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I *finally* finished it. Damn, that is one *looong* book. I think I liked the first and last volumes the best, though I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied with the ending. NS does have a tendancy to end rather abruptly, and it would have been nice to have at least a little more meat in the epilogues. Still, a very worthy set of novels, and really fascinating for their historical references and settings.
I enjoyed seeing how he started the threads here that ended up running through Cryptonomicon, like the Leibniz Archive, Societas Eruditorum, the divers connexions between Enoch Root, the von Hackelhebers, the Shaftoes and Waterhouses, etc. Also great was his use of period language in contexts that modern readers understand. So, who else has completed these books?
I enjoyed seeing how he started the threads here that ended up running through Cryptonomicon, like the Leibniz Archive, Societas Eruditorum, the divers connexions between Enoch Root, the von Hackelhebers, the Shaftoes and Waterhouses, etc. Also great was his use of period language in contexts that modern readers understand. So, who else has completed these books?
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Wed, October 20, 2004 - 10:52 AMstill working on cryptonomicon right now, in fact, this morning was slogging through his theories on how to divvy up items in a will by emotional value vs. actual value. he gets a little long winded in his boring stretches.
nothing beats how boring it got when he discussed glossolalia in snow crash though. even though i totally understand where he was going with it and it's importance to the story. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Wed, October 20, 2004 - 11:31 AMHe does have a tendancy to digress, but IMHO some of those sections, in Cryptonomicon especially, are the best. The Cap'n Crunch bit is hilarious. The Baroque Cycle has more digressions, but generally less interesting ones, though they are usually germain to the story and always well-written. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Wed, October 20, 2004 - 12:14 PMhis ejaculation graphs were priceless.
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Fri, January 7, 2005 - 9:21 AMI am still waiting for a copy of the system of the world but have read the other three books, (this includes the cryptonomicon) I have just really disovered NS in the past year and have been tearing through his writing...to think that the same guy who wrote Zodiac ( a great book, I thought) could turn around and write these PhilDickian-Mellvile-Michener type sagas....well.
I think it's just incredible to take a field as lame and boring as Statistics is and inflate it with wit, and pathos they way he has. Everytime I get bogged down with a Leibniz chapter I know there is a Bob Shaftoe chapter coming up. It's been a long long time since I have been excited about a writer, and these books have made me really happy -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Fri, January 7, 2005 - 12:15 PMyeah, i hear you 100%. i really wanted to hate NS (as I cannot stand the people who love him so much), and while Snow Crash was pretty lame (IMO), everything else I've read (including The Big U) has been great, to the point where I want to read nothing else.
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Fri, January 7, 2005 - 7:11 PMHi, Sam...
Thanks to Croteus and O 'o, this thread got bumped back up, enabling me to see your original question. Yes, I completed this series myself about a month or so ago. I have read Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, and now the entire Baroque Cycle.
Stephenson both informs and entertains me. I love the mix of history and science in a series of intertwining stories with characters who ramble about the globe. They make the best of their situations and inevitably triumph over tyranny and lesser minds. The plot twists and turn of events kept me constantly interested in the story.
There are so many things to be appreciative of in all his books, but this series was especially good for explaining commerce, economics, natural philosophy, political history, alchemy, and as you mentioned language itself.
In between The Confusion and The System of the World, I managed to read China Mieville's recent three works (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council). After finishing The Baroque Cycle, I immediately jumped into Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It takes place in early 19th century England and is much slower and somewhat mundane compared to N.S.'s books. But it is dense and chock full of magical history that is not necessarily real, but entertaining nonetheless.
The point is, I am almost finished and would welcome any suggestions on other long-winded, erudite, talented authors and their works.
Regards,
~~Spider~~
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Sat, January 8, 2005 - 12:33 AMI don't want to assume too much...have you read William Gibson? He is what lead me to NS, so I begin to think everyone has. I am currently reading a biography of Philip K. Dick titled; ' I Am Alive And You Are Dead' by Emmanuel Carrere, it's pretty good. I think that it is hard to fit your bill of Long-winded, Erudite and Talented...NS is in a special class of writer to be sure.
Ooh...have you read ' The Alienist' by Caleb Carr? It is about the beginnings of Forensics and Profiling, while still being a good thriller, a pretty good and quick read. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Sat, January 8, 2005 - 3:01 PMOh, I liked The Alienist too.
I finished The System of The World two nights ago, and zipped through Coupland's latest last night...I think I have to go find more NS though...I don't seem to have Zodiac. Or I could start at the beginning again. Or read The Diamond Age and Snow Crash again.
Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas & Electric has a similar sprawling kind of attitude, although pretty different from NS.
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Sat, January 8, 2005 - 6:48 PM
Thanks for the suggestion, Crowteus. However, I don't think I will be reading "The Alienist". I checked it out on Amazon and it appears to be similar to "The Dante Club", by Matthew Pearl. I liked the setting, mid 19th century Boston, but I am just not into murder that much---especially gruesome, torturous deaths. Just not my thing.
