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Mechanized Masterpieces: A Steampunk Anthology
Amid a cacophony of cranking sprockets and cogs, in chuffs of steam and soot, comes the expansion of classic literature into alternative Steampunk masterpieces. Follow nine skilled authors as they lead old friends and new acquaintances through Jamaica, Singapore, Cape Town, Denmark, Paris, London, and Geneva on a phantasmagorical Steampunk World Tour.
Tropic of Cancer: Edward Rochester battles the elements and Bertha Mason to save his brother and his own soul.
Sense and Cyborgs: Privateer Margaret Dashwood makes port at Singapore to get her husband back on his feet.
Micawber and Copperfield: Wilkins Micawber and David Copperfield create a legacy of loyalty in the Royal Dirigible Corps.
Little Boiler Girl: Power has a price, and one city unwittingly demands an enslaved child pay it.
The Clockwork Ballet: At the Palais Garnier, the Phantom trips the light fantastic with Meg Giry, the prima ballerina of his mechanical troupe.
His Frozen Heart: Jacob Marley saves Ebenezer Scrooge from robbing his wife’s grave and selling his soul.
Our Man Fred: Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, and his fiancé, Mary, protect the Empire from mechanized malfeasance.
Lavenza, or the Modern Galatea: Victor Frankenstein’s bride discovers more than his horrific experiments on her wedding day.
Tropic of Cancer: Edward Rochester battles the elements and Bertha Mason to save his brother and his own soul.
Sense and Cyborgs: Privateer Margaret Dashwood makes port at Singapore to get her husband back on his feet.
Micawber and Copperfield: Wilkins Micawber and David Copperfield create a legacy of loyalty in the Royal Dirigible Corps.
Little Boiler Girl: Power has a price, and one city unwittingly demands an enslaved child pay it.
The Clockwork Ballet: At the Palais Garnier, the Phantom trips the light fantastic with Meg Giry, the prima ballerina of his mechanical troupe.
His Frozen Heart: Jacob Marley saves Ebenezer Scrooge from robbing his wife’s grave and selling his soul.
Our Man Fred: Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, and his fiancé, Mary, protect the Empire from mechanized malfeasance.
Lavenza, or the Modern Galatea: Victor Frankenstein’s bride discovers more than his horrific experiments on her wedding day.
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 18, 2013
4 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Penny Freeman
9 books36 followersAs editor-in-chief of Xchyler Publishing, Penny Freeman has collaborated with several award-winning authors, with a focus on the speculative fiction for which Xchyler Publishing is know. She has also helmed the publication and/or continued production of over thirty books, and personally guided seven anthologies through the editorial process.
Penny engages her thirty years of wordsmith experience in historical fiction, journalism, editing and desktop publishing. Literature, history and storytelling are her great passions, although the technical aspects of the language arts satisfy her compulsion for order.
She lives with her husband of 35 years in southeast Texas.
Penny engages her thirty years of wordsmith experience in historical fiction, journalism, editing and desktop publishing. Literature, history and storytelling are her great passions, although the technical aspects of the language arts satisfy her compulsion for order.
She lives with her husband of 35 years in southeast Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 1, 2013
I have to put this in context since I wrote one of the stories in the anthology. There I said it. I'm biased about this book. But the idea was interesting. Take characters from the classics of Victorian literature (Regency literature) and cast them into the world of Steampunk.
Some of this works, where the steam punkery is part and parcel of the story. Some parts of the anthology not all the stories show that that extra technology that Steampunk brings to its genre is anything but a veneer to the tale.
(Aside from my own which of course is perfect and the best of all) There are notable devices to take a look at in this collection. OG, the Opera Ghost makes an appearance in one of the stories and his use of technology adds to things. It has been sometime since I read Leroux and the original so I do not know if the end game plot device is in line with what we know from the Phantom of the Opera but it is a good read.
Perhaps one of the better is seeing Margaret Dashwood, that youngest of Austen's Dashwood girls having left England for adventure in the Orient on the seas as a Privateer. A world where should you live to not even old age, but just live, you will be weighed by how much metal and other bits and pieces have replaced your organics. Sense and Cyborgs holds to its own logic and though we are far away from Elinor and Marianne's Sense and Sensibility, one feels at home in the gritty Singapore that is presented to us.
Steampunk does not need to be pretty, and having so much of Victorian history and culture, there is a lot of that dark underbelly that we know exists but seldom see up close. Steampunk and these stories showcase that side of things, and it is worth the time and effort to sit down and immerse yourself in them.
Some of this works, where the steam punkery is part and parcel of the story. Some parts of the anthology not all the stories show that that extra technology that Steampunk brings to its genre is anything but a veneer to the tale.
(Aside from my own which of course is perfect and the best of all) There are notable devices to take a look at in this collection. OG, the Opera Ghost makes an appearance in one of the stories and his use of technology adds to things. It has been sometime since I read Leroux and the original so I do not know if the end game plot device is in line with what we know from the Phantom of the Opera but it is a good read.
