Customer Reviews

A Calculus of Angels (The Age of Unreason, Book 2)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the most imaginative stories I've read in years, combining 18th century history & its well-known characters with magic. This is actually the 2nd book in a series (Newton's Cannon being the first), & continues the story of Ben Franklin & Issac Newton after the destruction of England by an astroid. "Calculus" brings Cotton Mather, Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard the Pirate) & a Choctaw named Red Shoes together on a quest to find out what happened to England. Ships sent previously have never returned & none have arrived from England in 2 years. Meanwhile, Ben Franklin & Issac Newton are in Prague working on such things as magic shoes & trying to avoid the various armies that are battling each other in the absence of an English power. The remaining core characters in this fascinating story, the former mistress of Louis XIV & her former French guard, escape from one villain & into the hands of another (Peter the Great). All of these characters come together, through various twists & turns & interesting revelations, in the end. Of course, the ending will lead to another book, but find out for yourself. It's a great read, but you might want to start with "Newton's Cannon" first.

Very "visual", scenic settings employed by Mr. Keyes, his episodic novels (Part One and Two) keep three, sometimes four plots together in a tight, page-turning, narrative. Dialog is somewhat more stiff, and a bit less plausible, but at least it doesn't get in the way. The characters very well delineated, Newton comes off as cantankerous, aloof, and obsessive as he probably was. Blackbeard is like every schoolboy's pirate fantasy. Some of the other characters, the Venetian Riva, for instance, seem to be drawn from life. There's message and moral here, too: all the classical stuff, hubris as the cause of downfall, redemption through love; oh yes, and Mr. Keyes seems to be making the historical point that the vaunted "Age of Reason" was not all it's cracked up to be in the history books, since if they had possessed a powerful science (like ourselves), they might have plunged the world into a deeper chaos than our much-abused 20th century.

This review is specifically for the Kindle edition. The story and writing merit 3 or 3 1/2 stars, but I'm putting in 1 star to protest the horribly sloppy Kindle transcription. This transfer is absolutely riddled with typos, with at least 2 or 3 per page, constantly distracting from enjoyment of the book as you try to parse words mushed together without spaces, letter "I" replaced with "1" and with "/", the word "you" turned to "vou", "gou", "yot" and a dozen other permutations. For me, the Kindle will cease to be a viable reading format if this level of sloppiness becomes common in transfers.

A refreshing look at combining the historical and fantastical, and does quite a good job at muddying plausible and inplausible sciences of the 18th century till even the reader easily gets pulled into what may, or may not be grounded in actual real world science. Characters are mostly believable and easy to identify with, and the author pulls bits of reputed character traits for historical characters while taking an absolute and fun literary license with the rest. All in all, a good and fun book, well thought out, and moves though at a brisk pace while maintaining enough depth to satisfy even a jaded, more adult fantasy/science fiction reader.

A Calculus of Angels, the second book in the Age of Unreason series by J. Gregory Keyes, does exactly what a second book is supposed to do. It builds on the first book, giving us more insight into the greater problem that the series addresses, as well as moving all the characters forward. The alternate history that Keyes has built is fascinating stuff, much richer than the "what if World War II turned out differently" that many authors use. A Calculus of Angels is a wonderful mixture of sorcery, alchemy, and science. Keyes also adds a few more characters to the mix, making for a much deeper story.

We are a few years removed from when the great comet hit London and wiped out much of western Europe. Those in the Americas, not having heard anything from Europe in quite a while, are ready to join forces (French, English, and Native) to send an expedition to find out what is happening. Meanwhile, Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, is on the march to conquer what is left of Europe. Sir Isaac Newton and his young apprentice, Ben Franklin, are in Prague, attempting to figure out what is really going on. Adrienne, former lover of King Louis of France, is on the run from the remnants of the French nobility, all vying for what's left of the French throne. What spirits are using the world to fight their own war against humanity? Are these spirits religious in nature, servants of God? Or are they trying to fight everything that humanity holds dear? Who controls who? And will Peter be able to conquer everything in his path with the mysterious flying ships that he wields? All will come together in one city, one fatal encounter that could decide everything. And what does Adrienne's child have to do with all of this?

A Calculus of Angels is a much better book than Newton's Cannon, mainly for its broader scope. The first book was pretty narrow, concentrating mainly on Adrienne and Ben Franklin. This one covers a lot more ground. Ben and Adrienne are still prominent, and they get a lot of development, as Ben chafes under Newton's refusal to tell him what Newton is researching and Adrienne learns her place in this spiritual war that is going on. But Keyes gives us more storylines to follow as well. There is the expedition from the Americas to discover what is going on. This party gives us a wonderful character in the Choctaw shaman, Red Shoes. It also gives us Cotton Mather, Blackbeard (former pirate and now governor of a small colony) and the French governor of Louisiana, Bienville. It is through them that we see most of the devastation that covers Europe, especially Great Britain.

While Mather is a bit of a stereotypical religious figure, he does have his moments where he is surprising. The others aren't quite as well-drawn, though they serve their purposes well in supporting Red Shoes and getting him where he needs to be. Especially good is the scene where some of the ship's crew take Red Shoes for a night on the town, and he sees the deadness in the girl that is given to him, even as the others finish their night of debauchery. This highlights the other world that only he can see, and gives us a great bit of his character.

Probably the best scenes in the book, however, involve young Ben as he tries to make his way in Prague. Newton is being very uncooperative and Ben is trying to do his best to fit in. He is an intelligent young man himself, and he's invented many toys for the King to play with, but he knows that Newton's holding something back. The interplay between the two is wonderful, especially in their final scene together as Newton realizes just how much he's hurt Ben. Once Ben and the others leave Prague, it's not quite as interesting, and the scenes in Venice drag a little bit. Still, he's the most important character in the book, and he carries it well.

