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meiko's review against another edition
4.0
Turns out I don't do well with anthologies. Every time I get invested in the characters the stories are ending. Reading this collection has cost me a fortune in other books, because most stories seem to be of established characters that exist in different universes.
ursula_fricke's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
It's quite the mixed bag. Some stories I loved, Some stories I didn't enjoy, one story I hated and considered dnf'ing...
xeni's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of these stories feel unfinished? Unbegun? Either way, it often feels like I'm dropped into the middle of a chapter of a series I've never heard of. It's fun, but since these are all very short stories also annoying. I wish there was a paragraph at the beginning of each story that would explain this if it was the case.
I picked up this book because I love steampunk stories. I especially adore P Djeli Clark's reimagined Cairo (of which one of his short stories is included in this anthology).
My favorite story was Thermodynamics; and/or The Remittance Men by Chaz Brenchley. It was almost perfectly told. If more short stories were like this I wouldn't mind it at all. There was a mystery, a group decides to investigate. Most of the focus is on the characters of the group and what they're all like, and then there is comeuppance versus a mean rich man. The only drawback was that there were no female characters at all (even though it made sense for the story).
Sadly, most of the other stories were far worse than this, some nigh unreadable.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover a sort of sequel short story to [b:Everfair|26114130|Everfair|Nisi Shawl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445423571l/26114130._SY75_.jpg|46061074], which I read this summer for another bingo square. Other than Clark and Shawl, however, I was not familiar with the other authors.
I really liked how each chapter (story) started with a drawing with the title and author. It added a nice element to the book I wasn't anticipating.
I also liked that a lot of the stories feature people with disabilities, especially chronic illnesses or other kinds of limitations on their physical abilities. And there was surprisingly little misogyny for a series of stories meant to be set in a more oppressive land.
Overall, this wasn't a great collection. It wasn't half bad either. I think it helps if you've read all the works by all the authors who have included short stories here, as you'll feel less out of your element. But I am not a fan of being forced to read 50 other books just to enjoy one collection.
I picked up this book because I love steampunk stories. I especially adore P Djeli Clark's reimagined Cairo (of which one of his short stories is included in this anthology).
My favorite story was Thermodynamics; and/or The Remittance Men by Chaz Brenchley. It was almost perfectly told. If more short stories were like this I wouldn't mind it at all. There was a mystery, a group decides to investigate. Most of the focus is on the characters of the group and what they're all like, and then there is comeuppance versus a mean rich man. The only drawback was that there were no female characters at all (even though it made sense for the story).
Sadly, most of the other stories were far worse than this, some nigh unreadable.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover a sort of sequel short story to [b:Everfair|26114130|Everfair|Nisi Shawl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445423571l/26114130._SY75_.jpg|46061074], which I read this summer for another bingo square. Other than Clark and Shawl, however, I was not familiar with the other authors.
I really liked how each chapter (story) started with a drawing with the title and author. It added a nice element to the book I wasn't anticipating.
I also liked that a lot of the stories feature people with disabilities, especially chronic illnesses or other kinds of limitations on their physical abilities. And there was surprisingly little misogyny for a series of stories meant to be set in a more oppressive land.
Overall, this wasn't a great collection. It wasn't half bad either. I think it helps if you've read all the works by all the authors who have included short stories here, as you'll feel less out of your element. But I am not a fan of being forced to read 50 other books just to enjoy one collection.
therealbluestocking's review against another edition
https://www.spdhpod.com/spdhepisodes/2018/2/6/episode-12-walk-like-a-windup-egyptian
mariahaskins's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful collection of steampunk tales by some brilliant authors. An excellent read.
pers's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent anthology of steampunk tales set in Cairo instead of London (as tends to be the norm).
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