num_pages: 429
description: 1855: 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. And three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with history - and the future: Sybil Gerard - dishonored woman and daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward "Leviathan" Mallory - explorer and paleontologist; Laurence Oliphant - diplomat 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 is the first collaborative novel by two of the most brilliant and controversial science fiction authors of our time. Provocative, compelling, intensely imagined, it is a startling extension of Gibson's and Sterling's unique visions - in a new and totally unexpected direction!
language: English
title: The Difference Engine
titlecomplete: The Difference Engine
characters: Sam Houston, Lord Byron, Sybil Gerard, Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Edward "Leviathan" Mallory, Laurence Oliphant
genres: Science Fiction, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction
ratings_count: 21694
places: London, England, London Bridge, London, England
awards: awardedAt: 662716800000
name: Nebula Award
category: Best Novel, awardedAt: 631180800000
name: British Science Fiction Association Award
category: Best Novel, awardedAt: 694252800000
name: John W. Campbell Memorial Award
category: Best Science Fiction Novel
publisher: Spectra