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The Difference Engine

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The Difference Engine

By: Bruce Sterling, William Gibson
Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
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About this listen

1855: the Industrial Revolution is in full swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic engines. Charles Babbage perfects his analytical engine and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. Three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with the future: Sybil Gerard - fallen woman, politician’s tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward Leviathan Mallory - explorer and palaeontologist; Laurence Oliphant - diplomat, mystic and spy. Their adventure begins with the discovery of a box of punched engine cards of unknown origin and purpose. Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for.

Part detective story, part historical thriller, The Difference Engine took the science-fiction community by storm when it was first published. 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.

Provocative, compelling and intensely imagined, this audiobook is poised to impress a whole new generation.

©2014 William Gibson (P)2021 W F Howes Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Steampunk Cyberpunk

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All stars
Most relevant  
I don't know if it is the narration (which is very dry) or the style (so many long dull wordy monologues that feel like they don't really add anything) but I just couldn't get on with this at all. I loved Peripheral and Agency, love the genre, and know this is a cult classic, but I couldn't get past the first few chapters. I rarely give up on a read/listen but this beat me.

Too hard to get into

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Excellent book with great concept, sadly ruined by poorly matched voice performance. Text deserves better.

Very awkward voice performance

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Like many I think I went into this famous Steampunk novel with high expectations. I've not read a huge amount of the genre (Jeter, Moorcock, Powers, Hunt, and Talbot's Luther Arkwright) but enough to perhaps have an opinion on how it sits within that genre.
The authors create an alternate history wherein the invention of an analog computer running on cards (Babbage's Difference Engine) has long reaching effects on society, social reform, the dominance of science, and world politics, pushing the British Empire to the fore of the world's power and industry. I like the detail and nuance of the background in their world. The utilisation of real historical figures in alternative roles is also well written, and the middle section during civil unrest and a polluted 'Stink' is the most engaging portion.
The three lead characters are interesting enough, and make development of sorts with the greatest attention on Mallory, the archetype adventurer popular in Steampunk books. He's a good character and the cast he brings with him, especially Fraser, suitable counterpoints. Oliphant serves as a device to tie it all together in the final chapters.
Yet the plot, based around a set of cards that pass from hand to hand, is fragmented and struggles in many places. I get the sense it could have been told far more efficiently and the authors indulge in detail that would enrich a more tightly written story, but here feels padding and excessive. The ending, a collection of vignettes, wasn't really satisfying and although the truth about the cards was clever it felt flat amongst the belated narrative dump of the world building.
Glad I read it, but felt it could have been better.

from an Audible viewpoint, narrator was good for the style of book.

Interesting content but rather fragmented

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The fragmented nature of the story's structure made it needlessly complex as a plot, but the story in itself was really good. Fine characters, good pacing, interesting setting. A few plot points didn't pay off that well, and especially the ending felt rushed and had a certain "blink and you miss it" revelation that I didn't like all that well. The narrator is one of the best I've heard in a while though!

It reads as one third adventure, one third detective novel, and one third spy thriller. I wouldn't recommend it to fans of Gibson's Sprawl stories though.

Great performace

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Can’t believe someone paid for this narrator. Sounds like the auto reader from TikTok. Such a shame.
I’m giving the story 5 stars as it’s William Gibson but I haven’t read it so obviously have no idea.

Terrible narrator. Couldn’t get through the first chapter.

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I'd been sitting on the fence for this book for a while. in concept it sounds interesting, but the sample didn't seem that engaging.

I eventually decided to give it a try, and - at first - quite enjoyed the book.
Before even the halfway mark, though, I was losing interest. The main character (the second, and the one with the biggest focus) came across as an arrogant boor. And I really didn't need sex scenes that add nothing to the book.

in theory the book is about a mysterious set of punch cards, but up to the point I gave up (with 2 hours to go) they've been nothing but a mcguffin to drive parts of the plot.

Decent start, loses impetus quickly

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