**The 20th anniversary edition of the classic steampunk novel
With new commentary by the authors
**
1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, powered by
steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical
Engine, and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. Three
extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with the future: Sybil
Gerard--fallen woman, politician's tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator;
Edward "Leviathan" Mallory--explorer and paleontologist; Laurence
Oliphant--diplomat, mystic, and spy. Their adventure begins with the
discovery of a box of punched Engine cards of unknown origin and
purpose. Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for.
Part detective story, part historical thriller, The Difference Engine
took the science fiction community by storm when it was first published
twenty years ago. This special anniversary edition features an
Introduction by Cory Doctorow and a collaborative essay from the authors
looking back on their creation. Provocative, compelling, intensely
imagined, this novel is poised to impress a whole new generation.