Above the Clouds: A Steampunk Love Story

by Richard Roberts

Young love is hard, no matter who you are or what you are. This young adult short story by Richard Roberts tells the story of two star-crossed lovers in a steampunk setting. Even though they've never seen the ground, theirs is a story as old as Romeo and Juliet. Will it end just as tragically?

Genres: Steampunk, Ebooks, Short Stories, Science Fiction

21 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 30, 2012

About the author

I've been writing for a long, long time. A long, long, long time. Do you remember when dirt was invented? I was using it to scratch out stories. Getting published was harder, but now I'm hooked up with Curiosity Quills and I have real books in paper, and you should buy some!

As a writer my fascination has always been children's literature, especially children's lit that is also adult lit. For some reason, this means that instead I write gothic light romance for fun, and very dark and tragic young adult books for passion. I love seeing the world through the eyes of strange people, and I believe that happy endings must be earned the hard way. There's a reason my friends started calling me Frankensteinbeck.

I could talk about how great my writing is until I turn blue, but I should let an expert do that for me. Check out the Kirkus Review for Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth!

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-rev...

Reviews

[osoi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Обещанная лавстори в стимпанковских декорациях присутствует, но оставляет ощущение незаконченности, причем на всех фронтах. Интересный финт тут только один – с самого начала не совсем понятно, от чьего, кхм, лица ведется повествование. Когда же он раскрывается, так и тянет перечитать предыдущие абзацы, дабы понять, где конкретно были пропущены намеки. Это и заставило меня продвигаться дальше по тексту с определенным воодушевлением.

Но не хватило горючего на сколь-нибудь интересные сюжетные завихрения и приличную романтическую составляющую. Сужу по тому, что мое сердечко не екнуло ни разу, только лицо вытянулось на словах «I love you». Я ужасный старый сухарь и не знаю слов любви, но мне кажется, что по любым меркам после пары пространных диалогов признаваться в подобном немножко рановато. Конфликт, повышающий градус напряжения в таких делах, присутствует только в самом банальном виде. В общем, героям просто повезло что звезды сложились так, как сложились. Ну и за добротно расписанную, но брошенную в угоду романтике линию взаимоотношений кораблей-пилотов большой минус >_< По мне так это самая интересная составляющая, а ее недолго думая променяли на какую-то фигню, в которую к тому же слабо верится.

annikeh.net

[Beau Schemery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with a lot of what people have said previously. This was an interesting read but there wasn't nearly enough world building.The animals weren't described at all if indeed they were animals. I'm not sure if the vaguery was intentional or just laziness and that's not something I look for in a book. The characterization of the "children" was well done but absolutely no explanation on how they can think and feel. (I know that sounds weird but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, although you'll probably see it coming a mile away.) I rounded it up to three stars. I didn't feel indifferently enough for two but there's no two and a half. I don't know if I'd call this Steampunk either. It has airships but other than that there's nothing Steampunk about it because there's no actual world described in the story.

[VampAmber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was incredibly cute. And not "cute" in the way that I describe everything I like as cute, but actually legitimately cute. You didn't really get too much of the romance until the very end, but the good story kind of made up for it. I've had this waiting to read on my Nook for over a year now, and I wish I had read it sooner. The beginning is a bit confusing, but if you're willing to be confused for a few pages, it gets (mostly) explained shortly after. You'll know exactly what I'm talking about if you read it (I don't want to spoil anything, because it's definitely worth reading). I don't want to go the full five stars on this one, but four doesn't seem enough. Four and a half stars it is, then. ^_^

[Alkatraz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first "Steam Punk" novel as a dedicated novel. It took me a moment to figure out that the story is being told from the viewpoint of the airship, not a co-pilot. Once that was understood, I rather liked it as whole. This is a short story, rather than a full a novel, and I would love to have more to this story or series. Its interesting to see a world in which no one has ever seen Earth. The characters and airships have spent their entire lives above the clouds, to fly beneath them is to court certain death.

Who knows what lies beneath the cloud line? I am so very curious to know what more there is to this! Honestly, it was far too short for me. And yet incredibly delightful.

[pdarnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd little tale. At first it appears to be a YA story but - no, it is not. I can't explain much more or it's a spoiler. And this book, being a short story, needs all the nuance given via reading it. Steampunk, airships, flying whales and listening on the airwaves into the outer regions. Angst of being improper to follow your heart. A love story and adventure.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a traditional love story in terms of the characters, but a love story at its core nonetheless. Sweet and whimsical, the story unfolds slowly without ever seeming dull or stagnant. A delightful read.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt a little too much like I dropped into the middle of a book. Some if that was the word choice. If you are going to call something a whale and it has tentacles, the audience needs more description. Still, there were some interesting quirks to it, not the least the love story itself.

[Jojo · Rating 1 out of 5]

this story made almost no sense. It was like someone turned a random chapter in a story into a short story of its own. There are no descriptions of characters or a clue to what is going on. Good thing was a freebie.

[Pat Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me, it is a misnomer to call this steampunk. It's straight science fiction involving AI atmospheric-capable space ships and their pilots. As a piece of short fiction, it doesn't have time for world building. It isn't bad, but it is not something I would read again.

[Coyora Dokusho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wait... I did read this! XD As I was cruising for the next Please Don't Tell My Parents... etc book I noticed this one. It was really good. I saw the twist coming, but it was still really satisfying. Richard Roberts rocks XD

[Eon Beaumont]

This was ok. It felt a little sparse even for a short story.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first "steampunk" and I really liked it. I don't know if it's good or bad compared to other steampunk writing but I'll be trying more.

[Hikaru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little story, I thought.