What's everyone reading that's good (or not)?

[Lyle Kimo]

Lydia wrote: "I'm reading Soulless and love it! It's like if Mary Poppins were paranormal, or I suppose in this case preternatural in a paranormal steampunk world. So witty and great!"

That's part of a series right? is it really good? I was gonna buy that, but I bought Airman and Leviathan instead. :D If it's really great, I'm gonna buy that next week.

[Lydia]

It's great! Buy it!

[Lyle Kimo]

Thanks! I'm gonna buy it next week, also Behemoth. Any other good steampunk books? A friend recommended . But the cover kinda looks like some of the romance novels I've seen. and are on my tbr list.

[David]

I've just finished the Halfmade World, by Felix Gilman. Excellent. A cross between hard-ass steampunk, and magic realism. Great characters, really solid writing. I plan to chase down some more by the same author.

[Lia]

I'm totally loving Mark Hodder's The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack

It's like a steampunk Sherlock Holmes story, but with an adventurer and an eccentric poet as Holmes and Watson.

[Charlie]

I'm currently reading . I'm about mid-way. This is a complex read and I'm really enjoying it. It takes some imagination and brain power (which is a good thing). A short read, it is not. The copy I have is 623 pages with 8 font print. Okay, it's probably 10 pt. but it feels like 8 pt. font. I'm not complaining, because it is a good book. Has any other Steampunk enthusiasts read this book yet? Love to hear opinions...

[Phoebe]

Charlie: I just started Perdido Street Station last week and I'm finding the exuberant writing style too much to take in...although it seems to fit the context rather well. Thoughts?

[Catherine]

Phoebe & Charlie: Hmm, this is where readers' mileage varies. ;-) I *love* the writing style in Perdido Street Station -- I can really see and sense his world; it's one of those books I just want to *inhabit*.

I read this a year or two after it first came out; I'm currently rereading it for a local steampunk reading group. I'm interested in seeing how people who are coming to it for the first time specifically as steampunk are going to see it; I definitely saw those elements but I didn't read it specifically *as* steampunk the first time. If that makes any sense. (In other words, will they have expectations that I didn't and will they be met or not?)

[Lauri]

I am obsessed with Cherie Priest's books right now. Read Boneshaker last month and really liked it. Just finished Dreadnought which I liked even more. Couldn't find Clementine anywhere so had to settle for it as an audiobook from iTunes. I'm new to Steampunk as a genre and mostly got into Priest because she's from Seattle. And, of course, for the zombies :) but I'm interested in exploring.

[Aaron]

Hi Lauri,
I've been reading steampunk for most of my life, and am enjoying the Renaissance of the subgenre now that it has been defined as such.

I'm a bit of a purest though. Cherie Priest's books are some of the best new steampunk out there. I even got to meet her when she came through Denver last fall.

Steampunk started off w/ Verne and Wells and is straight up sci-fi. Most new steampunk is fantasy and I don't like it. After saying that, the exception is China Mieville's "Perdido Street Station", "The Scar", and "The Iron Council." Not many people call them steampunk but they are (The Scar less so than the other two). But they are also fantasy. They are the exception to the rule for me.

Stephen Hunt's stuff is very well written and great stories, but they are straight up high fantasy. Sticking in steam powered metal men as a race does not make it steampunk, in my opinion. He has faeries, spells etc. in his novels and that is fantasy. His steam men even have a religion and the story involves fighting old gods Cthulu-style. Which is more fantasy/horror and not sci-fi.

I'm babbling. Sorry. haha

Glad you like Cherie's work. It is great steampunk and now you will be hard pressed to find modern authors to match her.

[Aaron]

Charlie wrote: "I'm currently reading . I'm about mid-way. This is a complex read and I'm really enjoying it. It takes some imagination and brain power (which is a good t..."

Hi Charlie,
Perdido Street Station is one of my all time most favorite books ever. Hands down. I too consider it steampunk, even though it is a fantasy. Mieville is an astonishing author. I've read all of his stuff (except one published only in Spanish). His early works has a lot of his political philosophies of socialism in them, but I like them anyway. haha

"The Scar" and "Iron Council" are also amazing stories.

[Katie]

Well, I think I must be the only person on the planet who just couldn't get behind the Carriger books. I didn't even finish Soulless. I think I might be suffering from vampire and werewolf fatigue. It's a shame, too, because I was really, REALLY looking forward to that book.

On the other hand, I love the Cherie Priest books. I think I liked Boneshaker a skosh more than Dreadnaught, and I'm really sorry I couldn't get my hands on a copy of Clementine. Thankfully, Ganymede comes out soon, and it's set in New Orleans! Yay for NOLA!

[Aaron]

Katie, you're not alone. I didn't even get past the jacket blurb. They could be very well written books, but when I'm looking for steampunk, werewolves and vampires do not fit the bill. That is fantasy (they have long stopped being horror) and romance. If there is any steampunk in those stories, it is incidental and setting and not an actual part of the story.
I could be wrong since I have not read them, but there are many other true steampunk novels to read for me to waste my time with posers.
hahahahaha
That sounds incredibly snide and mean. Sorry, that's not my intention to anyone - author included. Like I said, they could be great books, I'm just not giving them a chance.

I also agree about your assessment of Priest's novels. I have loved every single one of them and I think they epitomize steampunk right now. There is not a shred of magic or fantasy, the stories are science fiction, AND the characters are punk! That is a rare trait in steampunk these days.

[Aeolus]

I just grabbed a copy of Stephen Baxter's Anti-Ice from the used book store down the block and had SO much fun with it. No vampires, no supernatural, just good old fashioned steamy goodness - and some alternate history to boot. It felt like I was reading Jules Verne. I heartily recommend going and finding a copy if you haven't read it. Cheers!

[Aaron]

Very cool! Have not read this one, and surprisingly, it isn't even sitting on my bookshelf. Yet. haha
Thanks!
Aaron

[Catherine]

Aeolus wrote: "I just grabbed a copy of Stephen Baxter's Anti-Ice from the used book store down the block and had SO much fun with it.

Thanks for the recommendation. I suspect there's a lot of unsung fiction out there that came out when steampunk wasn't yet a marketing category . . .

[Traci]

I have read the entire Soulless series and have just completed The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: The Phoenix Rising and . I love them. I am looking for more Steampunk reads so any suggestions would be great!