The Difference Engine

By: William Gibson, Bruce Sterling

Narrated by: Simon Vance

The Difference Engine is an alternate history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. It is a prime example of the steampunk sub-genre; It posits a Victorian Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer called Engines.

The fierce summer heat and pollution have driven the ruling class out of London and the resulting anarchy allows technology-hating Luddites to challenge the intellectual elite.

A set of perforated punch cards come into the hands of the daughter of an executed Luddite leader who sets out to keep them safe and discover what secrets they contain.

©1991 William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Steampunk alternative history

The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling is an alternative history with a steampunk setting in England in the mid 1800's. Charles Babbage's 'difference engine', regarded as the world's first computer, albeit mechanical is extrapolated to have developed into a thriving business analogous to electronic computers 100 hundred years later. The story is told successively from three different perspectives surrounding a mysterious box of computer code of unknown function, but quite valuable. At the same time, weather conditions create a situation in London where much of the upper class, who rely on the technology of the machines have left town and a Luddite resistance emerges.

The steampunk components introduce a mechanical equivalent of electronic computer capabilities including modeling dinosaur structures from bones, video projections, and law enforcement forensic analysis. Historical figures are utilized extensively, while positing that England retained superior economic dominance due to Babbage's technology. A whole section near the end provides a global perspective with a divided America and Britain opening up Japan.

Given the British setting, the narration is quite good with all appropriately rendered British accents in an easily understand manner.

Not Gibson's Best

I've been a huge fan of William Gibson's science fiction works for many years, particularly the Sprawl trilogy. While Difference Engine is an intriguing and entertaining alternate history thriller, I'm afraid I can't recommend it for fans of Gibson's other work. I found myself intrigued by descriptions of technology and "clackers", this world's equivalent of programmers, but the technological divergences in the world of Difference Engine quickly took a backseat to human drama that had little to nothing to do with the alternately advanced technological landscape (at least by my reckoning). Well written and fantastically delivered by Simon Vance, but unfortunately I was disappointed by my own misplaced expectations.

Loved It!

Where does The Difference Engine rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the first I've listened to from Audible.

What did you like best about this story?

The characterization by the reader set the town for the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

On occasion, laughter, but mostly rapt attention.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to the next selection.

Brilliant and Captivating

If you could sum up The Difference Engine in three words, what would they be?

First Class Alternative History

What did you like best about this story?

The rich detail and reimagining of Victorian England if Babbage's difference engine had been fully funded by Parliament. Very clever historically - something quite difficult to make believable but Gibson and Sterling achieved it. Plot was quite engaging - unable to put it down. Lot's of action and plot twists that keep one engaged.

Which scene was your favorite?

The beginning of the harassment by Captain Swan - the burning acid card and then the falsified vivisection photos of the savant's rival.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would like to read at one setting but at the book's length that's not practical

Any additional comments?

Braved many negative reviews before I decide to select this audible book. Find it interesting that it seems to arose such negativity in many readers. Expect it is a bit complicated and challenging from the standpoint of understanding the history well enough to grasp how artfully the authors rearrange it. Not for the slow witted I suppose.

a challenge to get through

the book starts in confusion and fragmentation eventually telling one continuous story and then returns to fragmentation. the end feels tacked-on. I like the subject matter and found many portions of the book amusing butt was left disappointed.

I didn't "get" it

I'll have to revisit this book again, it doesn't seem very "gibsony" to me. I was expecting something like The Diamond Age but this was all together different.

I've definitely had better

if you like a plodding and disjointed story with little to know resolution or impact on the world of story, or your own internal mental landscape; a story best summed up with, "Well, that happened..." this one is for you!

Steampunk Neuromancer

Combining the cyberpunk, steampunk, and alternate history sub-generas of science fiction, The Difference Engine is truly a one of a kind novel. The basic premise: What if computers were created in Victorian England? The results is a vastly different and far grimmer world where the Imperial British Empire extends its rule across the entire world and well into the future... at least until the last few pages.

Regarding the plot, it’s worth warning you that this novel has a reputation for being often picked up, but seldom finished. That is because it’s a pretty complex read already, made more difficult by a noir detective plot that’s kind of all over the place. That said, I finished it and if you can make it to the ending there is a twist that explains why the story was told that way. Also, for what it’s worth, you get a lot more out of this a second time around.

As for the narration, this is definitely easier to listen to than it is to read. Simon Vance is one of my favorite narrators, so I’m biased towards any performance of his. That said, this is an extremely verbose novel with some fairly dense sections to it; and Vance still nails it. Overall, if I’ve at all piqued your interest give The Difference Engine a whirl. You’re in for quite the ride.

I expected something different

Maybe I'm not versed enough in steam punk culture and missed the point here. I expected somthing more along the lines of science fiction except steam driven devices and strange machinery. There was a smidgeon of that often as a quick backdrop and at times almost an afterthought. Instead I got a tale of social upheaval, historical receation of sorts, anti-communist essay, a very involved and complex mystery all intertwined with actual historical people served in a name dropping fashion. I never really did get the points of many character backgrounds and how they fit into the larger story. They last parts seemed an attempt to tie it all together that was brilliant in some spots, clumsy in others.

The audio was appropriately accented but at times was paced so quickly that I had to slow it down to understand it. This also required replays in many places to hear what was being said. Because there's a lot of period London/British vernacular I had to keep accessing a dictionary to know what a number of words meant. I don't mind that and it wasn't as frequent a need as William Shrier's books.

It was still not a bad tale but I still feel somewhat cheated because I thought it was going to be something other than what it proved to be. Maybe a film presentation would have had background scenery and effects that would have conveyed the steam age better as in the great animated feature "Steam Boy", but it didn't come through at all in the story. In fact, pull the couple steam vehicles, replace the 'engines' with mathematicians, add a few other minor tweaks and this is simply another novel set in the 1800s.

Great reader, okay story

I feel that the characters, although living separate lives, were not sufficiently intertwined. It felt like each of them in turn was given short shrift by the strange separation and lack of balance in their narratives. Also, the story lacks depth, despite its wordiness. And I hate it when a story ends and a bunch of jumbled letters and afterthoughts.