When The Difference Engine, by cyberpunk authors William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, came out in the early 1990s, it was radically different than anything else on the market at the time. Set in the not too distant past (1800s), but envisioned a world where the Victorian Era had steam driven computers. This environment is well-trod nowadays with the explosion of Steam Punk stories in the market, but in the early 1990s, this was different. With a nod to the era’s literary geniuses (such as Lord Byron) and computing pioneers (mainly Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace), the book is an interesting look at an alternate history which hadn’t been envisioned previously. It doesn’t seem as revolutionary now due to the explosion in Steam Punk titles currently on the market. But it was a nod to the past that many, many authors have picked up and moved forward with. Let’s see what the book is about.

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