Vicki's review
The Difference Engine (Gollancz SF) by William Gibson
This is a bit of a strange one and I went into it without having read any reviews first so it caught me a little off guard.
I would say that if you enjoy Victorian history - the politics, the characters of the time, some Victorian fiction maybe, and of course if you like reading about their inventions and what they might have been if Babbage's steam-powered computer had been completed within his lifetime - you will enjoy this book on a much deeper level than a casual reader.
Myself I fall somewhere in the middle - I'm interested in Victorian/Steampunk things and studied a bit of the political, economic and social history of the time during A Level - but I'm sure I didn't pick up on 80% of the references and points this book had to make.
The story is presented strangely - there are 3 major sections from 3 different characters' points of view. These sections relate only very slightly, there characters cross paths but there is no strong plot element or character development that...more
I would say that if you enjoy Victorian history - the politics, the characters of the time, some Victorian fiction maybe, and of course if you like reading about their inventions and what they might have been if Babbage's steam-powered computer had been completed within his lifetime - you will enjoy this book on a much deeper level than a casual reader.
Myself I fall somewhere in the middle - I'm interested in Victorian/Steampunk things and studied a bit of the political, economic and social history of the time during A Level - but I'm sure I didn't pick up on 80% of the references and points this book had to make.
The story is presented strangely - there are 3 major sections from 3 different characters' points of view. These sections relate only very slightly, there characters cross paths but there is no strong plot element or character development that...more
