Rating: 
Summary: The genesis of steam punk?
Review: I acquired a copy of this book almost immediately after it was published, partly because I'm an avid fan of alternate histories and partly because I was an acquaintance of Bruce Sterling, one of the cofounders of cyberpunk. That is, I knew him to talk to because he was an Austinite and always came to ArmadilloCon, and he sort of knew who I was (though he made no pretense of remembering my name each year). He was pleased to sign my copy -- and changed the copyright date on the title page to 1855!And why do I especially like this book? It's the first instance I remember of what soon came to be known as "steam-punk." A technology-based yarn, but with Victorian techno, not computers. Not exactly. There are three principal characters here: Sybil Gerard, daughter of Walter Gerard, the great Luddite agitator and orator; Dr. Edward Mallory, dinosaur-hunter, afficionado of steam-gurneys, and stalwart of the Industrial Radical Party; and Laurence Oliphant, who pretends to be only a somewhat adventuresome journalist-cum-diplomat but who is actually a top intelligence operative and handler for Her Majesty's government. And then there's Inspector Fraser, part of the very Special Branch, as well as a number of nicely realized supporting characters. But, of course, the story is really about the world of 1855 in which Charles Babbage was very successful in developing his mechanical computer, a marvelous Engine (always capitalized here) of wheels and rods and gears and punch cards that has put Britain well on top of things, and the government in many ways well on top of its citizens. The plot device that gets things going is the theft of a box of punched Engine cards, the purpose of which is never quite divulged -- though we know the program they contain is Important. It's all a great deal of fun in the Idea-as-Hero tradition. Gibson and Sterling (mostly the latter, I think) have definitely got the feel of the times and the city of London, immersing the reader in authentic jargon and cant, but without casting you adrift. Frankly, I don't understand the antipathy of the other reviewers. It's a pretty good story and most people I know personally, even those who aren't big Gibson fans, liked it. In fact, my only real complaint is in an area where Gibson's hand definitely shows, and that's the ending of the book. Actually, it doesn't really end; it just stops, and with a bit of Gibsonian mysticism regarding the set of cards thrown in.
Rating: 
Summary: nice plan, but huh?
Review: i really like reading gibson. usually, it's kind of like running a marathon: it's harder than hell to get to the end, but ultimately rewarding. this one was both an easier read than i expect gibson to be (of course, he had help writing this one) and not as rewarding in the end. set in victorian england, 'the difference engine' is an alternate history: what would have been changed had charles babbage's mechanical computer been a practical reality? i VERY STRONGLY reccomend that the person interested in reading this book do some research on the times and concepts before starting this book. you will get a lot more out of it if you know what's going on before you start. this is probably one of the worst failings of the book: while the background is richly detailed (there is a wealth of victorian slang, social moires, and lifestyle), the basic concept of what the hell a difference engine even is is never explained. the story is apparently about a mysterious series of computer punch cards falling into the hands of a series of characters. the characters have only loose connections with each other, and once the story moves on to the next character, the plot threads are left dangling open for the previous one. just what exactly the punch cards do is never revealed, so the ending of the book feels rather anti-climactic. the concepts and ideas are interesting, but basically the tale never goes anywhere. you keep reading, hoping that there is a point to be made, but the whole thing just kind of fizzles out. "steampunk" is a fun and original idea, it just doesn't completely work here.
Rating: 
Summary: A complex alternate history
Review: The Difference Engine reflects the creative synergy of two great cyberpunk pioneers, Gibson and Sterling. It is a difficult and complex novel, based on the premise that Charles Babbage's eponymous mechanical computer is actually developed for practical use using steam power in the Victorian Age, ushering in the Information Revolution a century early. The authors manage to convincingly evoke a Victorian otherworld that is both hauntingly familiar and yet dramatically different from our own past. England is ruled by technocrats and scientists (known as savants) who battle Luddite terrorists; the United States are far from united, rent between the Republic of Texas, the Confederate South, and the Marxist Manhattan Commune. Gibson and Sterling utilize this fascinating background to great advantage, using a colorful cast of characters (including famous historic figures like Sam Houston and Lord Byron in roles a little different from those in our own history books) to explore such weighty themes as evolution and natural selection; technology, surveillance and social control; AI; and the science of chaos and complexity. I'm sure I did not fully grasp all the implications or understand all the intricate plotlines in this rare treasure; it will definitely repay rereading. But I'm sure that thoughtful fans of Gibson and Sterling--especially those with some knowledge of 19th century England--will enjoy this book as much as I did. It may well be regarded as an SF masterpiece with time. On the other hand, readers who require straightforward, linear plotting and who find ambiguity irritating will certainly do best to skip this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, but not wholly successful
