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The Baroque Cycle - Neal Stephenson

  • 19-01-2015 10:59am
    #1
    youcancallmeal
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,037 ✭✭✭


    I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first book Quicksilver and I'm close to giving up. It seems to be devoid of any kind of interesting plot and just mostly self indulgent historical science porn. I do like Neal Stephenson's writing style and loved Snowcrash and Cryptonomicon. I don't like how he is just constantly introducing famous people from the period and giving them what seems like his own imagined version of their personalities. I wish he would concentrate more on the story instead rolling out cameo after cameo of historical figures.

    So anyway my question is do I continue or is the next 7 books more of this nonsense that is complicated for the sake of being complicated at the cost of telling a good story?


Comments

  • #2
    Carawaystick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,779 ✭✭✭Carawaystick


    Its a slow start and I gave up myself at the start.
    It is building up characters, and hopping through time, but it levels out and rattles on as a great yarn.t cameos

    They're not cameos, they become full characters

    I read it as 3 doorstep books


  • #3
    youcancallmeal
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,037 ✭✭✭youcancallmeal


    Carawaystick wrote: »
    Its a slow start and I gave up myself at the start.
    It is building up characters, and hopping through time, but it levels out and rattles on as a great yarn.t cameos

    They're not cameos, they become full characters

    I read it as 3 doorstep books

    Thanks, yeah I'm beginning to realise the same about the cameos. I think I'll plough on and at least finish the first book!


  • #4
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Anathem is well worth reading also. Lots of science and a very good story. No famous characters in it though so you might prefer it to the baroque cycle.


  • #5
    Carawaystick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,779 ✭✭✭Carawaystick


    youcancallmeal wrote: »
    Thanks, yeah I'm beginning to realise the same about the cameos. I think I'll plough on and at least finish the first book!

    The Faffing about with MIT and the ship off the east of America is tedious, but it'll pick up.

    Parts of Ireland get cameos later in the story too ;)


    Anathem is good and sciency/natural philosophical too


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