There are the three viewpoint characters, and each has their own interweaving adventures. In a story so complex, one person’s spoiler is another person’s background information. It would be difficult to describe the plot in any detail. While they often move the events of the story forwards, they each take turns as observers and prime movers. I would be reluctant to term any of them the protagonists. It primarily follows three major characters: Daniel Waterhouse, Jack Shaftoe, and Eliza Second-Name-Subject-To-Change. The trilogy-though it may be better to take it as a single massive novel split up for the convenience of publication à la Lord of the Rings-takes place in Early Modern Europe. The Baroque Cycle is Neal Stephenson at his most Neal Stephensononian. “Three main characters bear witness to the dawn of the Modern Era in Europe, including a scholar of the Royal Society, a swashbuckling vagabond, and a brilliant former slave/countess/proto-stock market genius.” Review: Book: Quicksilver (Book #1 in The Baroque Cycle)
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