tagged w/ Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
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Steampunk is one of those sub-genres that got legs and walked off the set. It's creating its own rules and doing its own thing for a lot longer than, truthfully speaking, I expected. The basic premise behind the genre is using a setting of the Edwardian- or Victorian-age create stories with gadgets and technology comparable to that of the modern age. For example, steam-powered computers made solely of gears, etc. Authors like Jules Verne have been adopted by the genre.
I also think that the genre is limited in that, so far, it only has stories within the confines of Europe. China, Japan, India, and many of the kingdoms in Africa and South America could all be great settings for the genre. I would love to see a Steampunk story set in medieval Japan. But I digress. Its an interesting genre, but it may be running out of steam, pun intended.
"Steampunk," edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer is a collection of stories in the genre. "The book is a thoughtful, exhaustive overview of steampunk that starts with an excerpt from Michael Moorcock’s 1971 novel, The Warlord Of The Air, one of the earliest examples of proto-steampunk." -- A.V. ClubSteampunk is one of those sub-genres that got legs and walked off the set. It's... more
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