General Steampunk Discussion

[Gray Mage]

I've always been interested in steampunk, although I have never been exposed to much of it. This is something I want to fix.

Recommendations on all sorts of media are welcome, but I'd like a bit more focus in books, if possible.

Thanks a bunch. :smallsmile:

[Killer Angel]

I'll start the suggestions with Leviathan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYiw5vkQFPw).

[Ravens_cry]

It's not a book, and it's more about the pretty animation than a great story, but Steamboy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboy) was a lot of fun.

[Tebryn]

I'd recommend Steam Powered Giraffes (http://www.youtube.com/user/SpineRaptor). Especially their song Brass Goggles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDRHx4cPgbE). They also do some pretty funny covers. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjiIQ9Z02bU&feature=c4-overview&list=UUS6RRU53yk8AEXmpmh0DpIw)

[Axolotl]

Perdido Street Station is one of the more notable steampunk books, also The Difference Engine is one of the earlier examples. For more recent "straight" steampunk Boneshaker and it's sequels seem to be the most popular.

[Topus]

If you are into videogames, maybe Dishonored (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1HlYTukh9A), though it's not the classic steampunk a la Jules Verne.

[Axolotl]

If you are into videogames, maybe Dishonored (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1HlYTukh9A), though it's not the classic steampunk a la Jules Verne.Jules Verne isn't really steampunk, his work is really more just technothrillers from the period steampunk draws its aesthetics from.

[Infernally Clay]

What about Cherie Priest? Her Clockwork Century series is steampunk and there are five of them at the moment with a sixth coming out next month. They're really awesome alternate history novels, too.

[Eldan]

Perdido Street Station is one of the more notable steampunk books, also The Difference Engine is one of the earlier examples. For more recent "straight" steampunk Boneshaker and it's sequels seem to be the most popular.

I wouldn't call that steampunk so much as pretty straight fantasy. The presence of magic, monsters, alternate dimensions etc. sort of disqualifies it. Also, the technology isn't quite right either. Somewhere between Magipunk and Dieselpunk, half the time, with a good dose of Biopunk.

[Weezer]

I wouldn't call that steampunk so much as pretty straight fantasy. The presence of magic, monsters, alternate dimensions etc. sort of disqualifies it. Also, the technology isn't quite right either. Somewhere between Magipunk and Dieselpunk, half the time, with a good dose of Biopunk.

I agree, I'd say it's solidly new weird, not any of the -punk genres, though it has some aspects of them.

One of the original steampunk books is Diference engine written by Gibson, it's quite good and worth reading.

[Gray Mage]

Thanks for the advice, guys. :smallsmile:

I'll start by checking out the Leviathan (that trailer really got my interest, I didn't know they make trailers for books now) and the Boneshaker (that's the one from the Clockwork Century series, right).

I must admit that I didn't expect steampunk music, although it was a pleasant surprise.

More suggestions are still welcome, as I'll put them in my to read/see/listen list.

General discussion of the books/genre would also be welcome, as I want to be more familiar with it. :smallbiggrin:

Just be carefull of spoilers, please. :smalleek:

[Eldan]

Steampunk music is a weird beast. Genres are so completely different, only the vague theme is shared.

Look up the following people on Youtube: The Cog is Dead, Clockwork Quartet, Steampowered Giraffe, The Men Who Can't Be Blamed for Nothing, Doctor Steel (okay, not Steampunk really, but he's cool), The Clockwork Dolls, Reginald Pikedevant (Esq), Professor Elemental (sort of), Vernian Process and I guess Abney Park, though I don't like Abney Park much.

That should cover about, oh, five or six different genres of music with Steampunk themes.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Girl Genius (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104) is a classic "gaslamp fantasy" that roughly skirts some of the genre conventions of steampunk. Very Victorian in its feel. A gonzo, supercharged, mad scientist Victorian.

[Kitten Champion]

Felix Gilman's The Half-Made World. The Half-Made World is about a war between the extremes of Law and Chaos, manifested into a sort of hyperbolic Wild West. A world where demonic spirits incarnate into Guns and give superhuman abilities to amoral outlaws as they fight a draconian regime of the Line, a cult obsessed with absolute order dedicated to spreading the railroad throughout the world to appease the spirits living in the Engines.

It's high fantasy rather than a historical re-imagining, but the steampunk aesthetic is there especially with the Line.

It's a fun read.

[Eldan]

This makes me wonder. Does anyone actually know any straight Steampunk other than The Difference Engine? Because I'm trying, but I can't find any. There's tons of Victorian adventure stories and Victorian Fantasy, but barely any Steampunk out there.

