[Q52]≫ [PDF] Free The Difference Engine William Gibson Bruce Sterling 9780575099401 Books

The Difference Engine William Gibson Bruce Sterling 9780575099401 Books

Download As PDF : The Difference Engine William Gibson Bruce Sterling 9780575099401 Books

The Difference Engine William Gibson Bruce Sterling 9780575099401 Books

I did not read it when it originally came out. I’m an avid reader of Sci Fi, but prefer hard science fiction.

This book is often referenced as a major influence in the steampunk genre and “culture”. So I thought I’d better read it.

Wow… major disappointment. Characters introduced and fleshed out early in the book then disappear and are literally only seen once again in passing by another character. The book wanders all over, making use of frankly unbelievably complex mechanical devices.

It looks like the authors never decided where the book was going, but wrote it anyway. I really had to slog through to the end, and wish I had not wasted my time. It feels like sections from several separate unfinished books were put together and a poor ending tacked on.

I've read other books by these authors and been entertained, so I have no idea what happened with this book.


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The Difference Engine William Gibson Bruce Sterling 9780575099401 Books Reviews

The authors have done a great job in creating a fanciful 1855 Britain which has gone through a technological and social revolution as a result of the success of Babbage's differential engine, a mechanical computer which in reality was never perfected but had enormous potential. Whether that potential, as portayed in the book, would have resulted in digital photography and a national credit card system I'm not certain. The authors are great at creating characters and plausible scenes but the reasoning behind much of the plot is a bit dodgy. Still, a good read.
There's a convention in SF, honored perhaps more in the breach than in practice, that goes back to H.G. Wells A good story _changes one thing_, and then extrapolates from there.
That convention is most relevent in the "alternate history" sub-genre. As the "hardest" of the first-wave cyberpunks, an SF fan has to expect that Gibson and Sterling would honor that core convention. So the greatest mystery of this book, for most of its length, is to figure out what the devil that one change _is_.
Since I believe I've done that -- and it's by no means obvious -- I won't spoil the fun. But I will say that it looks like much better SF once you do figure that out.
The book has many flaws, most traceable to the dual-authorship. The writing is uneven -- neither Sterling nor Gibson are chameleons, and they don't do much here to approach a common style. Characterization is uneven because, though it's a strong suit for both writers, they handle it quite differently, and seem to have different visions of the characters.
But even at its worst, this is a good novel; and it's one of the most finely realized and plausible alternative histories I've ever read.
This alternative history has so much going for it -- a thought-provoking premise (what if Byron didn't die young? What if Charles Babbage had actually produced the computer he designed in the 1820's?), fascinating characters, dead-on insights about politics, society, and human character -- but in the end it is not a satisfying read.

The climax occurs about 2/3's of the way through the novel, after which the plot sputters and coasts to a final stop, more running out of steam than coming to any sort of resolution. I think that Gibson is one of the greatest living author in any genre, but this novel illustrates that he is not a sure bet. As with several of his works, "The Difference Engine" seem to lack a protagonist. It's not impossible for such a novel to succeed, but if it fails, then all you are left with is wondering why the author bothered to tell you this story.
Gibson and Sterling collaboratied to create a rather deep world focused around the far reaching implications that mechanical computation would bring.

Though successful in it's primary endeavor it lacks direction, there are three primary characters, the first of which fades from sight quickly, the second occupies roughly 2/3 of the total content of the book, the third persona takes the last third.

To be frank, the plot barely materializes, and is over before it develops, then the third character spends his entire segment wrapping up our story, to a very inconclusive ending.

They may have done better to tell the story as a series of journals rather than several first person narratives. Though they did interject a journal or some form of "historic" document as part of the story telling, it was brief.

Would only recommend to someone very interested in alternative history and less concerned with plot.
I just got done reading this book after it has been sitting on my shelf since I got it. I thought it was a great story. It was nice to see real historical figures of importance woven in to this complex story. I would have never thought of the magnitude a computing device described in the book could become not based on what we perceive today as the modern computing device. I don't think this book is for everyone as they need to know a bit of history before diving in to it or perhaps be inclined to investigate the historical points and persons. Gibson is great at writing and is one of my favorite authors. I wish Sterling and Gibson would write together again like this.
A great idea, poorly executed. The topic could easily have spawned a trilogy but instead, the story develops sideline characters and plots and then drops them. I chose this originally since I know it was influential in the development of the Steampunk genre and also because Stirling collaborated with William Gibson, However, knowing Gibson's earlier works, I see nothing of his style here. So much promise, so disappointing....
I love this book and have re-read ut many times since it was first released. To finally understand the authors methodology of co-writing the book and how it could only happen in a way that resulted in the actual book you read is really self-referential, and a bit mind-blowing. It also resulted in one of those experiences where you learn something, finally, that de-encrypts past puzzles in the book and re-writes your perceptions. I now have read a different book from that I first read years ago, yet not one word has been changed.
I did not read it when it originally came out. I’m an avid reader of Sci Fi, but prefer hard science fiction.

This book is often referenced as a major influence in the steampunk genre and “culture”. So I thought I’d better read it.

Wow… major disappointment. Characters introduced and fleshed out early in the book then disappear and are literally only seen once again in passing by another character. The book wanders all over, making use of frankly unbelievably complex mechanical devices.

It looks like the authors never decided where the book was going, but wrote it anyway. I really had to slog through to the end, and wish I had not wasted my time. It feels like sections from several separate unfinished books were put together and a poor ending tacked on.

I've read other books by these authors and been entertained, so I have no idea what happened with this book.