Jack Ketch features prominently, if transiently, in Neal Stephenson's new novel Quicksilver (published 9/23). It's set in Seventeenth Century Europe (and other places) and full of authentic, if obscure and dated, words...

I've never seen this before: Author releases new work, the first book of what is supposed to become a trilogy eventually. Dust jacket features not just the names but even the jacket designs of the second and third volulmes. Is it hubris or simply good planning?