Fantasy and Vampire Book Club discussion

What is Steampunk? well its a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction. Set in the Vicroian Era. umm can anyone esle descibe it better, i think i'm doing a terrible job at it. click the links to discover more.
http://www.goodreads.com/genres/steam...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

I jsut got an ad from Publisher's Weekly about a new Steampunk series called The Society of Steam. Looks interesting.

let me know how it goes.
My mum doesn't get the concept. She started reading the golden compass. and she couldn't get into it as it's steampunk and she didn't understand the concept.(and with me trying to explain it to her i think i have turned her off them forever- i didn't mean to)

I googled it when I first heard the phrase but google turned up some really weird stuff so I was worried about doing that again. Glad you've defined it. I didn't know it was limited to the Victorian age. I'll look to pick up the new one soon and Gail Carriger is releasing book 4 this month. For your mom, slip one into her pile of books and let her read it without knowing what it is. Then, if she likes it, tell her "that is steampunk". I still think it sounds dirty.

well the stuff i have read seems to be limited to the victorian era, as in clothes etc. but i don't think it is limited to the victorian era. Just look at suckerpunch the movie(i'm going for visuals here). Suckerpunch was set in the 1950's (ish) and it seems very steampunk.
yet look at the golden compass movie at that is victorian era. See what i mean. i think it can be any era really.
my mum shocked me by trying to read the golden compass. as she usually gets a couple pages into things and promptly falls asleep(as an insomniac i am sooo jealous)
oh and i agree steampunk, does sound dirty... tee hee

I'm an insomniac too, I envy those friends who can curl up with a book and fall asleep before 2am. The Golden Compass was great. Although the first half of the first book, I was trying to place it in an era. Sometimes it felt like a Mercedes Lackey, Heralds of Valdemar or Robin Hood type book, then it would get a little more WWII. Once I settled in I was okay but the not knowing was distracting (totally my issue, I have enough of them).

that was i think what mum's problem was. i just thinking when i read it, that it was in a parallel universe. and of course when all know anything happens in parallel universes.
the history buff in me wanted to pin down era, place time etc. but by thinking it was a parallel universe. well it made it easier to read(not by much though)

Okay, I'm so glad I found this thread because I've been seeing A LOT more of this genre and it's had me pretty confused. The funny thing is...I'm pretty sure I love it now that I know what it is LOL. For example, I absolutely love Sucker Punch. Basically anything Victorian inspired or retro, mixed with some grit, whether in clothing, architecture, etc. Thanks for clearing this up, Adele. ;) I guess I should take the plunge and read my first steampunk book, then?

I loved the Golden Compass, so maybe try that one first(to see if you like it).
I loved sucker punch as well. Imagination inside imagination inside imagination....thats what i thought it was, my boyfriend didn't like it (i think it confused him). but it was visually fantastic...
i think if you loved suckerpunch you may enjoy steampunk.

This is a genre that I have really been meaning to check out. Something about it intrigues me. I just finished reading my first paranormal steampunk: The Greyfriar by Susan and Clay Griffith. I would love to read more if anyone has any suggestions.

vamptasy has its first steampunk novel coming out for halloween and im really looking forward to .
sucker punch is a really good description, so is wild wild west, legue of extrodinary gentlemen, thats how i was made to understand the concept.

league of extrodinary gentlemen! i love that movie!it never occoured to me it was steampunk. It makes me think of all the other movies i have seen that may be steampunk.... and the books they were taken from.
How about around the world in 80 days? or 30,000 leagues under the sea? those movies were steampunk.... but were the books? I can't remember i read them when i was a child.
i think i should re-read them!

its like steampunk has been hiding among us! LOL, BTW thanks for the lovely review on ilona i know you will adore the third.

i found another discription of steampunk
Steampunk is Victorian science fiction
or
"Steampunk" is the science-fiction of the Steam Age

When I think Steampunk, I think Jules Verne. But my understanding is if the future were powered by steam and gears instead of computer chips, it would be Steampunk. It easy to costume but harder to describe. LOL. What I've seen Mundanely is that Steampunk is the new Goth.

For great Steampunk everything (including an upcoming book), check out Abney Park.

yeah i agree it seems like it is becoming the new Goth doen't it?
I love the cosplay costumes,there are some ultra sexy ones out there. i found this site which has a whole gallery of them.
http://steampunkpictures.net/pics/det...
i personally dont have the confidence to pull of wearing any sort of cosplay costume.

Can i introduce S.J Davis's Steampunk Novel Invisible Sun its only available in ebook at the momentInvisible sun