Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson HCDJ (Baroque Cycle #1) 1st Edition/1st Printing. Very Good. slight soiling of page edges. Top rear corner is very slightly bumped. No other flaws. Boards spine and jacket are almost pristine, as are corners, aside from the aforementioned bump. Jacket is protected by a Brodart mylar sleeve. A beautiful copy! Will ship, well-padded, in a sturdy cardboard box.

This series is Stephenson's masterwork. Any of the three books in this series would be a career-defining achievement for almost any other author. What a glorious and amazing read and a wonderful start to a series that stands at the pinnacle of the sci/fi/alternate history genre!

About the book:

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...