I would recommend you read Cryptonomicon, which is a standalone novel and much less of a time commitment. It's a fictionalized-historical-drama about the origins of computing and its world-changing power, crossed with a darkly comic globetrotting WWII adventure. Fabulous stuff.

The Baroque Cycle is all of that turned up to 11: a fictionalized-historical-drama about the origins of Science, crossed with a darkly comic globetrotting pirate adventure. Newton and Leibniz argue about who invented the Calculus and what is the nature of God's relationship with Creation; also sword-fights and explosions.

Eliza and Jack are perhaps my favorite characters in all of fiction.