Product Description

A dazzling quest whose outcome will raise humanity to unparalleled heights of glory--or ring down a curtain of endless night . . .

1681: When Sir Isaac Newton turns his restless mind to the ancient art of alchemy, he unleashes Philosopher's Mercury, a primal source of matter and a key to manipulating the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Now, as France and England battle for its control, Louis XIV calls for a new weapon--a mysterious device known only as Newton's Cannon.

Half a world away, a young apprentice named Benjamin Franklin stumbles across a dangerous secret. Pursued by a deadly enemy--half scientist, half sorcerer--Ben makes his fugitive way to England. Only Newton himself can help him now. But who will help Sir Isaac? For he was not the first to unleash the Philosopher's Mercury. Others were there before him. Creatures as scornful of science as they are of mankind. And burning to be rid of both . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #511123 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-29
• Released on: 1999-03-29
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 6.89" h x 1.02" w x 4.16" l, .42 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Amazon.com
Newton's Cannon is an alternate history set primarily in the court of Louis XIV. This might sound familiar to readers of Vonda McIntyre's Nebula-winning The Moon and the Sun. Keyes, like McIntyre, blends alchemy, history, and fantasy in his novel.

Keyes's characters are expertly drawn: Louis XIV, the aging King of France who seeks a return to international preeminence, young Ben Franklin of Boston, a printer's apprentice who yearns to master alchemy, and Adrienne de Montchevreuil, a lovely, impoverished noblewoman who secretly pursues mathematics, but attracts Louis's lustful attention. The many secondary characters are also believable personalities, and the plot is original and suspenseful. Keyes's writing is precise and witty. "It was, Adrienne reflected, impossible not to be impressed by the Grand Canal. More like a cruciform inland sea with banks of polished marble, it summed up many things about Versailles. It was monumental in proportion, insanely expensive, impossible to overlook, and entirely frivolous."

Though the ending of Newton's Cannon leaves much unresolved--setting up book two of The Age of Unreason, A Calculus of Angels--it's fine entertainment all by itself. --Nona Vero

From Publishers Weekly
Enlightened science is transformed into blackest magic in the opening volume of Keyes's (The Waterborn) 18th-century alternative history, The Age of Unreason. Sir Isaac Newton turns alchemist to obtain Philosopher's Mercury, the key to cosmic end-of-the-world weaponry. Stolen by a philosopher-mage of France's King Louis XIV to use against the invading English, the hellish device threatens to obliterate London unless two unlikely young geniuses can defuse it. Alternating chapters trace the pair's discrete stories, as American icon Ben Franklin, here portrayed as a randy adolescent, and the toothsome Adrienne de Montchevreuil, Louis's latest mistress, separately wield fearsome theorems against supernatural forces manipulating humanity. Clearly enamored with the glories of Versailles, Keyes writes passages of swordplay and foreplay that fitfully flare into life, but the novel is ultimately foiled by muddy secondary characterizations and a finale that fizzles.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In a world where alchemy and magic form the basis of "scientific" thought, young Benjamin Franklin's inventive genius leads him into the midst of a dangerous conspiracy that threatens to destroy the world. The author of The Waterborn (LJ 6/15/96) launches an ambitious alternate history series with an intricately crafted, elegantly delivered story filled with idealism and betrayal, adventure, and philosophy. History buffs should appreciate the well-integrated period detail in this fascinating series opener. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.