Steampunk books

Steven Hall · 14 May 2008, 13:18 · from 2008-May.txt.gz

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From: sghall at comcast.net (Steven Hall)
Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 08:18:27 -0500
Subject: (urth) Steampunk books
In-Reply-To: <C44FB166.6DAF%ishmael at drizzle.com>
References: <C44FB166.6DAF%ishmael at drizzle.com>
Message-ID: <482AE6A3.6030406 at comcast.net>

To add to this, science fiction is well understood to be about the 
present in which it was written, not the future.

Steampunk, then, is a combination of alternate history and science 
fiction.  It is what we imagine the science fiction of the Victoria era 
might have been.

Or to put it another way: in the present, we go back to the past to 
re-imagine the future.

Steve

James Crossley wrote:
> To be pedantic for a moment, that's not the whole story.  True steampunk
> isn't just an extrapolation of Victorian-era science, but has to include an
> element of technology-induced anxiety.  In other words, steampunk, like
> cyberpunk, from which it gets its name, shows the discomforts of rapid
> advancements in technology, and its mood is usually dystopic.
> 
> If a story features atomic zeppelins or steam-powered robots without
> attendant tension, it's something else.  Suggested terms include "gaslight
> romance" and "retrofuturism."
> 
> James
> 
> On 5/13/08 11:17 AM, "Kerry Benton" <k.benton at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> It's basically a sort of homage to Jules Verne, et al in my mind.
>>
>> Steampunk fiction tends to anachronisms featuring steam power,
>> clockwork, and other Victorian-era technology (and frequently societal
>> elements) providing the impetus for machines and devices that are
>> firmly in the realm of science fiction (giant walking weapons
>> platforms, for example, as in the anime Steamboy).
>>
>> That's my quick 2 cent synopsis, anyway ;)
>>
>> -k
>>
> 
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-- 
Steven Hall
sghall at comcast.net

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