Steampunk



Supernatural beings and dark forces
 inhabit 1870’s London.



Original steampunk

The Victorian world of bowler hats, corsets, and all things mechanical.  Not a piece of plastic in sight.  This is the world of steampunk, a term used to describe both a literary genre and a wider subculture of dress, art, music and entertainment.   Channeling 19th century works such as H.G. Wells’ Time Machine and Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, contemporary writers have created science fiction stories set in a time when steam power is the main power source. Often set in London, past or imagined  future, gallant gentlemen and heroines fight villains, corruption and deal with out of this world experiences.  As steampunk lit has evolved, the age range of its audience has fanned out.   There is an increasing amount of steampunk being written  for adults. Unfortunately, most library collections are small.   Some of the more widely available are The Difference Engine, The Somnambulist,  an anthology of short stories  and the graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.   Steampunk for youth has fared better. 

Novel of the Clockwork Century

Airships reign over rockets

 Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel  was a young adult  Top Ten.   It  and Leviathan, an alternate history of WWI, are both nominated for the 2013 Abraham Lincoln Award . In the futuristic world of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, London has become a city on traction wheels, roving through Europe to obtain nourishment for its engines, both mechanical and human.  Cherie Priest focuses on a zombie world created by mechanized digging machines in the US Civil War era in her steampunk novels,  Boneshaker  and  Dreadnought.  Dirigible-like airships populate Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn series.  If you want more details on the wide range of steampunk-inspired design and novels, delve into The Steampunk Bible.  



Guides you through the gaslit world