The System of the World (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 3)

Note: This review applies to all three books in the Baroque Cycle: - Quicksilver - The Confusion - The System of the World I remember reading an interview with Neal Stephenson in which he was challenged by the interviewer about the length of the Baroque Cycle and the amount of allegedly superfluous prose in the three books which make up the trilogy. His response was to rail against the...more

Note: This review applies to all three books in the Baroque Cycle: - Quicksilver - The Confusion - The System of the World I remember reading an interview with Neal Stephenson in which he was challenged by the interviewer about the length of the Baroque Cycle and the amount of allegedly superfluous prose in the three books which make up the trilogy. His response was to rail against the 'Cult of Brevity' taught by most writing classes which urges the author to remove every single word that does not immediately serve to advance the plot. It's true that Stephenson takes his time over his narrative, allowing the reader time to appreciate the astonishing amount of period and geographical detail he packs into this trilogy. Consequently all three books in The Baroque Cycle are enormous and will not satisfy those looking for a quick fix of historical adventure or those with limited reading time. To get a sense of the scope of this work, see the wikipedia page and look at the list of characters and locations. I personally enjoy works such as this in which the author takes his time to build a rich and well-researched background as well as a plot - increasingly I find this to be imperative to sustain my suspension of disbelief in works of historical fantasy or speculative fiction. I'll admit there were points at which I skipped the odd page or two, but overall I found Stephenson's style very refreshing compared to his contemporaries. All in all I found it great adventure tale told against a jaw droppingly wonderful rendition of 17th century life, politics, economics, science and war. I loved every page, but I can certainly understand why many people find it unreadable.    hide

I've read the trilogy twice now, and enjoyed it just as much - if not more - the second time through. The first read aroused a passion about the 17th century, and my studies of the period allowed me to enjoy the second read in so many more ways. The characters are all believable, down to the bitterness of van Hoek and the passion of Eliza. The mix of history, economics, alchemy, science,...more

I've read the trilogy twice now, and enjoyed it just as much - if not more - the second time through. The first read aroused a passion about the 17th century, and my studies of the period allowed me to enjoy the second read in so many more ways. The characters are all believable, down to the bitterness of van Hoek and the passion of Eliza. The mix of history, economics, alchemy, science, politics, cryptography, religion and geography force the reader to stay on his or her proverbial toes throughout the reading of the entire book, and if one manages to do so, one is profoundly rewarded. I can only hope that Neal Stephenson decides to write another book (or series) in the pseudo-series that includes these three books and the Cryptonomicon, seeing as how they span the same topics and include family members separated by three hundred years (and one of the same characters, even!). It would be interesting to see Neal Stephenson's vision for how these character's offspring would be living in the year 2300 and how cryptography and the storage/handling of information will work then.   hide

Stephenson's conclusion to the Baroque Cycle trilogy is a superb and satisfying volume - bringing together the various characters and plot threads he has been developing for the previous 1800-odd pages beautifully. His deep love, and incredible knowledge, of the history of science, finance, architecture and politics in the early 1700s shows through clearly - and as a London resident who is...more

Stephenson's conclusion to the Baroque Cycle trilogy is a superb and satisfying volume - bringing together the various characters and plot threads he has been developing for the previous 1800-odd pages beautifully. His deep love, and incredible knowledge, of the history of science, finance, architecture and politics in the early 1700s shows through clearly - and as a London resident who is fascinated with the history of my city, every chapter contained a fantastic revelation about the city that sent me scurrying off to Wikipedia for confirmation or more detail. Overall, though, the triumph of The System of the World is the same as the triumph of the rest of the cycle; it lies in Stephenson's unrivalled ability to take historical characters of great import and ascribe to them personalities, desires, lusts, foibles and even senses of humour. He makes his characters come alive, and in the process creates a detailed, respectful but hugely, hugely enjoyable history which is more complex, exciting and extraordinary than any fiction.   hide

This is an excellent series but I have to admit to struggling towards the end. There is a lot of atmosphere in these novels but the plot doesn't seem too coherent, there is just far too much of it! The final epilogue doesn't feel right either as it just is a bit jarring with the rest of the story. Well worth the very long slog through it though!