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A review by rui_leite
Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances by Trisha Telep
3.0
Well, for an anthology whose tagline is “Come for the steam, stay for the punk” I have to say I felt there was a remarkable absence of either steam or punk in most stories. Having said this I have to add that this was my first incursion into a Steam Punk universe outside the “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, so maybe my expectations were off. Still most stories were quite enjoyable.
“Rude Mechanicals”
This was a promising beginning, I liked the way it mixed theater elements with the steam punk. It was an interesting concept. The references to both Pygmalion (I swear I half expected someone to burst into a song about rain in Spain at some point) and Romeo and Juliet were nice touches, and the way the universe was subtly established was well achieved. But the problem with it was the pacing. When I reached the end I felt it was a bit rushed, as if the author remembered that he had to wrap the show up in a very small number of lines. And it lost a lot for that.
3 out of 5
“The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhite”
Mermaids, vernian submarines, a dark secret, rape, incestuous attempts, murder, extremely impractical but cool machinery… this story has a lot going for it, including a streak of dark humour underneath. The steampunk elements here felt a bit pasted on, though, not really relevant to the whole thing, yet I liked the writing quite a lot and, against my better judgement, I sympathized with the main character, Silka, so much that it gets a 4 of 5.
“Wild Magic”
And, as opposed to the previous story, I really didn’t find much charm in this. The setting, a XIX Century London where magic and technology compete (with an advantage to technology) had potential, but the characters, I found, were just too annoying for me to care. The main girl tried to be strong, and she sure had a lot of power, but ultimately she was always relegated to the part of damsel in distress. The boy, on the other hand was just the typical big ball of ego, manipulation and overconfidence, so much that he doesn’t amuse as much as he annoys. Oh…and the "romantic" part of falling for a boy in a portrait? Really? I could only find it shallow. And the last nail in the coffin was that every “twist” (and I use the term loosely here) was predictable from a mile away.
If you ask me: 1 out of 5, and “I’m Cutting My Own Throat” here.
“Deadwood”
This one is mainly an adventure story, but a rather well crafted one at that. The steam punk and the wild west thing mix up quite well. The characters were fun to read in pretty much the same way Indiana Jones is fun to watch. This was mainly an entertaining read, but it didn’t mean to be anything other than that, so it does deserve a solid 4 out of 5. And I should add I wouldn’t mind at all following further adventures of Martha and JW in that universe of cowboys and clockwork.
“Code of Blood”
This one wasn’t bad, It just seems…forgettable in the long run. I liked the alchemical Venice, and Chiara and Pietro where enjoyable enough as protagonists but, in the end, I don’t think this story would be hurt by a few more pages. Maybe this would work better in a full length novel format than in a short story form. But still it gets 3 out 5.
“The Clockwork Corset”
This one, to me, was one of the best. The plot is very much a traditional one that’s been done to death (a young girl disguises herself as a boy to join the army and protect her love), but the characters are so well developed that I ended up going along with it, almost forgetting I had read all that before. The steampunk element was added as a flavour, but it was a good kind of seasoning here, not too much, not too little, just enough to be palatable. In the end it all works quite well and I ended up considering this story as one of the few deserving 5 out of 5 in this anthology.
“The Airship Gemini”
Too many interesting ideas and few pages hurt this one to death. The idea of writing a story from the point of view of a siamese twin from a wandering freak show was quite good, setting it on a huge Zeppelin crossing the Atlantic, could be interesting , the addition of vampires and other supernatural creatures out of nowhere, could be good if it didn’t feel too sudden and out of nowhere. That was the problem. Maybe the author could have gotten away with it if she had more space to explore and explain the universe, as it was it just felt badly glued together from several good ideas. 2 out of 5.
“Under Amber Skies”
At first, having read some reviews here, I was preparing myself for a disappointment. But as I read it the only thing I didn’t like so much was Inek, the male protagonist, I simply wouldn’t have much effort picturing him riding a big white stallion and saving the day, with a glint in his smile. Glad he didn’t do that though, instead he was not over used, and showed some nice chracter flaws. I can live with that. Zosia, the girl from whose point of view we see the story, was not very hard to follow and had enough personality to keep me interested. Besides this story did something that really works for me, it used the steam punk setting (although Poland in WW II might be a bit too late to be considered “Steam”, but I’ll let that slide) to talk about real issues. In the end it made no difference if there were mechanically engineered Nazis and robotic spiders or not, we get the feeling that this is all about the madness and pointlessness of war, be it in this or any other universe. 5 out of 5. (Oh, and that blasted blasted end, it left me with a bitter after taste and my mouth open, but it was rather appropriate for this.)
