# Calling all Steampunk book recommendations. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763 "2010-01-20T23:41:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/1 "2010-01-20T23:41:43Z")
The genre looks like something I’d enjoy, got any recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/2 "2010-01-21T00:42:54Z")
Start with H G Wells and Jules Verne. Once you know the basis of the genre, try The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers, Perdido Street Station and The Scar by China Miéville, many works by K W Jeter (I started with Morlock Night, but that was thirty years ago), The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, and The Difference Engine. Many of Moorcock’s stories fit the genre such as his Nomad of the Time Streams series, and I know I am forgetting some very obvious titles. Then read all of Girl Genius online. It’s free. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/3 "2010-01-21T00:49:29Z")
Also the [Langdon St. Ives](http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Langdon-St-Ives/dp/1596061707) stories by Blaylock. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/4 "2010-01-21T01:08:04Z")
And don’t get me started on graphic novels, although you MUST read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, at least volume one. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/5 "2010-01-21T01:20:56Z")
I just started [Boneshaker](http://www.amazon.com/Boneshaker-Sci-Fi-Essential-Books/dp/0765318415/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264036705&sr=8-1) by Cherie Priest and even though I’m only 5 chapters in, I think I’m on solid ground when I say that it totally rocks (and rolls). ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/6 "2010-01-21T01:22:51Z")
If you’re prepared to add computer games to the list, then you can’t go past _Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura_. The graphics aren’t great by modern standards and there’s a few bugs (mostly fixed by fan patches as the company that made the game went belly-up) but it’s got a really good story and an immersive world in it. If you liked the first two _Fallout_ games you’ll like _Arcanum_, I think. (They were made by more or less the same people, FWIW). ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/7 "2010-01-21T03:31:17Z")
William Gibson. If Neuromancer grabs you, then probably all of his others will as well. (Some would say he is cyberpunk and not steampunk but definately a good read. His co-authored the Difference Engine is definately steampunk) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/8 "2010-01-21T08:09:39Z")
\*\*China Miéville \*\*- start with _Perdido Street Station_. There are several good YA steampunkish series, it seems to be a popular subgenre: I recommend the **Riddell/Stewart** [_Edge Chronicles_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Edge_Chronicles) highly. There’s also their Barnaby Grimes series, but I’m not as familiar with it. There’s also [**Philip Reeve**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Reeve)’s _Mortal Engines_ and _Larklight_ series. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/9 "2010-01-21T13:33:37Z")
Blaylock, definitely. K.W. Jeter Tim Powers (not really steampunk, but his **The Anubis Gates** is something of a bellwether for the genre). ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/10 "2010-01-21T14:24:46Z")
_The Steampunk Trilogy_ by \*\*Paul Di Filippo \*\* has bad reviews on Amazon because it is a really good book but has a humorous feel that obviously put off some serious science fiction fans. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Bow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jim\_Bow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Bow)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/11 "2014-12-01T04:25:37Z")
[You can’t beat “Boilerplate”.](http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/12 "2014-12-01T04:36:48Z")
_The Peshawar Lancers_ by S. M. Sterling. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/13 "2014-12-01T04:37:43Z")
The Light Ages by Ian Macleod The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Newton’s Cannon by J. Geegory Keyes The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanick ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/14 "2014-12-01T04:47:32Z")
_The Difference Engine_, for sure. And I rather enjoyed [“Victoria” from “The Steampunk Trilogy,”](http://www.amazon.com/The-Steampunk-Trilogy-Paul-Filippo/dp/1497626587) although I have absolutely no memory of the other stories in that collection. 'Must’ve been really gripping. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/15 "2014-12-01T04:49:15Z")
Just so everyone knows, this thread is a steam-powered zombie from 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/16 "2014-12-01T14:59:23Z")
Zombie or no, it can’t hurt to have more recommended reads in case someone does another drive-by. All the above are enthusiastically re-recommended. Steampunk Graphic Novel: \*\*Rapunzel’s Revenge \*\*(sequel, **Calamity Jack** ) by Shannon Hale and Nathan Hale (no relation to each other) Steampunk Fantasy: Trilogy of books; **Clockwork Heart** , **Clockwork Lies: Iron Wind** , **Clockwork Secrets: Heavy Fire**. All by Dru Pagliassotti (repeat mention) Online “Gaslamp Fantasy” (steampunk) comic: **Girl Genius** , Phil and Kaja Foglio (also available compiled into volumes, and with a novelization of the first part of the storyline) Comedy of Manners/Shakespeare Farce: **All Men of Genius** , Lev A. C. Rosen ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/17 "2014-12-01T15:21:56Z")
The _His Dark Materials_ trilogy from Phillip Pullman, and the movie that was based on Book 1, _The Golden Compass_. Keep in mind that the author here intended to use these books to advance an ideology in a manner inspired by C. S. Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/18 "2014-12-01T15:31:47Z")
If you like Japanese Anime, there are a lot of good steampunk works that are not too heady. Start with Hayao Miyazaki’s works, specifically: Castle in the Sky (Tenkuu no Shiro Raputa): A child of destiny, battling airships, “clank” robots, a lost civilization, and weird-ass helicopter contraptions with insect-inspired flapping wings. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Naushika): A thousand years after the “seven days of fire”, a dying civilization fights over control of recently-rediscovered ancient weapons technology. No, don’t power that thing on! You’ll kill us all! The world is too small for WMD’s! ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/19 "2014-12-01T16:04:03Z")
The Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. It is an alternate WWI where one side (Clangers) have traditional Steampunk weapons and the other (Darwinists) have genetically modified animals as weapons. It is technically young adult fiction but it was a good read. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763/20 "2014-12-01T16:16:22Z")
For Steampunk Graphic Novel, you have to look at Phil Foglio’s **Girl Genius**. I’ve argued before on this board that Harper Goff’s design for the Nautilus from Disney’s _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ is the genesis of our ideas of “steampunk”. But that over-ornate Victorian puffery steampunk vision is actually absent from Verne’s book – his Nautilus is a sleek and featureless shuttle shape. Goff wanted something that would be visually interesting, not practical. Verne occasionally did go “steampink” – his _The Steam House_ practically has it in the title (the two-part novel also goes by “The Demon of Cawnpore”/“Tigers and Traitors”), with its ornate Victorian RV-in-the-shape-of-a-steam-powered-robotic-elephant. But more often than not, Verne is surprisingly modern and practical, not steampunk. Case in point – despite that fact that Robur the Conqueror’s “aeronef” the “Albatross” is basically a super-helicopter (with multiple vertical blades without “Jesus pins”, so even **Stranger on a Train** would feel safe aboard), it isn’t made of cast iron or copper or bronze or even of aluminum. Verne had it made of _composites_ (!) in the 19th century!! And for exactly the right reasons – light weight and high structural strength. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-steampunk-book-recommendations/525763.md?page=2)