Wired:“Neal Stephenson rewrites history - for the dark prince of hacker fiction, looking backward is another way of seeing the future.”
Seattle Times:“Because of his subject matter, Stephenson won’t lose his usual science-lovers. He’ll pick up some history buffs as well, and his quirky characters, zestful pace, and wryly humorous tone will charm almost everyone else… Stephenson’s aim is more than an entertaining account of remarkable personalities. Quicksilver’s panoramic view encompasses the bitter religious and political struggles which gave rise to the scientific way of thought. [Quicksilveris] a sprawling, engrossing tale.”
Men’s Journaclass="underline" “ Quicksilver… tosses its three main characters into the bubbling cauldron of science and intrigue that Stephenson, like a mad alchemist, has cooked up in his lab… [A] swashbuckling pirate battle, for example, dares any reader to put down the novel and gives Quicksilver… the decadent pacing of a beach thriller.”
Newsweek:“Sprawling, irreverent, and ultimately profound.”
Slate:“ Quicksilverinfuses old-school science and engineering with a badly needed dose of swashbuckling adventure, complete with a professor-versus-the-pirates battle at sea. Who knew the Natural Philosophers were so cool?”
Library Journal(starred review):“Sparkling prose, subtle humor, and a superb knowledge of the period makes this grand feast of a novel a mandatory choice… highly recommended.”
Salon:“We expect nothing less from Neal Stephenson than sustained ecstatic zaniness… As seen through Stephenson’s eyes the late seventeenth century is endlessly fascinating, and so is the focus on the intersection of religion and science… The late seventeenth century saw an explosion of intellectual brilliance that resembles nothing so much as it does an overflow from a boiling cauldron. So does Quicksilver.”
Publishers Weekly:“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…”
Pages:“The joy of entering le monde Stephenson is that of surrender. Give up any and all preconceived notions of historical consistency, linear scientific progress, and fail-safe happy endings, and you’ll enjoy the ride… you’ll be begging for more.”
Maps by Nick Springer
Family trees created by Lisa Gold, illustrated by Jane S. Kim
Conic sections illustration, a digital recomposition of eight figures from Claude Richard’s 1655 edition of Apollonius of Perga’s Conic Sections, by Alvy Ray Smith
Case stamp art by Laura Hartman Maestro
Jacket design by Richard L. Aquan
Jacket illustration from Mary Evans Picture Library
Map of 1667 London reproduced with changes courtesy of Historic Urban Plans, Inc.
Refracting sphere illustration from the facsimile edition of Robert Hooke’s Philosophical Experiments and Observations, edited by W. Derham. Published by Frank Cass amp; Co., Ltd., London, 1967.
Flea illustration from Robert Hooke’s 1665 Micrographia reprinted by permission of Octavo, www.octavo.com.
Illustrations from Isaac Newton’s 1729 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy courtesy of Primary Source Microfilm.
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
QUICKSILVER. Copyright © 2003 by Neal Stephenson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.
"Interview." Copyright © 2003 by Neal Stephenson
"Quicksilver Metaweb: Introduction" and "Quicksilver Dramatis Personae" are licensed under the terms described below.
Metaweb: Copyrights: From the Quicksilver Metaweb:
The goal of the Metaweb is to create an information source that is freely available. The license we use grants free access to our content in the same sense as free software is licensed freely. That is to say, Metaweb content can be copied, modified, and redistributed so long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the Metaweb as the source. Metaweb entries therefore will remain free forever and can be used by anybody subject to certain restrictions, most of which serve to ensure that freedom. To fulfill the above goals, the text contained in the Metaweb is licensed to the public under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL).
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the text of all Metaweb materials under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.
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Microsoft Reader March 2004 ISBN 0-06-074831-1
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