“King of The Greenlight City”
I very much liked this one for completely different reasons than I did the previous one. What “Under Amber skies” had of realism, this one had of brilliant flights of fancy and of imagination. This has easily the most imaginative setting in the whole book (even though calling it steam punk might be stretching the concept a bit, so tin, in fact, as to near non existence). Still I enjoyed the images I was left with and the characters are classic (dark) fairytale stuff. One note, though, after “Under Amber Skies” I really didn’t need another unhappy ending, nothing against it, but putting one right after the other might be a bit too bleak.
5 out of 5.
“The Emperor’s Man”
Even though I enjoyed this one it felt a lot like the first chapter of something . The idea of a large part of Victorian London being transported to fairyland by an experiment gone wrong, (yes, buildings and all), was quite good, and it was not badly executed. No problem there, really. The only thing is that by the end of it all, I felt so much was left unsaid and unsolved that it was frustrating. And that grants this a 3 out 5 by my book.
“Chickie Hill’s Baddass Ride”
If WW II Poland seems too late for “steam”, then don’t even get me started on 1950’s USA. The only way I can see this being steam punk related is trough the reference, somewhere, of a “1890’s rocket”, which suggests that this is, in fact, the future of a steam punk universe. Again, I'll let that slide. The rest was quite enjoyable. It was fun, well crafted and even pertinent. The idea of having a story that mixes interdimensional Lovecraftian monsters plaguing a small US Town with the very real issues of Racial Segregation was well executed and none of the elements ended up conflicting with the others (in fact, the irony of using references to Lovecraft in order to discuss racial issues was not lost on me, intentionally or not). Chickie Hill was a fun guy to follow, and his girlfriend Sue Jean a good down to earth viewpoint for the story.
This takes a 5 out of 5.
“The Vast Machinery of Dreams”
This is not for everyone’s tastes, I know that. It is the kind of story in which the reader has to do half the work to understand the plot, and, even by the end, a lot is left unanswered. Still this was dark, uncomfortable, and it does drill into your brain even though you might not know why. This makes it stand out.
Much more than the story itself I loved the way this managed to convey unsettling emotions and confuse me at every turn. It felt a bit like the film “Inception” and all its “what the hell is real and what the hell is not” brothers.
4 of 5
“Tick, Tick, Boom”
This last story was quite well written, and structured, with a delightful main character. There are hints of steam, of punk, of a stuffy society, rebels, bombings…the works. And the universe never becomes overwhelming in the face of the characters. Still I found it way too short, this is another one that would be a perfect first chapter for a novel, which made it slightly frustrating. But unlike “The Emperor’s Man” it doesn’t feel unfinished, instead it just made me long for more. The “twist” is predictable though, yet the rest is very much spot on.
4of5
“Rude Mechanicals”
This was a promising beginning, I liked the way it mixed theater elements with the steam punk. It was an interesting concept. The references to both Pygmalion (I swear I half expected someone to burst into a song about rain in Spain at some point) and Romeo and Juliet were nice touches, and the way the universe was subtly established was well achieved. But the problem with it was the pacing. When I reached the end I felt it was a bit rushed, as if the author remembered that he had to wrap the show up in a very small number of lines. And it lost a lot for that.
3 out of 5
“The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhite”
Mermaids, vernian submarines, a dark secret, rape, incestuous attempts, murder, extremely impractical but cool machinery… this story has a lot going for it, including a streak of dark humour underneath. The steampunk elements here felt a bit pasted on, though, not really relevant to the whole thing, yet I liked the writing quite a lot and, against my better judgement, I sympathized with the main character, Silka, so much that it gets a 4 of 5.
“Wild Magic”
And, as opposed to the previous story, I really didn’t find much charm in this. The setting, a XIX Century London where magic and technology compete (with an advantage to technology) had potential, but the characters, I found, were just too annoying for me to care. The main girl tried to be strong, and she sure had a lot of power, but ultimately she was always relegated to the part of damsel in distress. The boy, on the other hand was just the typical big ball of ego, manipulation and overconfidence, so much that he doesn’t amuse as much as he annoys. Oh…and the "romantic" part of falling for a boy in a portrait? Really? I could only find it shallow. And the last nail in the coffin was that every “twist” (and I use the term loosely here) was predictable from a mile away.
If you ask me: 1 out of 5, and “I’m Cutting My Own Throat” here.
“Deadwood”
This one is mainly an adventure story, but a rather well crafted one at that. The steam punk and the wild west thing mix up quite well. The characters were fun to read in pretty much the same way Indiana Jones is fun to watch. This was mainly an entertaining read, but it didn’t mean to be anything other than that, so it does deserve a solid 4 out of 5. And I should add I wouldn’t mind at all following further adventures of Martha and JW in that universe of cowboys and clockwork.
“Code of Blood”
This one wasn’t bad, It just seems…forgettable in the long run. I liked the alchemical Venice, and Chiara and Pietro where enjoyable enough as protagonists but, in the end, I don’t think this story would be hurt by a few more pages. Maybe this would work better in a full length novel format than in a short story form. But still it gets 3 out 5.