Review: Curious Steampunk foray, based on the wonderful premise that Charles Babbage's mechanical computer actually achieved practicality. As a consequence, the information age arrives concurrently with the industrial revolution. The plot consists of three vignettes that track the chain of custody of a case of valuable computer punch cards. The middle narrative dominates, and it's central character, Thomas Mallory, is the only character that achieves any depth, though Lawrence Oliphant is an intriguing historical figure. The story, it turns out, is narrated by Difference Engine itself, iterating the story of how it came to achieve self-consciousness. I liked the 19th century slang and historical detail. The alternative history touches require some knowledge of 19th century history and people; most are quite subtle and amusing. Not much by way of emotional payoff, though. Makes me want to read The Anubis Gates and Homonculus.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but distorts history
Review: The idea of the invention of Steampowered computers in the nineteenth century is interesting but the author makes several unetanable claims of what would happen in the new timeline. The book says that the Mexican American War never happened and Texas is still independent. Yet the American Civil War happened even sooner than in our timeline and the South won. One of the causes of the Civil War was the dispute over whether the newly won territories captured in the war with Mexico would be free or slave states. If the war with Mexico never happens it stands to reason that the Civil War would be delayed or prevented all together. In the book Karl Marx is claimed to have seized control of New York City during the Draft riots during the Civil War and one of his followers is presented as a supporter of slavery. In the real history though Karl Marx supported the Union war effort and opposed slavery.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but many missed opportunities
Review: This isn't a bad novel, and I don't think it "drags" as some would have it--there is enough motive force behind the novel (action, plot development) to keep you there, BUT The main character just isn't particularly interesting and the novel fails to flesh out its alternative history in a way that would make it truly intersting. We get a smattering of the catastrophist/gradualist controversy (derived from SJ Gould is my guess), and Victorian social attitudes and mores get depicted (but not discussed) pretty well. However, we don't get very much on the difference engines or how the technology interacts with Victorian society or on why Byron would have made a successful prime minister in these circumstances or . . . Well, we could go on at length as to topics the two novelists might have turned their attention to. But at the end of the day, not a bad way to spend a few days away from more serious reading.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Complex Reading
Review: In contrast to most of the negative reviews, I thought the suprise ending was powerful and not entirely unexpected.Though this book is science fiction, its way of leading up to the suprise ending is similar to the stratigy used in the movie "Sixth Sense." Both start out slow,yet lead to powerfull endings which are foreshadowed with tantilizing clues.This last means that both stories should be seen more than once in order to be better understood.The Difference Engine is, thus, a complex story that requires an open mind and multiple readings in order to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book takes a little while to get started (about 30 pages--not too long), but once it does, wow. What a world! The alternative Victorian England they've created, in which gigantic steam-powered mechanical computers are used by the government in an attempt to control people's lives, is such a thrill to "visit" that I dearly wish they would write another few books in the series. The characters are unusually well drawn, for sci-fi, and the antiquated style of much of the writing and dialogue is lots of fun. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Huh?
Review: Okay, right now I'm on a cyberpunk kick and I picked this book up at the library because the premise sounded interesting: what if the computer ("Engine" in the book lingo) had been invented in the nineteenth century? And what if the government of England had been taken over by and Industrial Radical party that essentially made the industrial revolution more so? Well, after reading the book I still don't feel like I had any answer to those questions. In fact, I don't really feel like this book had any cohesion at all. Essentially what we have here is three novellas, each with a different central character. But other than a mysterious box of punch cards which each of them at one time or another possesses, there isn't any throughline. There are tantalising bits of plot here and there, but none of it seems to go anywhere or make any sense. And the box of cards has no impact; everyone's out to get it, but why? Who knows what it does? Why should we care? Characters appear and disappear with infuriating randomness -- just when you think something's going to happen, Oops! that's the end of that bit and no we're somewhere else. Conspiracies are hinted at but then they just vanish or become unimportant with no explanation. I kept waiting for all the threads to come together and knock me over the head with significance, but that never happened. Some of the alternate reality stuff was interesting, but there just wasn't enough backstory to make it relevant. All in all, the book left me with the feeling of "What the heck was that about?" If the writers knew, I wish they had seen fit to share.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love it.
Review: It was such a great premise for a book-- what if the Babbage had realized his analytical engine and successfully created computer much earlier in our history? It was also encouraging that two of my favorite writers were involved. Unfortunately, _The Difference Engine_ never really delivers on its astounding amount of promise and the resulting book, while readable, doesn't hold together terribly well. Three sets of very different characters' lives intersect when they all come in contact with a mysterious box of punch cards. Mix in an alternative history, lady Ada Babbage (with echos of Moorcock's Gloriana), and a staggering richness of detail and you have the book itself. Unfortunately, it often felt like a huge amount of talent in search of a plot. The detailing was perfect, the characters were great, but the story just never came together. Too bad.
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