[Terraoblivion]

Girl Genius (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104) is a classic "gaslamp fantasy" that roughly skirts some of the genre conventions of steampunk. Very Victorian in its feel. A gonzo, supercharged, mad scientist Victorian.

Not really. It's far more Napoleonic Wars-era than Victorian in its aesthetic and the insane science also comes off as more inspired by pre-positivist ideas than anything Victorian.

[Killer Angel]

Thanks for the advice, guys. :smallsmile:

I'll start by checking out the Leviathan (that trailer really got my interest, I didn't know they make trailers for books now) and the Boneshaker (that's the one from the Clockwork Century series, right).


Leviathan is classified as young-adult fiction, but I''ve found it very enjoyable.

Another suggestion? I've recently put my hands on Infernal Devices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infernal_Devices_(K._W._Jeter_novel)); I've not yet read it, but it should be interesting, given that K. W. Jeter is the father of the term steampunk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morlock_Night).

[Lord Raziere]

aside from Boneshaker, there is also Ganymede and Dreadnought from the same universe and author.

also, I recommend The Curious Case of Spring-Heeled Jack. doesn't get more steampunk than a british detective trying to solve a case in alternate 19th century London

also, there is an RPG called Kerberos Club that uses FATE also set in steampunk victorian times. if you want purer steampunk, merely ignore the magic parts and such and trim it your liking, FATE is really flexible like that.

there is also the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for comic books.

[Gray Mage]

This makes me wonder. Does anyone actually know any straight Steampunk other than The Difference Engine? Because I'm trying, but I can't find any. There's tons of Victorian adventure stories and Victorian Fantasy, but barely any Steampunk out there.

What would be straight Steampunk?


there is also the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for comic books.

I'm not very familiar with comic books. Where would one start?

[Eldan]

Steampunk is almost a kind of SciFi, just instead of starting from today's tech and adding elements, it starts from the mid-19th century. Otherwise, there's the same ideas about looking at hte development of society and technology under new paramenters.
Also, since it has the -punk suffix inherited from Cyberpunk, it is concerned with a relatively dystopian setting with an oppressed underclass and dehumanizing technology, which the industrial revolution is a pretty good starting point for.

Much of what has been recommended on this page has either supernatural elements as well or starts with a different technological base, such as combustion engines (dieselpunk), the 18th century (clockpunk), or even magic (magipunk).

[Axolotl]

I'm not very familiar with comic books. Where would one start?Without sounding flippant, start with volume one. It's very good but goes somewhat insane and metafictional after volume 2.

[Gray Mage]

Without sounding flippant, start with volume one. It's very good but goes somewhat insane and metafictional after volume 2.

Is it unlike other comics, that seem to have frequent reboots/alternate universes then?

[Eldan]

That's really only a few mainstream continuity DC and Marvel titles. Most never do that. A lot of very good comics are laid out as a series with a beginning and an end and are published as that.

[thethird]

I'm currently enjoying age of steam (http://www.devonmonk.com/books/age-of-steam/) by Devon Monk.

Cedar Hunt is a cursed man, he loses himself to the beast with the full moon, there is no place for him in the civilized world. He is a creature of fairy tales and nightmares chained into the flesh of a man. But he sees the darkness in the world around. And when the railway arrives it will not only carry the light of civilization but also stir the shadows around.

[TheThan]

No love for Iron Kingdoms-full metal fantasy?
Its really awesome steampunk set in a really awesome universe.
There’s two minis games, a RPG with minis, a card game, and they’re working on a video game.
Here’s where you can read up on all this stuff.
http://privateerpress.com/

[Ravens_cry]

No love for Iron Kingdoms-full metal fantasy?
Its really awesome steampunk set in a really awesome universe.
There’s two minis games, a RPG with minis, a card game, and they’re working on a video game.
Here’s where you can read up on all this stuff.
http://privateerpress.com/
It's more mage-punk with steampunk elements. There is too much in-universe acknowledged magic in the world to really qualify in my opinion.

[The Glyphstone]

The Mortal Engines Quartet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Engines_Quartet) is extremely steampunky - post-apocalyptic steampunk, but steampunk all the same. A future where cities are mobile fortresses, mounted on giant treads or wheels, and hunt each other down for raw materials and resources. Sci-fi sneaks in here and there when pre-war technology becomes plot points or Macguffins (one of the principal antagonist characters is a reanimated cyborg), but the bulk of it is still steampunk aesthetics.

[Mando Knight]

aside from Boneshaker, there is also Ganymede and Dreadnought from the same universe and author.

She's up to five in the Clockwork Century (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/ClockworkCentury) series, plus an online novelette.

[Gray Mage]

I think in the end I'll sadly pass on the comic books. I can get books easily enough, but finding comic books that aren't recent is a bit of a hassle (I like my reading to be in dead tree format). I'll keep it in mind if I ever come across it.


