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Sep 30, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

I haven't enjoyed a YA anthology this much since Zombies Vs. Unicorns. Picking authors who can write and have a lot of interest in the genre, as opposed to those who are popular, really paid off here. (The only exception to this assumption is the opening short story by Cassandra Clare. But I guess there was no way to avoid that as Clare is currently considered to be the shining beacon of YA steampunk and thus assigned as the main attraction in this book.)

The subtitle of the collectio More...

5 comments like (37 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Eric rated it:

I only read the Cory Doctorow story 'Clockwork Fagin', as I picked up a free preview copy of the story on my Kindle. Doctorow proves with his story that he does steampunk just as well as he does cyberpunk. It was definitely good enough to make me consider buying the entire anthology.

10 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 17, 2012

Jennifer rated it:

Overall, a solid compilation. A couple of stories weren’t steampunkish enough (Link’s) and/or compelling (Knox’s). Even Garth Nix’s entry was just a short shaggy dog story, as it were, though the punch line did make you think. But there were far more excellent tales than not. Clare, Bray, Doctorow, Rowe, and Black kept true to the theme and turned out enjoyable and imaginative stories. “The Oracle Engine,” with its basis in Roman history, was interesting for a while, but it soon became obvious w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 14, 2011

Cornmaven rated it:

Some of the best authors of YA and adult literature have offered their steampunk imaginings in this collection, and it would be a good introduction to the genre. I could hardly put this book down, reading late into the night and getting up early in the morning to soak up all the imagery. There’s romance, history, and cautionary tales. M.T. Anderson delivers an alternate version of Rome’s conquests, complete with flying machines and a computer nerd guild which tends a handmade machine designed More...

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Dec 11, 2011

Wilson marked it as to-read

Penniless, I window-shopped at a bookstore. I hate doing this because I know I will just tempt myself as I salivate and wet my lips over the aroma of new books. Just as I thought, a book will catch my attention. My first reaction was: "Steam punk? Sounds interesting!" So I checked the back of the book for a preview. The words were so sweet I almost succumbed to my urge of buying: "Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign... tinkerers and dreamers craft and More...

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Dec 06, 2011

Maxine rated it:

I enjoyed this book. It was interesting fun, and the star of the shows is the fantastically strange and slightly horrible theme, Steampunk. Steampunk is a genre that deals with old science, renaissance culture, and 1800s england. Science such as blimps and clockwork powered automatons are big themes in the steampunk genre. This book feature wonderful stories that make you're skin crawl. The idea of a bunch of orphaned children killing, and then turning their old caretaker into a automaton is one More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Joel rated it:

A disappointment.

Some of the best short stories writers today turn in some of their more boring work here. All the stories are OK, but just that. Little that makes them stand out, whether in originality, humor, suspense, setting. I don't read steampunk regularly, but despite that I still felt like I'd seen all this before.

The most original was probably MT Anderson's Romanpunk story, but there was not a single character I could care about after the opening scene, which pulle More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Sharon rated it:

Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories is a collection of tales from the two editors as well as Garth Nix , Christopher Rowe, Kathleen Jennings, Dylan Horrocks, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Cory Doctorow, Shawn Cheng, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Delia Sherman, Elizabeth Knox. With a line up of authors like this, there really is something for all interested readers: tweens, teens and adults alike. The stories range widely, including to in graphic format, and anyone More...

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Jun 23, 2011

Karen rated it:

Firmly rooted in Victorian London, steampunk has often been a bit too Anglo- and Eurocentric[footnote]. One of the things that's so refreshing about Steampunk! is that its diversity of setting, story, character, format. Something that was achieved by asking the anthology's contributors, whose ranks include both big names and virtual unknowns, for "stories that explored and expanded their own ideas of what steampunk could be" (8).

I read Steampunk! over the course of a month More...

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Feb 18, 2012

Rusty rated it:

This is a collection of short stories edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. The authors have won many fantasy/science fiction awards and include Casandra Clare, Cory Doctorow, Shawn Cheng, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Delia Sherman, Elizabeth Knox, Kelly Link, Garth Nix, and Christopher Rowe as well as the following. Some of the more interesting stories include "Oracle Engine" by M.T. Anderson whose story comes almost totally from Roman history. Anderson added the design engineer, Marcuis F More...

