Quicksilver

by Neal Stephenson

In the first of a projected trilogy, Stephenson explores alchemy as one of the roots of mathematics and computers. With the ancestors of characters appearing in CRYPTONOMICON (Stephenson's previous novel), this literary adventure traverses Europe of the 1700s, with stops in the laboratories of some of the most famous scientists of the day, while in a separate timeline set one hundred years earlier, a drifter attempts to help a young woman exact revenge against her former captors. Winner of the 2004 Arthur C. Clarke award and a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.

Editions of Quicksilver

ISBN 9780060798055	Binding/Format Digital	Publisher Harper Audio	Date	Price None Available
ISBN 9780434008179	Binding/Format Book	Publisher Heinemann	Date 2003	Price $20.44	Very Good
ISBN 9780434008933	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Heinemann	Date 2003	Price £5.95	fine
ISBN 9780060833169	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Harpercollins	Date 2006	Price $2.91	New
ISBN 9780060599331	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher Harpercollins	Date 2004	Price $120.00	New (Condition varies from Fine to Near Fine. Please inquire as to specific condition)
ISBN 9780380977420	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher William Morrow & Co	Date 2003	Price $3.33	Good
ISBN 9780060593087	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Perennial	Date 2004	Price $1.00	Good
ISBN 9780060721619	Binding/Format Compact Disc	Publisher Harperaudio	Date 2004	Price $32.48	New

Publisher Notes

Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.

It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox.

And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance.

A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.

And it's just the beginning ...

Performed by Simon Prebble and Stina Nielsen

Media Reviews

"Stephenson clearly never intended QUICKSILVER to be one of those meticulously accurate historical novels that capture ways of thought of times go by. Instead, it explores the philosophical concerns of today....At its best, the novel does this through thrillingly clever, suspenseful and amusing plot twists."

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