In this wonderfully inventive follow-up to his bestseller "Cryptonomicon," Stephenson brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in a time of breathtaking genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined an age known as the Baroque. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Stephenson's very long historical novel, the first volume of a projected trilogy, finds Enoch Root, the Wandering Jew/alchemist from 1999's Cryptonomicon, arriving in 1713 Boston to collect Daniel Waterhouse and take him back to Europe. Waterhouse, an experimenter in early computational systems and an old pal of Isaac Newton, is needed to mediate the fight for precedence between Newton and scientist and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, both of whom independently invented the calculus. Their escalating feud threatens to revert science to pre-empirical times. Root believes Waterhouse, as a close friend to both mathematicians, has the ability to calm the neurotic Newton's nerves and make peace with Leibniz. As Waterhouse sails back to Europe (and eludes capture by the pirate Blackbeard), he reminisces about Newton and the birth of England's scientific revolution during the 1600s. While the Waterhouse story line lets readers see luminaries like Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton at work, a concurrent plot line follows vagabond Jack Shaftoe (an ancestor of a Cryptonomicon character, as is Waterhouse), on his journey across 17th-century continental Europe. Jack meets Eliza, a young English woman who has escaped from a Turkish harem, where she spent her teenage years. The resourceful Eliza eventually rises and achieves revenge against the slave merchant who sold her to the Turks. Stephenson, once best known for his techno-geek SF novel Snow Crash, skillfully reimagines empiricists Newton, Hooke and Leibniz, and creatively retells the birth of the scientific revolution. He has a strong feel for history and a knack for bringing settings to life. Expect high interest in this title, as much for its size and ambition, which make it a publishing event, as for its sales potential-which is high.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

London in 1666 hovers on the edge of tumultuous change. As the bubonic plague sweeps through the city and religious fanatics predict the imminent Apocalypse, young Daniel Waterhouse, son of a dissident preacher, rejects the world of faith for the unexplored territory of natural philosophy. Along with his friends Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, and other brilliant minds, Waterhouse plumbs the depths of experimentation to discover the laws of the universe. At the same time, an enterprising former street urchin named Jack Shaftoe makes his way across Europe, seeking his fortune and meeting Eliza, newly freed from a Turkish harem. When Jack and Eliza eventually encounter Daniel, the consequences cause ripples that spread throughout Europe, heralding the dawn of a new and breathtaking age. In this series opener, Stephenson focuses his attention on the ancestors of the protagonists in his best-selling Cryptonomicon, bringing to life an age of discovery and exploration, of wars and intrigues, and, mostly, of men and women caught up in a time of radical change and philosophical transformation. Sparkling prose, subtle humor, and a superb knowledge of the period make this grand feast of a novel a mandatory choice for libraries of all sizes. Highly recommended.-Jackie Cassada, Asheville-Buncombe Lib. Syst., NCCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

This colossal novel by the author of the equally plethoric Cryptonomicon(1999) begins the Baroque Cycle, a trilogy set in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when the foundations were being laid for the science and mathematics that led to the cryptography in Cryptonomicon; and despite its heft, it is readable as well as highly impressive, not least for the feeling for history it displays--something that will, however, surprise only those who haven't read the earlier book. The three main characters, ancestors of some of Cryptonomicon's protagonists, are formidable representatives of their times and places. Daniel Waterhouse possesses a gifted scientific mind and is trying to go beyond the limits of alchemy to achieve a new understanding of the world; through his eyes, we see such titans of Enlightenment science as Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton. Jack Shaftoe is a street urchin from London who rises to a powerful position in Europe's vagabond community. Eliza, raised in a Turkish harem from which she escapes, lives fairly successfully by her wits, which encompass the know-how for supplying the ingredients of gunpowder. These three have the largest roles, but the book's flavor is imparted in the opening scene, featuring a young and curious Benjamin Franklin. As rich in character sketches as it is in well-developed scenes, Quicksilverwill have readers--especially the history buffs among them--happily turning all its many pages. RolandGreen. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.