Ghosts by Gaslight

by Jack Dann (Editor), Nick Gevers (Editor), Peter S. Beagle

Seventeen all-new stories illuminate the steampunk world of fog and fear!

Modern masters of the supernatural weave their magic to revitalize the chilling Victorian and Edwardian ghostly tale: here are haunted houses, arcane inventions, spirits reaching across the centuries, ghosts in the machine, fateful revelations, gaslit streets scarcely keeping the dark at bay, and other twisted variations on the immortal classics that frighten us still.

Genres: Steampunk, Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Ghosts, Fiction

391 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2011

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "steampunk" in the title is a little misleading, which is fine by me--I'm not super-interested in clockwork and steam engines for their own sake. Many of the stories aren't really even about ghosts, or at least they don't seem particularly "ghosty" to me. There are Satanic enclaves, mad inventors and their hideous machines, mummies, and time travel, all loosely bound together with phantasmagoric ties. The real throughline of the collection is the nineteenth century, that spooky, obsessive period of colonial expansion and industralization. The stories are all well-written, though some fall short of truly chilling effects. Standouts for me were Laird Barron's "Blackwood's Baby," and Peter Beagle's "Music, When Soft Voices Die." Garth Nix's "The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder" is a light, funny takeoff on Conan Doyle, and a break from the generally grim proceedings. A solid collection, with good representation from Australia and the UK--though of 17 stories, 14 are by men. (We do notice these things, folks.)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghosts by Gaslight is the perfect example of what a short story collection ought to be. Though the stories are meant to convey a sense of dread (and indeed, many of them do - especially Lucius Shepard's dirty little tale), I found myself utterly delighted as I read each story. It has always seemed to me that ghost stories are best suited for briefness - else the author runs the risk of losing the tension. And yet, I am often frustrated by short stories that seem as though the author plucked them from some greater tale - endings are not quite endings, the characters and their motives seen unbeknownst to the poor reader. The varied authors of the tales in Ghosts by Gaslights have avoided this trap to the one.

It's fairly common in multi-author collections to have pieces that are, well, filler. I didn't find a single piece of fill in this entire collection. Certainly, there are some stand-outs (Lucius Shepard, for one, as mentioned above), but each and every author seems to have brought their best to bear. I was especially impressed at how many managed the particular cadence of Victorian-era tales, without seeming to descend into parody.

I would also note that the steampunk nature of the collection is profoundly understated. There's not a single dirigible to be had, and for these small things this particular reader is endlessly grateful.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta antología, editada por Jack Dann y Nick Gevers, contiene relatos ambientados a finales del XIX y principios del XX, siempre con elementos sobrenaturales, sobre todo fantasmas, y en alguna ocasión un toque steampunk. Me ha resultado una recopilación algo irregular, frase bastante tópica por otro lado cuando se habla de colecciones de cuentos, donde los hay de todas las calidades. Destacaría el de James Morrow, que precisamente comienza el libro.

[Mauoijenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I also, did not think there was much steampunk in these stories. A hint here and there, that was about it. Obviously some stories were better than others. But most on the bad side.

[Eclectic Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book disappointing, not because of the quality of the writing, but because of the marketing. To call this anthology 'steampunk' is like calling a foot an ear. They don't look the same, work the same, or meet the same needs of their users.

The steampunk elements are weak. In fact, they are as transparent as the haunts that appear in Ghosts by Gaslight. The publisher should have subtitled this tone "Stories of Victorian Supernatural Suspense". These stories are light on steampunk elements and heavy on Victorian ghost tales. Combing the two could have been fun, but sadly, this book failed.

I imagine some marketing person at Harper Voyager saying "Hey, steampunk's hot right now, let's call these steampunk." It was a marketing ploy to sell a few extra copies (hey, it enticed me to buy one!), but it also risked alienating readers (like me!).

This is not to say Ghost by Gaslight is a terrible book. The writing mimics the Victorian age (think Charles Dickens) to the point that some of the stories are difficult to read. What is missing is the steampunk technology, sense of adventure and alternate history (think Gail Carriger and Stephen Hunt) that brings other streampunk stories alive.

