Customer Reviews

System Of The World Baroque Cycle #3

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Fans of Neal are going to love this series; but... fans of Cryptonomicon may not. It is extremely different (although there are some fantastic similarities in characters - read it you'll see) and will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea. It takes a long (long, long) time to get comfortable with the characters and the story but just like every Stephenson work, it is well worth the effort.It seems sometimes an act of freakish genious that he's able to tie everything together. This book (and the whole series) is a challenge, no doubt, but it's been a fun challenge.

Having recently finished reading "The System of the World", I can say that the Baroque Cycle, in its entirety, ranks as one of the most ambitious, cohesive, and engrossing works I've ever read. Stephenson has outdone himself with a tale of religion, economy, friendship, lost love, intrigue, and (of course) science. Having said that, I am only being honest when I say that Volume 3 was the most difficult to get through.

Where Volumes 1 and 2 made use of detail to enrich the readers' experience, Volume 3 merely seems to overwhelm, and even sometimes bore. The endless descriptions of London landmarks and geography take away from what is otherwise a book with thrilling action sequences (the taking of the Tower of London especially standing out), the foundations of long-term friendships being shaken (with Daniel and Isaac drifting apart as Isaac become engrossed with minting coins and prosecuting counterfeiters, while Daniel pursues morally ambiguous ends), and a good old fashioned [attempted] murder mystery.

Volume 3 culminates with the inevitable: Jack being led to Tyburn Cross, to be executed for soiling the Pyx and casting the authenticity of the coinage into doubt; Daniel and Isaac attending the Trial of the Pyx, with Newton's career, good name, and life literally hanging in the balance; Eliza, seemingly unfazed by Jack's death sentence, continuing to wield her influence across borders, seas, and loyalties. A satisfying finale it is, but its readability is severely hampered by less than judicious use of detail, which was well-calculated before, but seems excessive this time around.