Steampunk and related books

[Beq Janus]

I don't think we have ever had a discussion to collect people book lists together.
I have just changed my commute from driving to coach and gained two hours of sleeping/reading time per day. So what should I do with this time?

I had thought of simply listing the books I liek but perhaps a collection of reviews would be a better way to go.

I, for one, would love to hear the thoughts of others perhaps not only those books to hunt down but those to avoid.

For now I will ignore the classics, Conan Doyle, Verne, Wells need no further commendation.

I'll start with a couple and perhaps build on it as time allows, feel free to agree disagree and add your own books.

[Beq Janus]

I will start with something a little unusual, not a reading book but a graphic novel, one that has no decipherable words at all.



The Arrival by Shaun Tan I love this book, I found it quite by accident in Waterstones in Canterbury, without opening it I knew it was mine.

It is a "proper" book, presented as a package, no cheap gaudy cover to catch your eye but a carefully conceived embossed hardback which feels lovely to hold, the matte frame and mounted "photograph" setting the atmosphere for the book. Inside, each page is a beautiful, sepia work of art; in silence you are guided through a man's experiences of leaving his home and family to travel far away to a new country, a country of steampunk influences that justifies its inclusion here, one that has an alien language and "foreign" foods, the atmosphere of each image captures the scene, The man's predicament as he arrives, passes through immigraaton, seeks a place to live, some food, a job and friendship.

Careful use of frames almost a cinematic story board in places, convey more complex ideas that allow the author to preserve the silence where a few words may have made his life easier but rendered the tale less enthralling. The passage of time conveyed by thumbnails of changing weather or seasonal development of a single plant, a closeup scene that "zooms out" to reveal a vast residential complex, underlining the man's feeling of solitude as he finds himself alone in a crowded city.

The images are powerfully imagined. I "read" it with my 5 year old daughter, and she got it first time, as we sat and described the images, the mysterious language of the new country, she understood the man's predicament perhaps connecting to her own world of one just learning to read. Two weeks later to my amazement we were talking of immigrants, the chinese waiter in the restaurant that we had a meal in, in fact. "Why is he here?", "perhaps to earn money, perhaps to run away from something", "like in that book?". I immediately knew what she meant, she proceeded to recount not only the man's tale but the tale of all those that he met. Economics, fear, war, politics, many classes of immigrant are covered and she understood it all within her own ability.

A written book would never have had this profound an impact, the adage "a picture paints a thousand words" has, for me, never been so evident, moreover those words are cpatured in a moment's comprehension. But is this therefore a book for kids? No way! In fact there are those pages that I did not want my daughter to dwell upon or comprehend some elements of evil that are best not distilled in the mind of a child, but ultimately everybody should have a copy of this book, buy it because it is a proper book, a thing to cherish and behold.

[Edward Pearse, Duke of Argylle]

I met Shaun Tan at a convention a couple of years ago and I'd not heard of him prior to then. I was very impressed by his book and his art. Loved some of the little touches to it.

[Beq Janus]

Next up is pure steampunk adventure.

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt. Unashamed steam punkery, orphans, urchins, victoriana, mysterious organisations, autonamous steam men and difference engines, this is a smorgasbord of our favourite genre's delights (no goggles though as I recall....). The tale immerses you in a world of intrigue and murder as the two main characters, two adolescents, have their lives torn apart by events. Hunt works hard to build a detailed world in which the story takes place, some names hinting back to our own world, not all of which work to my mind, jarring slightly as I read, but these offset by those that bring a small smile to your face. The steam men, automatons granted their own free state, who have their own religion, the cruelly captive head of state, the strange organisation of spies that watchover it all and give the book its title and the cast of characters, picking orphans, writers, mercenaries and thieves.

The book risked being too cliched but to my mind managed to navigate the minefield quite well, and I really enjoyed the book, though I had some misgivings about the ending but there is no place in a review to comment too much on that. It is also something that I find all too often, a book builds to a mighty climax which is over all too soon and without the drama that it deserved. Is this the result of overly pushy publishers? Anyhow, all that aside, I am impatiently waiting to descend into the next of Mr. Hunt's books "the Kingdom beyond the waves" which is sitting in front of me now, calling to me, but it knows it must wait its turn.

[DreddPirateBob]

simply loved it, but aye i can agree with some points. One for a wet afternoon :)

And theres another? To the shop!

[nf0 Waco]

I really enjoyed Neil Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. I believe I got this at audible but it's been a while I also read the book sometime before that, maybe its time to listen again. Also I can recommend The Difference Engine is an alternate by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, I've read it but don't know if there is an audio version or not.

[Mr. Django Yifu]

Aye...two excellent books. I can highly recommend them!

[Mr. Django Yifu]

I liked Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines. Even though they're written for younger readers, my typist also greatly enjoyed them. Giant traction cities, re-animated dead, underwater urchins...what's not to like? An excellent series much in the same vein as the Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.

[Beq Janus]

Ahhh now I have never read those but one of the most fun books I have read in some time is another Of Mr Reeves' creations along with the brilliant artwork of Mr David Wyatt, is that of Larklight and the follow up Starcross. Once again, these are targetted at teens or perhaps better those that can recall being teens, however they are very much a steampunk creation.

Set in a revisionist universe where not only has good Queen Victoria's British Empire dominated the world but it has extended out into the galaxy beyond. Much of its humour may be lost on non-brits as it expends quite some energy on caricaturing Britishness in its most Victorian form. It would be good to know how well such humour travels actually. It is quite witty and brilliantly observed, characters from history litter the pages inventing spaceships and gravity generators in addition to their more mundane invetions of our reality.

This book is funny, it never take itself too seriously and I recomend it as a great light read. Starcross is good too but I think Larklight is the better , a third book, entitled Mothstorm is available it seems, though I have not yet sampled it.

You can visit www.larklight.com for an peek into the world

[Canolli Capalini]

I personally would recommend Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day.. It's weightier and sometimes, he gets a little.. err.. "wordy" but for imagery and sheer story telling, it's a very good read.

Also, like Mr. Yifu, I tend to pick up whatever drifts into my home.. and I recently read a book geared for younger readers called Un Lun Dun by China Mieville.. Perhaps not strictly steampunk, but the raucous vision behind steampunk is certainly there. It's a fun book.

[Mr. Django Yifu]

Oh my...Another excellent read! In fact everything 'e 'as writted is well worth readin'. Again it's not so much steampunk but 'e does share some of the aesthetic.

[Canolli Capalini]

~chuckles~ Indeed. Some of the elements in Un Lun Dun reminded me very much of the aesthetics in New Babbage specifically. Makes me want to start carrying umbrellas.

[Mr. Django Yifu]

Oh no Miss...don't go near the unbrellas!