Daniel Waterhouse finds himself embroiled in a dark conflict that has
been raging in the shadows for decades. It is 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,
a.k.a. Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds. Hostilities are suddenly
moving to a new and more volatile level, as Jack plots a daring assault
on the Tower of London itself, aiming for nothing less than the total
corruption of Britain's newborn monetary system. The Baroque Cycle, Neal
Stephenson's award-winning series, spans the late 17th and early 18th
centuries, combining history, adventure, science, invention, piracy, and
alchemy into one sweeping tale. It is a gloriously rich, entertaining,
and endlessly inventive historical epic populated by the likes of Isaac
Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV, along
with some of the most inventive literary characters in modern fiction.