in the Difference Engine William Gibson and Bruce Sterling imagine a world where Charles Babbage successfully develops mechanical computers in the early 19th century triggering a technological Revolution
The Difference Engine (1990)
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! -Goodreads
Bruce also did at the end of the 80s 1990 he did the sort of key steampunk novel The Difference Engine with his own mate Bill Gibson that's a good one as well
I don't actually think it's terrible I think it is a very particular thing that pushes all of my buttons in an unpleasant way but I do think it's a novel of interest to plenty of other people and I don't think it's a bad book
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