# Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200 "2004-03-24T21:53:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/1 "2004-03-24T21:53:21Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/2 "2004-03-24T22:08:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/3 "2004-03-24T22:14:44Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > 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’m hoping that things start to come together in the next book, out sometime in April. Otherwise, I may not make it to the third. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/4 "2004-03-24T22:43:43Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![JaxBeachBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@JaxBeachBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaxBeachBoy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/5 "2004-03-25T01:42:14Z")
well, it IS part one of a trilogy, I’m hoping that the first volume was just to set up the next two. Because everyone is right…there really is no point. There are some clever sub-plots, and witty dialogue, but no real point. I enjoyed it as an intro to a much deeper story, and I enjoyed some of Enoch Root’s backstory, that was about it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/6 "2004-03-25T02:12:35Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/7 "2004-03-25T02:29:09Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/8 "2004-03-25T03:23:27Z")
I’ve edjamacated myself a little by reading a few history books since posting in this previous Quicksilver [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=214280). 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. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/9 "2004-03-25T06:06:23Z")
It’s a long, sprawling, pointless book. But I loved it. The Eliza and Jack stuff is an easier read. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/10 "2004-03-25T06:47:38Z")
Anyone else get the feeling that Mr. Stephenson might possibly be just _too much_ a fan of Tim Powers? Just askin’ ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/11 "2004-03-25T11:57:15Z")
I enjoyed it, and it’s not science fiction! 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? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/12 "2004-03-25T12:09:33Z")
Just read the other thread. What? It _is_ science fiction? Things could get more complicated from here on (if that’s possible). ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/13 "2004-03-25T12:10:27Z")
I forgot to put in a plug for [the metaweb](http://www.metaweb.com/wiki/wiki.phtml), 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. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/14 "2004-03-25T12:21:32Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > It’s a long, sprawling, pointless book. But I loved it. > > The Eliza and Jack stuff is an easier read. What he said. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/15 "2004-03-25T12:31:44Z")
Before anyone nits me. That’s Louis XIV. 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? ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/16 "2004-03-25T13:03:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/17 "2004-03-25T13:07:52Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > Before anyone nits me. That’s Louis XIV. > > 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? 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. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/18 "2004-03-25T13:31:30Z")
The first section was slow going, but once they introduced the vagabond, it took off nicely. I liked it a lot and am looking forward to the next. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/19 "2004-03-25T13:35:40Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200/20 "2004-03-25T14:24:54Z")
**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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neal-stephensons-quicksilver/236200.md?page=2)