About this title: The computer age has arrived a century ahead of time with Charles Babbage's perfection of his Analytical Engine. The Industrial Revolution, supercharged by the development of steam-driven cybernetic Engines, is in full and drastic swing. Great Britain, with her calculating-cannons, steam dreamnoughts, machine-guns and information technology, ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Gollancz
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780575052970ISBN:057505297X
Description: Fair. Paperback, a good reading copy. Cover image is a stock image and may vary. Your book will be securely packed and promptly dispatched from our UK warehouse. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Gollancz
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780575052970ISBN:057505297X
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Gollancz
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780575052970ISBN:057505297X
Description: Good. * BOOKS DISPATCHED WITHIN 24 HOURS * SATISFACTION GUARANTEED * ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED PROMPTLY * SHIPPED FROM UK * USA DELIVERY IN 3-5 DAYS * SHIPPED FROM UK: USA & EUROPE SPECIALISTS DELIVERY IN 3-5 DAYS. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Gollancz
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780575600294ISBN:0575600292
Description: Good. Book cover-The cover of this book is creased or has markings in accordance with the book's age. Page colour-Slightly discoloured in accordance with book age. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Edition: 1st printing. The computer age has arrived a century ahead of
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Gollancz
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780575600294ISBN:0575600292
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Spectra, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780553294613ISBN:055329461X
Description: Good. Good condition, First printing, with a hint of a slant and light spine lines. Minor edge wear. read more
Description: 055329461X Mass Market paperback is in Good condition has wear to edges, some discolored pages from age and is NOT an ex-library book. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: GOLLANCZ
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780575052970ISBN:057505297X
Description: Published by Gollancz in 1992. Paperback. Number of pages: 256. Condition: Like NEW. No defects, may have been previously read. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: GOLLANCZ
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780575050730ISBN:057505073X
Description: Published by Gollancz in 1991. Paperback. Number of pages: 384. Condition: Good. Used book but in Good Condition for sensible price. Corners bumped. Spine creased. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Spectra
Date Published: 1/1/1992
ISBN-13:9780553294613ISBN:055329461X
Description: VeryGood. Slight Canting And Minor Shelf Wear. The Start Of Browning Due To The Age Of This Copy. Very Readable. Trust an experienced independent bookseller since 1988. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: BANTAM USA
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780553294613ISBN:055329461X
Description: Published by Bantam USA in 1992. Binding: Paperback. Number of pages: 448. Condition: Good. Used book but in Good Condition for sensible price. #8504777 Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: New York, NY, U.S.A. : Bantam/Spectra Special Edition, 1992, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780553294613ISBN:055329461X
Description: Mass Market Paperback. VG+, pb, clean and tight, crease on spine. read more
Edition: Edition Unstated
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Spectra, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780553294613ISBN:055329461X
Description: Good+ As issued No Jacket. Spine curl and creases, corner bumps and creases, edgewear to the covers, and other light shopwear. read more
"More actors than a telenovela stumble through a labyrinth of intrigue in this seminal Steampunk tome. There are enough points of view to disorganize a kaleidoscope; flashbacks and flashforwards; invented terms and slang. I still don't know if I actually liked it. Rather, its a book I'll recommend to interested parties in esoteric conversations about the emergence of the genre. For certain, I was more hooked in the second half of the book: the first was slow going. The story slid unexpectedly into an apocalyptic scene of London smothered in industrial murk, and adventures with contaminated sewage. Perhaps two authors is one author too many, in the case of Gibson and Sterling. The story was at times so complicated, and complicatedly written, I felt as though I was wading in industrial waste myself. Nonetheless, there are passages of gorgeous description scattered in the chapters, and focussed speculation."
"Difficult to get through. While the premise is interesting (steam-engine processing in 1855) the attention to detail is eye-crossing. Our main character (Mallory) disappears 3/4 of the way through the book: destination either Mongolia or China. Ms. Gerard disappears for most of the book. We meet people who wander in, contribute to the storyline and then stall the plotline. The umbrella idea that technology somehow allowed Shelley, Byron and Keats to attain political power is a tad odd.
Reminds me of the word another author and I created for working together on a fiction project: clobberation."
"Things I liked about this book: I loved the Victorian setting, the details were really beautiful, with recognizable historical figures of the time making their appearances, like Charles Darwin. I haven't read very much that would fall into the alternate history genre and I have to say I really did enjoy that part of it, reading about a London that never was. I also enjoyed the characters the story was told through. The author did a great job of making each character a unique person.
Things I didn't love: This book was too long. The story lines took forever to come together. It really felt more like two novellas and a book. For a long time you really don't have any clue where the book is heading. I think the major problem was that it read more like a history book than a story. There was no unified feel, major climax, or conclusion and it was more like the daily events of a few people in London's history going through some hard times."
"This is one of the novels that kicked off the genre now known as "steampunk," and it is still one of the best. In the world of this novel, information processing, using cards and huge buildings full of machines to sort them, existed in Victorian Europe. A host of fascinating technological and social anachronisms create a world that later was echoed in lots of other novels, movies, comics and short stories. Think Sherlock Holmes with Zepplins and giant computers. Aside from pioneering this kind of setting, this novel is a well crafted mystery and thriller."
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