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'Quicksilver' Website and Release Date
EvilBastard writes "Neil Stephenson's next book in the Baroque Cycle, Quicksilver, now has a publishing date of the 23rd of September, 2003. This book appears to follow the Shaftoe, Waterhouse and Root family line back to the early 18th Century. You can find a short extract online."
Yup, y'ar. Maybe a little. Stevenson wrote Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash, and In The Beginning Was The Command Line, and others. All highly recommended.
He wrote:
Snow Crash
Diamond Age
Crytptonomicon
In the Beginning was the Command Line
Zodiac plus two more books under a pen name.
Great author of a few geek clasics, with great insight into modern issues.
Reality is that which refuses to go away when I stop believing in it. --Phillip K. Dick (remove SPAM to email)
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
Signal to Noise by Eric S. Nylund
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
I heard Stephenson give a lecture at Carnegie Mellon University on Thursday of last week, where he discussed this novel. It sounded very interesting, albeit a departure from his normal science fiction type novels. He discussed what he considered to be the "soap opera" of the Newton-Leibniz controversy regarding the invention of calculus, which spread to other areas. Eventually this led up to a description of Leibniz's ideas metaphysics, which he regards as highly relevant in regards to computer science, cellular automata, and quantum physics. His descriptions of these events were slightly convoluted but that was part of their charm, and while I expected some type of discussion of technology or Snow Crash / Cryptonomicon type topics, I was pleasantly surprised to hear his 18th century tangent. He's a very talented and fascinating man.
On a side note, he mentioned that he only speaks about once every five years and that he's very anti-social. He said his books are not a social process and come entirely from him, as opposed to including feedback from others. Still, I'm glad to have this man off in his little corner of the world thinking and researching about fascinating topics, broadcasting his findings to the rest of us.
I hadn't heard of him until I picked up Cryptonomicon on a whim. (Borders was running it for 20% off once upon a time) I got it for a trip I took with my girlfriend to California, and I was laughing out loud so much she complained repeatedly. The fact that we were sitting in seats next to the plane's engine at the time should be noted here to give you an idea of just how loud I was laughing. Of his books that I've read, I think Cryptonomicon was his best, followed by Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and Zodiac. They're all worth checking out, and probably owning. They're exceptionally geek-friendly.
Dare to Hope. Prepare to be Disappointed.
In Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon there was a sense of something epic building all the way through that didn't really pay off. More of shame because he spins such an excellent yarn, and his writing is very engaging. But don't (please) pop the balloon just to bring the book to a conclusion.
This is the first book in the timeline. Cryptonomicon is related (as are the characteres therein) but comes after Quicksilver time wise. So this is the prequel to Cryptonomicon basically.
If this thing is half as good as Cryptonomicon, it will be worth reading IMHO...
IMHO one of the few authors bothering (or able) to extrapolate cutting edge technology and concepts.
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Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
I don't expect much in the way of correct spelling, good grammar, and typos here on slashdot, and I make plenty of these mistakes myself. But when I'm paying north of $20 for a hardback book, like Cryptonomicon, I really expect to see the work of a professional editor. This book was filled with typos and even spell-checker kinds of errors (e.g. cannon vs canon). Never mind the perl code in the book which lost all newlines. It appeared that the manuscript had just been run through a spell checker, then sent to the printer. Can we expect better for this go around?
Even in the the 1700s the Shaftoes were some bad mutha-
Vote for global prefs bug
yes, it's called _A Signal Shattered_, and it was jus as good if not better. wish he'd do another..
Sorry, but in this crowd, Neal Stephenson is just as big, if not bigger, than Star Trek or The Matrix.
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
Spoiler space.
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It might be possible that we are talking about Enoch Root, not only a relative with the same name, but the same person who appears on Cryptonomicon. It's been hinted a few times in several places, Cryptonomicon included. Stephenson himself said that there's a "SciFi" turn in Cryptonomicon which will become more evident in Quicksilver.
Presumably, as the other two main characters from the blurb on the site have the surnames Waterhouse and Shaftoe, we're talking some sort of 18th Century prequel to Cryptonomicon somehow.
