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The Steampunk Megapack: 26 Modern and Classic Steampunk Stories
The Steampunk Megapack collects 26 tales of high adventure through Victorian and Edwardian eras--past, present, and future! Included are:
MIDNIGHT AT VALDOSTA'S, by Jay Lake
THE CASE OF THE PECULIAR SAFECRACKER, by G. D. Falksen
THE ACQUISITION OF MANDRAKES AND ASSISTANTS, by Jillian Venters
THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS, by H. P. Lovecraft
THE BRASS GOGGLE FACTORY WORKER, by John Leavitt
THE PATH OF PROGRESS, by Brian Stableford
THE TAILED MEN, by Arthur O. Friel
THE IMPOSSIBLE MISTER LAPIN INVESTIGATES: THE AFFAIR OF THE TERRIBLE BOAR, by Peter Wordworth
THE WAR EFFORT, by Austin H. Williams
HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR, by H. P. Lovecraft
A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT, by Mark Twain
THE TRUMPETER, by Arthur O. Friel
THE MACHINE STOPS by E. M. Forster
THE UNPARALLELED ADVENTURES OF ONE HANS PFAAL, by Edgar Allan Poe
THE LOST WORLD, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
THE GATEWAY OF THE MONSTER, by William Hope Hodgson
A PRINCESS OF MARS, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
THE MID-WATCH TRAGEDY, by Vincent Starrett
MUSTERED OUT, by H. Bedford-Jones
PAYABLE TO BEARER, by Talbot Mundy
THE DEVIL’S HEIRLOOM by Anthony M. Rud
DOCTOR OX'S EXPERIMENT, by Jules Verne
THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, by Charles Dickens
ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION, by George Griffith
THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY, by G. K. Chesterton
THE HORROR OF THE HEIGHTS, by Arthur Conan Doyle
MIDNIGHT AT VALDOSTA'S, by Jay Lake
THE CASE OF THE PECULIAR SAFECRACKER, by G. D. Falksen
THE ACQUISITION OF MANDRAKES AND ASSISTANTS, by Jillian Venters
THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS, by H. P. Lovecraft
THE BRASS GOGGLE FACTORY WORKER, by John Leavitt
THE PATH OF PROGRESS, by Brian Stableford
THE TAILED MEN, by Arthur O. Friel
THE IMPOSSIBLE MISTER LAPIN INVESTIGATES: THE AFFAIR OF THE TERRIBLE BOAR, by Peter Wordworth
THE WAR EFFORT, by Austin H. Williams
HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR, by H. P. Lovecraft
A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT, by Mark Twain
THE TRUMPETER, by Arthur O. Friel
THE MACHINE STOPS by E. M. Forster
THE UNPARALLELED ADVENTURES OF ONE HANS PFAAL, by Edgar Allan Poe
THE LOST WORLD, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
THE GATEWAY OF THE MONSTER, by William Hope Hodgson
A PRINCESS OF MARS, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
THE MID-WATCH TRAGEDY, by Vincent Starrett
MUSTERED OUT, by H. Bedford-Jones
PAYABLE TO BEARER, by Talbot Mundy
THE DEVIL’S HEIRLOOM by Anthony M. Rud
DOCTOR OX'S EXPERIMENT, by Jules Verne
THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, by Charles Dickens
ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION, by George Griffith
THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY, by G. K. Chesterton
THE HORROR OF THE HEIGHTS, by Arthur Conan Doyle
1543 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2013
80 people are currently reading
290 people want to read
About the author
G.D. Falksen
41 books265 followersG. D. Falksen is the author of "The Secret Life of Kitty Granger" (Carolrhoda Lab, 2021), "Maiden of War" (Audible Originals, 2020), "Doctor Cthulittle" (Insight Studios, 2018), "The Transatlantic Conspiracy" (Soho Teen, 2016), and "The Ouroboros Cycle" series (Wildside Press, 2013 to present), and has been a contributor to the award-winning anthologies "Mine!" and "Cthulhu Fhtagn!". He is also Chairman of the Advisory Board of Writers and Artists Across the Country, a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating author visits to underserved schools. Falksen’s "Ouroboros Cycle" series is currently being developed for television.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 5, 2025
You can't expect to like every story in an anthology, these are the stories I liked:
MIDNIGHT AT VALDOSTA’S, by Jay Lake is a very good, scary story. Too quick to engage the creeping thrill of terror, but excellent.
THE ACQUISITION OF MANDRAKES AND ASSISTANTS, by Jillian Venters is a lovely modern tale with a female hero. A very inventive story, quite fun!
THE WAR EFFORT, by Austin H. Williams is interesting.
HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR, by H. P. Lovecraft is what movie audiences expect from a Frankenstein story, all horror and dead bodies, rather than the cerebral version by Mary Shelley.
THE TRUMPETER, by Arthur O. Friel, an unusual entry. Basically it's a jungle fight; nothing supernatural or horrifying, just savages with barbed arrows. Entertaining.
THE MACHINE STOPS, by E. M. Forster, is a classic SciFi story that includes a heart warming mother and son reunion.
A PRINCESS OF MARS, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is another classic with lots of action. The only politically incorrect comments are "red warriors" and "savages." Unsurprising as the time period is 1865-1885. A fun read.
THE MID-WATCH TRAGEDY, by Vincent Starrett, is a very well written "closed door" murder. It occurs on a passenger ship, at sea, and is limited to first class passengers and the main crew. The clues are enigmatic.
THE DEVIL’S HEIRLOOM by Anthony M. Rud, a detective story equally as good as Raymond Chandler's books, such as The Big Sleep written more than 15 years later. **Note: Chinese racism, as expected in 1922.**
THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, by Charles Dickens, is a fun quasi murder mystery and spooky ghost story. I was immediately drawn in. Excellent story.
THE HORROR OF THE HEIGHTS, by Arthur Conan Doyle, is a really fun story. Doyle makes everything interesting. Very unrealistic but creative imagining of the upper atmosphere (delightful given the time written).
VERY inexpensive, so totally worth picking up for even just one story!
MIDNIGHT AT VALDOSTA’S, by Jay Lake is a very good, scary story. Too quick to engage the creeping thrill of terror, but excellent.
THE ACQUISITION OF MANDRAKES AND ASSISTANTS, by Jillian Venters is a lovely modern tale with a female hero. A very inventive story, quite fun!
THE WAR EFFORT, by Austin H. Williams is interesting.
HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR, by H. P. Lovecraft is what movie audiences expect from a Frankenstein story, all horror and dead bodies, rather than the cerebral version by Mary Shelley.
THE TRUMPETER, by Arthur O. Friel, an unusual entry. Basically it's a jungle fight; nothing supernatural or horrifying, just savages with barbed arrows. Entertaining.
THE MACHINE STOPS, by E. M. Forster, is a classic SciFi story that includes a heart warming mother and son reunion.
A PRINCESS OF MARS, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is another classic with lots of action. The only politically incorrect comments are "red warriors" and "savages." Unsurprising as the time period is 1865-1885. A fun read.
THE MID-WATCH TRAGEDY, by Vincent Starrett, is a very well written "closed door" murder. It occurs on a passenger ship, at sea, and is limited to first class passengers and the main crew. The clues are enigmatic.
THE DEVIL’S HEIRLOOM by Anthony M. Rud, a detective story equally as good as Raymond Chandler's books, such as The Big Sleep written more than 15 years later. **Note: Chinese racism, as expected in 1922.**
THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, by Charles Dickens, is a fun quasi murder mystery and spooky ghost story. I was immediately drawn in. Excellent story.
THE HORROR OF THE HEIGHTS, by Arthur Conan Doyle, is a really fun story. Doyle makes everything interesting. Very unrealistic but creative imagining of the upper atmosphere (delightful given the time written).
VERY inexpensive, so totally worth picking up for even just one story!
February 4, 2020
Disappointing book. Supposed to be a collection of Steampunk stories. I don't think whoever compiled these stories knew the definition of Steampunk as almost all had nothing to do with that genre. It didn't improve my enjoyment of the book to find a couple of stories appeared to be incomplete awaiting second chapters or sequels.
September 22, 2017
An interesting exploration of the sub genre of Steampunk which went from theme such as contractualism to technological advance; and all the social consequences of these phenomena. The selection of stories was interesting and showed the flexibility of the subgenre well.
February 5, 2018
02/02/18: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT, by Mark Twain
All right, some of the stories are hit-and-miss, but the steampunk megapack is worth it for me because it made me discover this story by Mark Twain. It's on the long side (novella, probably? I didn't count). It's a "time portal" story. Really funny, with some well-placed punches that left me breathless and raw.
5 stars to this story, and so far, 3.5 stars overall.
05/02/18: THE MACHINE STOPS, by E.M. Forster
Oh, Forster, you genius! Pure Sci-Fi (I'm starting to think the editors conflated Steampunk with Sci-Fi written donkeys years ago, but hey, I'm not exactly complaining either). A 1984'd version of Star Trek. It's a dystopic future, and it's terrifying, because Forster nailed too many things for comfort.
He knew his human beings, Forster did. And he loved them very much. I love how gentle he is, and the sense of humour that hides behind the lines at times:
Snap!
You can't produce ideas in a vacuum. Real experiences are essential. And I wish I could share Forster's trust in humanity's ability to learn from their mistakes.
