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Decopunk
A collection of short stories set in the early 20th century as a homage to and revival of speculative fiction from the early years of electricity, automobiles and powered flight.
- GenresFantasyAnthologies
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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About the author
Thomas A. Easton
165 books6 followersThomas A. Easton is a teacher and well-known science fiction critic and author. He retired as a professor from Thomas College of Maine in 2014 and now teaches part-time at Mount Ida College in Newton, MA.
Easton holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Colby College and a doctorate in theoretical biology from the University of Chicago.
He wrote the book review column in SF magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact from 1979 - 2009. He appears frequently at Boston-area science fiction conventions.
Easton holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Colby College and a doctorate in theoretical biology from the University of Chicago.
He wrote the book review column in SF magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact from 1979 - 2009. He appears frequently at Boston-area science fiction conventions.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 1, 2015
I was provided this advance reader copy in return for a fair review. This collection of short stories is an ambitious attempt to create yet another subgenre of speculative fiction. Like steam punk, this is fiction set in the past, but not historical fiction. Fiction that speculates what if the technology of the age had developed differently, perhaps quicker, with the culture and trappings of the early twentieth century.
Unlike too many steam punk stories, this volume is unafraid to have racial and class conflict among the themes explored. Those were the stories that worked the best. Then there were other stories that attempted to recapture the actual spirit of the times, as these years are often considered the golden age of science fiction, when anything was possible because our knowledge of the universe had yet to be limited by the discoveries of the later twentieth century. Thus the moon could have forests and be visited by an air plane.
Many of the stories in the collection idolized celebrities of the age, people like Amelia Earhart or Nicholai Tesler, making them into much more than they were, almost worshiping them as super heros.
I found almost all the stories to be well written and with the exception of one, they captured my interest either through richly developed characters or well crafted prose. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories from the golden age of speculative fiction.
Unlike too many steam punk stories, this volume is unafraid to have racial and class conflict among the themes explored. Those were the stories that worked the best. Then there were other stories that attempted to recapture the actual spirit of the times, as these years are often considered the golden age of science fiction, when anything was possible because our knowledge of the universe had yet to be limited by the discoveries of the later twentieth century. Thus the moon could have forests and be visited by an air plane.
Many of the stories in the collection idolized celebrities of the age, people like Amelia Earhart or Nicholai Tesler, making them into much more than they were, almost worshiping them as super heros.
I found almost all the stories to be well written and with the exception of one, they captured my interest either through richly developed characters or well crafted prose. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories from the golden age of speculative fiction.
June 10, 2017
Well, this was disappointing. Only a couple of the stories really came together for me with every element solid and well-married, and that was the second story, "Symmetry," (Shariann Lewitt) and the final story, "Losing Amelia" (Rev DiCerto). The other stories had fascinating ideas, or compelling characters, but most felt unfinished, with unplumbed depths; they either didn't push the boundaries or didn't fully explore their own ideas. I suppose that's to be expected from a collection at the forefront of an emerging subgenre, rather than a best-of from an established milieu. I'm sure the writer's were also constrained by word counts and tight deadlines. Many of the stories almost got there. I appreciated the use of other pulp genres of the era (adventure tales, Golden Age comics), and the brief "Bernice Bobs Your Hair" (William Racicot) was the only story to explore the cross-section of Art Deco fashion and design with social and economic upheaval and the spiritualist movement, but even that one left me dissatisfied, as I wasn't sure why if was significant that Bernice used Art Deco design to fashion her poppets.
If you are interested in the Art Deco era and DecoPunk ideas, then by all means, at least skim the stories in this book. If you want the best DecoPunk has to offer, the boundary-pushing stories, you might be better served looking for work in the genre by writers you already know you like (for me, Catherynne Valente's Radiance was an exciting bending and punking of this time period). There's a lot to work with in the era of Art Deco, and I'm excited to see what else I can find.
If you are interested in the Art Deco era and DecoPunk ideas, then by all means, at least skim the stories in this book. If you want the best DecoPunk has to offer, the boundary-pushing stories, you might be better served looking for work in the genre by writers you already know you like (for me, Catherynne Valente's Radiance was an exciting bending and punking of this time period). There's a lot to work with in the era of Art Deco, and I'm excited to see what else I can find.
April 25, 2016
As a collection, Decopunk is on the slim side offering 12 short stories. For me, the brevity refreshing after reading some real door stoppers like Seveneves (loved it) or longer anthologies where it can be harder to stay focused due to variations in the quality of the work. A few of Decopunk's stories are on the dark side and others silly. Most are optimistic and represent a love affair with science and progress. All were written by capable writers. There was only 1 where I got the end and thought "meh".
"The Wollart Nymphs" reminded me of a pleasant stay on the RMS Queen Mary. The story includes characters that are interesting and a clever solution to a crisis involving a ghost ship.
"Judy Garland Saves the World (And I Don't Mean Oz)" features a waitress / tour guide. Like several other stories in the collection, the main character is an ordinary American with a story both innocent and charming.
"Corn Fed Blues" is a story featuring a young woman who has a chance encounter that is both touching and one that sets her sights on learning quantum mechanics.
"Airboy and Vooda Visit the Jungles of the Moon" is a silly, over the top ode to pulp fiction. I had the sense the writer had great fun writing this story.
"Symmetry" is set in Weimar Germany and has Emmy Noether as its protagonist. It is the most serious story in the collection and the atmosphere is haunting. It was my personal favorite and I recommended it for the Hugo short list.
"And Every Pebble a Soldier" is another serious story. Short on pages but not on impact. I wish more writers understood that brevity adds more than it takes away.
These are just the highlights of a very nice collection of short stories. I would love to see more Decopunk.
"The Wollart Nymphs" reminded me of a pleasant stay on the RMS Queen Mary. The story includes characters that are interesting and a clever solution to a crisis involving a ghost ship.
"Judy Garland Saves the World (And I Don't Mean Oz)" features a waitress / tour guide. Like several other stories in the collection, the main character is an ordinary American with a story both innocent and charming.
"Corn Fed Blues" is a story featuring a young woman who has a chance encounter that is both touching and one that sets her sights on learning quantum mechanics.
"Airboy and Vooda Visit the Jungles of the Moon" is a silly, over the top ode to pulp fiction. I had the sense the writer had great fun writing this story.
"Symmetry" is set in Weimar Germany and has Emmy Noether as its protagonist. It is the most serious story in the collection and the atmosphere is haunting. It was my personal favorite and I recommended it for the Hugo short list.
"And Every Pebble a Soldier" is another serious story. Short on pages but not on impact. I wish more writers understood that brevity adds more than it takes away.
These are just the highlights of a very nice collection of short stories. I would love to see more Decopunk.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews