The basic premise: What if computers were created in Victorian England? The results is a vastly different and far grimmer world where the Imperial British Empire extends its rule across the entire world and well into the future. I felt the book was worth my time, but ended up mourning the much better novel that could have been if the high standard of the first section had been kept up.Ĭombining the cyberpunk, steampunk, and alternate history sub-generas of science fiction, The Difference Engine is truly a one of a kind novel. The last 1/3 is told as a series of disjointed fragments revealing large chunks of leftover plot, as though the writer didn't have time to weave them together to give pacing and complexity. The next 1/3 is a mediocre action story climaxing with a gunfight in a burning warehouse (the ultimate action cliche). The first 1/3 is absolutely gripping and fascinating. It gives the impression that they worked together for a while, agreed to work separately on the rest, and then both mailed in half-baked work when they ran out of time. The novel: written by two people, and it shows. If only I could get serious nonfiction books narrated with this level of talent. So this is what a professional sounds like. The perfect ideal of expressiveness without melodrama from start to finish. All kinds of British accents, and he nails each of them. First of all, Simon Vance does an amazing job with this book.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |