The System of the World

Publisher Marketing: England, 1714. London has long been home to a secret war between the brilliant, enigmatic Master of the Mint and closet alchemist, Isaac Newton, and his archnemesis, the insidious counterfeiter Jack the Coiner. Hostilities are suddenly moving to a new and more volatile level as Half-Cocked Jack hatches a daring plan, aiming for the total corruption of Britain s newborn monetary system. Enter Daniel Waterhouse: Aging Puritan and Natural Philosopher, Daniel has been on a long and harrowing quest to help mend the rift between adversarial geniuses. As Daniel combs city and country for clues to the identity of the blackguard who is attempting to blow up Natural Philosophers, political factions jockey for position while awaiting the impending death of the ailing queen, and the holy grail of alchemy, the key to life eternal, tantalizes and continues to elude Isaac Newton. As Newton, Waterhouse, and Shaftoe each circle closer to the object of Daniel s quest, everything that was will be changed forever. . . . [Stephenson has] managed to give Middle Earth a run for its money. Janet Maslin, New York Times Stephenson spent nearly two thousand pages setting his convergent plots in motion, and they all collide brilliantly in the third and final installment of his Baroque Cycle. . . . Historical fiction was never this much fun or this successful. Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)" Review Citations: Ingram Advance 09/01/2005 pg. 72 (EAN 9780060750862, Paperback) Library Journal Prepub Alert 06/15/2004 pg. 54 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) Booklist 08/01/2004 pg. 1875 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2004 pg. 835 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Publishers Weekly 09/13/2004 pg. 57 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Library Journal 09/15/2004 pg. 51 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Booklist 09/15/2004 pg. 180 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) Entertainment Weekly 10/01/2004 pg. 76 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) Library Journal 06/15/2004 (EAN 9780060523879, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Stephenson, Neal Neal Stephenson is the author of Reamde, Anathem; the three-volume historical epic the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World); Cryptonomicon; The Diamond Age; Snow Crash, which was named one of Time magazine's top one hundred all-time best English-language novels; and Zodiac. He lives in Seattle, Washington. Contributor Bio:  Prebble, Simon Simon Prebble is a veteran British narrator and performer of considerable experience and talent. He has enjoyed a varied career from acting in soap operas to performing Shakespeare's works. One of AudioFile's Golden Voices, he has recorded over 200 audiobooks and his performances have received critical acclaim both in the U. S. and the U. K. In 2009, Simon was named the Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture. Simon has garnered numerous Earphones Awards and read for such authors as Ian McEwan, Susanna Clarke, Peter Robinson, and Michael Crichton.