Rather than publishing three mass-market paperbacks that would test the boundaries of binding glue, HarperCollins is printing Neal Stephenson's three-book work known as THE BAROQUE CYCLE across eight different paperbacks over the year, starting with QUICKSILVER, which was released this past Tuesday.
Published in hardcover and trade paperback as QUICKSILVER, THE CONFUSION and THE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD, Stephenson's works are rolling out under the following schedule:
• QUICKSILVER: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #1 – out
• KING OF THE VAGABONDS: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #2 – March
• ODALISQUE: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #3 – April
• THE CONFUSION, PART I: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #4 – July
• THE CONFUSION, PART II: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #5 – August
• SOLOMON'S GOLD: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #6 – TBD
• CURRENCY: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #7 – TBD
• THE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD: THE BAROQUE CYCLE #8 – TBD
Stephenson's epic story is probably easier to take in these smaller-sized bites, but if it's cost that matters most, you're better off buying the three trade paperbacks (roughly $48 for those vs. $64 for the eight).
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I am so happy to hear about this! I bought all three books in hardcover and happily read them, but my father, who I know would love them, has been put off by the sheer discomfort involved in reading books of this size (imagine my pain: I did much of my reading in the bathtub, and these are not tub-friendly tomes). I even said to my mother that I wished I could justify buying another set of the trilogy just to rip it apart into bite-size chunks that he could comfortably swallow. Now I may invest in the paperbacks, just to give him the chance to savor them (though since I’ll be recommending them, he’ll probably find lots to criticize, but that’s another story).
I thought they were heavy enough as trades, so I can’t imagine how heavy the hardcovers would be. Reading the trades would put my hands to sleep.
That’s really awesome. I have all three in hardcover, but I haven’t cracked the third because nearly all my reading is done on my train commute to work. I would need an altar boy (or manservant?) if I were to carry and read such a tome on the train.