Neal Stepenson & The Baroque Cycle

About a month ago, I'd come close to buying Quicksilver, the first book of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle Trilogy over at eReader.com. There was a special deal available for all 3 books, but I was hesitant to buy without having read any of the books.

I decided against the purchase, choosing to ordered Quicksilver from the local library. Well, I've now had a chance to read a fair bit of Quicksilver, and am enjoying the story. It's set in the 1600s, and features famous characters from history mixing it up with characters created by Stephenson. From the eReader site:

Set against the backdrop of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Quicksilver tells the intertwining tales of three unforgettable main characters (ancestors of characters from Cryptonomicon) as they traverse a landscape populated by mad alchemists, Barbary pirates, and bawdy courtiers, as well as historical figures including Ben Franklin, William of Orange, Louis XIV, and many others.

This breathtaking story ranges from the American colonies to the Tower of London to the glittering palace at Versailles, and all manner of places in between — and plays out during a singular nexus point in history, when rationality triumphed over mysticism, monarchy was overthrown, markets become free, and religious tolerance gained ground over harsh oppression.

If you're a history and historical fiction fan like I am, The Baroque Cycle sounds like (and is) an interesting story.

So, today, when I came across two tidbits related to Neal Stephenson and his latest book series, I thought I'd share them:

First, eReader.com is offering the entire 3 ebook Baroque Cycle Trilogy, for $29.95. That includes Quicksilver, The Confusion and The System of the World.

There are advantages to buying the ebooks, most notably the additional material available only in those editions. Further, buying the trilogy as ebooks is cheaper than buying all 3 of printed editions (even used). Finally, it's much easier to haul ebooks around on a Palm handheld! Just the hardcover edition of Quicksilver is a massive 927 page volume.

The second tidbit: Neal Stephenson was sent questions posed by the folks at Slashdot. Today, his answsers have been posted in Neal Stephenson Responds With Wit and Humor.

So, if you're at all interested in Stephenson or his books, I hope you take advantage of the ebook deal and have a chance to read the interview at Slashdot.

Have a great weekend!