tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697673368059564013.post3987784839843932059..comments2024-01-13T18:39:02.160+00:00Comments on Strata of the World: Review: The Baroque Cycle (Neal Stephenson)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697673368059564013.post-47624936714881008622018-09-09T11:35:32.968+01:002018-09-09T11:35:32.968+01:00As a historian I would say that it’s a magnificent...As a historian I would say that it’s a magnificent book, this ”Quicksilver” – yet don’t know if it’s a good novel, as that is something beyond my competence … In any case, “Quicksilver” is quite a reading, burdened with a massive amount of details, some dug out from a vast amount of historical literature, possibly partly even from the original sources. Mr. Stephenson is a man of letters, really. Much, of course, is created and fabricated in the seemingly productive course of artistic licence …<br /><br />Anyway, I consider it a very good description of the time. Also, I guess the writer’s understanding of the history of science and magic is very deep, indeed.<br /><br />I’m still in a process of wading the book through … So this is an intermediate time review (after a few hundred pages …).<br /><br />PS. I have learned very many new English words like “Leprechaun”, “forecastledeck”, etc. Yet I think they are mostly useless in small talk …<br />Marko Nenonenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05990571064655034361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697673368059564013.post-88733862948618026552018-08-07T10:23:06.480+01:002018-08-07T10:23:06.480+01:00The slow start is definitely the great weakness of...The slow start is definitely the great weakness of the series. The Confusion moves a lot faster, though it focuses less on the main plot. I found The System of the World to be all-around brilliant, and not just because of the sunk-cost fallacy.<br /><br />I read Cryptonomicon more than a year ago, and I doubt I've since laughed as hard at a book as when I read the part where Stephenson satirically describes the art of writing a business plan (the chapter is called "Way").LRLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02220529915349936285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697673368059564013.post-2448521536569767612018-08-05T06:14:54.903+01:002018-08-05T06:14:54.903+01:00Thanks for this review. You have encouraged me to ...Thanks for this review. You have encouraged me to give the Baroque Cycle another try. I think Stephenson is a brilliant writer (judging by his Cryptonomicon) but I found Quicksilver too slow moving for my taste, a bit of a yarn, and I never finish it. Perhaps, with some perseverance, I will enjoy it on my second attempt. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02605844654212548204noreply@blogger.com