Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (historical fiction)

Miscellaneous History
1

Maybe this should have gone into the general forum, but since it’s a piece of historical fiction I thought it would be better placed here.

I´m about halfway through this 3000 page behemoth of a story and I have to say I´m really impressed. I´ve always been a fan of Stephensons science fiction, particularly The Diamond Age, and he has a libertarian streak a mile wide.

There is a lot of great material for libertarians and Austrians in particular in the Baroque Cycle. There are lengthy discussions and subplots revolving around trade, economics and particularly banking, and the Baroque period was a very exciting time.

The ability of the tiny little United Dutch Republic to fight off giants like England and France due in no small part to their superior freedom of trade and soundness of their market economy is admirable, and the lunacy of Royal Absolutism until Louis XIV, and the economic backwardness of France in that era is almost laughable.

It’s long and a bit heavy going in parts, but I strongly recommend it to anyone who would like light-hearted, libertarian-oriented fiction about the birth of reason, science and our modern world.

2

Ordered that the other day, with some other books. 3k pages though, wth? lol

3

The Baroque Cycle, although released in the form of three 1000-page paperbacks, is actually eight seperate books, an “octology” rather than a trilogy. It follows a huge cast of characters from about 1650 to close to 1720.

It’s even more insane when you consider that Stephenson wrote it longhand on loose sheets of paper in an attempt to slow himself down…he’s an incredibly prolific writer and often goes off on weird tangents.