# Recommend me some steampunk! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264 "2008-01-12T07:15:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/1 "2008-01-12T07:15:35Z")
I’ve been in the mood for steampunk lately, but there are precious few movies available, and I’ve never been much of a science fiction reader. I love the aesthetics – the techno-Victorian metropolises, the clockwork robots, the gleaming airships, the excellent men’s suits with vests and topcoats and nice hats, and everyone wearing goggles. As far as movies go, I’ve seen \*The Time Machine \* with Guy Pearce (not good at all) and _League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ (mediocre; the comics were a million times better). I haven’t been a video gamer in at least a decade, but I always liked the _Final Fantasy_ games, especially for their blending of steampunk, sci-fi, and medieval/fantasy elements. What about books? Any good ones? I’ve heard of an author named China Mieville (who I thought was a woman up until very recently, just due to his name). How is he? I’d also be interested in any Western stories (movies, books, etc) that blend sci-fi/futuristic elements with the standard Western stuff. Of course I love _Firefly_, and I enjoyed _The Adventures of Brisco County Jr._ back in the day. The less said about _Wild Wild West_ with Will Smith, the better. From what I understand, the _Wild Arms_ video games fit this perfectly, but again, I’m not a gamer, I just like the look and style. I’ve heard this Western-hybrid subgenre is actually referred to as “Weird West.” ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/2 "2008-01-12T07:27:30Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] The less said about _Wild Wild West_ with Will Smith, the better. [/QUOTE] I know what you mean, but I think it actually bears mentioning as a notable example of a steampunk-style atmosphere making it into a mainstream movie. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/3 "2008-01-12T07:39:06Z")
Recommended : The webcomic [Girl Genius](http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/). A steampunk world dominated by mad scientists, known as Sparks by the polite, and madboys/girls by everyone else. And yes, it has airships. Fleets of them. And brassy riveted robot armies. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/4 "2008-01-12T08:29:10Z")
You said you weren’t a gamer, but the _Myst_ series was not your typical video game and very much has a steampunk aesthetic. Screenshots are easily obtained on-line so you won’t need to invest in the games to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/5 "2008-01-12T08:44:43Z")
[Anime] Well, there’s the movie Steamboy (which is good but not great) and the TV series Nadia (which is great.) There’s a rather odd lack of proper steampunk stuff. It always seems like you’ve seen something good, but then can never think what it was, and what you can think of isn’t very steampunkish or is fairly mediocre. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/6 "2008-01-12T10:36:58Z")
China Mieville is great. I picked up Perdido Street Station on a whim from a secondhand book store and couldn’t put it down. It’s very much Steampunk with a healthy dose of magic and mysticism thrown in and I thoroughly enjoyed that book. The second and third books in the trilogy are still quite steampunky but they got very political, and after a while (for me) started to get a bit too dry. But the world he’s created around the city is huge, well thought out and definitely very interesting. I should get on to reading that again. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/7 "2008-01-12T12:40:39Z")
My only comment on the steampunk sub-genre is that I do find it fairly interesting. I’ve always been interested in the past’s take on the future. But, do we now have yet another meaning of punk, or is it just getting used strangely, like hardware/software/apps/features being called “sexy” back in the 90s? So far, we’ve got: Noun 1: archaic : prostitute 2: [probably partly from (3)punk] : nonsense; foolishness 3: a: a young inexperienced person : beginner novice; especially : a young man b: a usually petty gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian cslang : a young man used as a homosexual partner especially in a prison 4: a: punk rock b: a punk rock musician c: one who affects punk styles or Adjective 1: very poor : inferior \ 2: being in poor health \ 3 a: of or relating to punk rock b: relating to or being a style (as of dress or hair) inspired by punk rock or Noun (again) 1 : wood so decayed as to be dry, crumbly, and useful for tinder 2 : a preparation (as of a stick of coated wood) that burns slowly and is used to ignite fuses especially of fireworks ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/8 "2008-01-12T13:40:50Z")
_Infernal Devices_ by K.W. Jeter fills the bill, and it’s a real fun read. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/9 "2008-01-12T13:47:05Z")
I second _Girl Genius_. Good adventure, romance, & Mad Science. ---
**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 12, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/10 "2008-01-12T17:17:15Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] But, do we now have yet another meaning of punk, or is it just getting used strangely, like hardware/software/apps/features being called “sexy” back in the 90s? [/QUOTE] I’d have hoped we did not need to do this again [so soon.