Perhaps one of the better is seeing Margaret Dashwood, that youngest of Austen's Dashwood girls having left England for adventure in the Orient on the seas as a Privateer. A world where should you live to not even old age, but just live, you will be weighed by how much metal and other bits and pieces have replaced your organics. Sense and Cyborgs holds to its own logic and though we are far away from Elinor and Marianne's Sense and Sensibility, one feels at home in the gritty Singapore that is presented to us.
Steampunk does not need to be pretty, and having so much of Victorian history and culture, there is a lot of that dark underbelly that we know exists but seldom see up close. Steampunk and these stories showcase that side of things, and it is worth the time and effort to sit down and immerse yourself in them.
May 2, 2013
This is an anthology of steampunk short stories that are related to classical literature. Until Mechanized Masterpieces, I was a steampunk virgin and very anxious to get my proverbial steampunk cherry popped. This anthology is the perfect first for anyone interested in sampling some steampunk. All of the stories have some kind of combination of steam, cool gadgets, horror, science, and Victorian and western clothing of the 19th century as A.F. Stewart describes in her interview.
The stories range from twenty to sixty pages, written by top-notch writers and polished by top-notch editors. The stories share commonalities of the genre, but also stand out as unique pieces of fiction. I was immediately captivated by steampunk's originality.
There are a handful of rules for the writers to follow, but imagination of characters and plots are infinite. I really enjoyed A.F. Stewart's Our Man Fred. She patterned her short after Dickens' A Christmas Carol, giving a nod and wink to Fred, Scrooge's nephew, as her main character.
Fred works as a cop/Homeland Security Officer/FBI and gets embroiled in a mystery of mechanical rats that plot terrorism and theft. As bizarre as the plot sounds, Stewart suspended my belief while keeping it fun and fantastical. I even sensed a bit of Sherlock Holmes going on in the story.
Another favorite of mine was The Little Boiler Girl by Scott William Taylor. I thought of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl on the first page and was delighted to find that was the story he used for his masterpiece. He paints a depressing picture of an impoverished homeless girl running a power plant with steam.
Other shorts are written by Neve Talbot, Anika Arrington, David W. Wilken, M.K. Wiseman, and Alyson Grauer. Other masterpiece stories used for inspiration are Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility, David Copperfield, Phantom of the Opera, and Frankenstein. Without hesitation, I give this very enjoyable book 5/5 stars. Steampunk is a genre that I plan to read more of. Thanks, Ms. Stewart, for being my guest and introducing me to this seductive genre.
The stories range from twenty to sixty pages, written by top-notch writers and polished by top-notch editors. The stories share commonalities of the genre, but also stand out as unique pieces of fiction. I was immediately captivated by steampunk's originality.
There are a handful of rules for the writers to follow, but imagination of characters and plots are infinite. I really enjoyed A.F. Stewart's Our Man Fred. She patterned her short after Dickens' A Christmas Carol, giving a nod and wink to Fred, Scrooge's nephew, as her main character.
Fred works as a cop/Homeland Security Officer/FBI and gets embroiled in a mystery of mechanical rats that plot terrorism and theft. As bizarre as the plot sounds, Stewart suspended my belief while keeping it fun and fantastical. I even sensed a bit of Sherlock Holmes going on in the story.
Another favorite of mine was The Little Boiler Girl by Scott William Taylor. I thought of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl on the first page and was delighted to find that was the story he used for his masterpiece. He paints a depressing picture of an impoverished homeless girl running a power plant with steam.
Other shorts are written by Neve Talbot, Anika Arrington, David W. Wilken, M.K. Wiseman, and Alyson Grauer. Other masterpiece stories used for inspiration are Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility, David Copperfield, Phantom of the Opera, and Frankenstein. Without hesitation, I give this very enjoyable book 5/5 stars. Steampunk is a genre that I plan to read more of. Thanks, Ms. Stewart, for being my guest and introducing me to this seductive genre.
May 1, 2013
Mechanized Masterpieces is a fantastic collection of Steampunk short stories based on classics, which I really enjoyed reading and have no problem rating it five stars. If you like this genre, you should like this as well.
May 2, 2013
Excellent read! I got lost in each story. I found these continuations much more entertaining than the originals they were based on.
May 19, 2013
Tied to classics but never bound by them, this collection captivated me from page one. More than simply slapping on some gears and shrouding it in steam, the assembly of authors have done a fine job of making the story worlds and characters of the likes of Charles Dickens and Mary Shelley their own.
While familiarity with the old literature that inspired these works isn’t necessary to enjoy the anthology, for the re-imaginings related to stories I already knew and loved in one form or another, looking for connections and creative deviations was half the fun. I likewise appreciated that the tales didn’t get too bogged down with long, intricate descriptions of mechanical devices, leaving me free to get lost in the story instead of tangled up in wires.
Whether you’re already a fan of steampunk or looking for a book to introduce you to the genre, I’ll recommend “Mechanized Masterpieces” every time.