If you like Victorian-style ghost stories, you might enjoy this anthology.

If you are a steampunk purest, I do not recommend reading this book. There are better anthologies that will satisfy you more.

[Jeff McIntosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ghosts by Gaslight" is perhaps a re-imaging of the Victorian/Edwardian traditional ghost story - thru the eyes or the times of invention and innovation. No pale specters, no creaking doors or floors here....but non-traditional ghosts aboard.

Wolfe's "Why Was I Hanged", Silverberg's "Smithers and the Ghosts of the Thar", and Barron's "Blackwood's Baby" were all notable stories in this collection.

Read it...

Jeff McIntosh

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are mostly not steampunk, and often not ghostly, either. It is a good collection, but read it if you like Victorian and Edwardian supernatural ambiance, not because you're in the mood for pistons and phantasms.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find that sometimes the only way I can process an anthology is by reading and evaluating each story individually, and then determining an average score for the work as a whole. In this case, there were seventeen stories, and each could earn a score of up to five points. With 85 points available, my final score for this anthology is 61, or an average of 3.59, which I have rounded up to a four star rating here. This is really a 3.5 star review. Some of my favorite are evaluated below, with the score I gave it accompanied by my rationale, and my complete review can be found on http://atmology.blogspot.com/2011/09/... .

I will admit that my score is biased by my disappointment that this collection doesn’t have a much better developed steampunk sensibility. I understand that steampunk wasn’t the sole focus of the stories that were gathered, but if an editor puts this on the cover then I expect to see these themes and tropes appear. Instead, I feel like the victim of a bait and switch, where I’m told I’m going to get something, and then feel duped. All of these stories could be described as supernatural suspense or horror stories, and it doesn’t make sense to me that the steampunk label was applied for what ends up being less than half of the collection. I feel like this descriptor was added because steampunk is gaining a large following of fans that are hungry for this genre and will eagerly buy this kind of literature, and I feel baffled that a better anthology wasn't assembled by editors who write in this genre and should know better.

In the stories where the steampunk label does apply, it certainly isn’t because of airships, corsets, or cogs! In these narratives the steampunk is focused within themes of technology, and the effect technology has on humanity, as well as how this changes the individual or society. Honestly, I feel the word ‘horror’ belongs on this cover, not ‘steampunk,’ and I wish that is what the editors had done. Despite this, there are some fine stories that can be considered steampunk in this anthology, and it is these stories that saved this anthology for me. Here are my thoughts on my favorites:

Music, When Soft Voices Die (Peter S. Beagle): (This story 26 pages, and takes place in England.) Beagle hasn’t written steampunk before, and this first attempt is actually quite good. The third person omniscient narration revolves around four roommates share a home: Vodran (copyist), Scheuch (bank clerk), Griffith (waiter), and Angelos (second-year medical student). Angelos is denied a true medical education because he is Jewish, but he tinkers and designs gadgets while he attends the university, which keeps him fairly entertained. One day, Angelos is working on a machine he thinks will allow people to communicate wirelessly over large distances, but as time goes by he discovers that all of the voices are that of people in great pain. Their Turkish property manager comes by to collect the rent and immediately knows that Angelos has used technology to achieve something terrible: Will magic be able to cure the problem technology has created?

I thought this was an interesting story because of the multi-cultural and retro-futuristic technology, which incorporates the spiritualism Victorians were engrossed with. Beagle creates a modified history that was interesting, and incorporated the Turkish elements in a clever fashion. The more I think about this story, the more I like it for its fit into the steampunk genre. This story earned 5 stars for overall steampunk and elegance of the narrative, and is one of my favorites in the anthology.

The Curious Curse of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder (Garth Nix): (13 pages, and takes place in England.) There’s a mysterious murder in a park, and the sergeant calls for Sherlock Holmes, but gets Sir Magnus Holmes, Sherlock’s second cousin somewhat removed. It turns out there are supernatural forces involved, and Sherlock thinks his young cousin, who is currently a resident of Bedlam, is the perfect man for the job. Magnus and his “keeper” Miss Susan Shrike are, indeed, the perfect people for the job, but the greater mystery is who (or what) is Magnus?

