Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

I am completely stumped on this one so I am calling moderator's executive decision and just re-posting Nadine's explanation and suggestions:

"Steampunk" is a pretty broadly defined sub-genre of sci-fi; if it's "speculative" and uses some sort of old-timey science, especially steam-powered anything, it's "steampunk." I'm generally so-so on the whole thing, but some I've enjoyed are:

Soulless (first in a series) by Gail Carriger - this is a sort of romance / mystery / steampunk, so if you like romance, try this one, or:

The Iron Duke (first in a series) - very much a romance, with a murder mystery. Also, some very very silly "science" here, so if you have issues with suspending your disbelief, this might not be a good choice. I was able to look past it.

In YA steampunk, Gail Carriger has a series starting with Etiquette & Espionage.

Poe-inspired YA sorta-steampunk dystopian: The Masque of the Red Death.

A well-written Western steampunk mystery set in an old and alternative San Francisco, with a diverse group of characters: Karen Memory

And Cherie Priest has a steampunk series starting with Boneshaker, which is set in alterna-Seattle. This one comes complete with zombies, which I happen to see as a bonus. They aren't a HUGE part of the plot. Priest is a really great "speculative fiction" author who doesn't get much notice, possibly because what she writes is often difficult to categorize.

One of the books that started the whole steampunk sub-genre is The Difference Engine, which I had a really hard time getting into and eventually DNF'ed, but it has a strong fan-base.

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/..."

:-) I just came here to paste that exact same thing from the other thread!!

I'll just add one thing: that entire Cherie Priest series is not set in Seattle - I realize now, upon re-reading, that it sounds like I meant that. Only Boneshaker is set in Seattle. It's a "loose" series, each book has a different cast of characters in a different location, with some character overlap between each book, in a kinda chronological order, set in the same alternative world in which the Civil War has been going on for years and years and people fly around in dirigibles and other steampunky stuff happens and zombies accidentally created from addiction to this weird yellow drug wander in and out of the stories. I think you can probably jump in with any book without a problem, but I'm (SLOWLY) reading it in order, because I love Cherie Priest and I know I'll want to read all of them anyway. Dreadnought follows a nurse from her home of Virginia out to Seattle to find her father. She travels mostly by train (the eponymous "Dreadnought") but also some dirigible, some walking, etc. It would definitely work for a "travel book" too!

Would Cassandra Clare's series on the clockwork princess qualify? Not exactly sure what steampunk is.

Brandy wrote: "Would Cassandra Clare's series on the clockwork princess qualify? Not exactly sure what steampunk is."

Yes, that is steampunk also!

Thank you Nadine for the recommendations! I think I'm going to read Soulless for this one. It sounds fun.

Looking at a Goodreads popular steampunk book list, and it brings up the Lunar Chronicles series. I'd be interested in continuing it since I read Cinder this year, but I'm having trouble seeing how it is steampunk?

Rachel wrote: "Looking at a Goodreads popular steampunk book list, and it brings up the Lunar Chronicles series. I'd be interested in continuing it since I read Cinder this year, but I'm having trouble seeing how..."

Yeah I don't see how those are steampunk at all, I don't think they belong on the list. To me, "steampunk" takes place in an alternative historical period, with Victorian touches. Cinder takes place in the future - in fact, it is a bit of a dystopian (if you consider how awful the "government" of Luna is).

Nadine wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Looking at a Goodreads popular steampunk book list, and it brings up the Lunar Chronicles series. I'd be interested in continuing it since I read Cinder this year, but I'm having tro..."

Scarlet, the second book, can apply to the steampunk prompt.

I think I'm going with Leviathan for my steampunk book. If I like it I may read the next book as my wartime book.

In steampunk you can have modern gadgets, but instead of electricity and mirochips, everything runs on Victorian-era tech; steam and gears. Dirigibles instead of jets. That sort of thing. Objects can still do modern things as long as they run on old methods. Jules Verne went From the Earth to the Moon not with a rocket, but by basically firing a giant bullet from a giant cannon.

I think His Dark Materials might work for steampunk
The Golden Compass
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass

The Golden Compass by Pullman
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and other Classic Novels by Jules Verne
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Not a genre I seek out so I was surprised I liked The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley.

I gave the steampunk book five stars! Highly recommended.

Two others that I have read are and the series.

My friend recommended Steampunk, a collection of steampunk short stories and excerpts. I'm not familiar with the genre, but after looking into it a bit, I predict that it won't exactly be my favorite. So I think something like this, that I can pick up every once in a while and read a story or two, might be good.

https://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Fair...

The link is to a free kindle book Steampunk Fairy Tales

Booklover wrote: "https://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Fair...

The link is to a free kindle..."

Thank you so much for this link. I wasn't sure I was even going to read this selection, but since it is free and only 99 pages, I'm in for something new.

Therese wrote: "Booklover wrote: "https://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Fair...

The link i..."

Yay! Glad I could help.

That is great, thank you.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...

This will be new for me but I think my daughter has some of these on her shelf.

I see Winter's Tale a steampunk novel? I need to read this for a different challenge and see it listed as steampunk. Can anyone verify that?

I googled steampunk novels (since I'm not sure exactly what they are!), and The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers was mentioned as being one of the books that started the genre, so I thought I might give it a try. Here's a link to 20 steampunk books: http://www.rantingdragon.com/top-20-s...

I found The Golden Compass as a Steampunk Book in a Goodreads' list. What do you think about it? I'd appreciate your help :)

I rounded up some here if it helps! http://www.popsugar.com/love/What-Ste...

