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Book · by William Gibson · first published 1991

How many pages is The Difference Engine?

The Difference Engine by William Gibson has a median of 429 pages across 7 English-language print editions with a recorded page count; the middle half of editions run 383 to 438 pages.

Median pages
429
7 editions counted
Range
383–492
shortest to longest edition
Reading time
7.6h
at 260 wpm (fiction average)
Words (est.)
118k
at 275 words per page

How long will The Difference Engine take you?

Starts at the fiction average of 260 words per minute and 275 words per page. Move the slider to your own speed.

Reading time
7 h 34 min
At 30 min a day
16 days
At 1 hour a day
8 days

Page count of every edition, by year

Each dot is one English-language print edition. Shaded: middle half of editions. Line: median.

40045050019952000200520101991: 383 pages1991: 429 pages1992: 448 pages1992: 383 pages1992: 429 pages2003: 383 pages2011: 492 pagesmedian 429
400450500200020101991: 383 pages1991: 429 pages1992: 448 pages1992: 383 pages1992: 429 pages2003: 383 pages2011: 492 pagesmedian 429
Open Library edition records (2026-09-30 dump).

Editions counted

The 7 editions behind the figures above, newest first. Open Library lists 28 editions of this work in all languages and formats.

YearPublisherFormatPagesOpen Library
2011Spectra–492OL25284409M
2003Gollancz–383OL22032103M
1992SpectraMass Market Paperback448OL7825336M
1992VGSF–383OL19350688M
1992Bantam Books–429OL17190832M
1991VGSF–383OL17328905M
1991Bantam Books–429OL1882061M

More by William Gibson

All 8 books by William Gibson with page counts

Questions

How many pages is The Difference Engine?
About 429 pages: that is the median of 7 English-language print editions on Open Library. Editions range from 383 to 492 pages.
How long does it take to read The Difference Engine?
About 7 h 34 min at 260 words per minute, assuming 275 words per page. At 30 minutes a day that is 16 days.
How many words is The Difference Engine?
Roughly 118,000 words, estimated from the median page count at 275 words per page. Open Library does not record word counts, so this is an estimate.

Data: Open Library monthly data dumps (works, editions, authors, reading log, ratings) (Open Library / Internet Archive); How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate (Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language 109 (2019)).