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Sep 25, 2011

Maria rated it:

One of the best anthologies I've read in a long time. While there were a few stories that made me wonder why they were being considered steampunk, I enjoyed all of them. Okay, so Seven Day Beset by Demons was a let down, but that was the only one.

These authors are not steampunk authors, or even genre writers. Where so many steampunk writers seem to think of the world before the story, these are simply authors who have taken on the concept of steampunk and used it to accent a story, and More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Alexandra rated it:

I love the idea of steampunk. I love the fashion it has inspired, and the subculture around it, and I want to love the fiction. I haven't read a whole lot of it yet, for various reasons, and what I have read hasn't always worked for me. This anthology, though - put together by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, coming out from Candlewick Press - makes me very happy indeed. It might be the fact that it is aimed at the YA market that helps it hit the mark so well. It takes the notion of steampunk an More...

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Dec 04, 2011

Samantha rated it:

So, as a rule, I don't really like short stories. I'm not the person who picks up a book of them and gets excited. However, I figured this book would be a good intro to the steampunk genre. I have to say, I like it better than any other book of short stories I've read. While I didn't fall in love with all the stories, I didn't want to skip any of them either. Below you will find a short review of each story.

Some Fortunate Future Day:
I really don't like Cassandra Clare. I sludged More...

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Oct 11, 2011

Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it:

Steampunk is a fun genre, one I have begun to explore with excitement. While I have not loved all of the steampunk novels I have read to this point, I have uniformly enjoyed the idea behind them, the out-of-place mechanization accepted as normal in an otherwise old-fashioned society. What attracts me most to this, I expect, is the similarity between steampunk and magical realism, the only difference being that the magic lies in the technology.

With such thoughts in mind, I was eager to More...

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Sep 28, 2011

Ramie rated it:

I don't buy / read anthologies. Nothing against authors that take part in them. It's just that in the past, say, five years or so, I've purchased exactly one of them - I was so excited as there was an author or two I wanted to read it in it. By the end of it I'd felt I spent full price for on a book of abut 15 stories for about 3 short stories I REALLY liked and the rest I'd not care if I never read again.

Still when this popped up in Vine, well... Thing is I like Steampunk art and jewe More...

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Oct 02, 2011

Wandering rated it:

I feel like the title pretty much sums it up.

I had a major problem with this anthology: most of the stories weren't Steampunk. This, of course, requires that I define Steampunk as a genre, which is harder then it should be. When I think of Steampunk, the sense of place is very strong. What makes a book Steampunk, rather then science fiction, is that it takes place in a place where there shouldn't be advanced technology. I often link Steampunk with alternate history (although altern More...

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Oct 12, 2011

Laurie rated it:

I’m not sure why this anthology is listed as Young Adult, because other than a lot of the characters being young, there is nothing juvenile about it. The stories are varied in setting; some actually step outside of the standard Victorian England setting that steampunk usually is set in- one is even set in ancient Rome. Fourteen well known authors provide us with tales of airships, mechanical men and oracles, time twisting technology, ghosts, geothermal drilling and a lot more. Some, I admit, did More...

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Nov 20, 2011

Hippopottoman rated it:

A really nice teen-oriented anthology. Of course there's some variation in story quality and appeal, but I enjoyed nearly every one of them, with a few really standing out. (If you're pressed for time, I'd recommend hitting "The Last Ride of the Glory Girls", "Clockwork Fagin", "Seven Days Beset by Demons", "The Summer People", "The Oracle Engine", and "Steam Girl" in no particular order.)

The settings for the stories range fa More...

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Jan 31, 2012

Michelle rated it:

Brand new library book with the smell intact (don't judge!), the anthology was my first formal introduction with the steampunk genre. And while these stories sought to be different from the cliches of the genre (which I have yet to encounter due to my beginner level with it), I have learned some things about it.

My thoughts about the genre as presented by the anthology: what sets steampunk apart from science fiction or fantasy, magical realism or alternate historical fiction? I suppos More...

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Oct 12, 2011

Laura rated it:

Like most anthologies, the stories within Steampunk! fall into three categories: Fantastic, Mediocre, and Bloody Awful. I will give the authors and editors credit, though, in that, for the most part, they're not your average steampunk. Not only are most of the stories not set in the traditional Victorian London milieu, the stories have settings ranging from Appalachia, Canada, New Zealand, Wales and beyond, from ancient Rome to futures both bleak and fantastical.