Tara wrote: "I rounded up some here if it helps! http://www.popsugar.com/love/What-Ste..."
Thanks Tara! I think I shall give The Map of Time a try!

I loved Naomi Novik's Uprooted, which was YA fantasy (and wouldn't fit here), but it looks like another book by her, His Majesty's Dragon, works, so that's probably what I'll do!

This is a genre I have been wanting to get into but have been hesitant. This prompt will force me to dip my toe in the water so to speak. lol

, which is recommended by Nadine is on sale for $2.99 today in various e-formats.

Check out the deal here.

Kat wrote: "My friend recommended Steampunk, a collection of steampunk short stories and excerpts. I'm not familiar with the genre, but after looking into it a bit, I predict that it won't exact..."

Thank you for this list! I think Souless, Etiquette and Prudence all look good and they are all by Gail Carriger! I have some deciding to do for this prompt!

I saw on a goodreads list that The Night Circus was marked a few times as a steampunk novel. Has anyone read this book and would it qualify?

I want to read Soulless, part of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.

Miranda wrote: "I saw on a goodreads list that The Night Circus was marked a few times as a steampunk novel. Has anyone read this book and would it qualify?"

I have wanted to read this book! I hope it does qualify!

Miranda wrote: "I saw on a goodreads list that The Night Circus was marked a few times as a steampunk novel. Has anyone read this book and would it qualify?"

I just finished this not too long ago and I wouldn't think it was more magical-realism than Steampunk, but I am not really familiar with Steampunk.

Even with the explanation above, I'm still pretty confused about what qualifies as steampunk

Booklover wrote: "https://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Fair...

The link is to a free kindle..."

Ooh, thank you for this! I am sucker for any kind of fairy tale retelling!

Just found out The night circus falls into this category. It's been on my TRL and I look forward to reading it.

Steampunk is very loosely defined (as it should be!), but I've read The Night Circus (and loved it!), and I think calling it steampunk is a really big stretch. Like, huge. If you really want to get a feel for the genre, go with something like Boneshaker or The Diabolical Miss Hyde or The Difference Engine.

Something I rarely see on steampunk lists is Twain's Tom Sawyer Abroad. Twain wrote it to poke gentle fun at his pal Jules Verne. :-)

Miranda wrote: "I saw on a goodreads list that The Night Circus was marked a few times as a steampunk novel. Has anyone read this book and would it qualify?"

No. This is about magic, not tech. I loved that book and hope everyone can fit it in another prompt, but this isn't the one.

Steampunk is basically about Victorians (usually) having adventures with Victorian-era technology but made into things the Victorians didn't have. Robots, spaceships, weapons, etc. It's retro-futuristic. You can have an android, but it runs on clockworks. They are basically taking Jules Verne and HG Wells and writing books like that. Submarines like the Nautilus didn't exist when Verne wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We STILL don't have a Time Machine. It's basically Victorian sci-fi.

Here are some movie and animation examples:
Wild Wild West
Hullabaloo Steampunk unfinished Animation

Deiselpunk because now you have gas engines, but the same feel
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

poshpenny wrote: "Miranda wrote: "I saw on a goodreads list that The Night Circus was marked a few times as a steampunk novel. Has anyone read this book and would it qualify?"

No. This is about magic..."

Yeah I'm bummed that this book doesn't work for the challenge. I'm sure I'll be able to read it soon. I really am struggling with this prompt. Thanks for all the information! :)

Rachal wrote: "I'll be reading The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. My first dive into steampunk!"

I LOVED this book, and the sequel. Have fun! I'm going to read Boneshaker, I think, or the third Invisible Library book since that's out this month.

Seconding (thirding?) people saying The Night Circus doesn't count - it's a wonderful novel, but there's no steam or punk.

Would Nevernight be counted as steampunk? I saw it on a list somewhere, but I don't really see how it relates.

Rachel wrote: "Would Nevernight be counted as steampunk? I saw it on a list somewhere, but I don't really see how it relates."

No, Nevernight is high fantasy.

Here is a another list of some steampunk works... Steampunk Wiki

I'm reading Cold Stone & Ivy - the author lives in my town and I've been meaning to read one of her books for a while. Perfect excuse!

I just read The Invisible Library and liked it a lot. I'll go with the next book in the serie.

If it wasn't a category of its own, I'd probably be reading something steampunk for 'a book from a genre you've never heard of'. I don't read a lot of genre fiction of any kind, so this is a new one for me. But while browsing Amazon I found Evangeline and the Alchemist by Madeleine D'Este. It's set in Melbourne, Australia, which is where I grew up, so I think I will read this one. It's a novella, so I'm glad to have something short for this prompt since I don't know yet if it's a genre I'll enjoy.

Would The Madman’s Daughter and its sequels be steampunk? It's the right era for sure, but I'm still a little confused about what exactly makes a book steampunk.

Rachel - I don't think it does, no. No anachronistic technology as far as I remember.

Scott Westerfeld's series that begins with LeviathanLeviathan is a terrific steampunk YA series.

Jo wrote: "Rachel - I don't think it does, no. No anachronistic technology as far as I remember."

That's where I'm getting confused. I didn't see any mention of anachronistic technology in the definition above. I seem to have mastered the "steam" part of steampunk, but I have no idea what makes it "punk."

I saw somewhere that The Pearl Savage is steampunk.

Rachel - it's usually the Victorian era (though not always - the Wild West is also popular) but with either tech they didn't have that runs on steam/is clockwork, or tech that would have been normal but runs on steam/is clockwork. Usually. Also quite often lots of dirigibles, clockwork things...some it's in an alternate timeline and sometimes a retro future. Maybe have a look at the wiki page for it :)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam...