certified spoiler-free...
Newton's Cannon is a novel by
J. Gregory Keyes, which was published by
Del Rey in 1998. Drawing from both traditional
historical fiction and relatively newfangled
steampunk, it takes place in an 18th-century world radically changed by the inventions of the
titular scientist.
Like all good historical fiction, the central conceit of the novel is based in reality. It's true, but not widely known, that aside from being a
brilliant scientist and a
jerk Newton was fascinated with the
occult, especially
alchemy. What if, posits
Keyes, Newton's investigations in that field had borne fruit? What if he had been as successful and influential there as he had been in
physics and
optics? The book's prologue describes just such an occurrence- Newton cracks the riddle of practical alchemy in
1681 by discovering how to produce a substance he names the
philosopher's mercury, blowing up his laboratory in the process and changing the course of history. This breakthrough enables the invention of all sorts of alchemy-based gadgets, ranging from simple conveniences like fuel-less
lanterns and self-propelled boats to powerful weapons like
guns that fire pure electricity,
guided cannonballs, the
fervefactum (a device which
induces the enemy's blood to boil), and Newton's Cannon itself (the exact nature of which would of course constitute a major spoiler). Keyes spends a good deal of time
expositing the inner workings of his
new kind of science, and it remains believable through all the book's revelations.
Around these ideas Keyes creates a world populated largely by real people playing out somewhat familiar roles in this new history. The story centers around a fourteen-year-old
Benjamin Franklin, who'd much prefer to be apprenticed to a great alchemist than working in his father's print shop (most of their business consists of publishing newspapers relayed from
Europe via
aetherschreiber- a sort of alchemical
fax machine). Throughout the plot, which centers on a scheme to turn the tide of an interminable war between
England and
France, many other familiar faces pop up -
Louis XIV,
Halley,
Voltaire,
Blackbeard,
Fahrenheit, and more.
As the book is just the beginning of a
four-part series, many more conflicts and mysteries are uncovered than resolved by its end. Nevertheless, it stops at a satisfying point, and provides ample desire to read the following novels (for me at least).