1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full and inexorable swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines.&#160; Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time.&#160; And three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with history&mdash;and the future: <br> &#160;<br> <i>Sybil Gerard</i>&mdash;a fallen woman, politician&rsquo;s tart, daughter of a Luddite agitator<br> &#160;<br> <i>Edward &ldquo;Leviathan&rdquo; Mallory</i>&mdash;explorer and paleontologist<br> &#160;<br> <i>Laurence Oliphant</i>&mdash;diplomat, mystic, and spy.<br> &#160;<br> Their adventure begins with the discovery of a box of punched Engine cards of unknown origin and purpose.&#160; Cards someone wants badly enough to kill for&hellip;.<br> &#160;<br> Part detective story, part historical thriller, <i>The Difference Engine</i> is the collaborative masterpiece by two of the most acclaimed science fiction authors writing today.&#160; Provocative, compelling, intensely imagined, it is a startling extension of Gibson&rsquo;s and Sterling&rsquo;s unique visions&mdash;and the beginning of movement we know today as &ldquo;steampunk!&rdquo;