Book-The Confusion

The Confusion is the second part of the Baroque trilogy, Neal Stephenson's over 2600 page journey through the the 17 and 18th centuries as the world transformed its scientific, financial, religious, artistic and philosophical viewpoints and institutions.

The first book was really dragged down by so much explanation and detail that it just was a toil to get through. This second book is less so. I also had become used to Stephenson's sometimes unwieldy style, so was able to make better headway through this book, and felt less bogged down most of the time.

The main characters are all still there. Jack Shaftoe, who gains and loses fortunes right and left in this volume. Eliza, whose political and financial machinations keep her in constant peril, and Daniel Waterhouse, of the Royal Society of Philosophers, who seems to be the key to holding all factions of the scientific and philosophic community together.

I do like that Stephenson shows how much the world changed during this time period, and how vast the changes were in so many aspects. But his style still can be grating, and he still can go into so much extraneous detail that reading becomes a chore.

This is a big trilogy, and I have one more left, at almost 900 pages. But I think a bit of a break from Stephenson is needed, so I will read a couple of smaller books before I go back and finish the Baroque Trilogy.