The Mortal Engines Quartet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Engines_Quartet) is extremely steampunky - post-apocalyptic steampunk, but steampunk all the same. A future where cities are mobile fortresses, mounted on giant treads or wheels, and hunt each other down for raw materials and resources. Sci-fi sneaks in here and there when pre-war technology becomes plot points or Macguffins (one of the principal antagonist characters is a reanimated cyborg), but the bulk of it is still steampunk aesthetics.

You had me at mobile fortresses.:smallamused:

[The Glyphstone]

I think in the end I'll sadly pass on the comic books. I can get books easily enough, but finding comic books that aren't recent is a bit of a hassle (I like my reading to be in dead tree format). I'll keep it in mind if I ever come across it.



You had me at mobile fortresses.:smallamused:

It's even better...all the big cities have giant crushing jaws mounted on their bows, so when they manage to run down a smaller/slower city without enough guns to fend them off, the smaller city literally gets chewed up and eaten in the bigger city's smelters.

[Ravian]

Is it unlike other comics, that seem to have frequent reboots/alternate universes then?

Not really, it's basically more like a few contained stories told in graphic novel format. Starring various characters from Victorian era classics. (Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, the Invisible Man, ect.)

[Gray Mage]

It's even better...all the big cities have giant crushing jaws mounted on their bows, so when they manage to run down a smaller/slower city without enough guns to fend them off, the smaller city literally gets chewed up and eaten in the bigger city's smelters.

This seems very promising. :smallamused:

[FLHerne]

This seems very promising. :smallamused:
I'd second that recommendation - it doesn't really count as 'steampunk' in my book (more post-apocalyptic misuse of modern/futuristic tech), but they are really quite good books.

The entire concept of 'Social Darwinism' is a bit worrying though. :smalleek:

[The Glyphstone]

I'd second that recommendation - it doesn't really count as 'steampunk' in my book (more post-apocalyptic misuse of modern/futuristic tech), but they are really quite good books.

The entire concept of 'Social Darwinism' is a bit worrying though. :smalleek:

Ahem, it's Municipal Darwinism, thank you very much.:smallbiggrin:

[jidasfire]

Personally, I would recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt series. It's a weird mix of steampunk and fantasy. Basic premise is that all the humans in the world have a "kinden," which is sort of like an insect totem that gives them unique abilities and colors their societies. Also, some people are Apt, which means they can use technology but not magic, and Inapt, who can conversely use magic but not technology (not even simple things like doorknobs).

It's a 10-book series about the ongoing struggle between Collegium, a society built by the industrious Beetle kinden, based on equality and knowledge, and the Wasp Empire, built by the Wasp kinden, based on endless war, conquest, and expansion. The series details their arms race, which progresses rather quickly as we see the development of guns, fighter planes, and other new weaponry change the face of war, and drive the magic races closer and closer to extinction. Good stuff.

[Gray Mage]

(not even simple things like doorknobs).


Is there an explanation for this? Because I think that'd break my suspension of disbelief. :smallconfused:

[jidasfire]

Is there an explanation for this? Because I think that'd break my suspension of disbelief. :smallconfused:

Essentially it's tied to their hybridization with insects. In exchange for the powers granted by their kinden, they gain some minor measure of mental limitation. Hence, their brains simply can't comprehend machinery. Of course, to them, the idea that the Apt can't sense simple changes of nature or minor magics would be equally ridiculous.

And again, I should point out that the Inapt are on the losing side of history. For all their mystical abilities, long lives, and hyper-competence as individuals, the Apt are conquering the world. So it's not like it's not addressed in that sense.

[Eldan]

How can you be hypercompetent if you can't even figure out "Hold this part in your hand and twist it"? I mean, that applies equally to, say, harvesting fruit. Unless these people have no civilization whatsoever and live naked in the forest without ever using any tools, not even sticks and stones, I can't see how that works.

[Gray Mage]

Yeah, I could see magic making people worse at understanding tech, but not to that extent. I mean, they can't even open doors? How do they function? Can they use other simple tools, like knives or forks? :smallconfused:

[The Glyphstone]

It sounds like the book must use a rather selective definition of 'technology'.

[Gray Mage]

It sounds like the book must use a rather selective definition of 'technology'.

Yeah, I'd like some more examples of what they can use from jidasfire, though. I'm sort of hoping the doorknob example was hyperbole.

