Countdown to Cthulhu: Cthulhupunk?
One of those inevitable questions that I know I'm going to have to answer sooner or later about The Book of Cthulhu is, "Is Cthulhu steampunk?" Thing is, I'm not sure I can answer that question in an unbiased manner. On one level, it's an easy no; Cthulhu Mythos fiction doesn't lend itself towards the edisonades, airships, and difference engines typically associated with the steampunk subgenre. And while there are numerous strange inventions within Mythos ficiton--Doctor Muñoz's air conditioner in "Cool Air" comes to mind immediately--if anything, those devices are more within the realm of early 20th century dieselpunk, with an art deco aesthetic, rather than the pseudo-Victorian affectations of top hats and goggles commonly associated with the steampunk movement.
But if it's going to make you want to buy the book, then sure, you can call Cthulhu steampunk. You can even call it "Cthulupunk" (Ctheampunk?) if you'd like... so long as you're buying.
Googling "Cthulhupunk" yields a few interesting results, including an abandoned early 90s attempt to create a Cthulhupunk subgenre, a a mash-up of cyberpunk and tentacles. Here are some of the more notable ones:
1) A GURPS sourcebook ("Ancient Horror Crawls into the Dark Future"), the cover of which seems to depict Locutus of Borg about to be eaten by one of the Hounds of Tindalos. Watch out for the bolts, pup.
2) Also on a role-playing front, there's this Delta Green Cthulhupunk campaign, The Fairfield Project: "I spliced William Gibson's and HP Lovecraft's DNA and all I got was this lousy campaign setting"
3) Here's a short short called "Cthulhupunk" by Finnish author Kaj Sotala, which seems to lose a little in translation.
4) How about an article on Why Cthulhupunk Failed as a Sci-Fi Sub-Genre.
5) And then there's this, which is as enigmatic as it is awesome:
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Speaking of Steampunk, happy birthday to The Book of Cthulhu contributor Cherie Priest, author of the wildly-entertaining Clockwork Century novels Boneshaker (Steampunk with zombies!), Clementine, Dreadnought, and Ganymede. Now that's some serious steampunk!
Cherie's short story included in The Book of Cthulhu is "Bad Sushi", which originally appeared in Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest #10. "Bad Sushi" was one of the first handful of stories on my list when I pitched The Book of Cthulhu to Night Shade Books, so I'm very happy to have been able to include it in the anthology, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.
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The Book of Cthulhu is now available for pre-order from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and better independent booksellers everywhere.
But if it's going to make you want to buy the book, then sure, you can call Cthulhu steampunk. You can even call it "Cthulupunk" (Ctheampunk?) if you'd like... so long as you're buying.
Googling "Cthulhupunk" yields a few interesting results, including an abandoned early 90s attempt to create a Cthulhupunk subgenre, a a mash-up of cyberpunk and tentacles. Here are some of the more notable ones:
1) A GURPS sourcebook ("Ancient Horror Crawls into the Dark Future"), the cover of which seems to depict Locutus of Borg about to be eaten by one of the Hounds of Tindalos. Watch out for the bolts, pup.
2) Also on a role-playing front, there's this Delta Green Cthulhupunk campaign, The Fairfield Project: "I spliced William Gibson's and HP Lovecraft's DNA and all I got was this lousy campaign setting"
3) Here's a short short called "Cthulhupunk" by Finnish author Kaj Sotala, which seems to lose a little in translation.
4) How about an article on Why Cthulhupunk Failed as a Sci-Fi Sub-Genre.
5) And then there's this, which is as enigmatic as it is awesome:
---
Speaking of Steampunk, happy birthday to The Book of Cthulhu contributor Cherie Priest, author of the wildly-entertaining Clockwork Century novels Boneshaker (Steampunk with zombies!), Clementine, Dreadnought, and Ganymede. Now that's some serious steampunk!
Cherie's short story included in The Book of Cthulhu is "Bad Sushi", which originally appeared in Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest #10. "Bad Sushi" was one of the first handful of stories on my list when I pitched The Book of Cthulhu to Night Shade Books, so I'm very happy to have been able to include it in the anthology, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.
---
The Book of Cthulhu is now available for pre-order from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and better independent booksellers everywhere.
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