Tag Archives: Steampunk

A Serpent in the Gears by Margaret Ronald

Book Review,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: A Serpent in the Gears
Author: Margaret Ronald
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: A second concussion rumbled below us, this one more distant, and from down the hall I heard the captain’s cursing take on a note of relief.

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Synopsis

A mission of science and politics quickly turns into something more where the Merged are taking over and imminent war is on the horizon.

Thoughts

This was a slightly easier read for a steampunk short story than what I have been immersing myself in lately. Or maybe I was just a little more awake and lucid…

I like the idea of a mix of machinery and mechanics being foreign. Most of the steampunk stories that I read take it for granted that the vast majority of the characters have a mix of the two systems in their bodies. The fact that this was an oddity and something that made others uncomfortable was something I found a little more relatable. After all… it’s something that is kind of happening now and I’m not really sure how I feel about running around with mechanical systems inside me…

As with all steampunk short stories, I’m not really sure what the message was. And I feel like I probably even missed plot points that I would pick up on if I went back and read it again (which I will in the future). But for now… I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery and the journey that this short story took me on.

 <- Reluctance ReviewThe Celebrated Carousel of the Margravine of Blois Review ->
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Reluctance by Cherie Priest

Book Review, , ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: Reluctance
Author: Cherie Priest
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves:  Steampunk, Westerns
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: He moved like a compass pinned to a map.

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Synopsis

A regular pit stop to change his aircraft and swap over his loads in Reluctance becomes something far more sinister and worrying in this fantastic short story.

Thoughts

When I finally sat down to write this review a few days after finishing Reluctance, it took me a little while to recall what it was about. It isn’t one of those stories that glaringly sits in my mind. And that’s mostly because it was just a fun and easy read. It’s very good, but it’s not the sort of story that I usually read, and, unlike many of the other books in this collection, it didn’t have an overwhelming message that I took away when I’d turned the last page.

Having said that, when I remembered which story this was. I remembered how much I enjoyed it at the time. Actually, it kind of made me think of Firefly. Which I miss. And I’m annoyed that it was only one season… but I digress. It had that great western cowboy feel to it. partnered with the futuristic spaceships and steampunk machinery. A fantastic little world to lose yourself in for ten, fifteen minutes.

 <- Lady Witherspoon’s Solution ReviewA Serpent in the Gears Review ->
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Lady Witherspoon’s Solution by James Morrow

Book Review, ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: Lady Witherspoon’s Solution
Author: James Morrow
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: “Martin and Andrew are merely making themselves useful whilst awaiting deportation,” the baroness replied.

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Synopsis

On a long, scientific voyage a young man thinks that he has discovered the origins of man – the only still existing population of Neanderthals. But, what he’s really discovered is something far more intense.

Thoughts

The imagery invoked in this image has layer upon layer of meaning which unfold as the story does. At the outset, it seems to be a slightly different approach and take to a scientific endeavour to the reaches of the unknown. Then there is the slow unravelling of just who the unknown people on the island are. And it makes you question the everyday world and the patriarchy in which we currently live.

I like that the story is told from two different point of views. From that of the scientist discovering, and that of the young woman who lies in a grave. It actually took a few unexpected twists using this. Which is what I always enjoy in a good short story. And something I’m really beginning to appreciate in Steampunk short stories in particular.

 <- Dr Lash Remembers ReviewReluctance Review ->
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Dr Lash Remembers by Jeffrey Ford

Book Review,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: Dr Lash Remembers
Author: Jeffrey Ford
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: I needed to show I was up to the task.

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Synopsis

Doctor Lash has stayed behind in a city gone mad to try and help his patients… but maybe things just aren’t quite as they seem.

Thoughts

Most of the steampunk stories I read about are kind of based after an apocalyptic time, they’re definitely in a world run by steam engines and they have this beautiful surreal quality to them. Dr Lash Remembers has all of this too. But it also has this sense of anarchy. Rebelling against the government and taking back one’s own autonomy in the face of a lot of insanity.

There was an incredibly disturbing theme throughout this story – one which focused on the fact that some people will do anything to support their economic desires. Including sacrificing the lives of thousands to continue on with their monetary gains… all the more disturbing because it is something that recurs throughout our daily lives and realities.

 <- Clockmaker’s Requiem ReviewLady Witherspoon’s Solution Review ->
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Clockmaker’s Requiem by Barth Anderson

Book Review, ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: Clockmaker’s Requiem
Author: Barth Anderson
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: It needs little hands.

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Synopsis

Is time supposed to be a constant? Or is it something that is a little more random and should be controlled by all?

Thoughts

Time is a human construct. Ideas of it change across cultures and peoples. Across time and space. So it was kind of fun to read a steampunk short story that featured time in a number of ways. From the current idea of time in the story. Which from my understanding was controlled by each individual clockmaker to the more common and well-known ideal of time. The idea that it is uniform and governs everything.

There is a stark contrast between uniformity and total chaos. And a great sliding scale of everything in between. Using clocks and the concept of time are a great way in which to highlight the differences in this. There is this sense of loss when a clock of standardised time is introduced. This sense that individuality and independence no longer exists. And I was actually sad as I turned the last page of this story.

 <- To Follow the Waves ReviewDr Lash Remembers Review ->
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To Follow the Waves by Amal El-Mohtar

Book Review, ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: To Follow the Waves
Author: Amal El-Mohtar
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk, Strong women
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: They stayed like that for some time, Hessa breathing through slow, ragged sobs while Nahla touched her head.

