The computer age has arrived a century ahead of time with Charles Babbage's perfection of his Analytical Engine. The Industrial Revolution, supercharged by the development of steam-driven cybernetic Engines, is in full and drastic swing. Great Britain, with her calculating-cannons, steam dreamnoughts, machine-guns and information technology, prepares to better the world's lot . . .
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Book Description
'A visionary steam-powered heavy metal fantasy. Gibson and Sterling create a high-Victorian virtual reality of extraordinary richness and detail' Ridley Scott, creator of ALIEN
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been dubbed the 'noir prophet' of cyberpunk. He lives in the United States. Bruce Sterling is best known for his novels and his work on the MIRRORSHADES anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre. He also lives in the United States. Bruce Sterling burst onto the SF scene with the birth of Cyberpunk and co-authored THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE with his colleague William Gibson. His biggest UK success was with THE HACKER CRACKDOWN. He lives with his wife and daughters in Austin, Texas.
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First Sentence
Composite image, optically encoded by escort-craft of the trans-Channel airship Lord Brunel: aerial view of suburban Cherbourg, 14 October 1905. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Composite image, optically encoded by escort-craft of the trans-Channel airship Lord Brunel: aerial view of suburban Cherbourg, 14 October 1905. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By M. R. N. Shackelford
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This is a story of how things might have been if the brilliant Charles Babbage had succeeded in creating his Computer (the Difference Engine) - all brass cogs, gears and thundering steam.
William Gibson (whose other books such as the stunning Neuromancer et al. are quite different) and Bruce Sterling have expanded this idea and peopled a reinvented Victorian Age with real names in new situations.
As someone who often thinks he would have liked to have been a Victorian (if only they had had more technology) this book is just perfect. I have now read it three times - and still thought it was excellent on the third time round.
Do not expect anything similar to Gibson's other sci-fi or else you will be disappointed. If, on the other hand you really enjoyed Neal Stephenson's (similar-ish) "Diamond Age" - then "The Difference Engine" is the book for you.
William Gibson (whose other books such as the stunning Neuromancer et al. are quite different) and Bruce Sterling have expanded this idea and peopled a reinvented Victorian Age with real names in new situations.
As someone who often thinks he would have liked to have been a Victorian (if only they had had more technology) this book is just perfect. I have now read it three times - and still thought it was excellent on the third time round.
Do not expect anything similar to Gibson's other sci-fi or else you will be disappointed. If, on the other hand you really enjoyed Neal Stephenson's (similar-ish) "Diamond Age" - then "The Difference Engine" is the book for you.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
After reading the opinions of other readers here, I wondered if we had all read the same book. I suspect that those who find this book a disappointment came to it hoping to read a work more in line with previous books by either of these two well-respected science fiction authors. Finding something different, they left unsatisfied. If one approaches this book with an open mind, I think they will be pleasantly suprised. The two authors paint a convincing, detailed alternative history that weaves several narratives into a cohesive whole that falters only slightly at the end. The characters are for the most part three-dimensional, and fit well within the world Gibson and Sterling have created. The atmosphere is dark and brooding, and the benifits and costs of an England dominated by steam-driven computers are well represented. The poltical climate and "world of the difference engine" are both plausible and entertaining. The only place in which the authors falter is in their attempt to move the narrative beyond entertainment into the philosophical and metaphysical. Then ending is somewhat reminiscent of the finale of Nueromancer, and is written in the sterotypical clipped Gibson style, which contrasts sharply with the rest of the novel. Had Gibson and Sterling left their work in the more mundane realm of (alternative) historical adventure, they would have had an unqualified success. Depsite that shortcoming, I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It is unlike any other work by these two authors, and thus you should expect something different. It is a rousing adventure set in a plausible alternative world, similar in tone and style to Frost's excellent "List of 7," only slightly hindered by some metaphysical trappings.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I bought this at a book shop a while ago on the title alone, and I thought it was worth it.
If you know a little about Babbage and are intruiged by the potential his (uncompleted) machines had, I think you can really imagine the world this book depicts. Not just the mechanics of Babbages creations and their offspring, but the mechanics of society which has evolved along with them. Two merged Revolutions, both Industrial and Informational.
I also found the story to be interesting, but excuse me if I rave about the setting it is in most of all. :)
If you know a little about Babbage and are intruiged by the potential his (uncompleted) machines had, I think you can really imagine the world this book depicts. Not just the mechanics of Babbages creations and their offspring, but the mechanics of society which has evolved along with them. Two merged Revolutions, both Industrial and Informational.
I also found the story to be interesting, but excuse me if I rave about the setting it is in most of all. :)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Plot? What Plot?
If this is an exceptional work of Steampunk writing then I don't think I'll bother with the rest. Its confusing and frustrating, as interesting developments lead nowhere and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Anck Su Namin
5.0 out of 5 stars
A key work in the Steampunk pantheon.
I enjoyed this novel a great deal; as an avid reader of historical fiction I found the author`s research and the alternative world they've created to be both creditable and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Mcdonald
1.0 out of 5 stars
Twice burned by Gibson
I'm a tough person to impress. I know this, I accept this, and sometimes I see it as a curse when others gain enjoyment from books, films and TV that I struggle to get along with. Read more
Published 16 months ago by B. Tipper
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wasted Oportunity
Forgetting for a moment that Steam-punk is the latest big thing - the idea behind this book is brilliant, and at least to begin with the authors described vividly the landscape of... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Peter
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice idea but flawed execution
After reading the summary I was hooked and really wanted to read it. Score one for a strong publishing team. Took me a while to actually to this far down my reading list it and.... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Edward A. Thomson
3.0 out of 5 stars
I am too old.
The book is a good example of it's genre but my complaint is with this particular edition. The typeface is painfully small and makes this very difficult to read even with good... Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. D. Ritchie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional Steampunk
This collaborative effort from William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (the only to date) is a prime example of the `Steampunk' genre and a bold imaginative `alternate history'... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Daniel Cann
2.0 out of 5 stars
ahh...so it's MY fault then.
I've been struggling with this one since trying it again after giving-up a few years ago and while looking for ideas for an interesting read decided to see what others thought... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Stu_cj
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Steampunk
This book is one of the better titles released as part of the SF Masterworks list in recent years. Odd at times, always interesting, this is an enjoyable and different novel.
Published 21 months ago by Balor of the Evil Eye
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Difference Engine
This is a very slow starter of a book, with several possible plots. I've not finished it yet, but fully intend to do so. Read more
Published on 23 May 2011 by Ms. Lynne Farrer
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