Here's a breakdown More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Nina rated it:

This is the first time I have really delved into the steampunk genre. The definition of steampunk is: "a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy featuring advanced machines and other technology based on steam power of the 19th century and taking place in a recognizable historical period or a fantasy world" (dictionary.com). The urban dictionary refers to steampunk as best described by the slogan: "What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner" and I to More...

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Jan 18, 2012

Jency rated it:

This book has something for all steampunk fans. Some were more "steampunkish" than the others.
Cassandra Clare's Some fortunate future day was too short to like or understand the main character. 2 more pages describing what motivated Rose's actions would have done it more justice. Also when compared to the others, this one fell short. The Last Ride of the Glory Girls and The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor were good but predictable. Clockwork Fagin was the best of all and stayed true to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 30, 2011

Claire added it

A spectacular, mesmerizing anthology. Each of these stories haunted me, their unique takes on steampunk ranging from the beautiful to the grotesque, from downright creepy (I'm looking at you, Holly Black) to utterly heartbreaking (Dylan Horrocks). It speaks to the masterful craftsmanship and artistry of the contributing authors (and editors) that this anthology felt so cohesive while, at the same time, no two stories were even remotely alike. Yes, the thread of steampunk binds them together, but More...

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Nov 13, 2011

Mary (BookHounds) rated it:

LOVED IT, SOME STORIES MORE THAN OTHERS

This book is a compendium of stories by some of my favorite authors. Each ones is a complete story in just a few pages, but a few of them, I would really liked to see developed further. There are also several manga-type stories that are incredibly well done. I have recently become fascinated by manga and would love afford more of them. I am going to hit on a few of the stand outs here:

Some Fortunate Future Day by Cassandra Clare More...

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Aug 29, 2011

Daniel rated it:

An impressive anthology, which spurred my interests in reading more of the genre. I foresee more brass cogs and clockwork velocipedes in my immediate future.

A few of these stories are so imaginative and well crafted that I feel like they deserve a special mention.

Cory Doctorow's story "Clockwork Fagin" was the standout hit in my opinion. Taking place at a home for disfigured orphans, the story follows a group who rise against a tyrant. A set-up like that More...

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Aug 25, 2011

Kimathy rated it:

I really liked this combination of stories! I've never read Steampunk, but I've always loved the fad and fashion. Some of the stories were not as fun as others, but they were all at least a little bit good. Some of my favorites were actually the graphic novel stories. I think each author brought something different and unique to the table. I especially loved The Last ride of The Glory Girls by Libba Bray. I thought the idea of the device used in it was ingenious! I also really enjoyed Hand in Gl More...

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Dec 22, 2011

Rachel rated it:

When I went into the library this book immediately caught my eye. Not only the mind-blowing cover made me want to read it, but the name itself interested me. Steampunk! It read, "An anthology of fantastically rich and strange stories." I asked myself, what does steampunk even mean? I went to the internet and it gave me a lot of science fiction and fantasy themed definitions. Most of the settings were in victorian eras in Britain or the "wild west" eras in the United States. T More...

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Nov 18, 2011

Corinne rated it:

Do you know steampunk? Steampunk is a combination of science fiction and fantasy, re-written history and alternate realities. Often there are elements of (obviously) steam powered objects and robotics set within a time not too different from our own recent past, but even that isn't a given. Speculative fiction at its heart, it's a genre as wide open as science fiction itself but with so many wonderfully unique twists and turns that you will be amazed by what the authors within this anthology More...

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Oct 29, 2011

Tehani rated it:

I need to start this by saying I REALLY enjoyed it- there's great stories (not all of them in straight prose on the page) in this book, excellent writing, and I'm terribly impressed to see two Aussie authors and a New Zealand writer in here (and I've even published one of the Aussies!).

Having said that I thought the stories were excellent, I do need to say two things: 1. The definition of steampunk here is not, in many stories, anything even CLOSE to any definition of steampunk I've e More...

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Nov 18, 2011

Nicole rated it:

I only got to read about half the stories before the library took it away from me. While I find steampunk facinating (going BACK in time to re-envision a possible FUTURE? Someone tell Doc about this.) I would not go so far as to say I'm "into it".

I don't know how this collection copares to whatever else out there passes for steampunk lit, but they were well-written and varied in syle, voice, and topic. So there's that.

I saw a panel at Boston Book Fest with Kelly More...

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