The only thing that really mars the book, and it's a small thing, is how everybody ends up in the same place at the same time. Considering the number of storylines that are going on, this stretches the coincidence just a little too much. Once they are all there, it makes for a riveting conclusion as Ben tries his best to outwit his opponents and survive himself. The ending is a bit predictable, but it leads into an epilogue that really makes you want to read the next book to see where the story goes from here.

One aspect of Newton's Cannon that I hated was the way Keyes began chapters in the middle of action and had the characters reflect back on what happened to catch the reader up. Keyes still does this occasionally, but it's not quite as noticeable this time. This really adds to the strength of the book, as the prose flows a lot better. The prose is rougher than it is in Keyes' Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series, but it's earlier in his career, so a bit more acceptable. Keyes has taken an interesting premise and spun half of a very interesting tale. I'm looking forward to the next one.

David Roy

Book 2 of the Age of Unreason

"A Calculus of Angels" picks up two years after the events of "Newton's Cannon". To give a quick recap of what has happened before, this novel is set in the 18th Century, but one that is no longer recognizable as the 18th Century. Isaac Newton discovered something called philosopher's mercury, a substance that has allowed science to go into a entirely new direction and it truly did change the world. The heroes of our story are Ben Franklin, who is the apprentice of Isaac Newton, and Adrienne, a brilliant scientists struggling with the societal strictures of being a woman. Two years prior to "A Calculus of Angels" someone had called down a comet and destroyed London completely. There are forces in the world that are similar to Angels or Demons (depending on how you are looking at it) called the Malakim. They are part of the hidden powers that are permitting these wonderous scientific devices.

This brings us to the second novel (more or less). France no longer has a central authority after the death of Louis XIV. Tsar Peter the Great, of Russia, is marching his armies East to build an Empire. A delegation from the American Colonies is sailing to Europe to discover what happened (after the Comet hit, there were natural disasters and all contact with the continent ceased), and the delegation includes Cotton Mather, Blackbeard the Pirate, and a Choctaw named Red Shoes. Ben Franklin is in Prague trying to defend the city from an attack similar to the one that destroyed London, and he no longer trusts Isaac Newton. Adrienne is learning more of the Malakim and her journey takes her across Europe in into the circle of powerful men.

This is a difficult book to really describe because it is so complex. The series begun with a true history of our world, but with one event (Newton's discovery), it changed the entire landscape so that even while real men and women are in the novel, they are in entirely new situations that will shape the characters in ways that we could never have expected. While I enjoyed the first book, I feel this novel is where the series really begins to pick up. I had to force myself to keep going at times in "Newton's Cannon", but here I just wanted to keep reading to see what happens next (and also to figure out exactly what is really going on here). Greg Keyes does an excellent job of building this world and the strange twist on our own. I don't think that anyone should pick this one up before reading "Newton's Cannon", but I do feel that the quality has increased in the second book and I'm looking forward to reading book three (of four).

Amazingly this book topped Newton's Cannon. It's slower to get going, but by the second Part you get drawn in deep. Much is revealed, as a the middle book of a series should do. It leaves you wanting more, more so than the first book did.

The starting premise for this book was already nicely set-up at the end of the first one, so it begins at an interesting level. Europe is suffering the aftermath of an alchemically-guided comet hitting England, and a new age of darkness seems to have been ushered.

The feeling of the story changes in this sequel and for the rest of the series. It is no longer as scientific and mathematical in its dialogue and descriptions as the villains reveal more and more of their true nature. The new characters of the Tsar Peter, Lenka and Red Shoes are interesting in their own way, though Red Shoes took a while to set in, especially since he becomes as important as Adrienne and Benjamin Franklin.

You can see how the world suffers and how people react to it by the way the writer describes it all, meaning that you will get fully immersed in the story. There is a healthy serving of action and suspense and it ends with a bang. However, the writer's style will continue to let you hanging at the end of each chapter, right at the beginning or middle of the action. For some readers, that was too bothersome. I just adapted to it.

In conclusion, I heartily recommend continuing this story. It is like nothing else I've ever read.

I'm truly enjoying this series of books from Greg Keyes. After reading through and enjoying the 'Briar King' series I thought I would give this series a try. The story line, characters and its fresh ideas for an alternative history fantasy drew me right in. The story is excellent and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The first book, "Newton's Cannon" was an excellent read and the kindle version of it hardly had any formatting issues.

However, does the publisher or whomever converts books into Kindle format understand that hiring a proof reader is an essential? There are so many typos in this books it became a distraction! Usually I can look over the occasional formatting error or typo in text but when nearly every "I" or lower-case "l" is printed as the number "1" makes be believe that they didn't do any proofing of this version at all.

I'm starting out on the next book in the series, "Empire of Unreason" and unfortunately the horrible formatting job done to "A Calculus of Angels" continues in 'Empire'. If you are interested in this book - go buy the hardcopy and leave the Kindle version behind (and this is *very* hard for me to write as I absolutely love my Kindle).

I have to break with the other reviewers on this one and strongly disagree. Most seem to think that it falls short in comparison to Book 1, but for myself, that simply isn't the case.

In Book One, by simple neccesity, much of the story had to be devoted to establishing the given circumstances of the world these characters inhabit, but here in Book Two the story is free to explore the inner motivations of the characters and the relationships between them. The action is constantly moving forward and as the events unfold and storylines begin to weave together toward the climax I found myself frustrated by every interruption, which was not always the case with Book One. Further - when there is discussion of the sciences that govern this fascinating world, I found the theories and concepts more intriguing than in Book One - and now they aren't spoken of simply as lofty concepts, now there is desparation and personal attachment (sometimes literally) for the characters to the concepts being explored.

The more I read this series, the more it captures my imagination.