Scan barcode
A review by laffingkat
Corsets and Cogs by Melle Amade, Rebekah R. Ganiere, Leona Bushman, Angelique Armae, E.B. Black, Blaire Edens, Lexi Ostrow, J.A. Culican, Coyote Starr, Bokerah Brumley, Katherine McIntyre, Summer Chase, Dana Lyons, Jayne Fury, Pauline Creeden, Dena Garson, Skye MacKinnon, Eli Constant, Melanie Karsak, Laura Greenwood, Erin Hayes, S.J. Davis, Ever Coming, Margo Bond Collins, Julie Morgan
3.0
I struggled a bit to decide how to rate this collection of steampunk short fiction (stories, novellas, and excerpts from longer works). In any anthology there are likely to be some stories I enjoy more than others, but this collection felt particularly uneven to me. Some of the stories fit the steampunk theme better than others, and there was quite a mix of moods and writing styles, which can be seen as an advantage or disadvantage depending on what you're looking for. I'll start by reviewing some of the stories I enjoyed.
Of Love and Leviathans by [a:Margo Bond Collins|7233453|Margo Bond Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377271924p2/7233453.jpg] was well-written and creepy. It's like a steampunk take on the Cthulhu mythos. I'm not a big fan of cosmic horror these days, but this was well done and the writing was surprisingly beautiful at times.
I love fairytale retellings, and [a:Melanie Karsak|6539577|Melanie Karsak|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1380845663p2/6539577.jpg]'s Princesses and Frogs gets kudos for its originality. I was initially worried that this story was going to have a large death count, but it is actually a very sweet story that would be appropriate for a wide audience.
Heartless in New Orleans by [a:Pauline Creeden|5284782|Pauline Creeden|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517236994p2/5284782.jpg] is another story that's a bit dark for my taste, right up to the ending that made me laugh out loud. I have a fondness for this story based more on the title and the last line than the rest of the story, but it's a short, quick read worth it for that payoff.
Steel Pedigree by [a:J.A. Culican|15287808|J.A. Culican|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1464536960p2/15287808.jpg] & [a:Melle Amade|15813968|Melle Amade|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1474372464p2/15813968.jpg] really drew me in. Vivid imagery, excellent characterization, and a very emotional story. I believe I might have cried a bit at one point, only to feel completely sucker-punched by the ending. Well done!
Probably my favorite story in the collection was Parthenia Penny Gaff by [a:Eli Constant|6901568|Eli Constant|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360042290p2/6901568.jpg], an author I was unfamiliar with. This urban fantasy/paranormal romance felt more familiar to me than some of the other offerings in this collection, but I really liked the characters and I am genuinely interested in reading more about Gear City.
Some of the other stories I didn't enjoy as much as I had hoped to. Some of the stories just didn't draw me in. Some had too many distracting typos and editorial problems. Some featured foul language and explicit sex scenes in a context that I didn't appreciate.
Despite these problems, I think this collection is probably worth reading if you tend to enjoy steampunk short fiction. Many of the stories serve as introductions to other works by these authors, so you might well find a new series that you'll really enjoy.
I received a free copy of this ebook from one of the authors and volunteered to review it. The version I reviewed was neatly formatted with a very nice table of contents but contained typos and editorial problems in many of the stories. I don't know if I was reading an ARC with uncorrected errors or the final version, so it's entirely possible that many of the problems I noticed have been corrected.
Of Love and Leviathans by [a:Margo Bond Collins|7233453|Margo Bond Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377271924p2/7233453.jpg] was well-written and creepy. It's like a steampunk take on the Cthulhu mythos. I'm not a big fan of cosmic horror these days, but this was well done and the writing was surprisingly beautiful at times.
I love fairytale retellings, and [a:Melanie Karsak|6539577|Melanie Karsak|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1380845663p2/6539577.jpg]'s Princesses and Frogs gets kudos for its originality. I was initially worried that this story was going to have a large death count, but it is actually a very sweet story that would be appropriate for a wide audience.
Heartless in New Orleans by [a:Pauline Creeden|5284782|Pauline Creeden|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517236994p2/5284782.jpg] is another story that's a bit dark for my taste, right up to the ending that made me laugh out loud. I have a fondness for this story based more on the title and the last line than the rest of the story, but it's a short, quick read worth it for that payoff.
Steel Pedigree by [a:J.A. Culican|15287808|J.A. Culican|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1464536960p2/15287808.jpg] & [a:Melle Amade|15813968|Melle Amade|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1474372464p2/15813968.jpg] really drew me in. Vivid imagery, excellent characterization, and a very emotional story. I believe I might have cried a bit at one point, only to feel completely sucker-punched by the ending. Well done!
Probably my favorite story in the collection was Parthenia Penny Gaff by [a:Eli Constant|6901568|Eli Constant|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360042290p2/6901568.jpg], an author I was unfamiliar with. This urban fantasy/paranormal romance felt more familiar to me than some of the other offerings in this collection, but I really liked the characters and I am genuinely interested in reading more about Gear City.
Some of the other stories I didn't enjoy as much as I had hoped to. Some of the stories just didn't draw me in. Some had too many distracting typos and editorial problems. Some featured foul language and explicit sex scenes in a context that I didn't appreciate.
Despite these problems, I think this collection is probably worth reading if you tend to enjoy steampunk short fiction. Many of the stories serve as introductions to other works by these authors, so you might well find a new series that you'll really enjoy.
I received a free copy of this ebook from one of the authors and volunteered to review it. The version I reviewed was neatly formatted with a very nice table of contents but contained typos and editorial problems in many of the stories. I don't know if I was reading an ARC with uncorrected errors or the final version, so it's entirely possible that many of the problems I noticed have been corrected.