Steampunk Novels

[Madeleine]

[quote=""Brenna""]What the whoha is a Steampunk novel?? [/quote]

Just what I was wondering, thank you for asking Brenna!

Does sound a bit of a mash-up genre , I've read 2 of the Sally Lockhart novels but would rather call them YA Victorian mysteries, although the second book does feature a massive steam-powered gun.

[JessMountifield]

Steam Punk is very popular with the current 15-25's in the uk. It has a whole dress and fashion sense that has come with it (think victorian, mixed with clockwork, inventor and a hint of goth and you're on the right lines) but I'd not heard of their being novels. It's something I'd been considering trying my hand at as I do love the fashion sense. Especially the look a top hat gives with inventor goggles resting on the brim.

I'll check out some of the suggestions here. More for my tbr pile!

[Ludmilla]

Most of the steampunk I was initially exposed to was either alternate history or historical fantasy with SF elements of some kind. There has been a movement in recent years within the romance genre for these steampunk adventure stories as well. Meljean Brook's The Iron Duke is an example of one I read.

Cherie Priest is a SFF author I have on my wish list who writes novels in this vein as well. I haven't tried her yet, but intend to one of these days.

For those interested, wikipedia has this entry on steampunk.

[fljustice]

Some of my SF friends were writing steampunk stuff, but mostly short fiction. The Wild, Wild, West with Will Smith and Kevin Kline (based on the TV show) is a good example of steampunk in movies.

[Madeleine]

Interesting to see that Wiki thinks Dr Who is steampunk, can see what they mean about the Tardis though. A work colleague here says that the opening titles of Game of Thrones are very steampunk.

[emr]

[quote=""Madeleine""]Interesting to see that Wiki thinks Dr Who is steampunk, can see what they mean about the Tardis though. A work colleague here says that the opening titles of Game of Thrones are very steampunk.[/quote]

Didn't you see him last ep building a new trardis with some hangers? looooool

[emr]

In the romance side The Iron Duke doesn't sound too bad... Nice ratings.

[Greg]

The Steampunk genre is a very interesting and growing dare I say movement, as Ludmilla and fljustice have so correctly stated it is a return to Victorian era technology and society though usually with a twist in science or history. It does indeed usually have a strong fantasy element though the use of steam engines zeppelins and lighter than air aether ships is always appreciated. In many ways it goes back to Jules Verne and HG Wells though often with a heavy splash of Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle. The first novel of this style that I came across was William S Gibson’s The Difference Engine were Charles Babbage managed to build a working computer and transformed the Victorian way of life. A darker form of this is Newman’s Anno Dracula where Stoker’s Dracula has become Queen Victoria’s consort. It is a field where history and speculation can combine to create something quite sparkling. As an example I putting in this link to a very amusing clip of some supposed steampunk technology via Weta workshops.
As you no doubt have guessed I myself have been entranced by the possibilities and hopefully next year will launch the first of a series of steampunk based novels set in theory about 1912. Anyway if in doubt do a quick search on YouTube for clips from the genre, trust me there are lots.
Regards Greg

Blogging on the Tudors at http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot.com/

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[Ludmilla]

[quote=""emr""]In the romance side The Iron Duke doesn't sound too bad... Nice ratings.[/quote]

EMR, for what it's worth, I liked it, but adventure stories are a guilty pleasure for me and I look for them across various genres. Some readers might find the hero a bit too alpha, but I wasn't bothered by it. I thought the author created an interesting supporting cast of characters, and she'll be telling their stories in future releases.

[emr]

[quote=""Ludmilla""]EMR, for what it's worth, I liked it, but adventure stories are a guilty pleasure for me and I look for them across various genres. Some readers might find the hero a bit too alpha, but I wasn't bothered by it. I thought the author created an interesting supporting cast of characters, and she'll be telling their stories in future releases.[/quote]

Adventure and alpha male? Nice I'll add it to my wishlist. What's one more book...