A review by amyellerlewis
Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances by Caitlin Kittredge, Kiersten White, Tiffany Trent, Dru Pagliassotti, Ann Aguirre, Jaclyn Dolamore, Allan Frewin Jones, Michael Scott, Trisha Telep, Maria V. Snyder, Tessa Gratton, Dia Reeves, Lesley Livingston, Adrienne Kress

4.0

Like many anthologies of its kind, "Corsets and Clockwork" does veer a little toward the *inconsistent* end of things, but not nearly as much as most. None of the stories are real clunkers, but there were a couple that stood out. Among others, Lesley Livingston's "Rude Mechanicals" had many things I love in any story: run down theaters, idealistic artists and finely-wrought automatons. Its ending hangs like a puppet on a wire, creating that breathlessness only short stories can provide. But then there was the one that REALLY stood out for me. Caitlin Kitteredge's "The Vast Machinery of Dreams", a clockwork Lovecraftian masterpiece, that doesn't function as a traditional Twilight Zonish punch-packing short story, neither as a self contained novel chapter, but instead it functions as a truly "Weird Tale" in the best possible sense of the term. It's the one story that made me question the Young Adult sticker on the library's binding. It's the story I liked so VERY much that my review went from three to four stars.

Recommended