Play Book Tag discussion

For you steampunk fans, in case you've not come across this yet, Carrie Vaughn has a short story series (Harry and Marlowe) in Lightspeed magazine that is free reading:

http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/ser...

Steampunk...I keep hearing this more and more. The tools I sell keep being described as steampunk. (Copper Titanium Hand Tools and naturally look antique) I had never heard of the term until a trade show I did in November and now I hear it everywhere.

Jason wrote: "Steampunk...I keep hearing this more and more. The tools I sell keep being described as steampunk. (Copper Titanium Hand Tools and naturally look antique) I had never heard of the term until a trad..."

You are not alone Jason, I had to have my daughter explain it to me🙄-I really hate when I have to resort to that.

Joanne wrote: "Jason wrote: "Steampunk...I keep hearing this more and more. The tools I sell keep being described as steampunk. (Copper Titanium Hand Tools and naturally look antique) I had never heard of the ter..."

Yeah, made me feel so old and uncool.

I feel so cutting edge -- about 10 years ago or so I was sitting at a Needlework Wholesale Trade Show in Nashville, TN with another needlework designer who was from Australia. She was talking about her daughter's upcoming wedding and the embroidery she had to do on the corset front piece, and the steampunk theme of the wedding, and how everyone had to come the wedding in steampunk regalia, guests, parents, wedding party. I had never heard the term before. So a little questioning and research later...I figured it out. It's kind of a mash up of Sci Fi with Victoriana. Instead of rockets and airplanes, it's blimps and air balloons. Lots of gears and tools are used as ornamentation. Clothing is Victorian more or less. It's very DIY - think Cosplay. It's kind of cool actually, and there is a whole subgenre of speculative fiction growing around it. Here are some links that might help:

https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/what-...
http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurren...
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/will...

And here is a link to the subgenre here on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6....

I have actually read a few, and enjoyed them-have a couple on my shelf too

Fun fun fun!! Thanks Anna!

Completely new word and concept for me. I’m impressed friends!

annapi wrote: "For you steampunk fans, in case you've not come across this yet, Carrie Vaughn has a short story series (Harry and Marlowe) in Lightspeed magazine that is free reading:

http://www.lightspeedmagazi..."

My grandson likes Steampunk. He's 18 and I've turned him on to some books but don't really have a handle on any Steampunk literature. Can you recommend any books?

Barbara wrote: "My grandson likes Steampunk. He's 18 and I've turned him on to some books but don't really have a handle on any Steampunk literature. Can you recommend any books?"

I am not really a fan of steampunk, and for that reason I'm picky about which ones I like. I am really enjoying Harry and Marlowe, but haven't read all of them yet. I also loved Jim Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass, but be warned he is taking a LONG time to finish book 2 of what is supposed to be a series.

I enjoyed Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series but most of them are only 3-star level for me - entertaining but with flaws.

I started Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, and it was interesting, but put it aside for other books and have not yet finished it - I will get back to it some day, but others have recommended it.

T. Kingfisher's The Clockwork Boys was a fun YA read, but the sequel/conclusion, The Wonder Engine, fell short in its execution for me - I rated both 3 stars.

If you Google "best steampunk books" you will find many recommendations.

I can't say it's my favorite genre, but I've read a few that are tagged Steampunk, although as with most tagging, there's always disagreement

All Men of Genius - I had some mixed feelings about this one, but I did give it 4 stars

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - I thought this book was fun, but I did not like the other book in the series,
The Bedlam Stacks

The Map of Time - I gave this one 4 stars, too. I'm not sure why, because I remember that I thought parts of it were tedious. I think the problem was the audiobook reader. The plot is really a very clever take off of H. G. Wells The Time Machine. Wells and Jules Verne books are often tagged steampunk, I'm not sure why.

I have a current love/hate relationship with the books in Rachel Caine's Great Library series. I see them as dystopia/ fantasy. But that steampunk tag is used by many.

I've seen Steampunk applied to other books which I would definitely call fantasy or science fiction like :

The Night Circus
Neverwhere
Winter's Tale
His Majesty's Dragon
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Thanks jgrace! Interestingly, His Majesty's Dragon is one I introduced to my grandson and it was after that that I realized he liked the Steampunk fashion. Not that he wears it or goes into depth about it but I thought some books in the genre might interest him. I don't agree with the Steampunk label for either Night Circus, or His Majesty's Dragon though I think Neverwhere comes closer.

annapi wrote: "Barbara wrote: "My grandson likes Steampunk. He's 18 and I've turned him on to some books but don't really have a handle on any Steampunk literature. Can you recommend any books?"

I am not really ..."
Thanks, this is really very helpful.

I too read and liked The Map of Time. The author, who is South American, unabashedly loves the Victorian era SciFi classics, and it shines through the book. This is first of a trilogy and one day I will read the others.

I also read and liked, long before I had ever heard of steampunk, the first in a series by Gordon Dahlquist entitled The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. Some day I will read the rest of that series too.

I wrote to Carrie Vaughn about Harry and Marlowe, and got a reply!

My email:
On Thu, Mar 7, 2019 at 11:11 PM wrote:
Friday, March 8, 2019, 6:11 am [EST]
From: Anna Stanford (annastanford@gmail.com)
Subject: Harry and Marlowe
Message:

Hello Carrie,

I love your books! I just discovered the Harry and Marlowe short stories and enjoy them very much. I notice that the timeline jumps around - what is the best order to read them? And do they only reside on Lightspeed Magazine, or are there other H&M stories somewhere? I would love to see them published in book form some day.

Thanks, and keep writing!
Anna
_____________________________________

Her reply, which I received today:
Carrie Vaughn
8:50 AM (10 hours ago)
to me

Hi Anna!

Thanks so much for reading Harry and Marlowe, I'm glad you enjoy them! Yes, I've been writing them out of order, as ideas come to me. It makes it confusing but I haven't worried about it too much. Here they are in chronological order:
"H&M Escape the Mechanical Siege of Paris"
"M&H and the Disinclined Laboratory"
"H&M Meet the Founder of the Aetherian Revolution"
"H&M and the Talisman of the Cult of Egil"
"H&M and the Intrigues at the Exhibition"
"H&M Versus the Haunted Locomotive of the Rockies"
"H&M and the Secret of Ahomana."

Eventually, I hope to get them into a book and tie them all together with a slam-bang conclusion. Someday! So many projects!

Thanks again,

Best,
Carrie

How nice that she answered you!