captivating historical fiction.

This absorbing book throws light on a time when science is surging to the forefront of popular thinking. It is written with unconventional warm humour.
Simon Prebble's performance is masterful.

Possibly the most enduring of NS's works

I listened to Reamde again after reading it and though it was still good, it's flaws started to show more clearly. This one is the opposite....j read the Baroque Cycle last year and it was a challenge, mostly because I wasn't quite sure what was going on sometimes. But partly because I knew the story and partly because the story really lends itself to being read....it comes through better....I am just starting to see the greatness of this series. The dialog is wonderful. Some people don't like the slowness and the details, but I enjoy it. it is definitely one book in a series. It does kinda stand on its own but you should at least be open to the idea of getting through the whole thing (is it 6 books?)

Excellent, especially for technical readers

This book can be a bit slow at times, but the huge number of well informed jokes and wry humor make it well worth it.

Couldn't make it through this in print

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook. Great performances all around.

one two three four five six

I hate that you have to buy each book separately.

this series will cost you 7 credits. I think it should be slightly more combined, like 3 credits for the whole series.

Eloquent and compelling

One of my all time favorite authors and voice actors. This isn't how it happened, but maybe how it should have happened.

Daniel Waterhouse Does Nothing

If you could sum up Quicksilver in three words, what would they be?

Passive Historical Protagonist

What other book might you compare Quicksilver to and why?

I am not sure: I don't read a lot of historical fiction. But I think I would compare it to other historical fiction, particularly any historical fiction put out by anyone who does significant research on the time periods they then go on to write. It is abundantly clear that Stephenson studied as much as he possibly could about 17th century London and the time period, and worked to make the entire novel work very well historically. But, perhaps as a consequence of this Daniel Waterhouse doesn't really do a single thing in this entire novel. He is a vessel by which we get to witness interesting (depending on your taste) conversations, and experience the results of Stephenson's copious research. But he also has more character than, say, Utterson in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I WANTED him to do something, but he couldn't. I daresay he couldn't because he had to be frozen in time; if he did too much it might break the historicity of the book. And that's the problem. I got this book as part of a sale for the first two in a series, so I may read King of Vagabonds, but, I don't know...

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I liked Prebble. He did a good job of reading when he should read and acting when he should act, and he is a good narrator. The recording is OLD and could stand to be re-mastered. If it is unsalvageable, maybe even re-recorded.

Who was the most memorable character of Quicksilver and why?

Enoch Root, who I found mysterious and intriguing. Newton himself was also interesting.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy immersing yourself in other historical periods, you could do little better than this book. If what you want is the flavor of the time period, but to otherwise have a conventional story set in it, you may want to venture elsewhere.

Good story heavy on the "history"

What made the experience of listening to Quicksilver the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed this however i enjoy history and biographies, this isnt like his other books

If you’ve listened to books by Neal Stephenson before, how does this one compare?

see aboev

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

yep

If you could take any character from Quicksilver out to dinner, who would it be and why?

you get to say hi to Enoch Root again, id pick him.

History, Fiction, Science all rolled into fun!

I enjoy a good science fiction novel more than most things that I read, but this was better than any science and fiction I've read in a long time because it makes in a fun bit of History both real and imagined. When people do something this creative, I am in awe. the writing is also exceptional, poetry in my opinion.