Presumably the Waterhouse and Shaftoe characters are ancestors of the characters in Cryptonomicon. Whether "Enoch" is an ancestor to Root in Crypto, or is (ahem) something entirely different remains to be seen.
.siggy
I alternated between laughing "I know that guy" and shivering "I am that guy".
MORTAR COMBAT!
Things shouldn't have to be 'People Magazine' big before its safe to assume that thay can be mentioned on Slashdot w/ out a preamble. As far as current sci-fi or techie writers go, NS is huge. He may not be William Gibson, but he's certainly not obscure.
Given the tools available to you, there isn't really room to complain about not having heard of someone or something.
It is better to be silent, and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
In case you're interested, I've also got a page up of Neal Stephenson's short work, fiction and non-fiction.
BTW, this book is the first book of three in Baroque Cycle, and they'll be released at six month intervals. So says HarperCollins.
Try trying "Neal Stephenson" in that search box thingie at http://www.google.com/ (a search engine, just in case you haven't heard of it either). You might be surprised at the result.
fyi, he's speaking at the Usenix Technical Conference on June 12th as the keynote speaker. he's going to talk about this new book and some other things. luckily, i'll be there =)
So this is the prequel to Cryptonomicon basically.
I heard that he wants to make the prequel kid-friendly, and is introducing a large-eared sidekick that has an amusing Jamacian accent. I'm really looking forward to this one.
The middle mind speaks!
Three thoughts:
1. The "period-ness" of the novel may surpass the "geek-ness." This is a tad disappointing.
2. I'm rather indifferent to the genealogical links between these characters and Cryptonomicon's. I mean, the characters in Cryptonomicon were pretty good, but it's not as if they were so fabulously conceived that I said "Goddamn, I wish I could read an entire cycle of books about their ancestors!" But Stephenson obviously has affection for them, so whatever helps him write is okay by me.
3. I also suspect the idea of a "cycle" of books arose from his experience writing (and attempting to end) Cryptonomicon. I suppose it's easier to write an ending if it needn't be the ultimate ending. And also, if he found himself generating more than a thousand pages once again, it was probably better to partition them into several volumes and write as much as wanted, rather than form the immense tome that Cryptonomicon became and be forced to cut the story off somewhat abrupty.
What Would Jesus Do
(for a Klondike bar)?
My question is, is Idoru considered to be among Gibson's best work? If not, what's the best introduction to his style?
OMFG, the /. editors let a misspelling of NEAL Stephenson through.
Heresy!
jack's bicycle is music to my ears
I assumed that the fact that Enoch Root in Cryptonomicon would, logically, have been much older than he in fact was when meeting Randy Waterhouse was one of those "don't ask too many questions" situations...
Perhaps that hints at this interesting theory, too?
sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
Stephenson has a great mind, no doubt. The mind is backed by a tremendous ego. This is important for a writer, otherwise they become too hash of a self critic and no book ever sees the press. However, and editor is usually the devil's advocate against the writer's ego, challenging and filtering concepts so what comes out the end doesn't seem like a long UseNet pos. I don't know who is doing Stephenson's editing, but they need to be a bit more foreceful with him: for one, cutting out more. How many pages were spent describing breakfast cereal in Cryptonomicon? This is up there with John Galt's forty page speech in Atlas Shrugged, in terms of Too Much. It's a difficult task, writing less, it is like writing really tight, optimized code. It's a skill that Stephenson, or his editors, need to acquire. Along with better proofreaders for spelling and grammar.
In spite of all this criticism, I do enjoy his works.
As this page reminds, Enoch died in cryptonomicon and came back later on.
I knew that wasn't a plot hole.
Interesting indeed.
(2,3-Benzopyrrole)
..Neil Stephenson's next book in the Baroque Cycle...
And here I sit, out of Monet.
Baroque of course, from trying to keep up with all the excellent books by David Drake (Hammers Slammers fame)
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Also Zodiac, which was one of his earliest. Not quite as polished, as funny, and more irreverent than Snow Crash.
He seems to like dry humor, irony, mystical experiences, sex , and underdogs.