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Synopsis

Hessa is a crafter of dreams, but when her own dream starts to hover over her reality, she finds out that there’s a lot in the world that she doesn’t truly understand yet.

Thoughts

The notion of dream crowns and the ways in which these can work was completely foreign to me. I loved the idea of layer upon layer of intricate memory and thoughts. The way that emotions are literally carved into stone to give a beautiful and long-lasting way to live in one’s own happiness. And I also loved the way in which this dreamscape is layered upon a questing desire and an LGBTQI desire.

I was kind of expecting a happily-ever-after, run off into the sunset ending to this story. The fact that it didn’t quite end in that way was really refreshing. And a great reminder that this isn’t what actually happens in real life. After all, not everyone gets a happily ever after. And obsessing over one woman and weaving her into your dreams doesn’t necessarily mean that she wants to be in them…

 <- Machine Maid ReviewClockmaker’s Requiem Review ->
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Machine Maid by Margo Lanagan

Book Review, , ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: Machine Maid
Author: Margo Lanagan
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk, Strong women
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Like one girl confiding in another, like a tiny child in play with its mother or nurse, I reached out and touched Clarissa’s lower lip.

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Synopsis

It’s hard being a new wife on the frontier… even harder when your husband won’t let you be yourself. But with a little engineering and hope, there might be a better future in store.

Thoughts

I was wondering how the woman in this was going to overcome her quite clearly obnoxious husband and slightly awful circumstances. I was also wondering what kind of message would be imparted in this steampunk short story. And I really wasn’t disappointed…. Using wits and a bit more blood thirst than I’m used to, she is able to free herself. But, it is only after she has done so that she truly wonders at the cost of such an action.

This story had just enough in it that I felt incredibly uncomfortable throughout the reading of it. And although the sick part of me kind of loved the ending, it also made me cringe and worry. After all, there was a hint of a completely different happily ever after. And part of me was left wondering what would have happened if the alternate ending had have come true.

 <- The Hands That Feed ReviewTo Follow the Waves Review ->
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The Hands That Feed by Matthew Kressel

Book Review, , ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: The Hand That Feed
Author: Matthew Kressel
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: LGBTQI, Steampunk
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: “Tell me, Divya,” I said.

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Synopsis

Jessica Rowe has employed Divya in her store, but she might be slowly falling for the quiet beauty. Sadly, ambitions, prejudice and a mayor candidate might be getting in the way of their happily ever after.

Thoughts

I enjoyed the slight hint of an LGBTQI relationship throughout this story – it wasn’t intense and overbearing, but there was enough that this short story gets put on the LGBTQI shelf in my collection. I also liked that you constantly questioned the actual motives of Divya as you could further see Jessica falling for her… there was just something slightly and uncomfortably off in their interactions that doesn’t truly click until the very end of the storyline when everything is revealed.

Small automatons running through the streets at night stealing objects for their master and ensuring her livelihood seems like a great novel to be honest. I’m a little bit disappointed that it was such a short story! Although, every good short story leaves me wanting more, so I suppose it’s doing that job amazingly well. The world building, characterisation and development of relationships in such a few pages was so well done, that this story continues to linger long after you have turned the final page.

 <- The People’s Machine ReviewMachine Maid Review ->
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The People’s Machine by Tobias S. Buckwell

Book Review, ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: The People’s Machine
Author: Tobias S. Buckell
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Three more dockworkers stepped forward, surrounding them.

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Synopsis

Ixtil is travelling to Europe to find out if the ritual killers are one of his own people. What he uncovers is a conspiracy far more powerful than he expected…

Thoughts

This is the second steampunk story I’ve read in a while that features aspects of Mayan mythology throughout the storyline. And it works weirdly, and beautifully well. Actually, incredibly surprisingly. I’m used to Victorian London, Europe and even Northern America featured in steampunk stories. It’s very different and beautiful to have such vividly descriptive worlds combining and crashing together.

There’s a sense of constant questioning throughout this short story. Initially, a murder causes the lead to question whether or not there are zealots running amok in Europe. But, as the story progresses, new questions arise. Primarily in the form of who governs who, and why should we obey? Whether it is a government or a computer, there are multiple forms of control throughout the tale, but the constant question as to whether or not truth should really govern all.

 <- Zeppelin City ReviewThe Hands That Feed Review ->
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Zeppelin City by Eileen Gunn & Michael Swanwick

Book Review, , ,
Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: Zeppelin City
Author: Eileen Gunn & Michael Swanwick
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Steampunk
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Come with me a minute.

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Synopsis

Radio, Amelia and Ruddy live in a word that is governed by the Naked Brain. But things are about to change. Drastically.

Thoughts

I don’t know where to put this story in my head and my heart. I really enjoyed the ways in which Radio, Amelia and Ruddy’s different journeys all intermingled together to structure the entire story. I loved the idea of a set of weird, bodiless brains controlling the population and the commentary on how technology rules our lives. Or at least, that’s what I got out of it.

Jumping between three characters in a short story can feel very chaotic and unwieldy. And it did a little in this short tale, but not overbearingly so. Actually, the feeling of confusion added to the storyline and the sense of the three key characters running around in a world in which they have no control. It worked amazingly well and in a way that I didn’t in the slightest expect.

I’m finding as I go through The Mammoth Book of Steampunk that the storylines are intense, emotional and using techniques and storylines that I have never come across before. Something which I am completely loving. And this was certainly one of the best tales for this.

 <- Numismatics in the Reigns of Naranh and Viu ReviewThe People’s Machine Review ->
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