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The Difference Engine
 
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The Difference Engine (Hardcover)

de William Gibson (Author)
2.8étoiles sur 5  Voir tous les commentaires (82 évaluations de client)

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Les détails du produit

Descriptions du produit

From 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. --Ce texte provient de la Mass Market Paperback édition.


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.
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L'avis des consommateurs

82 évaluations
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4 étoiles:
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3 étoiles:
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2.8étoiles sur 5 (82 évaluations de client)
 
 
 
 
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Commentaires client les plus utiles

 
4.0étoiles sur 5 Meat, not gruel, Jui 20 2004
Par Roderick T. Long (Auburn, AL USA) - Voir tous mes commentaires
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Difference Engine (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm puzzled by the complaint (made by several reviewers below) that the plot threads are never tied up (yes they are, in the final third of the novel) and that we never find out what the mysterious punch cards do (we most certainly do -- see pp. 387, 421, and 429, where we're told EXACTLY what their function is).

This is admittedly a novel that has to be read carefully; one can't just slurp it down like jello without doing any work. It's a serious novel, thank goodness -- not "light entertainment."

I'm also puzzled that nobody seems to have noticed what a highly *political* novel this is. This book is much more about political and cultural ideology than it is about alternative-history technology.

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2.0étoiles sur 5 Interesting but distorts history, Mai 24 2004
Par Sean Mulligan (Alpharetta, GA United States) - Voir tous mes commentaires
This review is from: The Difference Engine (Mass Market Paperback)
The idea of the invention of Steampowered computers in the nineteenth century is interesting but the author makes several unetanable claims of what would happen in the new timeline. The book says that the Mexican American War never happened and Texas is still independent. Yet the American Civil War happened even sooner than in our timeline and the South won. One of the causes of the Civil War was the dispute over whether the newly won territories captured in the war with Mexico would be free or slave states. If the war with Mexico never happens it stands to reason that the Civil War would be delayed or prevented all together. In the book Karl Marx is claimed to have seized control of New York City during the Draft riots during the Civil War and one of his followers is presented as a supporter of slavery. In the real history though Karl Marx supported the Union war effort and opposed slavery.
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5.0étoiles sur 5 A complex alternate history, Mars 3 2004
Par Garrett J. Menning (Albuquerque, NM) - Voir tous mes commentaires
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Difference Engine (Mass Market Paperback)
The Difference Engine reflects the creative synergy of two great cyberpunk pioneers, Gibson and Sterling. It is a difficult and complex novel, based on the premise that Charles Babbage's eponymous mechanical computer is actually developed for practical use using steam power in the Victorian Age, ushering in the Information Revolution a century early. The authors manage to convincingly evoke a Victorian otherworld that is both hauntingly familiar and yet dramatically different from our own past. England is ruled by technocrats and scientists (known as savants) who battle Luddite terrorists; the United States are far from united, rent between the Republic of Texas, the Confederate South, and the Marxist Manhattan Commune. Gibson and Sterling utilize this fascinating background to great advantage, using a colorful cast of characters (including famous historic figures like Sam Houston and Lord Byron in roles a little different from those in our own history books) to explore such weighty themes as evolution and natural selection; technology, surveillance and social control; AI; and the science of chaos and complexity.

I'm sure I did not fully grasp all the implications or understand all the intricate plotlines in this rare treasure; it will definitely repay rereading. But I'm sure that thoughtful fans of Gibson and Sterling--especially those with some knowledge of 19th century England--will enjoy this book as much as I did. It may well be regarded as an SF masterpiece with time. On the other hand, readers who require straightforward, linear plotting and who find ambiguity irritating will certainly do best to skip this novel.

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 		 Commentaires client les plus récents

2.0étoiles sur 5 Boring
I am a fan of William Gibson, I read a lot of good book written by him and find that he is a very interesting author. Read more
Publié le Fév 4 2005 par Claude Mally

3.0étoiles sur 5 Not bad, but many missed opportunities
This isn't a bad novel, and I don't think it "drags" as some would have it--there is enough motive force behind the novel (action, plot development) to keep you there,... Read more
Publié le Déc 2 2003 par Eric Hines

4.0étoiles sur 5 Enjoyable Complex Reading
In contrast to most of the negative reviews, I thought the suprise ending was powerful and not entirely unexpected. Read more
Publié le Jui 30 2003 par JFBeilman

3.0étoiles sur 5 nice plan, but huh?
i really like reading gibson. usually, it's kind of like running a marathon: it's harder than hell to get to the end, but ultimately rewarding. Read more
Publié le Mars 30 2003 par M. Browning

4.0étoiles sur 5 Fantastic!
This book takes a little while to get started (about 30 pages--not too long), but once it does, wow. What a world! Read more
Publié le Mars 27 2003 par L. Hall

1.0étoiles sur 5 Huh?
Okay, right now I'm on a cyberpunk kick and I picked this book up at the library because the premise sounded interesting: what if the computer ("Engine" in the book... Read more
Publié le Fév 5 2003 par wysewomon

3.0étoiles sur 5 I wanted to love it.
It was such a great premise for a book-- what if the Babbage had realized his analytical engine and successfully created computer much earlier in our history? Read more
Publié le Janv. 10 2003 par C. Gilbert

3.0étoiles sur 5 A conflict of writing styles
It had the *makings* of a great novel... two of the greatest modern SF writers, applying the tools of today to a previous century. But. But. Read more
Publié le Nov. 27 2002 par a superintelligent shade of th...

5.0étoiles sur 5 Gave me chills
I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I think I have to reveal a little to counter the bad reviews. Read more
Publié le Sep 12 2002 par Adrian Bell

1.0étoiles sur 5 Absolute crap!
I have to agree with virtually everyone else who reviewed this book. It is horrible. The book reads like Sterling and Gibson came up with a concept, divided up the chapters and... Read more
Publié le Aoû 20 2002 par jsdunk

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