Rating: 
Summary: A conflict of writing styles
Review: It had the *makings* of a great novel... two of the greatest modern SF writers, applying the tools of today to a previous century. But. But. See, both Gibson and Sterling, at that point in their careers, had distinctive mechanisms for storytelling at the novel length. Gibson's mechanism was parallel plotlines, three or four stories going at once that bound together at the end (see Count Zero). Sterling's mechanism was long temporal jumps, where something happened, and then something else happened twenty years later, then ten more years, and so on (see Schizmatrix). Combined, you get parallel plotlines going on over long stretches of time - a terribly, terribly confusing way to write! It was nearly impossible to follow the individual characters and their stories, because things jumped around so much. And it's a shame, because it was SUCH a great idea.
Rating:
Summary: Sci-Fi for Yesteryear
Review: Brought to you by two of the great cyber-punk authors, Bruce Sterling and William Gibson, is a look at the past and how it might have been. Take a story with hackers pushing the world to chaos in an attempt to keep machines from running everything, but then, take the same story and go back into the 1800s before computers. To fully understand what these two have done, you need to be fairly knowledgeable of the luminaries of that era; some of these luminaries include Byron, Sam Houston, Edward Mallory, Laurence Oliphant, John Keats, and Charles Babbage (to name a few). Rather than just throw a poet into the role of Prime Minister, they chose a poet who actually was in Parliament. All their choices are very well thought out; they did their research. It reminds me of Orson Scott Cards tweaking of American history and legend in the Alvin Maker series. The computers have been replaced by punch cards. The elements are the same though, such as the authorities have a punch card of everyone with all of his or her information, and meeting the right people can erase your identity. I would recommend reading this book if you are familiar with the Romantic and Victorian eras.
Rating: 
Summary: Gave me chills
Review: I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I think I have to reveal a little to counter the bad reviews. I hate to think that people who might enjoy this book as much as I did will miss out on it because of what they've read here. If you don't like SF books that aren't tightly character and plot-driven, this one isn't for you. But the book does have a plot, and I think those who say that it's muddled, or ends in mid-story just didn't get it. This book is about the genesis of the first AI in an alternate history, in which the historical leaps in computer technology take place in a post-Napoleonic Britain where meritocracy and rationalism have triumphed over aristocracy. The authors were not trying to develop this idea by focusing on plot and character and indeed the AI itself is largely absent. The focus is instead on the alternate society from which the AI comes. The authors introduce a number of equally weighted plot elements, which are indeed low-key and inconclusive. But two of these meandering elements of the plot are, by the end, shown to be significant. One involves the invention of a computer system so complex that an unavoidable randomness is introduced into its calculation of data. The other involves the rationalist government's internal security technocrats, who, in the style of their twentieth century counterparts in actual history, base their philosophy on mass information - by trying to construct a database of the personal details of all their citizens. Far from finishing in mid-story, the book reaches its natural conclusion when these two plot elements are brought together. That last chapter, with the "shadowy character", shows us a point in the future in which the result of their union finally comes to fruition. What happened in between the end of the story and this future point we can easily extrapolate, and is surplus to the authors' requirements. Reading that last chapter gave me chills and I thought about it for days afterwards. The plot of this book is as devastating and brilliant as any SF book I've ever read, but the authors slip it in under the radar and hide it behind their wonderful evocation of their alternate society, which would make worthwhile reading just by itself. If you don't like stories that aren't tightly focused, don't read it. But otherwise, take my five-star review seriously and try to get hold of this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute crap!
Review: I have to agree with virtually everyone else who reviewed this book. It is horrible. The book reads like Sterling and Gibson came up with a concept, divided up the chapters and never checked in again. The early characters disappear and sort of reappear at the end. I kept reading, hoping that it would all come together at the end, but it didn't. In fact, the last section left me completely mystified. I took this with me on a business trip to the middle east and read it on my return flight. I was hoping for an engrossing read that would make the remaining trip enjoyable. Instead, I experienced the longest flight of my life as I slogged through this mess.