Although this story lacks overt steampunk elements achieved through machinery, the suspense is well developed and the gaslight drama is very well done. As far as I’m concerned, the means Miss Shrike uses to control Magnus is all the technology this story needs, and it caught my imagination and interest. This story wins my “story I would most like to see as a novel” award for this anthology, and is easily my favorite of the collection. There’s delightful ambiguity and intriguing questions, and I would love to see this story expanded to reveal more about Magnus and Susan’s relationship, and well as how Magnus copes with his supernatural abilities. I gave this story 5 stars for overall interest and the supernatural elements used.

Bad Thoughts and the Mechanism (Richard Harland): (19 pages, takes place in England/English analog.) A 13 year-old is suffering from crippling nightmares and his parents take him to a research center that promises to cure him. When they arrive they discover that the scientist has a machine that he is using to “pull” the bad dreams out of his patients. It turns out that the aspects of the personality that are pulled out of the patients become trapped in the machine, and cause the machine to act out the horrible acts in the minds of the patients it has been used to treat. Can the young man make his parents and the mad scientist listen to his claims that the machine is haunted before it overpowers and kills its creator?

This story is clearly a steampunk story, especially because it examines the question of the role of technology in our lives and the degree to which we are being changed by it. I also appreciated that Harland managed to incorporate supernatural suspense into his narrative. This is one of my top three favorite stories in the collection, and I gave it 5 stars for its steampunk elements and well-written narrative.

[Carrie Naughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally I care not at all what the proper steampunk story might be. This collection introduced me to a fine new cadre of horror, speculative, supernatch storytellers, and I'm grateful. To name my favorites: Rose Street Attractors/Shepard; Christopher Raven/Goss; Blackwood's Baby/Barron. My biggest pleasant surprise was Peter S Beagle's Music, When Soft Voices Die. I'd heretofore thought of him as merely "the unicorn guy" (I'm sorry!!!), but this story is exquisite, dark, and haunting. Now that I returned the book to the library, I wish I could read that story again. At least, as fate would have it, mere days after reading and appreciating my first Beagle, I had the great luck to hear his story El Regalo read on the wonderful Podcastle. Seek that out, you should.

[Karalee Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My attention span seems to be diminished these hard winter days, and short stories are finding their way more frequently into my MP3 player. This book is a good collection, not what I expected from the reviews of “steampunk” and “ghost stories”, but bordering on both those genres and Victorian horror as well. The edition I borrowed is a Daisy talking book production, which I usually associate with blind university students, as I believe that company predated our more contemporary publishers. It lacks the enhanced production values and star quality that I associate with, for example, Audible books, though it improves on them by frequently spelling out names and URLs for the benefit of blind reviewers – I often find it difficult to decode these when they’re only heard and not seen.

One story in particular pleased me – The Summer Palace, by Jeffrey Ford. While set in a horrible pseudo-Victorian society, it is often laugh-out-loud funny. A physiognomist and his hated associate are sent to what sounds like a Russian dacha to investigate a mysterious death, and encounter some unexpected pitfalls. The vocabulary might offend some readers, but I came away from it with a new suite of insults. As a result, I’m queueing up Mr. Ford’s The Well-Built City trilogy, of which this is a part.

[Carolyn Vandine West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I enjoy macabre books and short stories this one just didn't click with me. There were a couple stories I really enjoyed but they were too far in between the ones I didn't.

[Brittany (Lady Red) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one suffers from the usual issues that anthologies usually do; unevenness. “Christopher Raven “ and “Rose Street Attractors “ were standouts.

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked (from seventeen stories only six of them):

Terry Dowling - The Shaddowwes Box about a curse on a old coffin mummy and a surprising sell and buy transaction. 2.5 Stars

Robert Silverberg - Smithers and the Ghosts of the Thar – some English company is in search of a land unseen in the India`s territory. 2.5 Stars

Richard Harland - Bad Thoughts and the Mechanism.

