The Age of Unreason

The Age of Unreason is a series of four novels by J. Gregory Keyes -- Newton's Cannon, A Calculus of Angels, Empire of Unreason and The Shadows of God -- that tells the story of an alternate history where Isaac Newton discovered philosopher's mercury, making alchemy and all sorts of amazing inventions a reality -- at one point, there's an invasion of western Europe by a fleet of sky-galleons.

One of the neat things about the series is all the historical figures who meet and interact. Benjamin Franklin apprentices to Isaac Newton, meets Peter the Great, matches pistols with Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and joins the fight against Louis XIV, who wants to destroy the world.

It's a pretty neat little series, as I recall. Although it's been so long, my memory may be glossing over the less-awesome parts. The books are great inspiration for a swashbuckling magitech RPG game, though.

--------------------------------------------------------------
"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

Are those still in print? And, if not, if you still have them, may I borrow them?

--------------------------------------------------------------
Qui ne risque rien, n'a rien.

Captain_Khel wrote: Are those still in print? And, if not, if you still have them, may I borrow them?

Alas, I traded off my copies long ago. Fortunately, they're going shockingly cheap on Amazon -- about 50 cents each for the first two books. And they're also available on Paperbackswap.com... *plug plug*

--------------------------------------------------------------
"'Eureka' is Greek for 'this bath is too hot.'"

LOVED THIS SERIES. A good set of books, had me page turning for a month.  Always makes me want to run a historical fantasy sometime...

 

-S. 

--------------------------------------------------------------
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded...