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The Difference Engine (Spectra Special Editions)
 
 
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The Difference Engine (Spectra Special Editions) (Mass Market Paperback)

by William Gibson (Author), Bruce Sterling (Contributor) "COMPOSITE IMAGE, OPTICALLY encoded by escort-craft of the trans-Channel airship Lord Brunel: aerial view of suburban Cherbourg, October 14, 1905..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lady Ada, Royal Society, Edward Mallory (more...)
2.8 out of 5 stars  (101 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A collaborative novel from the premier cyberpunk authors, William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Part detective story, part historical thriller, The Difference Engine takes us not forward but back, to an imagined 1885: the Industrial Revolution is in full and inexorable swing, powered by steam-driven, cybernetic engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine, and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time.

From Publishers Weekly
In a surprising departure from the traditional view of cyberpunk's bleak future, Gibson ( Mona Lisa Overdrive ) and Sterling ( Islands in the Net ) render with elan and colorful detail a scientifically advanced London, circa 1855, where computers ("Engines") have been developed. Fierce summer heat and pollution have driven out the ruling class, and ensuing anarchy allows the subversive, technology-hating Luddites to surface and battle the intellectual elite. Much of the problem centers on a set of perforated cards, once in the possession of an executed Luddite leader's daughter, later in the hands of "Queen of Engines" Ada Byron (daughter of prime minister Lord Byron), finally given to Edward Mallory, a scientist. Mallory, who knows the cards are a gambling device that can be read with a specialized Engine, is soon threatened and libeled by the Luddites, and he and his associates confront the scoundrels in a violent showdown. A sometimes listless pace and limp conclusions that defy the plot's complexity flaw an otherwise visionary, handsomely written, unsentimental tale that convincingly revises the 19th-century Western world. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details
  • Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Spectra (January 1, 1992)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 055329461X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553294613
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: