Systemic Shock
Written: Dec 28 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A grand finale to a grand cycle.
Cons: It requires attention and effort. Not light reading.
The Bottom Line: One of few fiction cycles which really merits the appellation "required reading."
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| tlknapp's Full Review: Neal Stephenson - The System of the World Books |
I skipped reviewing The Confusion, the second volume of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, because doing so would necessarily have been a mere rehash of my review of the first volume, Quicksilver (click here for that one). As the middle portion of a trilogy, The Confusion was worthwhile and necessary, but at loose ends when considered as anything but an extension of Quicksilver.
System of the World is a different animal altogether. The previous volumes had their own climaxes, of course, but here is where Stephenson puts it all together. He's not just ending a story, he's bringing an apocalyptic end to one historical era and ushering in the next. And brother, it is one heavy trip.
The characters, of course, are not new. Once again we see the world through the eyes of Daniel Waterhouse, confidant of Newton, Leibniz and sundry members of the nobility; Half-Cocked Jack Shaftoe, formerly King of Vagabonds and now "Jack the Coiner," England's premier counterfeiter; and Eliza Zeur, former slave, now Duchess of Territories with Unpronounceable Names.
In System of the World, we move out of "flashback territory." The action is in the now as Waterhouse struggles to affect the succession of the British Crown; save Isaac Newton's hide when Newton finds himself and the Mint (which he operates) ensnared in the conflict between Whig and Tory, Hanoverian and Jacobite; help Leibniz bring the "Logic Mill" -- a prototypical computer -- into existence; and provide a happy ending for the star-crossed Jack and Eliza. The cast of thousands includes everyone from Jack Ketch (England's High Executioner) to Peter the Great (Tsar of All The Russias) to familiar characters from the previous books (the Duke of Marlborough, Christopher Wren -- Stephenson splashes the Who's Who of 1710 across his pages).
Just the kind of tall order which Stephenson is apt to set for his characters, eh? The book is simultaneously a near-murder mystery, a romp through the dying days of Baroque England, a series of screwy love stories, a resurrection tale and an investigation of matters political and philosophical which still absorb the interest of humanity today.
Did I mention that it's difficult to put down? Did I mention that the plot elements are so intertwined as to make it impossible to divulge much without ruining the book? The one digression I can mention without beginning to unravel secrets best left for the reader's discovery is the struggle of Dappa, an African slave late of Jack's ship Minerva to secure his freedom by writing broadsides from prison where he awaits trial on charges of grand larceny (having "stolen" himself from slavery). That tale alone, especially Dappa's final encounter with his putative owner, is worthy of a book, and well worth the price of System of the World.
What? You want more? Sorry. Don't rate the review "very helpful" if you don't like it, but this book simply has to be read. You'll note that this is the first review of it to appear on Epinions, even though it's been out for several months and has been on the New York Times Bestseller List. There's a reason for that. The reason is that it's an extraordinarily difficult book (and cycle) to describe. I may fudge it, but I won't fudge it by giving away the store. Read the damn book.
I will, however, offer one additional note of interest: The book, and the cycle, actually have an ending. This isn't a gratuitous observation. If you read other reviews of other books by Neal Stephenson, you'll find frequent complaints that his novels tend to end with a whimper, rather than a bang; to leave loose ends untied and major questions unanswered. System of the World answers the major questions, at least insofar as is possible. It ties up the ends which can be tied. There's definitely wiggle room for another cycle to bridge the gap between The Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon, but you won't put down The System of The World with a sense of unresolved conflict. You're told where the bodies are buried.
At 3,000 pages or so, The Baroque Cycle requires a large investment of attention and effort. That investment pays off in each of the three books, and in the cycle as a whole. If any novel or cycle of the last decade is destined for enduring value as both literature and popular fare, this is it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tlknapp
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Member: Thomas Knapp
Location: Saint Louis, MO USA
Reviews written: 82
Trusted by: 11 members
About Me:
Libertarian activist, writer, publisher of Rational Review and Kn@ppster.
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