The Confusion
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
The Confusion
| Full title | The Confusion: The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 2 |
|---|---|
| Author | Neal Stephenson |
| Published | 2004 |
| Pages | 815 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Volume two of Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, built as two books interleaved chapter by chapter — Jack Shaftoe’s galley-slave consortium chasing silver around the world, and Eliza working the money politics of Versailles, Amsterdam and London. It shared the 2005 Locus Award with the volume that follows it. |
The Confusion
Where I heard about it
- a16z’s infrastructure team — on the a16z Infra Reading List, in the Fantasy section, which cards the Baroque Cycle as one entry — “a sweeping, detailed, fantastic, and funny account of the life and times of Isaac Newton” — recommended to readers who bounced off Stephenson’s science fiction, because “it has endings!”
About this edition
The two interleaved books are Bonanza and The Juncto, which is what the title puns on. Volume one, Quicksilver, is also in the anti-library; this is the middle.
Connections
- a16z Infra Reading List — the list this came from; Fantasy section, Baroque Cycle entry.
- The Baroque Cycle — the series card.
- Quicksilver — volume one.
- The System of the World (Stephenson novel) — volume three.
- Neal Stephenson — the author.
- Isaac Newton — the figure the cycle is organised around.
- Republic of Letters — the Royal Society world the trilogy is set inside.
- Historical Fiction — the genre.
- Cryptonomicon — the Stephenson novel the cycle is a prequel to, by family line.
- Snow Crash — the Stephenson book Kyle has already read.
- a16z — the firm whose infrastructure team curates the list.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.