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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
Losing my steampunk virginity continues with the other seminal work of the subgenre written by two of the biggest names in sci fi. I had no expectations having read only Neuromancer by Gibson a few years ago and nothing by Bruce Sterling. I went in with an open mind but having a fair idea of what to expect from the sub-genre.
This is a simple tale set in a sort of alternate reality Victorian London. The Industrialists run things as the British Empire rules the waves of the global market through great (and as far as the reader is concerned) anachronistic technologies that in reality were imagined but never realised.
As a result, the Luddite movement is far more organised, far more successful and has some pretty powerful allies amongst the socialist movement. The Industrial Radical Party has seen a meteoric rise in the period, similarly to how Labour really came to prominence slightly later on. People with an interest in the Victorian period will get all the name checks: Babbage, Disraeli, Darwin, Brunel, Byron, Wellington, various poets and a whole host of others. There are also references to the major issues of the time: smog, gas lighting, the industrial revolution, trade unions, Marx and Engels etc.
It is written in a simplistic and straight-to-the-point style that does not always appeal to me. I settled in quite easily and allowed the story to take me in. The plot, though largely interesting, rambles at times. It is not always clear what is going on and in which direction the story is heading. The climax, when it arrives, almost feels like a non-ending with a “is that it?” moment followed by a few personal letters and newspaper clippings to bring it to a close.
Of the two recommended reads in the early era of the sub-genre, I most certainly preferred The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers but I love neither book; they were good but not great. I appreciate that my reading in the sub-genre is very limited and I look forward to exploring this quirky world of steampunk a lot more in future.
See more book reviews at my blog
This is a simple tale set in a sort of alternate reality Victorian London. The Industrialists run things as the British Empire rules the waves of the global market through great (and as far as the reader is concerned) anachronistic technologies that in reality were imagined but never realised.
As a result, the Luddite movement is far more organised, far more successful and has some pretty powerful allies amongst the socialist movement. The Industrial Radical Party has seen a meteoric rise in the period, similarly to how Labour really came to prominence slightly later on. People with an interest in the Victorian period will get all the name checks: Babbage, Disraeli, Darwin, Brunel, Byron, Wellington, various poets and a whole host of others. There are also references to the major issues of the time: smog, gas lighting, the industrial revolution, trade unions, Marx and Engels etc.
It is written in a simplistic and straight-to-the-point style that does not always appeal to me. I settled in quite easily and allowed the story to take me in. The plot, though largely interesting, rambles at times. It is not always clear what is going on and in which direction the story is heading. The climax, when it arrives, almost feels like a non-ending with a “is that it?” moment followed by a few personal letters and newspaper clippings to bring it to a close.
Of the two recommended reads in the early era of the sub-genre, I most certainly preferred The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers but I love neither book; they were good but not great. I appreciate that my reading in the sub-genre is very limited and I look forward to exploring this quirky world of steampunk a lot more in future.
See more book reviews at my blog
This was a pick for my specfic book club and it's the first book we've chosen that I won't be finishing. I've really enjoyed William Gibson's books in the past, but this plot just dragged on and felt pretty misogynistic. I struggled to get about halfway through before our meeting and based on the discussion I don't think it's something I'll return to.
There are sections of this I enjoyed very much, and it is undoubtedly inventive and stylish. But it also vacillates to pretty long sections I found fairly boring. This is probably a byproduct of dual authors, or perhaps their being enamoured with aspects of the life I am not. For instance, historical inaccuracy is a bit too granular, as is the verisimilitude, for my tastes. If I was more interested in the period though, it would have probably not felt like a drag at all, so it’s somewhat hard to rate.
For fans of steampunk, this is not necessarily a slam dunk. It’s more literary than more genre fiction, and it doesn’t bother being concerned with expectations the readers may have as such. There’s plenty of great writing here too. It’s just getting to the sections that were both great and I found of interest. I am not a historical fiction reader either, I’d say, so the fact it kept me going at all may be a feat.
For fans of steampunk, this is not necessarily a slam dunk. It’s more literary than more genre fiction, and it doesn’t bother being concerned with expectations the readers may have as such. There’s plenty of great writing here too. It’s just getting to the sections that were both great and I found of interest. I am not a historical fiction reader either, I’d say, so the fact it kept me going at all may be a feat.
This book was a mess. The shifting between the viewpoints of the peripherally related characters is jarring and disjointed. There are sections that are enjoyable but as a whole it feels like the book was never properly finished, Sterling and Gibson just kind of gave up on it. The dialog is well written and enjoyable to read but the plot is unevenly paced and poorly structured. There are some interesting concepts throughout and it did help spawn a societal fascination with the steampunk asethetic but as a stand alone work I can't recommend this to anyone. Great world-building but I came away from it feeling disappointed.
The plot was a slog. The first quarter of the book can be summed up with "I'm just a woman, sir. Won't you please explain??" Also very racist throughout. Not helped by the worst professional audio narrator I've ever heard; difficult to tell who was speaking at a given time because all the characters sounded the same. Half a star for the interesting but poorly-executed concept. The fact I finished this at all is quite the accomplishment for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
It was good, but it the co-writing got in its way, sometimes it was a bruce sterling book, and sometimes it was a willian gibson book. I like both authors, but would have preferred if this was written only by gibson. I liked the more degenerate, pathological character of Ada and the poetry of a amped to 11 victoriana than the frenetic, rambling 'world tour' plot that Sterling seemed to impose on the book. I do like other sterling works though. Holy Fire is a master piece.
There are some cool ideas, neat steam punk tech, and great moments.
I read this when it came out, in the very early 90s, when steam punk had just begun.
Its not my favorite steam punk, but I d
There are some cool ideas, neat steam punk tech, and great moments.
I read this when it came out, in the very early 90s, when steam punk had just begun.
Its not my favorite steam punk, but I d
One of the few contemporary novels that can claim any relevance to steampunk: a "what-if" story of technology in the victorian era. Too bad it wasn't as good as I was expecting :-/
Meh. I was really excited about this at first, but I'm marking this as "read" but I dragged myself through the first 40 pages and I don't think I'm going to pick it back up. The language is very much in the vein of cosplay steampunk aesthetics: that is, very flowery and decorative without a whole lot of functionality. I will usually put up with a lot in a book but I can't bother myself to care about this one.
Wasn't terrible, it just bored me and I returned it without finishing.
Interesting environment though.
Interesting environment though.
Didn’t like the pace. The story seems muddled and to slow for my taste.