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atomecko's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
pandorasxbox's review against another edition
2.0
Generally, it's a bad sign when you're not even halfway through a book and are already set on giving it away. Yet, I kept going, hoping that it would get better. In any collection of short stories, you need to expect some hits and misses. Unfortunately, there seem to be more of the latter here. There were some stories that I feel that I should have theoretically enjoyed, such as "Static", although even here I found myself almost bored. I did find two stories that I did genuinely enjoy toward the end- "American Cheetah" and "Fixing Hanover". So this collection does have those to its credit.
Unfortunately, these aren't enough to make up for its problems. I'm not going to discuss bad stories here, because, as I said, those are to be expected. I had two other serious problems with this anthology. The first of these problems is something I've seen mentioned in some of the other reviews- this collection seems sorely lacking in actual steampunk, especially when you consider the fact that it advertises itself as "definitive". Yes, many of these are set in a Victorian setting and feature various gizmos, but that doesn't necessarily make them steampunk. Maybe my own personal understanding of steampunk differs from that of the editor's, but I felt something was lacking. My other complaint, one that I haven't seen here, is that some of these stories come across as preachy. The first instance of this is at the end of "Speed, Speed the Cable", when
Unfortunately, these aren't enough to make up for its problems. I'm not going to discuss bad stories here, because, as I said, those are to be expected. I had two other serious problems with this anthology. The first of these problems is something I've seen mentioned in some of the other reviews- this collection seems sorely lacking in actual steampunk, especially when you consider the fact that it advertises itself as "definitive". Yes, many of these are set in a Victorian setting and feature various gizmos, but that doesn't necessarily make them steampunk. Maybe my own personal understanding of steampunk differs from that of the editor's, but I felt something was lacking. My other complaint, one that I haven't seen here, is that some of these stories come across as preachy. The first instance of this is at the end of "Speed, Speed the Cable", when
Spoiler
it's revealed that Dickens was the wealthy benefactor of the anti-cable faction, and the story suddenly becomes all about book piracy. I actually felt as though I had been rickrolled, it was that bad. I also felt as though "Hannah" had a preachy undertone to itbloodravenlib's review against another edition
3.0
I debated if I wanted to give it less than three stars, but in the end there is enough in the book to warrant at least a look. This is certainly not a "definitive" anthology, but it does have some good gems in it. The problem is it also has some pretty bad duds, and you have to sort them out. If you kept up with status updates as I read it, you will see that I found the book overall hit and miss. Some stories were really good, and others were not. When the book "worked," it was good. When it did not, I wanted to drop it. So, what worked for me:
*The first story, which kind of reminded me a bit of an early Heinlein.
*The Company story (I think that was Kage Baker's). It does capture a bit of the steampunk feel and scene, and it was good enough that I may seek out other novels in the The Company series.
*"Petrolpunk" was probably my favorite if not one of my favorites in the series.
*And "American Cheetah" gave an interesting look at one of the American presidents, with robots.
*Other stories varied. The wife revenge tale was interesting for the twist it offered, but I was not particularly thrilled with it (in other words, it was ok).
So read it, but keep your expectations in the average range. I told you the stories that worked for me. You may find others work better for you, so to speak. It is a decent anthology, and it has some good examples of steampunk. But it is not definitive.
*The first story, which kind of reminded me a bit of an early Heinlein.
*The Company story (I think that was Kage Baker's). It does capture a bit of the steampunk feel and scene, and it was good enough that I may seek out other novels in the The Company series.
*"Petrolpunk" was probably my favorite if not one of my favorites in the series.
*And "American Cheetah" gave an interesting look at one of the American presidents, with robots.
*Other stories varied. The wife revenge tale was interesting for the twist it offered, but I was not particularly thrilled with it (in other words, it was ok).
So read it, but keep your expectations in the average range. I told you the stories that worked for me. You may find others work better for you, so to speak. It is a decent anthology, and it has some good examples of steampunk. But it is not definitive.
shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition
4.0
Good introduction to the steampunk genre--imaginative.
pezski's review against another edition
4.0
As with many anthologies this is a little bit of a mixed bag, although on the whole the stories are excellent. The opener, 'Steampunch' by James Lovegrove, is for me far the weakest effort. Each of the other stories either presents an original take on the genre - 'The Lollygang Saves the World on Accident', 'Static', Petrolpunk - or, like Margo Lanahan's 'Machine Maid' use the tropes of the genre to excellent and chilling effect.
Well worth a read as an introduction to Steampunk and perhaps some unfamiliar authors.
Well worth a read as an introduction to Steampunk and perhaps some unfamiliar authors.
fables630's review
3.0
While I try to read every story in an anthology I skipped one entirely and hurried through a few others when normally I enjoy anthologies. My main issue with this book is that while it says its a Steampunk anthology some of the stories focused more on non steampunk elements than a book like this should have.
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