The Difference Engine
Book description
In 1855, London swelters in a poisonous heatwave. The computer age has arrived a century ahead of time and the Industrial Revolution is in full swing. However, there is a conspiracy afoot, linking Britain with the France of Louis Napoleon and the Manhattan commune of Karl Marx.
Why read it?
1 author picked The Difference Engine as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
1990 saw the release of The Difference Engine when cyberpunk originator William Gibson teamed up with Bruce Sheffield. This book set the Steampunk template for using historical figures, giving the historical events a tweak, and then seeing where the narrative goes. The timeline twist they posit was that in the 1820s, Charles Babbage manages to complete his Difference Engine, the forerunner of modern computers, and thus unleashes a technological revolution in the Victorian era. It’s important for the way it probes the social consequences of this upheaval, particularly the clashes with Victorian sensibilities.
I was a red hot William Gibson…
From Michael's list on charting the evolution of Steampunk.
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