In my opinion the best story of the Anthology and the one that has the best and accurate ideea for this kind of Anthology. A kid has a lot of nightmares and his parents take him to a doctor which wants to cure him with a experimental steampunked machine. But the mechanism has some surprises under all that cables. 4 Stars

Marly Youmans - The Grave Reflection – An English gentleman confronts himself with a mysterious curse. 3Stars

Theodora Goss - Christopher Raven . A story about the findings of what had happened to a missing poet. Not much in common with the ideea of the Anthology but well written. 3Stars

Laird Barron - Blackwood's Baby – Way to long but the supernatural feeling of the story makes up for it`s length. Here we`re confronted with the extraordinary discoveries after an amazing hunt. 2.5 Stars

Overall it was not such a great Anthology.

Because there aren`t much steampunk elements and the only things that the stories have in common are a lot of ghosts or the Victorian period.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair I had pretty high expectations for this anthology. Solid, consistently good authors (in some cases GREAT WRITERS), an intriguing moody setting and steampunk overtones. How awesome is that? I'm afraid we'll never know as there were very few stories contained in the collection which actually dealt with any form of steampunk genre. The majority of the stories were much more focused on Edwardian or Victorian ghost stories, which are fine on their own merit, but not what I was looking for. There were a couple of incredible stories, more than a few "dogs" and everything else fell between.
If you're looking for some decent tales of terror from gaslight London, you'll enjoy this collection. If you're looking for a supernatural foray into the steampunk genre, keep looking.

[Isidore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outstanding collection of new stories, almost all of them good, and some truly splendid; my favourite is Lucius Shepherd's "Rose Street Attractors", which is easily one of the most imaginative works of short fiction I've read this year. Not to be missed by followers of the weird, or fans of the Victorian pastiche (the lapses into verbal modernisms are surprisingly few). The debit side is very modest: Jeffrey Ford and Laird Barron decline to play the game by the rules (i.e. write a story combining elements of steampunk and supernatural fiction); the Ford story is a good one, however, leaving Barron's typically cluttered narrative and Silverberg's shameless steal from Lost Horizon as the only real duds.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology of steampunk-flavored ghost stories is one of the best overall that I've come across. There wasn't a single story I couldn't get through, and several of them were outstanding, particularly Margo Lanagan's "The Proving of Smollett Standforth" and "Christopher Raven" by Theodora Goss. I particularly liked the way Margo Lanagan's story focused on a main character who's a servant rather than a member of the privileged classes (one of those aspects of Victorian society that too often get neglected in steampunk fiction).

[S. Wigget · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before taking this book home, I should have checked ths contents page to see if the number of female authors is about the same as the number of male authors. This book is almost all male authors, that's typical in the loggia experience of dismissiveness toward female authors and female characters and female experience. I realize such editors don't generally do that on purpose, but they are very clearly conditioned by patriarchy and misogyny without even knowing it. Anthologies like that aren't worthwhile.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a decent collection. I generally enjoyed it, though there were days when I had trouble working up any enthusiasm to return to it--perhaps it would have benefited from some judicious pruning. I would rate the stories as follows:

"The Iron Shroud" by James Morrow (3.5/5) - A "vibratologist" is summoned to attempt to undo the work of a late mad genius, who trapped spirits in metal-plated golems to utilize as servants. Probably the most unsettling story in the collection, a tale of claustrophobic torment.

"Music, When Soft Voices Die" by Peter S. Beagle (3.5/5) - A student attempting to perfect international communication inadvertently builds a machine that taps into tragic energies of the world's past. Haunting, in a sad way.

"The Shaddowes Box" by Terry Dowling (3/5) - Mummies, Egyptian curses, and revenge. Not bad, but I can't help but feel it could have been more satisfying if further developed.

"The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder" by Garth Nix (5/5) - Sherlock Holmes' second cousin once removed (or something to that effect) and his medical student chaperone/assistant take on an occult case the roots of which are as close as the local barber shop. One of my favorites from the collection, delightfully daffy fun.

