“The Difference Engine” by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

December 23, 2011 at 8:54 am (Reviews, Steampunk)

What is the difference between this book and a good book?

The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.

6 Comments

  1. Steff's avatar

    Steff said,

    December 23, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    I had SUCH high hopes for this book, as I’m a bit of a Babbage fangirl. But 50 pages in i was so bored I never finished it. I found the slang and language bogged it down, and the scene at page 50 when she’s in the hotel room should’ve been the first scene in the whole book. It was so well researched, the language meticulously chosen, but just … not a fun read.

    Reply
    • Louise Curtis's avatar

      Louise Curtis said,

      December 23, 2011 at 6:07 pm

      Steff: So many people mention this book when the topic of steampunk comes up (although, come to think of it, I’m not sure any actually *recommended* it). Perhaps you can comfort yourself by blaming Gibson for everything 🙂

      Reply
  2. Unknown's avatar

    Zaki Ansari said,

    December 23, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    All the time that I was reading the book, I ended up neglecting everything else. I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I was on a trip. I am sad that you guys are not able to appreciate it as much as I did and some my friends did. I think it is a masterpiece.

    Reply
    • Louise Curtis's avatar

      Louise Curtis said,

      December 24, 2011 at 8:56 am

      Zaki: Aha! Thank you for that. I will probably include it in my steampunk map based on your comment.

      Reply
  3. Unknown's avatar

    Beginner’s Guide to Steampunk Lit « Louise Curtis said,

    October 1, 2012 at 9:07 am

    […] “The Difference Engine” by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling […]

    Reply
  4. Unknown's avatar

    Beginner’s Guide to Steampunk Lit | Felicity Banks said,

    October 3, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    […] “The Difference Engine” by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling […]

    Reply

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