mschlat's review
5.0
I really must insist that if books like this exist that the universe do a better job of informing me about them.
This is a collection of a webcomic by Sydney Padua which starts with the historical facts of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage and their efforts (never completed) to construct the first computer (the Analytical Engine), with Babbage providing the hardware and Lovelace the software. At the end of the first episode, Padua embarks on a flight of fancy to a Victorian England where the Analytical Engine was actually built. That ending (just a few pages) caused Padau's audience to demand more, and thus the subsequent episodes recount the interactions in a parallel universe between Lovelace, Babbage, the Engine, and most of nineteenth century English society, including (but not limited to) the Queen herself, Robert Carlyle, Lewis Carroll, and Luddites. All throughout, hilarity ensues.
Here's some of what I love about this book:
1) Padua's artwork is a wonderful blend of the detail of Mad Magazine-era Jack Davis and the facial expressions of Kyle Baker. Beyond that, she clearly loves drawing detailed machinery. The result is a wonderful blend of the technical and the hysterical.
2) Every page has footnotes (some of which get involved with the goings-on of the page itself). Every episode has endnotes referencing the footnotes. Some of those endnotes have footnotes. The tri-fold level of recursion is quite pleasing.
3) There is a scene in the middle which resembles the "through the factory" climax of Monsters, Inc. Except that the scene features not Sully and Mike, but George Elliot, and there are copious references to the frightening trend of destructive reading for archival preservation.
4) The last episode involves visual play on the development of non-Euclidean geometry while simultaneously referring to the bifurcation of academic opinions on just how talented Ada Lovelace was.
5) Padua is thankfully obsessed with primary sources, to the extent that the backmatter is an introduction to how Charles Babbage was used as a metaphor for calculating prowess in Victorian newspapers.
At this point, practically anything I can say about the book is potentially reductive and pales next to its splendor. Read the damn thing.
This is a collection of a webcomic by Sydney Padua which starts with the historical facts of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage and their efforts (never completed) to construct the first computer (the Analytical Engine), with Babbage providing the hardware and Lovelace the software. At the end of the first episode, Padua embarks on a flight of fancy to a Victorian England where the Analytical Engine was actually built. That ending (just a few pages) caused Padau's audience to demand more, and thus the subsequent episodes recount the interactions in a parallel universe between Lovelace, Babbage, the Engine, and most of nineteenth century English society, including (but not limited to) the Queen herself, Robert Carlyle, Lewis Carroll, and Luddites. All throughout, hilarity ensues.
Here's some of what I love about this book:
1) Padua's artwork is a wonderful blend of the detail of Mad Magazine-era Jack Davis and the facial expressions of Kyle Baker. Beyond that, she clearly loves drawing detailed machinery. The result is a wonderful blend of the technical and the hysterical.
2) Every page has footnotes (some of which get involved with the goings-on of the page itself). Every episode has endnotes referencing the footnotes. Some of those endnotes have footnotes. The tri-fold level of recursion is quite pleasing.
3) There is a scene in the middle which resembles the "through the factory" climax of Monsters, Inc. Except that the scene features not Sully and Mike, but George Elliot, and there are copious references to the frightening trend of destructive reading for archival preservation.
4) The last episode involves visual play on the development of non-Euclidean geometry while simultaneously referring to the bifurcation of academic opinions on just how talented Ada Lovelace was.
5) Padua is thankfully obsessed with primary sources, to the extent that the backmatter is an introduction to how Charles Babbage was used as a metaphor for calculating prowess in Victorian newspapers.
At this point, practically anything I can say about the book is potentially reductive and pales next to its splendor. Read the damn thing.
rainy_stardust's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
vaughtgn's review
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
skywalkerem's review
4.0
I really enjoyed the art style of it. The footnotes were a bit much sometimes, but the ones that I remembered to read I enjoyed. I’ll probably have to go back and read this again.
uncola's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
zurararara's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing so far!!! I loved the historical details and the writing is so entertaining even for these informative parts that I am really excited for the pocket universe story line to begin. It is nice to read about so many familiar big names as people who actually interacted with each other. It is generating interest within me for the biographies and auto-biographies of these STEM people. I had read one book about this subject before but it mainly included biographies of 20th century Physicists which was, of course, equally interesting.
cook_memorial_public_library's review
4.0
Recommended by Melissa. Read her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1413024205?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__SThe%20Thrilling%20Adventures%20of%20Lovelace%20and%20Babbage__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__SThe%20Thrilling%20Adventures%20of%20Lovelace%20and%20Babbage__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
isobelm's review against another edition
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lorialdenholuta's review
5.0
I love eBooks and buy a lot of them. HOWEVER, I followed the advice of friends and bought this one in hardback. It's one of the best purchase decisions I have ever made. The comic stories are fantastic, but the REAL gold is in the footnotes. Dare I say that this book would be nothing without the footnotes. Read them all. Savor them.
Besides a fun alternate universe comic romp, you're going to accidentally learn solid, real facts about Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and others associated with them. You are going to learn how Babbage's machines worked. You are going to close this book on the last page feeling wonderfully entertained and satisfyingly educated. As they say in Hollywood... "If you only buy one book this year, let it be this one!"
Besides a fun alternate universe comic romp, you're going to accidentally learn solid, real facts about Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and others associated with them. You are going to learn how Babbage's machines worked. You are going to close this book on the last page feeling wonderfully entertained and satisfyingly educated. As they say in Hollywood... "If you only buy one book this year, let it be this one!"