Rating: 
Summary: Vaguely related vignettes masquerading as a novel
Review: Two of today's best science fiction authors collaborate on a fascinating concept and produce...a book with no discernable plot, no central characters, no apparent theme or message, and as if that wasn't bad enough already, it has no ending, but simply stops at a more or less arbitrary point. One of the biggest disappointments of recent years.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't know how it ends
Review: I couldn't bring myself to finish this book, even after investing the time to read the first 400 pages. I would suggest reading it in as few sittings as possible. It takes effort to acclimate yourself to the intentionally-obtuse writing style. And if you resume reading the book after too long an absense, you may find returning to this world too much to ask.
Rating:
Summary: what happened?
Review: the only thing that kept me reading this book until the end was the hope that possibly, something, anything, would actually HAPPEN! while the premise was "neat" and some of the alternate history was fun to think about, nothing happens in this book. although some other reviewers seemed to enjoy it, i finished the book feeling totally disappointed. my roommate asked me what it was about and i had to say, "nothing i guess. just what if computers were invented before the civil war." when it comes to alternate history, i'm sticking with harry turtledove.
Rating:
Summary: Rich detail and images - betrayed by a weak ending
Review: The novel is captivating in the richness of the picture that is developed of an English society delaing with both the industrial revolution - and an information revolution at the same time. I was in love with the novel, its characters, and story lines. Right until the end. While I think I get some of the ways the story lines were wrapped up - the end of the novel left me with more unanswered questions than messages or issues to think about. I needed more and was disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Opportunity Lost
Review: I started this book 3 years ago and put it down because the dialog and the slow pace was not what I was looking for at that point. I started it again this week and finished it. I still think the authors could have cut out about 150 pages and not lost anything. The book does deliver some interesting alternate history ideas. The new roles of historical figures kept me reading. I felt as though the authors had a great setting for this book and ample opportunity but somehow chose the dullest story line possible. Although I read the book fairly carefully and understand much of the underlying message, I still get the impression that the authors meant for me to see more than what I did. If they did, I didn't get it because the execution of the story was just so monotonous it was distracting. I would have to read the book again to better understand the ending. I think I'll wait another few years.
Rating:
Summary: Not About Computers?
Review: There is a review posted here from someone on May 11 of 1997 summarized as "Par Excellence No Matter What Anyone Says". The reviewer makes a point of saying that this is the best cyberpunk novel ever written and "there's not a computer in sight". I would simply like to point out that Babbage's Difference Engine was a steam powered mechanical computer, and that the entire story revolves about a program written by Ada Lovelace for that computer. The central character of the novel is a computer. Just pointing out that not only are computers in sight in this novel, they are a hopelessly pervasive element of every part of the novel: without Babbages mechanical computer, there wouldn't even be a title for the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not perfect, but a DAMN good book.
Review: Read it twice, loved it once, GOT it the 2nd time. My favorite little bit of the book -- and I think the fact that this IS my favorite bit will demonstrate what kind of person will like this book -- is when John Keats shows up as a clacker. GOD, that was brillant! First, you have to get who Keats was (not nearly enough people know him as one of the most brilliant poets ever), know his desire for literary immortality, about his early death... but you also have to understand the mutable nature of people's professions, of people who were "before their time"... in the world of TDE, Byron, Shelley and Keats never become the "Big 3" of the 19th century, but a Prime Minister, a dissident, and a graphic designer, respectively. People who dismiss this book without knowledge of the artists of the 19th century are missing a big point. Here we finf Sterling's "computers change humanity" points... Prime Minister in our world (Disreili) writes crappy books, while the greatest of the Romantic poets become hackers.... Secondly, I agree that you need to have an actual knowledge base in early computing to get it all... that Ada Byron's program was a strange loop NEEDS to be understood, because that leads towards... ... wait for it... THE PLOT! Yes, there IS TOO a plot! Gibson/Sterling's quotation that it should/might take 50 years to understand the ending is because it won't be for at least 50 years that OUR computers achive what the Difference Engines did in the alternate 1990's of TDE -- to wit, true artificial intelligence, which has only its beginnings in the computation serieses of our own century.
Rating:
Summary: There's something more here.
Review: This is a very interesting book, not so much for the alternate history, but the larger question of what has Lady Ada done. I must admit that I didn't come upon the answer myself, but the novel did stimulate much thought and discussion, and finally, illumination. I'd recommend this novel, but only if you'll allow the authors to tell the story. Much like Gene Wolfe, if you insist on interpreting this story yourself you'll miss it. And here's the clue: the Difference Engine is the main character.
Rating:
Summary: Gibson and Sterling produce an excellent book.
Review: After reading the opinions of other readers here, I wondered if we had all read the same book. I suspect that those who find this book a disappointment came to it hoping to read a work more in line with previous books by either of these two well-respected science fiction authors. Finding something different, they left unsatisfied. If one approaches this book with an open mind, I think they will be pleasantly suprised. The two authors paint a convincing, detailed alternative history that weaves several narratives into a cohesive whole that falters only slightly at the end. The characters are for the most part three-dimensional, and fit well within the world Gibson and Sterling have created. The atmosphere is dark and brooding, and the benifits and costs of an England dominated by steam-driven computers are well represented. The poltical climate and "world of the difference engine" are both plausible and entertaining. The only place in which the authors falter is in their attempt to move the narrative beyond entertainment into the philosophical and metaphysical. Then ending is somewhat reminiscent of the finale of Nueromancer, and is written in the sterotypical clipped Gibson style, which contrasts sharply with the rest of the novel. Had Gibson and Sterling left their work in the more mundane realm of (alternative) historical adventure, they would have had an unqualified success. Depsite that shortcoming, I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It is unlike any other work by these two authors, and thus you should expect something different. It is a rousing adventure set in a plausible alternative world, similar in tone and style to Frost's excellent "List of 7," only slightly hindered by some metaphysical trappings.
Rating:
Summary: Excuse me while I spit
Review: What a terrible book. I must have repressed everything from my last reading, becuase all I have is a vague sense of 'how did those two put out such a lousy book'? It actually took me two tries to finish it. The actual finish was just to say I'd done it. Ick.
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