The Difference Engine
- 406
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
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Our view
The reason to read “The Difference Engine” is its world: a nineteenth century of thinking machines, drawn in convincing detail. Gibson and Sterling helped to set the conventions of steampunk here, and some readers are held by the period texture. The story is another matter for many: its separate plots lose direction and the ending leaves them unsatisfied. Some love it without reservation.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Difference Engine (1990) is an alternative history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. It has been described as an early work of the steampunk genre, and is regarded as having helped to establish that genre's conventions.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 6.5 across 165 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 53% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 7.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 6.5 | 26 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 6.5 | 139 | 84% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Difference Engine?
It has 406 pages — shorter than 60% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 7.1 and 7.2, closest to this book.