Also, since I've already have some reading to do, I think this thread will do more good as a discussion thread. At least, I was interested in the discussions that happened earlier and I'd like to see more of that. :smallredface:

More suggestions are still welcome, though. :smalltongue:

[jidasfire]

How can you be hypercompetent if you can't even figure out "Hold this part in your hand and twist it"? I mean, that applies equally to, say, harvesting fruit. Unless these people have no civilization whatsoever and live naked in the forest without ever using any tools, not even sticks and stones, I can't see how that works.

They have tools, they just can't use things with moving parts. And no, the doorknob thing isn't hyperbole. It's just how they work. As I said, think of it the way a magic-based species might think it's absurd that you can't detect a minor dweomer in the air by altering reality slightly in a way that is second nature to them.

I will say that if you guys, who are probably fantasy readers on the whole and can accept the utter ridiculousness of most fantasy magic and multiple sentient races and whatnot but this is too much? I guess the book's just not for you.

[Karoht]

My fiancee loves Hellboy. Some interesting people on the internet think it is Steampunk, when it is at best modern fantasy with some Dieselpunk thrown in from time to time. Mostly in the WWII era flashbacks, and just about anything to do with Rasputin.

[Artemis97]

I will suggest the book series The Parasol Protectorate, the first of which is called Soulless. It's Victorian era steampunk with a supernatural twist. It features a strong female protagonist and werewolves, ghosts, and vampires (also a bit of romance). I absolutely loved the series.

[Gray Mage]

They have tools, they just can't use things with moving parts. And no, the doorknob thing isn't hyperbole. It's just how they work. As I said, think of it the way a magic-based species might think it's absurd that you can't detect a minor dweomer in the air by altering reality slightly in a way that is second nature to them.

I will say that if you guys, who are probably fantasy readers on the whole and can accept the utter ridiculousness of most fantasy magic and multiple sentient races and whatnot but this is too much? I guess the book's just not for you.

Yeah, if the criteria is having moving parts, I'm afraid it isn't for me (I'd understand and be ok if it were the inner working of engines and things like that). Still, thanks for the suggestion. :smallsmile:

Although I do wonder if they can use their own joints without trouble. :smallamused::smalltongue:


My fiancee loves Hellboy. Some interesting people on the internet think it is Steampunk, when it is at best modern fantasy with some Dieselpunk thrown in from time to time. Mostly in the WWII era flashbacks, and just about anything to do with Rasputin.

I'm only familiar with Hellboy by the movies and they didn't look anything like I'd mark as steampunk. Are the original comics different in that aspect? :smallconfused:


I will suggest the book series The Parasol Protectorate, the first of which is called Soulless. It's Victorian era steampunk with a supernatural twist. It features a strong female protagonist and werewolves, ghosts, and vampires (also a bit of romance). I absolutely loved the series.

I have to admit, reading werewolves, vampires and romance in the same sentence set some alarm bells (especially in recent books). How prevalent is the romance and how is it handled?

Edit: The fact that after a google search there are signs that there's a love triangle doesn't help either.

Because the other stuff (werewolves meet victorian era meets steampunk) seems like a fun read.

[Watchdog]

...(that trailer really got my interest, I didn't know they make trailers for books now)...

It's a relatively new trend. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

Anyone read James Blaylock's books? Specifically the ones featuring Langdon St. Ives? They're steampunk novels, but have an air of the mystery genre about them rather than straight sci-fi. I'm reading The Aylesford Skull now, and I'm liking it very much so far.

I'm pretty new to steampunk, too, so I'm happy you made this thread! :smallbiggrin:

[Gray Mage]

Anyone read James Blaylock's books? Specifically the ones featuring Langdon St. Ives? They're steampunk novels, but have an air of the mystery genre about them rather than straight sci-fi. I'm reading The Aylesford Skull now, and I'm liking it very much so far.


What are they about?



I'm pretty new to steampunk, too, so I'm happy you made this thread! :smallbiggrin:

I'm glad this is being of use for others as well. :smallsmile:

[Karoht]

I'm only familiar with Hellboy by the movies and they didn't look anything like I'd mark as steampunk. Are the original comics different in that aspect? :smallconfused:The big bad electro-glove that Rasputin uses to open the original portal, clockwork assassin (and the clockwork crypt), and the Golden Army itself are basically magic steam powered golems. Not much else about Hellboy is steampunk after that, more of it is Dieselpunk (WWI and II Sci-fi as opposed to victorian-era Sci-Fi), especially noticeable in the vehicle designs but not much else. Which is why it is often amusing when people say Hellboy is Steampunk. At best it has some Steampunk elements.

The comic is quite different from the films. More modern myth, much more intrigue, Hellboy himself is a much more titanic character than the films show him to be. Much more south american/african/austrailian myth as opposed to european. I've only read through maybe 2 of the larger books, and the differences are quite striking.

But yeah, that's the basics.