The Baroque Cycle

You think you know how the world works? Think again. 21st Century America Magic has faded from the minds of mankind, until an encounter between Melisande Stokes, linguistics expert at Harvard, and Tristan Lyons, shadowy agent of government, leads to the uncovering of a distant past. After translating a series of ancient texts, Melisande and Tristan discover the connection between science, magic and time travel and so the Department of Diachronic Operations – D.O.D.O. – is hastily brought into existence. Its mission: to develop a device that will send their agents back to the past, where they can stop magic from disappearing and alter the course of history. But when you interfere with the past, there’s no telling what you might find in your future… Written with genius and complexity, this vividly realised novel will make you believe the impossible, and question the very foundations of the modern world. Reviews Praise for The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.: ‘A story that combines science, magic, history, and conspiracies into a genre-bending romp’ Inverse ‘Those familiar with Stephenson will recognize his humor and ideas, while Galland brings a fresh and irresistible voice to this ambitious novel’ Washington Post ‘The novel explores the boundary between magic and science with wit, intellectual intensity and panache’ Financial Times ‘Big, roomy and enjoyable … The characters are vibrant and the whole thing possesses heart and charm’ Guardian Praise for Neal Stephenson: ‘Genius’ Time ‘He makes reading so much fun it feels like a deadly sin’ The New York Times ‘Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the 21st century’ William Gibson ‘[Stephenson is] the hacker Hemingway’ Newsweek About the author Neal Stephenson is the author of Seveneves, Reamde, Anathem; the three-volume historical epic the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World); Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Zodiac and the iconic Snow Crash, named one of Time magazine's top one hundred all-time best English-language novels. He lives in Seattle, Washington. Nicole Galland is the author of six previous novels: Stepdog, Godiva, I, Iago, Crossed, Revenge of the Rose, and The Fool's Tale.