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erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I never recommend Neal Stephenson as an author unless I know the reader, because his works are often peculiar. The preface to this book, #1 of the Baroque Cycle, alludes to this work being large and convoluted. Set in the late-1600s / early 1700s, the author tells us that this was an era which he was not really familiar with, and wished to explore. Let's just say he takes us along on that ride.
The entire narrative is laced with asides that allude to the origins of modern things that we now take for granted. I feel like this is frequently done by modern authors writing historic fiction, but that with most authors it tends to be clumsy, and prone to anachronism. Stephenson has a way of making it feel more like an in-joke. His cast of characters is a group of Natural Philosophers (scientists and mathematicians), and his setting is war, and religious upheaval, and eventually he even leans hard into that theatre metaphor as his main character, Daniel, slowly learns that he must play at roles for his own self-preservation.
As in Stephenson's book Aиатнем, there is a lot of curiosity and scientific understanding that is played out in the form of dialogues. As step away from earlier works like Snow crash which have been criticised for being bogged down by stream-of-consciousness infodumps, bouncing ideas from character to character can feel more like Jane Austen in places. This work has more cut-and-thrust witticism... but a lot of it is likely to feel a bit boring if you aren't that interested in the science, the history, or the characters, (who, at times, appear to be an all-star cast of historical science fanservice).
In the middle of the story is a ribald play that satirizes the current political goings on. It is characterised as hackneyed, bawdy, derivative and unintellectual, but appears to be indicative of the status quo, outside of those who have cloistered themselves in laboratories. Were it not for this negative framing, and the existence of a sympathetic African sailor who is depicted as expert, and clever, I might suspect that the author was just trying to be an edgy bastard and get away with using the N word just to lean in to historical accuracy. He is deliberately unflinching in his accounts of the vivisection of dogs, extracting menstrual fluid from rags, head on pike, the proposed idea of doing anatomical experiments on those incarcerated in mental institutions, and immolation in The Great Fire. To his credit, he also accounts for the emotional upset and trauma caused to survivors who witnessed these things.
Amongst the making fun of ridiculous fashions, the noble art of decorative syphilis, Isaac Newton sitting in an apple orchard in gold sunglasses, and things that go bang in the night, the plot feels a bit nebulous, so if you are looking for Story, you may have difficulty.
I have fun in books like this, but it's an acquired taste.. perhaps literary Vegemite. I have preferred his other books though.
The entire narrative is laced with asides that allude to the origins of modern things that we now take for granted. I feel like this is frequently done by modern authors writing historic fiction, but that with most authors it tends to be clumsy, and prone to anachronism. Stephenson has a way of making it feel more like an in-joke. His cast of characters is a group of Natural Philosophers (scientists and mathematicians), and his setting is war, and religious upheaval, and eventually he even leans hard into that theatre metaphor as his main character, Daniel, slowly learns that he must play at roles for his own self-preservation.
As in Stephenson's book Aиатнем, there is a lot of curiosity and scientific understanding that is played out in the form of dialogues. As step away from earlier works like Snow crash which have been criticised for being bogged down by stream-of-consciousness infodumps, bouncing ideas from character to character can feel more like Jane Austen in places. This work has more cut-and-thrust witticism... but a lot of it is likely to feel a bit boring if you aren't that interested in the science, the history, or the characters, (who, at times, appear to be an all-star cast of historical science fanservice).
In the middle of the story is a ribald play that satirizes the current political goings on. It is characterised as hackneyed, bawdy, derivative and unintellectual, but appears to be indicative of the status quo, outside of those who have cloistered themselves in laboratories. Were it not for this negative framing, and the existence of a sympathetic African sailor who is depicted as expert, and clever, I might suspect that the author was just trying to be an edgy bastard and get away with using the N word just to lean in to historical accuracy. He is deliberately unflinching in his accounts of the vivisection of dogs, extracting menstrual fluid from rags, head on pike, the proposed idea of doing anatomical experiments on those incarcerated in mental institutions, and immolation in The Great Fire. To his credit, he also accounts for the emotional upset and trauma caused to survivors who witnessed these things.
Amongst the making fun of ridiculous fashions, the noble art of decorative syphilis, Isaac Newton sitting in an apple orchard in gold sunglasses, and things that go bang in the night, the plot feels a bit nebulous, so if you are looking for Story, you may have difficulty.
I have fun in books like this, but it's an acquired taste.. perhaps literary Vegemite. I have preferred his other books though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Ableism, Animal death, Death of parent, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, War, Alcohol, Murder, Racial slurs, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Slavery
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