Neal Stephenson follows his international bestseller, the WWII thriller Cryptono
micon, with a novel set in the 16th and 17th centuries, in a world of war, scien
tific, religious and political turmoil. With a cast of characters that includes
Newton, Leibniz, Christopher Wren, Charles II, Cromwell and the young Benjamin F
ranklin, Stephenson again shows his extraordinary ability to get inside a place
and time; as he did for the futures of his science fiction (Snowcrash,The Diamon
d Age) and for WWII (Cryptonomicon), here he does for the England of the Civil W
ar and the Europe of the Wars of Religion and the Scientific Revolution. Quicksi
lver is yet another tour-de-force from a writer who is simply unique.
