Andromeda

The Difference Engine – William Gibson and Bruce Sterling – NEW Book New Paperback Get other William Gibson Books click here 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 (actually his analytical engine rather than the difference engine). The novel was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award in 1990 the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1991 and both the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the Prix Aurora Award in 1992. The action of the story follows Sybil Gerard a political courtesan and daughter of an executed Luddite leader (she is borrowed from Disraeli’s novel Sybil); Edward “Leviathan” Mallory a paleontologist and explorer; and Laurence Oliphant a historical figure with a real career as portrayed in the book as a travel writer whose work was a cover for espionage activities “undertaken in the service of Her Majesty”.] Linking all their stories is the trail of a mysterious set of reportedly very powerful computer punch cards and the individuals fighting to obtain them. As is the case with special objects in several novels by Gibson the punch cards are to some extent a MacGuffin. During the story many cha CLICK HERE -The Difference Engine – William Gibson and Bruce Sterling- NEW Book at www.science-fiction-books.com.au