"Why I Was Hanged" by Gene Wolfe (4/5) - A perverse story about a man haunted by the ghost of a living woman. I enjoyed the turn it takes in the end--Wolfe doesn't pull his punches.

"The Proving of Smollett Standforth" by Margo Lanagan (2/5) - A man is haunted by a ghost. Or something. Honestly, I don't remember much about this one except that it was sort of boring.

"The Jade Woman of the Luminous Star" by Sean Williams (2.5/5) - Astral projection lands a scientist in hot water with the authorities. I didn't care much for this one; combined with the previous story it was a difficult one-two punch to work past.

"Smithers and the Ghosts of the Thar" by Robert Silverberg (3/5) - Adventurers stumble upon a civilization in a secret valley where time moves differently. This one feels the most "authentic" to the promise of Ghosts by Gaslight in the sense that, of all the stories in the collection, it's the one I'd most believe to actually come from the time period of the book's conceit. Having said that, I can't say I found the story all that remarkable.

"The Unbearable Proximity of Mr. Dunn's Balloons" by John Langan (4/5) - A writer witnesses unorthodox experiments to save a dying man's life. Structurally, it's a bid muddled, but there was a lot of imagery I liked.

"Face to Face" by John Harwood (2.5/5) - Another one I find difficult to remember; something to do with a poet's obsession with an unwriteable poem that haunts him. Ho-hum.

"Bad Thoughts and the Mechanism" by Richard Harland (3/5) - A doctor develops a steam-powered machine to remove nightmares and other evil thoughts from tormented individuals, but the machine itself might be haunted by them now. I really liked the premise but the final punch line is cheesy.

"The Grave Reflection" by Marly Youmans (3.5/5) - A man sees the decaying reflection of his dead twin every time he looks in a mirror. A creepy premise, and I liked a lot of the small details (the main female character being a descendant of the witches the main character's ancestor sentenced to hang, the various remedies found in old books for curing the tormented man's ailment) but it didn't add up to much.

"Christopher Raven" by Theodora Goss (5/5) - Written in a slightly more modern style (Goss contends she stole Daphne du Maurier's style from Rebecca, this story tells of four former college roommates who reunite when they begin having dreams once more of a ghost who haunted them when they were students. I was won over by the endearing characters and charming prose and will look up more of Goss's work.

"Rose Street Attractors" by Lucius Shepard (4/5) A bit overlong at nearly 60 pages, this one is about a doctor summoned to oversee a man's experiments designed to rid his house of his sister's ghost. I liked the characters and the central romance and, like with "Why I Was Hanged", this one engages in some alluring perversity.

"Blackwood's Baby" by Laird Barron (4.5/5) - A group of men hunt for a mythical black stag in a woodland area once dominated by bloody occult rituals. It's a story of dark adventure, sort of like if Rudyard Kipling wrote "The VVitch".

"Mysteries of the Old Quarter" by Paul Park (3/5) - A man who once indulged in experiments designed to bring back the dead reluctantly resumes that line of work to aid a client who lost his daughter. Maybe it's because I was tired as I read, but I had a hard time following this one, and to be honest I'm not sure it's worth the reread it would take to straighten things out.

"The Summer Palace" by Jeffrey Ford (4.5/5) -An apparently sociopathic physiognomist (a specialist who can determine a person's character by examining their facial characteristics) and his dim partner are summoned to solve the murder of a man impaled by an icicle. Ford sets this in a world he previously developed for a series of novels, and you can tell; he doesn't stop to explain things to the reader along the way, which can be a bit frustrating. But the (sometimes violent) idiosyncrasies in the writing and characterization, along with the hallucinogenic imagery, made for a delightfully degenerate read.

[Heidi Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly entertaining collection, perhaps a bit less steampunk than advertised, but quite solid as an hommage to classic Victorian supernatural literature. See my full review here:

http://battyward.blogspot.com/2012/12...

[Absinthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few short stories in here that were fairly original and interesting, however the majority were rather boring. Rather than scaring me awake, it made me rather drowsy. The few pieces that were good do still make the book worth reading.