Not necessarily in that order.
Searching for Truth, Justice, and the Guy Who Boosted My Wallet a Few Weeks Back....
Yeah, he's pretty obscure:
Number of Linux users as of today (source: the Linux counter, http://counter.li.org/): 134107
Sales figures of Cryptonomicon, as of 3/19/01 (source Publisher's Weekly (http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com), sorry figures are so old, I don't have time to search for new ones):116,330
Yep. I agree. We ought to cover Star Trek and The Matrix, and not obscure stuff like Linux and Neal Stephenson. That stuff is for nerds!
I almost thought there was a story about surfing on /.
http://www.quiksilver.com/
You know, water, sand, sun and all that outdoors stuff.
Brought to you by the author of such childrens' classics as "Some Kittens can Fly!" and "All Dogs go to Hell."
Neal's a pretty sharp guy but he outsources a lot of his research to proffesionals (makes sense) and has several staff people help him put the pieces together, as it were.
I offered my services as part of the FTEST (final tech editing service team) but Neal didn't want a computer pundit as much as he was looking for science pundits. Ah well, at least now I'm in his rolodex and hopefully I'll get more chances to work with him.
Warmest regards,
--Jack
Wagner LLC Consulting Co. - Getting it right the first time
The first time I read "Cryptonomicon", I was slightly put out by how long and drawn out many of the passages and descriptions were. So I ended up reading the whole thing but sort of skimming over some of what I thought was less important stuff.
Imagine my suprise when, two year later, I picked up the book and decided to read through it again. I can't believe how much I missed the first time through. Sure, not all of it has everything to do with the storyline, but it's all entertaining, and quite funny in many places.
The best example I can (sorta) remember is when the younger Waterhouse is at the estate of his newly deceased grandmother, and all the relatives are trying madly to get the best inheritance. Waterhouse devises a formula that gets him what he wants. The whole scene had very little to do with the storyline, but it was great to read, and I'm glad he put it in there.
If you want short and to the point, go see a movie. Also, you dont know long and drawn out unless you've read the unabridged "Les Miserables."
I have to agree, I found Snow Crash and Diamond Age hard to put down, but Cryptonomicon hard to pick back up.
I actually abandoned it about 3/4 of the way through, finding it, as you said, just too long for the content and a little silly.
One of my biggest complaints about SnowCrash and Diamond Age is that he starts with great characters and premises and then crashes them into these global apocalyptic endings that are a bit ludicrous.
Syntax error: loose != lose, affect != effect, then!=than
I'm sure I'm not the only person for whom ITBWTCL catalysed our interest in Linux.
Ceci n'est pas une
Neal Stephenson's writing style apes Thomas Pynchon quite a bit. Pynchon's last book was Mason & Dixon, which took place in the 1700's and was written in a faux-18th century style of writing. Neal's author biography on the Quicksilver website is written in a similar style.
Fortunately, the preview of the book isn't written like that. Last thing I want to do is slug through another 800 pages of "picnicks" and other arbitrary 18th century capitalization and spelling choices. At least Pynchon didn't also use those archaic "f"'s instead of "s"'s. (yes, I know they aren't really f's but that key isn't on my keyboard)
Good thing too. Given his style of writing and geeky subject matters, Stephenson has often been accused of writing like Pynchon a little too much....
I enjoy his books, but his tendancy to "accelerate" makes me think that he gets bored with them far sooner than I do.
Lasers Controlled Games!
More spoilers here (about Cryptonomicon)
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I'm hoping that you are refering to what I think you are referring to. In crypto, during the WWII timeline, Enoch root dies. Shaftoe and a surgeon they yanked out of his house are there when it happens. But, in the "present" timeline Enoch turns out to be Waterhouse's cell mate.
This confused the hell out of me when I first read it.
So, are you saying it's possible that Enoch is something more ephemeral? Either a time traveler, or a god or something along those lines? That could explain how he would turn up in some many desparate timelines (including, apparently, the Baroque period...)
I'm very curious to read this new book and find out.
Justin Dubs
The possession of prejudices is not nearly as dangerous as the inability to abandon them.