Literary Exploration discussion

I not so recently discovered a genre here on goodreads called "steampunk". Since then, I've been trying to read as many books as I can get my hands on in this genre!

My favorite so far is the New Crobuzon series by China Miéville.

I couldn't at all get into , though.

Anyone else have any awesome recommendations in this genre?

You've piqued my interest. I've not tried this genre yet, although I love the original SF and Fantasy writers (Wells, Verne, Peake, Wyndham etc) who were its logical forbears. I'll give China Miéville a try, as a start. I've read some cyberpunk (which is related, but not quite the same), and have had mixed experiences, with William Gibson and Neal Stephenson the best I've tried so far. Gibson also writes steampunk, of course, and I'll try his "Difference Engine" as well.

Miéville is definitely one of a kind. Also, I read before I read , and I also liked The Scar more. So if you don't like the one, just remember the other is very different!

I really need to read some Miéville, I have The City and The City and Embasseytown waiting on my bookshelf.

As for Steampunk, I like the idea of the genre, but I haven't read anything in the genre that I found truly amazing. The Difference Engine is probably my favourite so far; I'll keep reading the genre and I'm sure I'll find more.

I didn't enjoy the Boneshaker, the idea was good but the book didn't work for me

After I read The City & The City I can't wait to read some more Mieville. Maybe next month :)

I also wasn't a big fan of Boneshaker. It had good ideas but they went nowhere.

The Leviathan series will hopefully be ok. I've only read the first one Leviathan which was enjoyable. I've got the second book but haven't read it yet.

There's also a big list here: http://www.goodreads.com/genres/steam...

Shame... I can only find THe Difference Engine as an audiobook right now. I'll mark it as to-read and get back to it :) Thanks for that one, though!

To be fair, I have only read a few steampunk books

Kim wrote: "After I read The City & The City I can't wait to read some more Mieville. Maybe next month :)

I also wasn't a big fan of Boneshaker. It had good ideas but they went n..."

The problem with the lists, Kim, is that Boneshaker is so far at the top, and it sucked. So I'm reluctant to venture much further into the lists.

Although, now that I take another look at the genre's page, GR admin really revamped the whole thing :o I thought they had just added a new releases section, but this is amazing!

You've all got me curious to check out China Mieville. I haven't read much steampunk. Of that, the only book I could recommend is Ginn Hale's Wicked Gentlemen. Looks like Mieville has written tons of books. (I really need to learn how to do the nice links to books and authors in the posts at GR.)
@Xeni, re: where books are on the lists. You must have had the same experience I have, where books you personally KNOW are bad rank above books you know are better. We can't take those rankings too seriously, right?

Xeni, I am so glad you started this topic! I've been interested in "steampunk" for a while now, but wasn't sure which titles were worthwhile. I've only read one book from this genre - The Affinity Bridge by George Mann, which was really not that well written. I'm so happy to have "advisors" to suggest some good titles.

While taking Kim's suggestion and going to the GR genre topic for steampunk, I found this book:

Steamed

It's a bit of a lewd steampunk novel, and I would definitely say: only for adults and only if you're looking for a bit of romance and a fluff story, but so far it's pretty spunky.

It's a fast read too, which is nice. So I'll let you all know what I think of it once I'm finished. :)

Thanks for the link to more Steampunk literature, Kim. :)

I'm also starting out in the genre and so far I've only read the Parasol Protectorate books and Boneshaker.

I tried to read Dreadnought immediately after Boneshaker, but I felt the premise was way too similar. I might give it another shot some day, but I still cringe everytime I try to pick it up. I'm not too fond of writers who seem to recycle their own stories.

I've been itchng to get my hands on the Parasol Protectorate, but I'm not sure if it's worth dishing money out for. What did you think of it? Amazing or just alright?

Xeni: I like them, so I'd recommend reading the first book and see if it appeals to you.

They're not like Cherie Priests books at all. These don't take themselves too seriously. I haven't read many books in the genre, but they don't seem to be too tech-heavy and I've hardly spied any decorative goggles or cogs yet. I appreciate that.

If you're still unsure, maybe you can trick a friend with similar taste to buy the books and then borrow them from him/her? :)

I've got "Soulless" in my stack. Why didn't I read that instead of "Great Expectations"?

These steampunk books seem interesting. I'll have to check and see if my library has any. I love seeing new books to look for from you all!

Minna, I'm studying in Hungary, which has like 2 bookstores with English sections. XD so it's all buying online for me.

But I'll just wait until I can get them for one cen on amazon or so. :) still, seems like they've all got pretty good reviews.

Xeni: I feel for you, I used to live in a small town with no bookstore at all.

I hope you get your hands on a copy of PP 1 somehow. :)

A friend of mine recommends Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti
She's got great taste - so I've added it to my list.

That looks really good!

It seems that a lot of steampunk works are more romance based apart from the Leviathan series. PP looks a little that way. Mechanique does look interesting but I'm wary as it's endorsed by Cherie Priest.

