Steampunk fiction - Any suggestions?

[XX55XX]

I've been re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events recently (a childhood favorite), and I am hungry for more Steampunk fiction, be it intended for children or adults. Any suggestions?

And yes, I am aware of the works of Jules Verne, but I do seek more contemporary stuff.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Titus Alone, by Mervyn Peake (in fact, read the trilogy, but that one in particular is considered a keystone of steampunk).

Those books are the whole reason low-fantasy exists. They are Lord of the Rings of the genre, there's no excuse for not having read them save the fact that Mervyn Peake was blatantly insane and his prose reads like John Keats took far too much ecstasy and got trapped in an antiques shop.

 

[madhousezack]

I've been re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events recently (a childhood favorite), and I am hungry for more Steampunk fiction, be it intended for children or adults. Any suggestions?

And yes, I am aware of the works of Jules Verne, but I do seek more contemporary stuff.

"A series of Unfortunate Events" is not steampunk, although the mood is similar thanks to Lemony Snicket's Victorian England style. Try some classic Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and maybe some Arthur C. Doyle.

 

[galaktar]

Leviathan series: by Scott Westerfield - WWI from the alternate history of the Darwinists vs. the Clankers.
Anubis Gates - more of a black magic & time travel kind of novel.
The Golden Compass - I didn't like it, but I am told that other people do.
City of Ember

 

[Bravo Company]

I second the Leviathan series, I'm currently reading the second book and its not struggling to keep me interested.

 

[Kyrian007]

Just finished Brandon Sanderson's "The Alloy of Law," it's the latest book in his Mistborn series. It's pretty steampunk, but you have to read thru the first 3 Mistborn books to get to it, and they are more "high fantasy" than tAoL. But they are fantastic, so it evens out.

 

[Elliott Jones]

You gotta read 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins. A story of people who are competing to kill each other on Live Television, set in a future Dystopian Society.

 

[Lenny Magic]

More Dieselpunk rather than Steampunk, but the Mortal Engines Quartet (Hungry City Chronicles if you are from the US) by Philip Reeve is something I can definitely recommend. Basic staple of the books is that cities now move about the world on wheels consuming each other.

 

[Zen Toombs]

You gotta read 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins. A story of people who are competing to kill each other on Live Television, set in a future Dystopian Society.

Erm, not sure if joking. I'm pretty certain that "The Hunger Games" isn't Steampunk, just dystopian.

If it doesn't run on steam or gears it probably isn't steampunk. And, just throwing that out there, future televisions use electricity.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Fiction in general? Then I can at least suggest the anime film Steamboy, with the English dub mind you as British voices fit it so much better than Japanese ones. It sort of devolves into a crazy-ass trip near the end, but I still found it absolutely captivating.

Also, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a really cool old-school WRPG that combines a Victorian steampunk world with old fantasy tropes. Want to play an ogre with a top hat who flings spells around? Sure! A dwarf with a monocle who lets robot spiders battle for him? You betcha! The combat is rather archaic, but it does have that ol' roleplaying magic you just don't find in modern RPG's.

 

[Malty Milk Whistle]

I've been re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events recently (a childhood favorite), and I am hungry for more Steampunk fiction, be it intended for children or adults. Any suggestions?

And yes, I am aware of the works of Jules Verne, but I do seek more contemporary stuff.

the mortal engines trilogy, its more of a work of beauty than anything else

 

[4RM3D]

A great steampunk(ish) RPG for the PS3 or Xbox360: Resonance of Fate.

 

[Dirkie]

You could consider the gaslamp fantasy by Phil Foglio, Girl Genius. (it's a webcomic, but it's there allright)

 

[PotluckBrigand]

"Whitechapel Gods" by S.M. Peters

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

"In Victorian London, the Whitechapel section has been cut of, enclosed by an impassable wall, and is now ruled by two mysterious mechanical gods. Mama Engine is the goddess of sentiment, a mother to her believers. Grandfather Clock represents logic and precision.

"A few years have passed since the Uprising, when humans fought the gold cloaks, the black cloaks, and even the vicious Boiler Men, the brutal police force responsible for keeping humans in check. Today, Whitechapel is a mechanized, steam-driven hell, but a few brave veterans of the Uprising have formed a new resistance, and they are gathered for another attack. [sic] For now they have a secret weapon that may finally free them... or kill them."

Picked it up a couple years ago off the bargain table at my local book store and enjoyed it quite a bit. There's a disease people get that turns their bodies into machines. It's kinda cool. I've never read or indeed seen anything else by the author, but I would totally get another of his books if I found one.

Also, I haven't read it, but I have heard "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest is good.

I've always been more of a Cyberpunk guy myself, but that subset of fiction is so saturated by samey Gibson wannabes that it is hard to find a good book set apart from the boring ones.

 

[Vykrel]

i really wish there were more steampunk-themed games. i love the theme

 

[Scarim Coral]

Well if you're into comicbook I heard about this Steampunk comicbook series called "Lady Mechanika". I haven't read it myself but I think it's good.