tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post4650524007390473076..comments2024-03-17T23:41:39.161-06:00Comments on Steampunk Scholar: Ten Books every Steampunk Scholar needsMike Perschonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-60406346717080680172013-08-27T10:14:47.483-06:002013-08-27T10:14:47.483-06:00You'll note this list is for the person studyi...You'll note this list is for the person studying steampunk - for my lists of books I really enjoyed, check here: http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.ca/p/top-lists.htmlMike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-82285848969940672602013-08-26T17:29:57.786-06:002013-08-26T17:29:57.786-06:00I'm new to steampunk - well sort of - I'm ...I'm new to steampunk - well sort of - I'm new to steampunk like Neo was new to the Matrix. I have always like the genre but I just didn't know it had a name. Now that I'm awake to the truth, I can't get enough. In fact, I'm an author and I've been trying to unify my visions for an adventure/supernatural trilogy but couldn't find a genre that encompassed my vision. That was until I found steampunk. Since then I've been reading as much steampunk as I can get my hands on in search of inspiration.<br /><br />With that said, thanks for posting a list of where to start. I have already read Infernal Devices and Boneshaker, though I'm sad to say, I haven't loved either. Nonetheless, I will try to find copies of the others and read them as well. <br /><br />Presently I am working on the classics and am midway through The Time Machine. I realize that Verne, Wells, and even Robert Louis Stevenson are not steampunk in the strictest sense but their books do seem to have all the components of steampunk.<br /><br />Thanks again for the direction. Bryan Laytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01894792140534925052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-52579789049169976932012-10-05T10:09:47.470-06:002012-10-05T10:09:47.470-06:00It's always good to meet your neighbors! I'...It's always good to meet your neighbors! I'm looking forward to reading it all. If we're in the same section, it must mean we wrote on similar ideas, as the editors sure worked hard to give the book thematic cohesion.Mike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-1553110287459097602012-10-04T20:41:28.845-06:002012-10-04T20:41:28.845-06:00I'm so sad that you say The Difference Engine ...I'm so sad that you say The Difference Engine is "not widely appreciated" -- although it certainly has its flaws (Jay Clayton's critique is convincing on some levels) it's still my ur-Steampunk work, since it engages with the history and the technology so very well, as well as being so well written. I don't disagree with your assessment -- I've spoken to steampunks who admire it and others who dismiss it -- but it was the work that introduced me to the concept of steampunk long before it was a subculture. (Take that, you young whippersnappers . . . )<br /><br />BTW, I have Steaming into a Victorian Future sitting next to me at the moment, and we are "neighbors" in the book . . . Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-23589037191957603722012-09-26T08:50:11.788-06:002012-09-26T08:50:11.788-06:00SteamFord, I think it's important to have a gr...SteamFord, I think it's important to have a grounding in the classics as well as the nineteenth century itself, but I don't consider either "primary steampunk texts." They can enlarge our understanding of steampunk, but they are not steampunk per se. Further, it's my contention (in agreement with Cory Gross) that the influence of Verne and Wells on steampunk is related more to the VSF films made between 1954 and the late '70s. While there are steampunk books that use Verne and Wells as direct inspiration, there are more that seem to use the "idea of Verne and Wells" in the popular imagination.<br /><br />I would compile a separate list with those works on it, just for clarity's sake. But this is more a list for those interested in getting into steampunk, or studying steampunk, who aren't sure where to start.Mike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-60353333151162673062012-09-26T08:29:11.761-06:002012-09-26T08:29:11.761-06:00Cool list, Mike! I'm curious though; do you t...Cool list, Mike! I'm curious though; do you think it necessary to have read the classics - Verne, Wells, etc. - to dive headfirst into Steampunk? <br /><br />I know that you mention you compiled this list based on popularity, but I guess my question is more academic than anything else :)TheCanerdianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12684960748870013858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-29903397957368211432012-09-25T15:38:35.199-06:002012-09-25T15:38:35.199-06:00I have read four out of ten but I do have Leviatha...I have read four out of ten but I do have Leviathan waiting on the to read shelf. I may have to pick up Stormdancer for that Asian steampunk point of view.<br /><br />ColKGColKillgorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16525442150477092825noreply@blogger.com