[Ана Хелс · Rating 5 out of 5]

Стиймпънкът е жанр неразбран от повечето почитатели на фентъзийността – за някои е странна амалгама от глупотевести неразбираемости, за други е позьорство и имитация на класици като Дойл или Ле Фану, за трети е чиста претенция за историческа вариативност без някаква лична стойност. Но това за мен е поджанра за най-романтичните фентъзисти, онези, които четат внимателно историческите архиви и си задават най-огромния въпрос във всички вселени на възможното – Ами ако? и Кога точно сбъркахме? Оглеждайки реалността навън е просто очевидно, че някъде в гоблена на съвремието сме сбъркали кардинално с някоя изключително крива нишка, която ни е донесла скука, перфидност и склонност към болезнени ексцесии, завършващи безсмислено и скоропостижно. Но ако там някъде нещо се беше случило във правилното време, на правилното място, с правилните хора – дали нещата щяха да са различни?

Представете си общество, в което научният прогрес и магията вървят ръка за ръка, захранвани от чисто природни процеси; където Тесла е наместник – бог и изобретенията му служат освен за обичайностите свързани с комуникации и осветление, и за общуване с отвъдния свят; където машините коригират душевните проблеми чрез сънища, намират отговори на най-затормозяващите екзинстенциални въпроси и вместо да правят зловещи революции, завършващи с двутонен австрийски хълкоподобен с горе-долу едно лицево изражение максимум в ролята на добрия, те помагат на обществото да се концентрира в това да бъде повече човешко, разбиращо и хармонично, след като всички негови първични нужди са задоволени от часовниковите механизми и технологични мистификации от мед и платина.

Ето, това е истинския смисъл на стиймпънк обществото, и настоящият сборник е един от многото, събрал в конкретния случай не точно мечтите, ами по-скоро страховете и кошмарите, идващи заедно със зъбчатите механизми на прогреса. За съжаление и тук е в сила правилото, че колкото по-голям е един сборник, толкова повече от историите в него са излишни, и не допринасят за общото настроение, да не говорим, че една част от тях са просто разкази за призраци, в които някой някога казва думата парен влак. Което, ако не знаете, не е достатъчно за нещо да бъде наречено стиймпънк. Но не се тревожете, разнообразието често извинява недовършеността на концепцията и неяснотата дори на самите автори за тематичността, която би трябвало да ги обединява. А тук разнопосочието, и откъм сюжети, и откъм качество на запълването на декорите с нужните страхове, е повече от богато.

Сред най-добрите ви очакват Робърт Силвърбърг и една мистериозна история за странна нация, живееща в джоб във времето и пространството някъде из индийските пустини в екзотика и страх пред лицето на прогреса; Питър Бийгъл и една невероятна машина за комуникация със сърцето на земята, раздирано от мъка, в историчеки ръкав на реалността, където Османската и Британската империи се сродяват в странен синхрон на английска елегантност и отоманска магия; Гарт Никс и една псевдо Холмс история, с банда вещери – бръснари, големи от маргаритки, откачен братовчед на приказния Шерлок и доста пипала, махащи весело на симпатичните си жертви; както и една изключително зловеща история на Джийн Уолф за коматозна красавица, разбито сърце и много подъл призрак, с многозначителното име Защо ме обесиха.

Към вас политат и странни балони, управлявани от спиритуалист с осанка на сумо борец, с които можете да преминете отвъд времето; призраци на красиви поети, зазидани в стените на девическо училище; крадлива прислужница, изпиваща след смъртта си жизнени сокове на живущите в покоите на бившите ѝ господари; отражения на мъртви близнаци, преливащи се в душите на салемски вещици; египетски кутии на Шродингер където механични мумии ще вземат есенцията на душите, обагрени в ужаса на бавната и повече от мъчителна смърт; луксозни бардаци с пречистващи въздуха системи в ядрото на прогнилия Лондон, събиращи частици от призраци от хилядолетия наведнъж; машини, изкупващи греховете на създателите си и лекуващи слабостите им; ръкописи, отнасящи четящите ги в изкривяване на реалността, което ги убива със своята концентрация на страх, и въобще цели ята от души на мъртъвци, изникващи по жиците, тесла-вълните и механичните изобретения на човешкия ум, искащи отмъщение, прошка или просто търсещи малко жестоко забавление.

