Reviews

Ghosts by Gaslight by Nick Gevers, Jack Dann

amyellerlewis's review against another edition

4.0

I am a fan of short stories, and of themed anthologies as a rule, and this was a very good one. While it's being presented as a book of Steampunk stories, it seems many of the contributing writers have only a rudimentary understanding of Steampunk as a set of aesthetics, which is what I think makes the collection so very interesting. Fantasy writers not known for their Steampunk aesthetic try their hand at some 19th Century Ghosts Stories with terrific results. Gene Wolfe has the very compelling "Why I Was Hanged", and John Harwood gives us "Face to Face" and darkly disturbing exploration of the Myth of the Fatal Book (one of my favorite tropes). And Peter Beagle's "Music, When the Soft Voices Die" was equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking.

Another reason I tend to like themed anthologies, is that it is a way I often discover new readers. "Kiss Me Deadly" introduced me to Caitlin Kittredge's "Iron Codex" series, and "The Eternal Kiss" gave me Holly Black's *tremendous* "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown". "Ghosts by Gaslight", too, introduced me to new (to me) writers from whom I am anxious to hear more: Theodora Goss (her "Christopher Raven" was lovely. Part allegory, part cautionary tale), and Margo Lanagan to name only two.

I was also interested to see how the Victorian tropes were used throughout -- authors made great use of both travelogues and correspondance.

I recommend this for lovers of dark and elegant stories -- there is not much here to truly keep you up at night, but sometimes an elegant shiver is what I want more.

chapter_adventure's review against another edition

3.0

This is an anthology of stories that are labeled Steampunk, but I chose to read it for the paranormal challenge because most of the reviews stated that there was only trace amounts of Steampunk elements in the entire book. I enjoyed this book but it didn't rock my world. The first couple of stories had me a little bored. It picked up a bit after that and I enjoyed several of the other stories. Definitely some eerie elements in there and creepy situations that would have had me on edge, but the 'suspense' word in the title is misleading. So, overall a decent read and not a complete waste of my time.I had fun reading this, especially since I haven't read a collection of short stories in years.

ctgt's review against another edition

3.0

I should confess I didn't read all the stories. However, I did read about half of them and really enjoyed those I did pick to read. I don't usually like the short story format, but this collection may have opened me up to trying more anthologies.

hollowspine's review

4.0

This anthology has many very interesting stories and shows just how flexible steampunk can be, it's not all airships and spring-heeled jack. The variety in theme, voice and characters make this a great read for those looking for something different, and will no doubt have a story to appeal to everyone, and perhaps something new to get hooked on.

I will definitely look for other works by some of these authors, as well as being thrilled by some whose work I was already familiar.

Garth Nix showed a glimpse of one of his lovely worlds, if there are any more stories about Holmes' Cousin and his lady friend I'd be greatly interested. And the last story got me interested in finding out more about this Well Built City series of Jeffrey Fords creation.

robyotter's review

2.0

This was more like "Victorian Ghost Stories," which is fine, but the title is misleading. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been expecting a steampunk element to the stories.