Works Cited: The Baroque Cycle

So this will come as no surprise, but the Baroque Cycle was an obvious influence on the game, and in many ways my view of history and specifically fantasy. Written by Neal Stephenson, odds are very good if you're reading this blog you've already read his works and probably the three books I'm talking about.

In case you haven't read it, well--do it. Mind you, it's three massive tomes with multiple lead characters and interweaving plots, so you might want to pace yourself. It's a book about science, faith, gold, greed, sex, magic, computers, pirates, and most of all economics and the web of interactions that humanity makes for itself. It's an epic work, with Issac Newton and King Louis and Blackbeard and just about every other famous person from the era. It's one of those epic works that you can just SOAK in, finding more connections and more twists. The fact that there's an immortal alchemist in it--and that's such a minor character--shows the revolution of the time.

In many ways, it made me realize that for me, the Baroque era--the 17th and early 18th century is the sweet spot for my fantasy. I love dramatic dueling and lords and nobles, but at the same time I want newspapers and coffee and vast trading empires and economics and inventions and technology, too. I personally think we're seeing this as the next phase of fantasy--first came Tolkein and his idealized Norse/Celtic/working class English epic with swords and magic and some subconcious hatred of WWII. This generation though is used to cellphones and Newscycles and 3D-printers. For us, a world without technology is rapidly becoming a truly foreign land.

Add to this just how MUCH happened during the time. We see a black plague, London burn and be rebuilt, new ideas challenging the old, empires rise and fall...it's a perfect place for some brave and somewhat crazy characters to make their fortunes and change the world. It shows how characters ranging from the Lords and Ladies of powers to the Scum of the earth can exist in the world and do some epic things.

The best part though is how modern some of the outlooks and writing is. Characters are alive--they bitch about the weather, they fight against the barbaric practices of the age, they make bad jokes and naughty limericks and have their own plans and schemes. It's easy to think of historical works and the people from the past history as Disney automatons or characters reading a line in a long play, but to remember they were people with ideas and bodily functions and favorite jokes is a fine art, and one that I think we need to remember for both gaming and historical knowledge.

It's even funny.

So yeah, go start reading that one if you haven't. I'm working on organizing my thoughts and perhaps most importantly--who your characters are going to have to fight...