Очевидно съм на вълна сборници, ужаси и стиймпънк, та очаквайте още мои открития в света на краткия разказ, и стискайте палци да има повече впечатлени от възможността да получим някога и на нашия език повече такива антологии от малки скъпоценности на фантазията и невероятността. Технологичното фентъзи е едновременно красота за очите, пир за интелекта и нежно погалване върху романтичното душевно пухче, затова пробвайте поне веднъж миналото такова, каквото все пак можеше да бъде. Промяната, дори и само в списъка на неопитаните удоволствия, винаги си заслужава.

[Halley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the ideal reader for this book; I don't really read short stories or scary stories, and I should have guessed that some of the authors would try to emulate that old-fashioned, wordy style that I've never enjoyed. I am trying to read outside of my comfort zone, though, and the "steampunk" in the subtitle intrigued me. Alas, only some of the stories went the steampunk route, others were more Victorian ghost stories.
I think 3.5 is a fair rating for this collection. Many of the authors it includes are heavy hitters and some of the stories are thought-provoking or nice to read. In my (highly subjective) opinion, some highlights were: "Bad Thoughts and the Mechanism", "Music, When Soft Voices Die", "The Proving of Smollett Standforth", "Smithers, and the Ghosts of the Thar" and "Blackwood's Baby".

[Anna Maria Franchesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to get into this. Ghosts, and short stories, and steampunk, oh my! The title alone made me believe this was calling out to me— All the more reason to never judge a book by its cover. Firstly, just because a story set in Victorian/Edwardian times with some sci-fi elements to it does not classify it steampunk. Secondly, I just found the ghost bland and predictable. Not to say that the writing was terrible—in fact I liked the setting and tone— it's just the reasons for the "hauntings" or "ghosts" are just (at least to me) bland. I had only just started the one story with Sherlock Holmes' very distant second cousin until I had enough. I might pick this up and read it another day with a clearer head, but for now I'm just left disappointed.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many short story collections, there were stories I liked a lot, and stories I didn't like as well. I pretty much always enjoy Peter S. Beagle's writing, and his contribution to this collection was no exception. And the story of a young servant boy haunted by the ghost of a maid was also memorable.

This was an enjoyable collection, and if you like ghost stories set in these time periods, you'll probably like this.

[Patricia Masserman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this collection to be rather disappointing. This style of attempting to write not only in the time period but also in the style of Victorian writers often fell flat. The one story that I did enjoy, Blackwood's Baby, wasn't even about ghosts and didn't have steampunk elements either. But it was a good story. The rest were, meh. On the other hand, reading these disappointing tales did lead to writing some of my own ghost stories, so there's that.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An assortment of ghost stories that range from the classic victorian-style, to the most avant-garde fantasy steampunk. Overall the quality of the stories is very good, but as with any anthology, you get stories that you would like most than others. However, not a single one is “bad” either from writing or content. Very recommended.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spine-tingling fun

Stories for fans of ghostly Victorian and otherworldly settings. I will follow up with the authors of Blackwoods Baby and A Summer Place, the two that appealed best. I'm a longtime fan of John Haywood, who is included. Great fun and creeps.

[Kristie Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, although I didn’t get the steampunk vibe from several of them. Some stories drew me in more than others, but I usually have that expectation when reading an anthology of works. It was a great introduction to some new authors I’d like to read now!

[robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't classify any of these stories as steampunk, which is how this collection is billed. BUT it is hugely enjoyable. I rarely come across an anthology where the quality is this consistently high.

Very glad I picked it up.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I immensely enjoyed Theodora Goss' Christopher Raven. Tickled by Beagle and Nix. ('Steampunk' is very decidedly not my thing, but this book was a very delightful gift from a friend. Thanks, Annie!)