My wife got and is reading The Doctor And The Dinosaurs by Mike Resnick, but hasn't been all that impressed.
So, i was curious, what are some decent Steampunk books, as i'm admittedly not versed on the genre.
Thanks in advance!
Also if anyone has read the above book feel free to share your opinion of it. :-)
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Last month, on the What books are you currently reading? thread, belovedjuan asked for steampunk recommendations. Here are some of the responses:
Next year I'm looking to read more steampunk. Any good recommendations?Hoo boy. Some people on these boards may be sick of my saying it by now, but I can never pass an opportunity to recommend one of my four favorite novels of all time, The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. I mentioned it on these boards time and time again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
So every year I tend to read along a theme. Next year I'm looking to read more steampunk. Any good recommendations?Have you heard of The Anubis Gate by Tim Powers?
Gail Carriger's Soulless and its sequels and prequels.
Scott Westerfield's Leviathan and its sequels.
Jim Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass.
Mark Hodder's The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack and its sequels.
Cherie Priest's Boneshaker and its sequels.
Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay series (Retribution Falls and its sequels).
Railsea by China Mieville. Also Perdido Street Station and the rest of the trilogy.
Felix Gilman's The Half-Made World and Thunderer are pretty good.
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and what's-his-name, of course.
The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan.
I'll also throw Elizabeth Bear's Karen Memory out there.
The Age of Unreason series by Gregory Keyes is some steampunky alternate history. Newton and Franklin and their shenanigans. (The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by him are like Song of Ice and Fire, but complete and slightly less grimdark, but not steampunky.)
Ian Tregillis's The Mechanical is some more steampunky alternate history.
And since I wouldn't expect you to click on every one of those links I posted, I should mention one that would be especially useful for your purposes:
Can anyone recommend good Victorian fantasy / steampunk fiction?
That's sweet! I actually looked for a thread to hijack last night. :-)
I'll also check out your other links as well. Thanks!
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I want to highlight a recommendation for Tales Of The Ketty Jay. It is a short and punchy series that gets significantly better with each book and that is very accurately described as "Steampunk Firefly" (referring to the Joss Whedon show).
Also, a cautionary word about Railsea - it is a young adult novel. Fun and imaginative and engaging, but optimal for younger readers.
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Alastair Reynolds - Terminal World
and Revenger by the same author, but not as good, it's similar to Aeronaut's Windlass by Butcher
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I want to highlight a recommendation for Tales Of The Ketty Jay. It is a short and punchy series that gets significantly better with each book and that is very accurately described as "Steampunk Firefly" (referring to the Joss Whedon show).
Also, a cautionary word about Railsea - it is a young adult novel. Fun and imaginative and engaging, but optimal for younger readers.
& if you find ampersands annoying & aberrant, Railsea will get on your nerves & give you nightmares & drive you crazy, &c.
;-)
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I'm going to have to check out George Mann's stuff. It looks like he does a lot of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who stuff, too.
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I am enjoying the Electric Empire Seris by Viola Carr. It starts with Diabolic Miss Hyde.
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A friend of mine wrote The Watchmage of Old New York. It's essentially The Alienist meets the Dresden Files.
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TERMINAL WORLD is a very clever "steampunk" novel. The twist-hiding-in-plain-sight is just spectacular.
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The Parasol Protectorate. One of the better Steampunk series imo. Though the author has the main character act for lack of a better word out of character in 9ne of the later novels. So much so that's its rnough to make you either keep reading or stop reading the series altogether imom
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The Parasol Protectorate is the best!!! Very LOL witty banter. People on the train will look at you funny due to all the laughter. But it's not just funny, it has some thrilling adventure and tense betrayals and more. I've read the prequel series and sequel series, too, and they're all really fun.
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Another vote for Gail Carringer's Parasol Protectorate novels here, though I'm not as thrilled about the prequel and sequel series, but the first series is excellent and I still re-read it occasionally.
There is a manga version of the first few books, though volume one is gawdawfull, requiring you to have read Soulless to understand what's going on - the only good thing about it is a bonus chapter at the end showing what happens to Mr. MacDougall after the story ends. The other volumes weren't to bad.
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Cherie Priest's Boneshaker and Dreadnaught
Anyone mind posting the name of the prequel and sequal series from Gail Carringer. I wanted to read more of her books.
The prequel series (and it's very loosely a prequel) is the Finishing School series: Etiquette & Espionage, Curtsies & Conspiracies, Waistcoats & Weaponry, and Manners & Mutiny.
The sequel series is The Custard Protocol: Prudence and
Imprudence.
The origin of the modern genre, I believe, is K.W. Jeter's Infernal Devices which I enjoyed. Follow up Fiendish Schemes, less so, but has moments.
If you want to add a bit of light-heartedness, Reginald Brettnor's Schimmelhorn Files has a mad-scientist feel to it.
Oh, I like KW Jeter's conceit of writing his dark and twisty takes of different genres in the styles of those genres, but admit it got thin in Fiendish Schemes. His cyberpunky Dr. Adder was very good, and you rather expected a Joad family appearance in Madlands.