
The Difference Engine
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
About this listen
The Difference Engine is an alternate history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. It is a prime example of the steampunk sub-genre; It posits a Victorian Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer called Engines.
The fierce summer heat and pollution have driven the ruling class out of London and the resulting anarchy allows technology-hating Luddites to challenge the intellectual elite.
A set of perforated punch cards come into the hands of the daughter of an executed Luddite leader who sets out to keep them safe and discover what secrets they contain.
©1991 William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 26 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Two dozen tales of future shock and twisted history from an undisputed king of cyberpunk science fiction, including Nebula Award finalists “Sunken Garden” and “Dori Bangs.”
By: Bruce Sterling
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Holy Fire
- By: Bruce Sterling
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In the late twenty-first century, technology has lengthened lifespans far beyond what was once medically possible. Existence itself has become relatively easy - if boring. In this futuristic paradise, ninety-four-year-old Mia Ziemann longs for something different and undergoes a radical new treatment that restores both her body and mind to that of a twenty-year-old. After her dramatic transformation, Mia finds herself lost in an avant-garde world of passion, designer drugs, and creative expression...
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Prescient
- By John D. Furber on 12-10-21
By: Bruce Sterling
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Slow Bullets
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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A vast conflict, one that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur - and for humanity - peace is not to be.
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A great story ruined by narration.
- By Andrew Linke on 06-11-15
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Polostan
- Bomb Light, Book 1
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new series—an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.
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Political Intrigue, Science and Polo in the Cold War
- By Bouncybrit on 10-19-24
By: Neal Stephenson
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The Diamond Age
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Jennifer Wiltsie
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Neal Stephenson, "the hottest science fiction writer in America", takes science fiction to dazzling new levels. The Diamond Age is a stunning tale; set in 21st-century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens what a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life, and the entire future of humanity, is about to be decoded and reprogrammed.
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The rock could use a bit more polishing
- By Tango on 05-19-13
By: Neal Stephenson
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Cryptonomicon
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 42 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - mathematical genius and young Captain in the US Navy - is assigned to detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detachment 2702 - commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe - is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. In the present, Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia....
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Two thirds through and quit
- By Joshua on 06-20-16
By: Neal Stephenson
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Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
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The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Michael on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
The steampunk components introduce a mechanical equivalent of electronic computer capabilities including modeling dinosaur structures from bones, video projections, and law enforcement forensic analysis. Historical figures are utilized extensively, while positing that England retained superior economic dominance due to Babbage's technology. A whole section near the end provides a global perspective with a divided America and Britain opening up Japan.
Given the British setting, the narration is quite good with all appropriately rendered British accents in an easily understand manner.
Steampunk alternative history
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Not Gibson's Best
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Where does The Difference Engine rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is the first I've listened to from Audible.What did you like best about this story?
The characterization by the reader set the town for the book.Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
On occasion, laughter, but mostly rapt attention.Any additional comments?
Looking forward to the next selection.Loved It!
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If you could sum up The Difference Engine in three words, what would they be?
First Class Alternative HistoryWhat did you like best about this story?
The rich detail and reimagining of Victorian England if Babbage's difference engine had been fully funded by Parliament. Very clever historically - something quite difficult to make believable but Gibson and Sterling achieved it. Plot was quite engaging - unable to put it down. Lot's of action and plot twists that keep one engaged.Which scene was your favorite?
The beginning of the harassment by Captain Swan - the burning acid card and then the falsified vivisection photos of the savant's rival.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Would like to read at one setting but at the book's length that's not practicalAny additional comments?
Braved many negative reviews before I decide to select this audible book. Find it interesting that it seems to arose such negativity in many readers. Expect it is a bit complicated and challenging from the standpoint of understanding the history well enough to grasp how artfully the authors rearrange it. Not for the slow witted I suppose.Brilliant and Captivating
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a challenge to get through
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I didn't "get" it
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I've definitely had better
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Still a story worth listening too, just not first rate.
Simon Vance is excellent as always, Gibson not so
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Steampunk before steampunk was cool
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Regarding the plot, it’s worth warning you that this novel has a reputation for being often picked up, but seldom finished. That is because it’s a pretty complex read already, made more difficult by a noir detective plot that’s kind of all over the place. That said, I finished it and if you can make it to the ending there is a twist that explains why the story was told that way. Also, for what it’s worth, you get a lot more out of this a second time around.
As for the narration, this is definitely easier to listen to than it is to read. Simon Vance is one of my favorite narrators, so I’m biased towards any performance of his. That said, this is an extremely verbose novel with some fairly dense sections to it; and Vance still nails it. Overall, if I’ve at all piqued your interest give The Difference Engine a whirl. You’re in for quite the ride.
Steampunk Neuromancer
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