Steampunk

Stoke the boiler and raise the pressure, because today we're talking Steampunk.

In case you're not familiar with the genre, it's a blend of Fantasy and Sci-Fi with occasional horror elements thrown in for good measure. Most often, it's set in the 19^th century, in either Victorian England or the Wild West, but there are plenty of exceptions.

As far as I know, there are no rules stating that Steampunk has to be set in our world, albeit an alternative version thereof, but it seems to be rarer for Steampunk to be set in original worlds.

Like it's sister, Cyberpunk, the most important elements in Steampunk seem to be a dystopian world, amazing technology and people finding their place amidst it all. Unlike Cyberpunk however, in Steampunk more power equals greater size. The concept of miniaturization is rare in these worlds. Then add goggles, brass gears, top hats and corsets and you get a fun and evocative genre.

Steampunk has two cousins, Dieselpunk (1930's to 1950's style technology) and Clockpunk (Renaissance) that can be so similar as to make the three almost indistinguishable, but they are without a doubt separate.

The reason for today's post, is that I started reading this genre again, and I started with Shelley Adina's charming Lady of Devices.

Lady of Devices was a fun read. It's humorous and innocent, and felt altogether too short, even though it clocks in at 258 pages. So far it seems there are six books in the series, but since I've not read them I won't comment further. The story takes place on a very personal level, with the main character Claire Trevelyan in constant focus. If you're looking for an easy to read intro to Steampunk, this is a good alternative.

I followed up Lady of Devices with Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan. This book is not just Steampunk but also Biopunk. In essence it's World War I, with Germany and her allies in war-walkers and other mechanical vehicles against Britain and her allies and their bio engineered war machines. I loved the contrast, and Westerfeld's sheer ingenuity and inventiveness is amazing. It's no wonder this book is number two on Goodreads list of best Steampunk novels. My one complaint is that the war itself, the catalyst for the events as it may be, is fairly marginal. A great read in any case.

Currently I'm on Cherie Priest's Boneshaker. I haven't gotten very far, but I'm already hooked. Grime, mystery, zombies and airships. What's not to love? Priest writes with great style and seems to have a good grip on her characters. Final verdict pending, but so far very good!

That's all for today, so put on your goggles, charge our lightning gun and I'll see you next week. Have a great one!