Steampunk anyone?

[Dov]

I know it's a little weird and not even sure it truly a fantasy genre but i watch some anime recently in the steampunk world and would like to read more. i surfed the web and came up with two things first is His Dark Materials and some stuff written by China Mieville. Is there anything else that anyone would recommend?

[Sandi]

Steampunk is actually a sub-division of science fiction. It sometimes looks like fantasy, but it doesn't have magic. Usually, it's a speculation on what things would be like if something had been invented much sooner than it was (Victorians with computers) or what would happen if our technology was destroyed and we had to develop new technologies, usually on another planet.

"The Difference Engine" by William Gibson is usually considered the first steampunk novel. It is an alternate history that speculates on what the world would have been like if Charles Babbage's difference engine, a steam powered computer, had gone into wide-spread use. China Mielville's work is a blend of steampunk and fantasy. I think "His Dark Materials" falls more strongly under the fantasy umbrella.

One recent steampunk novel that I really enjoyed was "Crystal Rain" by Tobias Buckell. In this novel, human settlers on a distant planet when their wormhole access is cut off due to an interstellar war. They no longer have trade with other planets and their world has had to develop technologies based on what they do have. The author called it "Carribean Steampunk." It's really a fun novel.

[Grégoire]

If you read French, you'll like Mathieu Gaborit's steampunk novels, like "Confessions d'un automate mangeur d'opium".

[Mostephl]

try The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. it's got the 'vicky' thing goin' on, but is basically a hero tale with a nice fantasy undercurrent

[Greyweather]

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Light Ages by Ian R. MacLeod
Mainspring by Jay Lake