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=429486&highlight=steampunk+goggles) Suffice to say there’s more to the punk lifestyle/aesthetic and steampunk than that one decidedly circular dictionary definition. [QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] What about books? Any good ones? I’ve heard of an author named China Mieville (who I thought was a woman up until very recently, just due to his name). How is he? [/QUOTE] He is great (as already said). But fairly dark and very political. TV had [The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Adventures_of_Jules_Verne). Movies: I see Disney’s [Atlantis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis:_The_Lost_Empire) hasn’t been mentioned - more dieselpunk, but cool submarine. Another steampunk movie I rate highly is [City of Lost Children](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_of_Lost_Children). The recent _Golden Compass_ and\* Stardust\* movies also fall into/have elements of steampunk, especially airships. Also not mentioned - Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli films, especially [Laputa/Castle in the Sky](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laputa:_Castle_in_the_Sky) and [Howl’s Moving Castle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl%27s_Moving_Castle_%28film%29) , but also a little nod in [Kiki’s Delivery Service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiki%27s_Delivery_Service) WRT airships. ---
**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 12, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/11 "2008-01-12T17:25:42Z")
Also forgot - the mediocre Jackie Chan _Round The World in 80 Days_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/12 "2008-01-12T17:38:37Z")
[_The Difference Engine,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Difference_Engine) by cyberpunk authors William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, is set in an alternate Victorian Britain where Babbage actually got his mechanical computer to work and it sparked a scientific, technical and political-social revolution – but electricity still has not been harnessed, and everything is driven by steam or pneumatics. Computers are giant steam-powered machines doing their calculations on huge spools of paper. The **original** steampunk might be considered the 19th-Century [Edisonade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edisonade) genre, especially the [Frank Reade](http://www.bigredhair.com/frankreade/index.html) stories with their helicopter-airships. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/13 "2008-01-12T19:22:07Z")
If you are going to post about steampunk, then you should have a [steampunk keyboard](http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/vonslattoriginal/vonslattoriginal.htm) and a [steampunk monitor](http://steampunkworkshop.com/lcd.shtml) or just go whole hog and get a [steampunk laptop](http://www.datamancer.net/steampunklaptop/steampunklaptop.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/14 "2008-01-16T06:13:11Z")
Thanks to all for the recommendations. I looked up a few of them, and added China Mieville’s _Perdido Street Station_ to my library request list. I looked over the _Girl Genius_ website, but I’m afraid I’ll never get into it because of the art. It reminds me a bit too much of the Burger King Kids Club, or the kind of pseudo-manga stuff that gets LiveJournaling fangirls all a’twitter. That’s my own geek-prejudice coming through, but I kept expecting to run into some anime-styled Captain Jack Sparrow/Harry Potter slash fiction in there. It’s a shame, because it looks like a comic I could appreciate with a different artist on board. Visiting the blogs you all posted, I did discover an awesome band that dresses in steampunk-inspired fashion. They’re called [Abney Park](http://www.abneypark.com/), and they have an amazingly-designed website with several free, downloadable mp3s available. They’re also some really good-looking people! Their music is more goth-industrial than what I’d expect “steampunk” music to sound like (I had [Tin Hat Trio](http://www.tinhattrio.com/cont_frm.html) more in mind for that), but Abney Park has this really dark, haunting, exotic, sexy sound that I loved immediately. They brought to mind nine inch nails, the Cure, Dead Can Dance, and even Garbage. They also have a [Myspace page](http://www.myspace.com/abneypark). One more thing… I have no real problem with the “steampunk” designation, but I find “techno-Victoriana” a lot more descriptive for the look and feel of all this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/15 "2008-01-16T06:33:53Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] If you are going to post about steampunk, then you should have a [steampunk keyboard](http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/vonslattoriginal/vonslattoriginal.htm) and a [steampunk monitor](http://steampunkworkshop.com/lcd.shtml) or just go whole hog and get a [steampunk laptop](http://www.datamancer.net/steampunklaptop/steampunklaptop.htm). [/QUOTE] Jesus H. Christ, that might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/16 "2008-01-16T06:35:20Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Jesus H. Christ, that might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. [/QUOTE] Did you see the [bass amp](http://www.datamancer.net/projects/amp/amp.htm) the same guy made? I figured you would appreciate that one! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/17 "2008-01-16T06:44:16Z")
But does he have a steampunk bass? ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/18 "2008-01-16T06:49:51Z")
+10000000 for China Mieville’s “Bas Lag” books. Truly masterful stuff cribbing from the aesthetic driving the best elements of the Final Fantasy games, but far more urban. My absolute favorite element is an entire system of what amounts to pneumatic tube e-mail. The three books in the shared-world series are also each their own steam subgenres - “Perdido Street Station” is straight urban fantasy steampunk, “The Scar” is a “steam sea adventure,” and then “Iron Council” is a “Steam Western.” Killer stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/19 "2008-01-16T07:07:05Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Jesus H. Christ, that might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. [/QUOTE] It ain’t over yet. 🆒 [http://y4g3r.deviantart.com/art/Mechanical-spectacles-53253974](http://y4g3r.deviantart.com/art/Mechanical-spectacles-53253974) ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264/20 "2008-01-16T07:08:41Z")
Don’t pass up the great anime [Metropolis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_%282001_film%29) if you’re looking for steampunk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-steampunk/433264.md?page=2)