Steampunk

[Lori]

Tim Powers! Oh yeah! Love him.

[Natalie]

I'm more interested in the literary side of the genre, because I have no artistic ability and the costumes look expensive to create. I'm still crazy envious that I live in an area that has at any given time four or five gun shows and arts/crafts shows a month and absolutely nothing like a steampunk convention. *shakes tiny fist in impotent rage*

[RandomAnthony]

Jacks knows a lot about this steampunk thing, if I remember correctly...they had a steampunk party at a Milwaukee bar not long ago...people all dressed up and the like, I guess...

[Matt]

I like this guy's stuff A LOT:
http://steampunkworkshop.com/

Especially this:


That sounds awesome! Have fun KD!

[Jaimie]

I'm getting into it. I've picked up a couple of books that were considered Steampunk but, IMO, were barely there: Perdido Street Station and The Somnambulist. I want to read more.

[Matt]

It has been a long time, but I seem to remember liking 'The Difference Engine' by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, although I wished that Gibson had written it by himself.

[Sarah]

I love Tim Powers - I'm very jealous. I don't think of his work as particularly steampunk, though I've seen him linked to it a lot. I really liked Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, if we're bringing up other stuff in the genre.

[Natalie]

Lansdale's "Zeppelin's West" was one of the best books I read this year. There was a lot of LOL'ing and delighted exclamations of "holy shit!"

Paul diFillippo's "Steampunk Trilogy" is also pretty decent for anyone new to the genre.

[Seizure Romero]

Ack! Book Fest! Steam Con! Nerd overload!

::head explodes::

I would love to go to this but I just found out about it & my schedule is full. And the web site doesn't say when Powers will be talking/signing or if he'll just be wandering about all weekend looking authorly.

I'm reading Steampunk now (which has stories by both Blaylock & Landsdale). Philip Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles were pretty good. Have fun. Get your geek on for me.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I love steampunk. Does Gormenghast count?

I thought the name Tim Powers sounded familiar. I've read The Stress of Her Regard, which is about Byron and Shelley and Keats, Greek mythology, and a muse-like female spirit that sucks the life out of them. Or something like that. It's been awhile.

I mostly am familiar with steampunk for teens and kids, like Philip Reeve's book Larklight A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space, although I've also read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1, which was a cool mash-up of Victorian monsters and literary figures. The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), Mina Harker, and Capt. Nemo are all members of a team hired by a mysterious gentleman...

[Jaimie]

I think Gormenghast either counts or I've read somewhere that Mervyn Peake was a huge influence on the writers of the genre. I have the Gormenghast trilogy but have never managed to get through it. I quite enjoyed what I read so far, though.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Jaimie, I stalled out after the first two books of Gormenghast, myself. Titus Alone was one too many for me.

[Dan]

I've read a fair bit of steampunk in the last few months. Stephen Hunt's series is good if you can push through the first book, The Court of the Air. It's good but has a little too much going on. The later volumes are much better. The series has a nice pulp adventure feel to it.

[Jaimie]

Jackie, you got farther than me. I couldn't finish the first one. I'll go back to it someday.

Dan, I have The Court of the Air but I haven't read it yet.

[Félix]

Got it.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

That's great, KD, about Tim Powers.
Any pictures?

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Hah! Awesome!

[Félix]

Wow.

[Matt]

Those are really cool, thanks. Is that band Abney Park? I just stumbled across them on youtube awhile back and thought that they sounded pretty good.

[Cosmic Sher]

I really don't know much about the genre, but I love the costumes! And all the geeky-cool trinkety-objects. The guitar in the background of the third pic looks incredible.

I may have to start looking into this. Hmmmm.... :]

[Angie]

Ditto what Sher said.

It also made me go, "Awww I want my life partner to go to a convention with me!" Hopefully I can find someone like that. (And just so that doesn't seem totally random, I'm referring to the couple in maroon/gray who are even holding hands...)

[RandomAnthony]

Very cool...I like goggles. I wish I were wearing some right now.

[Félix]

Goggles. Neat word.

[[deleted user]]

Have you ever goggled yourself?

[Lori]

Tim! That is SO COOL about Tim Powers being such a great guy, now I love him even more. It's so disheartening to find out an author who is at the top of your favorites is in reality a total shmuck.

Great great pics, KD.

[[deleted user]]

Kind of reminds me of Wild Wild West.

[Félix]

Me, too, Jim.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Hey, yeah! Like "The Wild, Wild West" with Robert Conrad, that was totally steampunk, wasn't it?

[Félix]

It was, I have now learned.

[[deleted user]]

I learned something too.

[Sarah]

KD - Is that whole Strat customized, or just the pickguard?

[Cosmic Sher]

"I like the phrase geeky-cool trinkety-objects." Bun, I liked that phrase too. :)

KD, you are my hero of the week. I didn't realize all that stuff was steampunk and it's all styles that I've loved in passing. Now I'm stoked because I can see some chars to write about in all this... I'll have to do my "research" first, but this is really cool!

BTW, there is going to be a new web(?) series called Riese the Series which is a steampunk inspired show. Check out the clips & whatnot on their site. I'm really excited to watch it now. :)

[Cosmic Sher]

p.s. I love the dude with the Hypnotizer! He rocks!

[Jaimie]

I knew Wild Wild West was steampunk but I didn't know it was based on a book. You learn something new every day.

[Kevin]

reminds me of Baron Munchhausen

[Sarah]

King Dinösaur wrote: "That particular Strat just has a customized pickguard, but check out the bass in the background. There are even more crazily designed guitars, too. I'll try to find some pics of those. And you should see the amp..."

Pictures, I hope?

[Kevin]

it was a song by kool mo dee

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

BunWat wrote: "I don't think Wild, Wild, West was a book."

Me, either. Robert Conrad was the lead actor.

[[deleted user]]

I didn't know of the book either. I used to watch Wild Wild West whilst drinking Sarsaparilla.

Hadn't thought of that in more years than some of you have even been alive.

[Jaimie]

Nice Old Skool reference, Kevin!

[Kevin]

sarsaparilla? where you from jim? dodge city? did miss kitty get that for you at the saloon?

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I like sarsparilla, but it tastes like root beer to me.

[Kevin]

i would have totally guess it was spelled "sassparilla"

[[deleted user]]

From what I remember it wasn't a lot different than root beer either.

Matt Dillon wouldn't let me in the bar Kevin, they brought mine down to the jail house special so I could sit and drink with Festus(sp?).

[Kevin]

BunWat wrote: "Yeah sarsparilla tastes like root beer only rootier. But root beer is right out at the edge of how rootie I want my drink to taste. "

i love how bun is really smart and intellectual but still cool enough to use a word like "rootie"

[Kevin]

jim - crazy ol festus. LOL

[Sarah]

Ooh. And do you know what's behind the pretty facade? Tubes or solid state? Of course, I wouldn't want to haul it to shows...I guess you'd get a custom travel case or something.

[Kevin]

i like the high end gaming computers built into grandfather clocks and old stereo equipment.

thanks for sharing this stuff KD. i have never heard the term before but have seen some of these devices. didn't know what i was looking at. very cool

[Sarah]

It would be pretty funny to hide some digital Line 6 simulator inside that pretty cabinet.

[Kevin]

my son has a really cool old MusicMan tube bass amp. the case is beat up and the cloth is torn. wonder if i can do something cool like this with it and have it still work sweet like it does?