Basically, this could have been written last week, and it wouldn't feel out of place. Extra love for Forster's choice of main character, too: an aging woman from Sumatra.
All right, some of the stories are hit-and-miss, but the steampunk megapack is worth it for me because it made me discover this story by Mark Twain. It's on the long side (novella, probably? I didn't count). It's a "time portal" story. Really funny, with some well-placed punches that left me breathless and raw.
5 stars to this story, and so far, 3.5 stars overall.
05/02/18: THE MACHINE STOPS, by E.M. Forster
Oh, Forster, you genius! Pure Sci-Fi (I'm starting to think the editors conflated Steampunk with Sci-Fi written donkeys years ago, but hey, I'm not exactly complaining either). A 1984'd version of Star Trek. It's a dystopic future, and it's terrifying, because Forster nailed too many things for comfort.
He knew his human beings, Forster did. And he loved them very much. I love how gentle he is, and the sense of humour that hides behind the lines at times:
If the sun is in Scorpio, and you are in Wessex, it means that you must be as quick as you can, or it will get too dark. (This is the first bit of useful information I have ever got from a lecture, and I expect it will be the last.)
Snap!
You can't produce ideas in a vacuum. Real experiences are essential. And I wish I could share Forster's trust in humanity's ability to learn from their mistakes.
Basically, this could have been written last week, and it wouldn't feel out of place. Extra love for Forster's choice of main character, too: an aging woman from Sumatra.
January 8, 2023
Great stories! (5 stars) Virtually none are steampunk. (2 stars)
March 17, 2021
Old tymes
It's hard to believe some of the conjecture in these stories, not because of the guesses of the unknown as it may be from our times point of view but how some people thought the unknown parts of the earth and it's environs (that we know so well now) would look when explored in only a few years time. Read this book while remembering most of Africa, Asia & South America were totally unknown to European man.
It's hard to believe some of the conjecture in these stories, not because of the guesses of the unknown as it may be from our times point of view but how some people thought the unknown parts of the earth and it's environs (that we know so well now) would look when explored in only a few years time. Read this book while remembering most of Africa, Asia & South America were totally unknown to European man.
October 21, 2023
a huge volume, over 1100 pages, for a dollar makes a good value regardless of other factors. The first two stories, one by Jay Lake & one by Falken are worth that! That said, it gets A four star for quality writing, however, it should be acknowledged that the majority of tales are quite old... Edgar Allen Poe & Lovecraft for example
partly-read
June 28, 2019An odd mixture of classic stories - mostly darker than I prefer - and modern ones by authors I've never heard of, who (typically for steampunk) need a lot more copy editing than they have received. One in particular constantly writes "where" for "were" and makes a number of other glaring errors.
March 28, 2023
I didn't enjoy most of the stories in this book, and it feels as if whoever put it together didn't really understand what steampunk is, anyway.
July 23, 2022
These megapack books are great for picking up and putting down while I read other things. They are generally very densely packed and a true bargain at .99, but are generally LONG reads. Taking breaks is advisable to keep from burning out on the theme, which I did several times during the reading of this set. For this steampunk collection, I won't discuss individual stories but only the collection as a whole. No fear of spoilers. As with other megapack collections I have read, the stories ranged from pretty lame to freakin' spectacular, and with this set in particular, it erred toward the latter, though I will say the steampunk moniker was VERY loosely applied to many in the collection. Many could have easily been classified as fantasy, not steampunk, and been just as accurately labeled. Additionally, there were several I had read before on their own; most notably A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Herbert West: Reanimator, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Lost World, and A Princess of Mars. These alone are true classics and stand on their own. A couple I really loved and deserve special mention. They are Doctor Ox's Experiment and Angel of the Revolution. Great stories, though the latter was easily novel length and broken into four parts here. I give this collection a full and hearty recommendation, and you cannot beat the pricer per word of enjoyment!
April 26, 2015
Truly more of a mixed bag of steam punk and old horror than just steam punk. I enjoyed the short stories and kept this on my kindle as a time filler when I finished a book and didn't know what to read next. A great bargain for the money, it exposed me to some new authors, stories I hadn't read from authors I knew and a few classics.
February 23, 2013
For the price you can not go wrong with this. Great mix of old and new worth having on my kindle .
May 10, 2014
most of the stories I wouldn't describe as steampunk, but still enjoyable and for the price you can't go wrong
March 31, 2015
These stories weren't anything to do with steampunk. Weird marketing. But I've now read Lovecraft. After finishing that...I flipped through and realized this was all old-school horror. Pass.
September 17, 2021
Reread. Variety. Classics, Twain, Verne, Dickens, Doyle. Serious, funny, horror.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews