Publisher's Weekly Review
The VanderMeers (The New Weird) have assembled another outstanding theme anthology, this one featuring stories set in alternate Victorian eras. Michael Moorcock, the godfather of steampunk, is represented by an excerpt from his classic novel The Warlord of the Air. In "Lord Kelvin's Machine," a fine tale from prolific steampunk author James P. Blaylock, mad scientists plot to throw the Earth into the path of a passing comet, declaring that "science will save us this time, gentlemen, if it doesn't kill us first." Michael Chabon's vivid and moving "The Martian Agent, a Planetary Romance" recounts the lives of two young brothers in the aftermath of George Custer's mutiny against Queen Victoria, while historical fantasist Mary Gentle describes a classic struggle between safety and progress in "A Sun in the Attic." This is a superb introduction to one of the most popular and inventive subgenres in science fiction. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
The VanderMeers, ardent steampunkers themselves, historically sample that fantasy genre, in which the Victorian era is reimagined to include Martian technology, steam-powered robots, airships, alchemy, and various anachronistic technologies. First, an excerpt from Michael Moorcock's The Warlord of the Air (1971), considered the first fruit of the movement, though its real origins can be traced back to the work of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells and, according to Jess Nevins' introduction, to the dime-novel Edisonades of the late nineteenth century. Steampunk wasn't considered a genre until the 1980s and early 1990s, when such innovators as Tim Powers, James Blaylock, Paul Di Filippo, and Joe R. Lansdale began writing stories in this vein, some of which are included here. A standout is Ted Chiang's Seventy-Two Letters, in which the theory of preformation and homunculi as well as the biblically inspired figure of the golem are real science. Others, by mainstream-recognized authors, are Michael Chabon's The Martian Agent and Neal Stephenson's Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of Tribes of the Pacific Coast. --Segedin, Ben Copyright 2008 Booklist
Kirkus Review
The diversity of the sci-fi subgenre is amply demonstrated in this anthology of previously published stories, which are supported by a handful of new essays. The essays are rather dull--mostly just rote lists--and not nearly as informative as just reading the stories, which define a nearly indescribable mode and milieu of storytelling both clearly and broadly. Put simply, steampunk is sci-fi either set in or extrapolated from the Victorian era, the "steam" part of the term referring to the source of technology in the various fictional worlds. But as the stories here demonstrate, even that basic framework is easily stretched, and the writers in this collection do so with creativity and verve. Ranging from big names (Neal Stephenson, Michael Chabon, Michael Moorcock) to small, the contributors bring in elements of alternate history, pulp adventure fiction, high fantasy, cyberpunk and drawing-room farce to their tales. There's a wonderful deadpan humor to Molly Brown's story of a ladies' gardening society discovering how to terraform the moon; James Blaylock's account of a rivalry between gentleman scientists; and Paul Di Filippo's tale of an amphibian Queen Victoria impostor. Some stories do stray a little too far afield: Ian R. MacLeod's impressionistic origin myth for a utopian society and Mary Gentle's fable about the perils of progress are a long way from the dime-novel origins of steampunk described in one of the opening essays, and not really grounded in anything recognizably Victorian. At the same time, Ted Chiang's haunting "Seventy-Two Letters" creates a nearly unrecognizable society based as much in magic as technology, but it still captures something essential about its Victorian setting. And even when a story's inclusion is questionable, the writing is never less than compelling. Both fans of steampunk and readers for whom it's a foreign concept should find this collection rewarding. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
While most of the best steampunk is novel length, this anthology is an excellent introduction to the subgenre. Incorporating work from the mid-1980s to today, this volume captures the movement from its beginnings on, collecting writers such as Michael Chabon, Neal Stephenson, Michael Moorcock, and Joe R. Lansdale, among others. It also includes three essays about steampunk's place in literature, film, and comic books. This is not only an engaging book to read but a great resource for anyone looking for information about steampunk.-John Klima, Bettendorf P.L., IA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