As for William Gibson, I read his recent "Pattern Language" and loved it. I have looked at Neuromancer, but not bitten the hook yet. As for Phillip K. Dick, I know him mainly through Robert Anton Wilson. I have not read any of his works yet though.
I will keep looking around at other possibilities and just hope that Neal Stephenson comes up with another grandiose project.
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Sat, January 8, 2005 - 11:37 PMwhile you wait....
I like 'A Scanner Darkly' by phil dick...real good
Neuromancer what can I say about it...the guy really foresaw a lot or rather projected...I think that NS owes him a lot, and while his writing is not as florid, well written.
I am not into horror either as far as that goes...but I did find the psychological profiling and developement of primitive forensics really exciting...but I understand if that's not your cup of tea...as I recall there are some really macabre moments in the alienist.
I am thankful that I have one more of mr. stephensons books to read and cant wait...I've got a flag down at the city library, as soon as it comes in I'm there.
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Tue, January 11, 2005 - 12:57 PMKim Stanley Robinson also does some nice epic works, with travel side-stories (especially The Orange County Trilogy).
Not so much cyber-stuff, but good nevertheless.
Cheers,
-bender -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Wed, January 12, 2005 - 9:06 PMAh... Kim Stanley Robinson. I loved his Martian trilogy---Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars. I read it twice! I learned so much about areology, mineralogy, hydrology, and the topograhy of Mars. His descriptions of the landforms were awe-inspiring. I also got a liberal dosage of economics, politics, community building, and agriculture. There was seemingly nothing that these engineers and scientists could not do to create transportation, habitation, resource extraction, and terraformation---making this cold, poisonous, inhospitable planet able to support life.
Like Stephenson, K.S.R. both informs and entertains. I recently read his The Years of Rice and Salt. This is an interesting tale of several lives in a variety of locations throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Europe over the centuries. A group of souls incarnates together in various scenarios to work out their karma. I just couldn't get into it as much as the Mars series. I still have the last few pages to complete. I will check out his newest book--- Forty Signs of Rain. It is apparently about the effects of global warming.
Keep those ideas flowing! ;)
~~Spider~~ -
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Re: Books to read
Fri, January 14, 2005 - 1:22 PMI recommend The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. It reminded me of Stephenson's work in Cryptonomicon, with the character development of Nick Hornby (author of High Fidelity and How to Be Good). It has no relation to the Tom Cruise movie.
It tells the story of a single mother raising an intellectually gifted son. In the absence of a father figure, she watches The Seven Samurai over and over with him, letting it's characters be role models. This does not satisfy his desire to find his father, however. More information can be found on Amazon (www.amazon.com/exec/obido...786887001).
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Tue, March 1, 2005 - 3:05 PMI finally finished a week ago. My god that was long. But well worth it. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Tue, March 1, 2005 - 3:41 PMi'm halfway through the second book.needs more Shaftoe! -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Thu, March 3, 2005 - 8:37 PMAm I the only one who began picturing Jack Shaftoe as Johnny Depp playing Jack Swallow?
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Fri, March 4, 2005 - 11:05 PMNope. Especially in his syphillis-addled, half-decapitating faux janissary mode.
I'd clamor for a movie adaptation, but somehow I think even I couldn't sit through 36 hours straight, and even Kill Bill didn't split very well. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Sat, March 5, 2005 - 6:27 PMMuch as I would hate to see Hollywood f*ck up Neal Stephenson by trying to translate it into movie format, I think Johnny Depp would make a pretty amazing Jack Shaftoe. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Wed, March 9, 2005 - 1:04 AMI have to dissagree...I never pictured Jack Shaftoe as conventionally handsome...but I have to admit I get a little of George Clooney a'la 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" whenever Jack is being particularly full of himself or physically outrageous.
I am about halfway through The System of The World and could use a lot more of Jack...heck I'd take some Bob at this point. As interesting as Daniel, Sir Issac and British Nobility can be...I find myself struggling to remain interested.
Hooray for NS though...once again, the worst of his books are better than the best of most other authors.
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Tue, March 1, 2005 - 10:02 PMI finished it a while back, but hadn't seen this thread in a while. Yeah, what fun books. Now I'm bugging all my friends to read them. I bought a used copy of Quicksilver, mostly to lend out. -
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Re: The Baroque Cycle
Sat, March 5, 2005 - 9:00 PMI sent my dad my copy of Quicksilver. He's a non-fiction enthousaist (it's pretty much all he reads) and he reads 3 books at a time. I hope he bites this one though.
It took me like 2 or 3 months to finish this trilogy. Definitely the longest i've ever spent on a writing of this length. Shaftoe moments were salivated over, as everything about Waterhouse (until System of the World) was tedious, but essential. I swear, the 1st half of Quicksilver had me actually questioning why i was reading the book. But hey, you have to squeeze a lot of coal to get a diamond.
As for his other works, Cryptonomicon is the piece-de-resistance, IMO, but Diamond Age satisfied all the sci-fi needs I could ever have. Can't wait to see what other genius Stephenson creates. Because even though some parts of Baroque were slow, and not as entertaining as others (re: more Shaftoe!!), they were just brilliant in their scope, detail, dialogue, and imagination.
-B
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