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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
3.5 stars : as with all collections, I enjoyed some better than others but over all it is an interesting collection of steampunk shorts.
I had trouble with Bray's story- it isn't bad, but I feel like she really overdid the southern dialect. I found it distracting. Unfortunately, the only story I enjoyed was the first.
Some stories in this anthology were absolutely fascinating. My favorites were Everything Amiable & Obliging by Holly Black, The Last Ride of the Glory Girls by Libba Bray, Clockwork Fagin by Cory Doctorow, and The Oracle Engine by M.T. Anderson. Some of the ideas explored—about artificial intelligence, about where the line between machine and human is drawn, about time—were done excellently and were a pleasure to read but also somewhat disturbing, as is customary with short stories. Some were somewhat subpar and less moving, but still weren't bad. There is a lot of punch packed into this one book, and I think I might just start Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro because it explores similar themes.
Great read overall, enjoyed it a lot <3
Great read overall, enjoyed it a lot <3
I enjoyed every story, all of which were very different in style and implementation. Some seemed to trail off and have somewhat abrupt endings, but this is a excellent collection of Steampunk stories in non-traditional Steampunk settings (as the introduction states, none of the stories take place in Victorian London).
An interesting mix of 'loosely' themed steampunk stories. I particularly enjoyed the Kelly Link and the Dylan Horrocks stories, they were the stand out pair. Well worth a read if you enjoy fantastical short stories.
This book appeared on the lending shelf at work late last year. I recognised a couple of the authors and I love a good short story, so it's been on my desk ever since as occasional lunch break reading.
Most of the stories relied quite heavily on steampunk technology to drive the plot; from time travel, to fortune telling, to a literal ghost in the machine, to an automaton madly in love, and more - but they were all still really different to each other in approach and tone that it didn't make the collection predictable or boring. There was even a couple of comics which was a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed them all, every story was compelling and I always regretted when lunch time was over! Most of the stories were short enough to finish in one sitting, which was very convenient.
If you enjoy short stories and aren't opposed to a strong steampunk theme in your fantasy fiction, definitely check it out.
Most of the stories relied quite heavily on steampunk technology to drive the plot; from time travel, to fortune telling, to a literal ghost in the machine, to an automaton madly in love, and more - but they were all still really different to each other in approach and tone that it didn't make the collection predictable or boring. There was even a couple of comics which was a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed them all, every story was compelling and I always regretted when lunch time was over! Most of the stories were short enough to finish in one sitting, which was very convenient.
If you enjoy short stories and aren't opposed to a strong steampunk theme in your fantasy fiction, definitely check it out.
Being a compilation of short stories, some are good, some are bad. There was only a handful that I really enjoyed - for example, Steam Girl & the story by Holly Black.
Steampunk, like many other genres, have a wide spectrum of styles and settings. Most of the stories in this book is on the extreme end of being dark, depressing and weird. I found the style of most of the stories irritating and hence, difficult to follow. There are however, a couple of gems among them.
Steampunk, like many other genres, have a wide spectrum of styles and settings. Most of the stories in this book is on the extreme end of being dark, depressing and weird. I found the style of most of the stories irritating and hence, difficult to follow. There are however, a couple of gems among them.
An interesting mix of authors, settings and stories. As with most short story collections some were fantastic and others just ok. Of note is that these stories take place in many different times and many different places. My favorite was Libba Bray's which takes place in a western setting with religious fanatics and time travel.
I really enjoyed the majority of the stories in this book—well worth the purchase! My absolute favorite was "The Last Ride of the Glory Girls" by Libba Bray, with a very close second being "Clockwork Fagin" by Cory Doctorow. These felt not only the most authentically steampunk, but they had the best stories coupled with the use of the time period and technologies. (Kelly Link's story "The Summer People" was also very excellent, but it wasn't very steampunk, in either tone or technology. A handful of clockwork objects isn't what makes a story steampunk, and it was disappointing to see a story miss the mark like that. Had it not been part of a steampunk collection, I would have enjoyed it much more.)
Most of these stories were absolutely fantastic, each written with a clear and distinct voice that made is easy to see the different authors' styles. I have a particular few that I thought were absolutely astronomical, yet a few of them managed not to be terrible, but to be completely bland. While I know that not every single short story in a collection will be gold, these I felt largely indifferent towards, unable to muster up even a care about the protagonist or world. Even though they were short I had difficulty getting through them.