“The Clockwork Corset”
This one, to me, was one of the best. The plot is very much a traditional one that’s been done to death (a young girl disguises herself as a boy to join the army and protect her love), but the characters are so well developed that I ended up going along with it, almost forgetting I had read all that before. The steampunk element was added as a flavour, but it was a good kind of seasoning here, not too much, not too little, just enough to be palatable. In the end it all works quite well and I ended up considering this story as one of the few deserving 5 out of 5 in this anthology.
“The Airship Gemini”
Too many interesting ideas and few pages hurt this one to death. The idea of writing a story from the point of view of a siamese twin from a wandering freak show was quite good, setting it on a huge Zeppelin crossing the Atlantic, could be interesting , the addition of vampires and other supernatural creatures out of nowhere, could be good if it didn’t feel too sudden and out of nowhere. That was the problem. Maybe the author could have gotten away with it if she had more space to explore and explain the universe, as it was it just felt badly glued together from several good ideas. 2 out of 5.
“Under Amber Skies”
At first, having read some reviews here, I was preparing myself for a disappointment. But as I read it the only thing I didn’t like so much was Inek, the male protagonist, I simply wouldn’t have much effort picturing him riding a big white stallion and saving the day, with a glint in his smile. Glad he didn’t do that though, instead he was not over used, and showed some nice chracter flaws. I can live with that. Zosia, the girl from whose point of view we see the story, was not very hard to follow and had enough personality to keep me interested. Besides this story did something that really works for me, it used the steam punk setting (although Poland in WW II might be a bit too late to be considered “Steam”, but I’ll let that slide) to talk about real issues. In the end it made no difference if there were mechanically engineered Nazis and robotic spiders or not, we get the feeling that this is all about the madness and pointlessness of war, be it in this or any other universe. 5 out of 5. (Oh, and that blasted blasted end, it left me with a bitter after taste and my mouth open, but it was rather appropriate for this.)
“King of The Greenlight City”
I very much liked this one for completely different reasons than I did the previous one. What “Under Amber skies” had of realism, this one had of brilliant flights of fancy and of imagination. This has easily the most imaginative setting in the whole book (even though calling it steam punk might be stretching the concept a bit, so tin, in fact, as to near non existence). Still I enjoyed the images I was left with and the characters are classic (dark) fairytale stuff. One note, though, after “Under Amber Skies” I really didn’t need another unhappy ending, nothing against it, but putting one right after the other might be a bit too bleak.
5 out of 5.
“The Emperor’s Man”
Even though I enjoyed this one it felt a lot like the first chapter of something . The idea of a large part of Victorian London being transported to fairyland by an experiment gone wrong, (yes, buildings and all), was quite good, and it was not badly executed. No problem there, really. The only thing is that by the end of it all, I felt so much was left unsaid and unsolved that it was frustrating. And that grants this a 3 out 5 by my book.
“Chickie Hill’s Baddass Ride”
If WW II Poland seems too late for “steam”, then don’t even get me started on 1950’s USA. The only way I can see this being steam punk related is trough the reference, somewhere, of a “1890’s rocket”, which suggests that this is, in fact, the future of a steam punk universe. Again, I'll let that slide. The rest was quite enjoyable. It was fun, well crafted and even pertinent. The idea of having a story that mixes interdimensional Lovecraftian monsters plaguing a small US Town with the very real issues of Racial Segregation was well executed and none of the elements ended up conflicting with the others (in fact, the irony of using references to Lovecraft in order to discuss racial issues was not lost on me, intentionally or not). Chickie Hill was a fun guy to follow, and his girlfriend Sue Jean a good down to earth viewpoint for the story.
This takes a 5 out of 5.
“The Vast Machinery of Dreams”
This is not for everyone’s tastes, I know that. It is the kind of story in which the reader has to do half the work to understand the plot, and, even by the end, a lot is left unanswered. Still this was dark, uncomfortable, and it does drill into your brain even though you might not know why. This makes it stand out.
Much more than the story itself I loved the way this managed to convey unsettling emotions and confuse me at every turn. It felt a bit like the film “Inception” and all its “what the hell is real and what the hell is not” brothers.
4 of 5
“Tick, Tick, Boom”
This last story was quite well written, and structured, with a delightful main character. There are hints of steam, of punk, of a stuffy society, rebels, bombings…the works. And the universe never becomes overwhelming in the face of the characters. Still I found it way too short, this is another one that would be a perfect first chapter for a novel, which made it slightly frustrating. But unlike “The Emperor’s Man” it doesn’t feel unfinished, instead it just made me long for more. The “twist” is predictable though, yet the rest is very much spot on.
4of5