Rating: 
Summary: the unfinished book
Review: Years ago, in the days of the starving artist, I guess, writers wrote whole books, sent the finished product to publishers who either published or didn't. Unfortunately these days, writers send off a few chapters to the publishers and get a huge advance. After they get paid, they see the whole thing in an entirely different light to quote Groucho Marx in "Room Service". Often the end is NOT nearly as GOOD AS THE BEGINING! (Roger Zelazny was famous for starting books, getting advances and not finishing them). Briefly, there IS a plot in Difference Engine! It's one of the most tantalizingly interesting (and frustrating) alternate history books I've ever read, as far as it goes.(did you know that 19th century English "dollymops" wore shoes with brass high-heels? presumeable to avoid round heels when walking the street??) BUT IT STOPS in the middle of the book, leaving plot lines and the ending completely unresolved. The authors just lost interest, introducing and blaming a shadowy character at the end who isn't really in the book at all. Be forwarned.
Rating:
Summary: very disappointing
Review: This book sounded like such a good idea when I first heard about it. Unfortunately, the execution was horrible. I can only assume that there was conflict or poor planning between Gibson & Sterling. The characters were boring and there were many pages and even chapters that could have been ripped out without anyone noticing. The plot sputtered through the whole novel and eventually just died about 50 pages from the end. Overall it was confusing and unfulfilling, and I felt that the unique setting and story idea was wasted on a failed collaboration between two writers that are used to being on their own.
Rating:
Summary: Another great read from Gibson
Review: I've read a few of Gibson's other works: Mona Lisa Overdrive, Neuromancer, among others, but I have to say this one was the most enjoyable. Imaginative! A wonderful 'what if' story. It boggles the mind to imagine how different the planet could have been had Babbage's Difference Engine actually been built. And, if anything, it probably was instrumental in focusing renewed attention upon Charles Babbage.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of blah with no payoff
Review: I'm not trying to make myself sound like an idiot, but this book was just too full of 19th century jargon for me to be able to comfortably read it. I seriously had to keep dictionary.com up and ready while reading. I read it cover to cover and never did feel like I got much out of it, except perhaps a rather bland story. I've never read anything else by Sterling, but I've read other Gibson works. While Gibson does always tend to use unfamiliar terms, some of which Id swear he makes up, this book takes the cake. I would read 5 boring pages of rather useless information and wonder where in the world they were going with it! It was a frustrating experience to read this book and I'm just glad I'm done with it. I'm giving it 2 stars because of all of the painful, and presumably accurate detail they conveyed throughout the book. If your really into all things 19th century or steam-punk, then Id recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Difference Engine Review
Review: At first, readers of the Difference Engine may be taken in by the fact that two cyberpunk juggernauts co-authored it. But the fact is that the book is a unique gem. The combination of William Gibson's knack for prosaic similes and metaphors (i.e. Nueromancer) and Bruce Sterling's ability to craft odd, yet quality characters (Heavy Weather), tackles entirely uncharted cyberpunk territory.
The magic of the Difference Engine lies between its words. It sparkles in its finely detailed Victorian setting, where primitive computers contain a database of the public and punch cards are used to wheeze out countless sheets of printout information. Its magic, for example, is reflected through the kinotrope machines that provide visual aid to public speaker Sam Houston in a presentation to the Whitechapel public of London.
Co-authors Gibson and Sterling pepper the book with subtle parallels to modern society; so subtle they can easily be overlooked or misread. Gibson and Sterling, besides creating an extremely precise and detailed historical setting, come close to losing the reader in Victorian jargon. But the two counteract the momentously detailed setting with modern social commentary, such as observations on big corporation and privacy in high-tech societies, and a knack for edging forth the reader with well-placed plot twists.
Furthering its peculiarity, a technical diversity about the book is its organization. It is distributed over five "iterations" and concluded with a "modus." The sections do not have chapters, rather cuts in the story that allow for something similar to a play's scene change where you can put the book down and go to the store. I found no trouble with this style and noticed Gibson uses the same "cuts" in Nueromancer.
The Difference Engine is such a broad book, in terms of the Aristotelian approach to drama, that I point-out several books in its likeness. Caleb Carr's the Alienist is similar in ways of both its historical setting and its detailed detective story. John Brunner's The Shockwave Rider, with its anti-government Vietnam era stance, compares in terms of social parallel and awareness.
Gibson and Sterling avoid any laboring style changes and stagnant stage stealing and end up with a cohesive and inimitable alternate history.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I wanted
Review: Well, I'll try to be fair, but it is hard. My reaction after reading the last page was "Well, I'll never get that time back". I can possibly see why some might find this book entertaining, if they were VERY familiar with 19th century history. The detail is very good, and the premise is interesting. However, I have not read many books I have been more disapointed in. It drags, meanders, teases, and finally... leaves you completely flat. IMHO don't waste your time.
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