While familiarity with the old literature that inspired these works isn’t necessary to enjoy the anthology, for the re-imaginings related to stories I already knew and loved in one form or another, looking for connections and creative deviations was half the fun. I likewise appreciated that the tales didn’t get too bogged down with long, intricate descriptions of mechanical devices, leaving me free to get lost in the story instead of tangled up in wires.
Whether you’re already a fan of steampunk or looking for a book to introduce you to the genre, I’ll recommend “Mechanized Masterpieces” every time.
May 3, 2013
Just my cup of rusty tea - actually, eight cups, all Victorian, but filled with flavors ranging from delicate to industrial, all infused like all fine steampunk with devices from the subsequent centuries. But more than that, you'll find in this anthology not only cyborgs and flying machines and electrical and medical magic, but deft and memorably poetic writing, inscribed in glistening multicolor ink on a sky "the color of the sail". Whether you're a fan of the genre or brand new to it, whether you think you have a hankering or you know you do for reading what Dickens or Poe or Bierce would have written had they seen the 21st century, you'll find in this book a rare and exhilarating treat.
February 16, 2016
The anthology Mechanized Masterpieces is surprisingly nice if you like the steampunk genre. It also has more of a spooky flavor, as in I think it would have been awesome to have been released it in October to give chills to those looking for a bit of spookiness in their lives. This flavor is felt throughout the book. It contains interesting stories styled after other long time favorites, but at the same time unique in their theme and presentation. o ignored
His Frozen Heart by Aaron; Belinda Sikes Styled after A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens o ignored
Tropical of Cancer by Neve Talbot is styled after Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë o ignored
Sense and Cyborgs by Anika Arrington Styled after Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen o ignored
Micawber and Copperfield by David W. Wilkin Styled after David Copperfield by Charles Dickens o ignored
Little Boiler Girl by Scott William Taylor Styled after Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen o ignored
The Clockwork Ballet by M. K. Wiseman Styled after The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux o ignored
Our Man Fred by A.F. Stewart Styled after A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens o ignored
Lavenza or the Modern Galatea by Alyson Grauer Styled after Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary W. Shelley o ignored
Anika Arrington, Alyson Grauer, Aaron; Belinda Sikes, A.F. Stewart, Scott William Taylor, Neve Talbot, M. K. Wiseman, David W. Wilkin did a great job in these tales. The Mechanized Masterpieces will keep you entertained for a long while. Young adults and adults alike will love it.
His Frozen Heart by Aaron; Belinda Sikes Styled after A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens o ignored
Tropical of Cancer by Neve Talbot is styled after Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë o ignored
Sense and Cyborgs by Anika Arrington Styled after Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen o ignored
Micawber and Copperfield by David W. Wilkin Styled after David Copperfield by Charles Dickens o ignored
Little Boiler Girl by Scott William Taylor Styled after Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen o ignored
The Clockwork Ballet by M. K. Wiseman Styled after The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux o ignored
Our Man Fred by A.F. Stewart Styled after A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens o ignored
Lavenza or the Modern Galatea by Alyson Grauer Styled after Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary W. Shelley o ignored
Anika Arrington, Alyson Grauer, Aaron; Belinda Sikes, A.F. Stewart, Scott William Taylor, Neve Talbot, M. K. Wiseman, David W. Wilkin did a great job in these tales. The Mechanized Masterpieces will keep you entertained for a long while. Young adults and adults alike will love it.
August 16, 2014
What if the classics had been written to fit in the genre of steampunk?
Read full review in the 2013 July/August double issue of InD’tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2013 July/August double issue of InD’tale Magazine.
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May 10, 20155 stars
Review in in July/August 2013 Double issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Review in in July/August 2013 Double issue of InD'tale Magazine.
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July 20, 2021A couple of the stories were entertaining. Guess I'm not a fan of styling a work into another work of fiction.
June 25, 2014
I enjoyed this anthology very much. It includes stories styled on classic tales, given either different interpretations or continuations, as the case may be. Imaginative and inventive, each story has something to recommend it. I'll need to reread the book at some point as well and pay more attention to each author; there are several from whom I'm hoping to read more eventually, including Alyson Grauer and Annika Arrington. As with many anthologies, the collection is a little uneven and one or two sections of some stories could use some editing. Overall, I enjoyed it very much!
July 17, 2015
I really enjoyed most of the stories, they were engaging, and explored the traditional stories in ways that I had not expected upon first purchasing the anthology. My favorites were probably Micawber and Copperfield and The Clockwork Ballet. Most of the stories seemed well developed and polished, and I found myself engaged and lost in the world's presented. There was only one that I really struggled with for various reasons, and I had to eventually abandon it and move on. I will definitely look into the other anthologies from Xchyler.
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February 13, 2016As an author and editor of this book, I decline giving it a rating. However, those who enjoy Steampunk rich in character development and insight, balanced perfectly with compelling stories and breathtaking action, will heartily enjoy this book.
Currently reading
May 23, 2024"His Frozen Heart" by Aaron and Belinda Sikes - This story takes characters from "A Christmas Carol" and infuses the theme of "Frankenstein."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews