of much of the text proper but also of widely popular picaresque novels read by various characters in the story. Shaftoe is a distant ancestor of a number of characters appearing in Stephenson's earlier novel, Cryptonomicon, including Bobby Shaftoe, Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe, America "Amy" Shaftoe, Marcus Aurelius Shaftoe, Robin Shaftoe, and presumably the mysterious "Uncle Jack" Shaftoe. See also Main Characters of the Baroque Cycle References External links Interview with Neal Stephenson, Locus Magazine Interview with Neal Stephenson, Tech Central Station Review of the Baroque Cycle, The Weekly Standard Interview with Neal Stephenson, The Guardian Unlimited Literary characters introduced in 2003 The Baroque Cycle