I think the whole Victorian side of Steampunk might be the cause of the Romance

I don't want romance I want action and adventure! :P

Same here, Kim!

That is why I loved Miéville's take on the whole thing! In The Scar it's almost like he disabuses all notions of romance in relationships!

That's it, next month I'm putting some Miéville on my to-read list.

Don't you already have Embasseytown on the list?

Kim wrote: "That's it, next month I'm putting some Miéville on my to-read list."

Well, it's about darn time that you start reading them, not just put them on your list!

I found China Mieville's The Scar absolutely unfinishable. I really disliked it. He's a fine writer, if you like really detailed, descriptive worldbuilding and a dark tale. His imagination is vast and varied. But the story is bleak and dark and ponderous; his characters are cold; and the book is so long. Just not for me at all. I got through the first 150 pages, because he really can write, but I wanted way more plot and character and wasn't enjoying it. So I skipped to the last hundred pages and was just repelled by how the story was going. I'm not a big horror fan, and I would class him as steampunk horror, of the creeping dread and grossness kind.

On the other hand, I enjoyed Gail Carriger's Soulless, the first of the Parasol Protectorate. It's just for fun. A pastiche of urban fantasy and Victorian romance, mostly for a smile, that makes no discernable effort at historical accuracy or credibility. If you think you're interested, try reading the first 10 pages. If that's not amusing to you, you won't like it.

I think maybe I'm just not a steampunk person. I've disliked more of it than I've liked.

I've started reading Perdido Street Station, for some steampunkery. This book is sooo big :S and very weird

Yep. :) took me a while to get into it... Like, a while. But SOOOO worth it!

I want to finish it already :-P

Nah, don't think like that! It spoils the story! Hurry, but don't rush, if you know I mean!

I've just started dipping my toes into steampunk, but I loved Dead Iron. Book two in the series is coming out this year and I can't wait for it.

Knowledge Lost wrote: "I didn't enjoy the Boneshaker, the idea was good but the book didn't work for me"
I thought it read like a young adult novel. Maybe it was the comparison to Miéville (not much is going to stand up to him. He writes like he never heard the word genre.) I think Priest didn't take enough chances. I think that's where her book suffered. She wasn't willing to be unexpected or ugly enough.

So glad I found this thread, will be watching it as new books and stories are added... I haven't read ANY steampunk stories, yet my new agent pointed out that the idea I am currently working is actually a steampunk story, lol... I guess I need to read up on it now... usually write zombie and horror books...

Armand Rosamilia
Post Apocalyptic raids

I recently read Behemoth, Soulless and The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack which were all decent steampunk books.

The Steampunk anthology is worth a look. Uneven at times, but features short stories by a wide range of authors – a Michael Moorcock dirigible battle, dime-novel send ups by James Blaylock and Joe Lansdale (the latter a bit graphic), a good - if somewhat truncated - revisionist history tale from Michael Chabon, and an odd comedy from Paul Di Filippo featuring a nymphomaniac half-newt prostitute who doubles for Queen Victoria. (Yeah, how many times do you get the chance to type that?) It also has a good introduction and preface, as well as a great overview of steampunk literature, essays on its place in popular culture and an extensive bibliography at the end.

So! Today on the subreddit /r/fantasy I stumbled across this link:

10 Awesome Steampunk Movies (for the whole family)

http://steampunkdistrict.com/10-aweso...

Atlantis is one of my favourite movies, as is Howl's Moving Castle. Treasure Planet wasn't too bad. I never thought of Stardust as steampunk before. Haven't seen the rest though I want to see 9 and Hugo.

I've seen all but Hugo. Stardust is so totally steampunk-ish!! Think of the airship!

I watched Hugo last night. It's not steampunk at all. Yes there's some clockwork stuff but it's all real and it's only a small part of the film. Watching 9 now.

I doubt that there are any real, totally steampunk movies out there. Probably too big of a budget needed or some such. Would be pretty amazing if there was one like that made, though.

9 is more like a remake of Wall-E, I think. With a lot more action.

Wild, Wild West is a bad steampunk movie. Steamboy wasn't too bad. Warehouse 13 contains a bit of steampunk stuff.

I recently read Angelmaker and Retribution Falls. I wouldn't consider Angelmaker to be steampunk. It was missing too many of what I consider essential elements. Retribution Falls was far more steampunk and a fun read too.

I thought Angelmaker was awesome. I know you think it's missing key elements but there is a very blurred line between Steampunk and Alt History. We would have to rule out the New Crobuzon series by China Miéville and Boneshaker too.

Boneshaker has the right parts. Technology based on steam. Lots of brass. It just wasn't a good book. Angelmaker (which I did think was a good book) was too modern. Steampunk just doesn't exist in the modern world. It wasn't quite alt-history either.

How would you catagorise it then

Possibly urban fantasy or clockwork sci-fi. It's a bit of an odd one.

I have never read any steampunk; where would be a good place to start?