I’ve read and enjoyed Neal Stephenson’s other books, so I picked up Quicksilver from a used bookstore last week and started working through it. Thing is…I don’t get it.
It’s not that I’m afraid of long books. I’ve read Cryptonomicon, the Song of Fire and Ice trilogy, LOTR, and other 1000+ page works.
It’s not that I don’t understand the words. I’ve got a pretty good vocabulary, and I can define the words I’m reading.
I just don’t understand it. The courtly coded references, the messages-within-messages, the political intrigue, the divergent history. I have no idea what exactly is going on with any of the characters, or what is motivating any of them. I’m a good 200 pages in, and I can’t even tell if I’m enjoying it enough to continue.
Am I alone here? Is it going to get more comprehensible? Should I keep going, or should I pick up Wee Free Men, which is the next book in my stack?
100 pages in I was wondering what the point was… 300 pages in I was wondering what the point was. 600 pages in I was wondering what the point was… when I closed the book I wondered what the point was.
I only made it about 50 pages in before I realized that I just didn’t care what came next. I still have no idea what it’s supposed to be about. Too bad, 'cause I really liked “The Diamond Age” and “Snowcrash.”
Until recently I worked at a Border’s and I saw a promo copy of Quicksilver sitting in the manager’s office, and as per her request removed it.
Now I haven’t had a chance to read anything but the first dozen or so pages. I enjoy the style of writing but this thread makes me wary of investing the time in reading the book. I haven’t felt bad about not reading it as I didn’t pay for it, and now I’m a little glad I haven’t really started it. So is it pointless and enjoyable or just sort of pointless?
I loved it. I’m a big fan of courtly intrigue though. It had a lot of the flavour of Dumas (pere) in it. I found the characters sympathetic (particularly Daniel, though the second book with Eliza and Jack is more lively) and I can’t wait to find out what happens between Daniel and Newton (assuming we get that far!) in the next installment.
Most people I know who read it liked the second book more than the first or third. I actually enjoyed the palace politics most, and found that either the math wasn’t too daunting or it slipped by without me noticing.
I think it’s probably best read for the pleasure of the moment - if you’re not enjoying what Stevenson is doing, then I don’t know that hanging in for the payoff is worthwhile. I thought it was grand fun though. Not great literature, but a real ripping yarn.
I’ve edjamacated myself a little by reading a few history books since posting in this previous Quicksilver thread. I didn’t know very much about 17th-18th century Western history, and I think that hurt my enjoyment of the book. My impression of it has since improved, but I haven’t reread Quicksilver yet and won’t until after books 2 and 3. I hope that the next books will play out in a way that makes all three worth reading again.
I’m not sure I understand what’s not to get You’ve got the birth of the scientific method, the Glorious Revolution, Issac Newton, William of Orange. More plots and characters and motifs than you can shake a stick at. Louis IV meets the Emmerdure(sp?).
Maybe because there’s no big defining act at the end as in Cryptonomican?
I forgot to put in a plug for the metaweb, which has a collection of articles about various subjects of interest from the book. Definitely a handy historical gloss if you want to dig into what’s real and what’s not. (My husband used it extensively when he read the book, I used it to look up one or two things and found it pretty nice to have alongside.)
I have to confess that when I got to the first of Eliza’s encoded letters I was afraid and then amazingly relieved (if also perversely disappointed) that he gave us the whole thing in English rather than just setting out the code and making the reader decrypt it themself. I like code-breaking puzzles in books, but that might have been a bit much to cope with.
I zoomed though this book and Cryptonomicon, though I’ve failed twice to get into both/either Snowcrash or The Diamond Age. Can anyone sell me on those and persuade me to try again?
I’m about 200 pages in this book and am having trouble…it feels like such a chore to read it.
I also made the fatal mistake of putting it down and starting another book. I need to get back to it, because I feel that the hard work of reading it will be worth it in the long run.
A pity too, because the Restoration/Enlightenment is one of my favorite periods of history.
If the opening chapter about “The Deliverator” can’t convince you to hang in there, nothing can (I think that’s Diamond Age but I’m probably wrong). It’s okay - his writing is good and his characters are lots of fun, but in neither of those books does he really end the tale coherently. Cryptonomicon is his best work to date.
I believe the Deliverator was in Snow Crash. His latest book I was really looking forward to and I’ve had it two months now and have been unable to finish it. It just seems like nothing happens for pages and pages. (Someone take out that second sentence and shoot it)
Jurph Yeah I remember the Deliverator , I think I just mis-read the tone of the book and was expecting something more Gibson-ish (more serious/ernest). Now I’ve read some of his other stuff maybe I can try (at least) Snow Crash again with a better understanding of his approach. I’m thinking of elements like the language/country of Qwghlm in Quicksilver, that I guess you’re not supposed to take 100% seriously.
, I think I just mis-read the tone of the book and was expecting something more Gibson-ish (more serious/ernest). Now I’ve read some of his other stuff maybe I can try (at least) Snow Crash again with a better understanding of his approach. I’m thinking of elements like the language/country of Qwghlm in Quicksilver, that I guess you’re not supposed to take 100% seriously.