Steampunk Reads discussion

This is the thread where you post what steampunk books you are reading or planning to read.

I just finished Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, and started into Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.

Leviathan was a good easy read. I enjoyed the alternate history POV and thought it was pretty well done. Keeping in mind that it is a YA book, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I have the sequel, but I am going to finish Boneshaker next.

Boneshaker started off dreadfully slow IMO. Now that I am into it though I am liking it and have been told the sequel picks up right on this pace which is something to look forward to.

I had the audiobook of Boneshaker and I found it most uninvolving. But the majority opnion is against me on this one.

I much preferred the intensity of Whitechapel Gods and the ambient lewdness of Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

If I had to pick my favorite steampunk novel I have read so far it would be Whitechapel Gods. Like you said the intensity in it kept me turning pages very quickly!

The second half of Boneshaker is 100% better than the first. This is my 3rd try to get through it. If I don't make it, I think I'll be done.

Many readers find the intensity of W.Gods uninvolving and wanted more exposition as to the origin of the world. But IMHO that added to the ambiance of the world that S.M. Peters created.

It was the part about the steam powered Airships that was the final straw for me with Boneshaker, but then it's one of the most read SP books out there!

Anyone know of any Diesel Punk novels...?

I'm reading Boneshaker right now, and I kind of have the same opinion as Neon. So far I'm not really enjoying it. I like the imagery and setting, but I'm not really connecting with the characters. I hope JT is right about the second half of the book...

I just finished "Steamed" by Katie MacAlister... it was TERRIBLE. I only finished it because I really hate to leave a book half read. I should know better than to read "romance" novels but it came up on a search for steampunk at the local library (am so glad I didn't spend money on it). It was full of continuity errors and switched without warning from first person one character to first person another character :P

As an aside, I read Boneshaker recently and quite enjoyed it. I believe it's a YA novel so I didn't expect great depth or scope. I'll admit though that I lived in Seattle for a while and took the "underground tour" on a recent trip there so it was fun to visualize the scenes from the novel taking place in real places. If you ever have a chance to go to Seattle I highly recommend the underground tour as an awesomely steampunky experience :)

The next book in my stack is Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. It's another YA novel. I'll update after finishing :)

If you have a sense of the ridiculous try "Flaming Zeppelins: the adventures of Ned the Seal" by Joe R. Lansdale :)

Neon wrote: "I had the audiobook of Boneshaker and I found it most uninvolving. But the majority opnion is against me on this one.

That could just be a case of a badly produced audiobook.

Or perhaps that story just isn't for you.

Doc

I am currently in the middle of reading Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

I also recently finished listening to the podiobook version of The Hidden Institute by Brand Gamblin. While Hidden Institute is technically Sci-Fi, it has a very steampunk feel and deals with issues of class, privilege, and discrimination. Is Steampunk is Cyberpunk rewound 200 years, The Hidden Institute would be Steampunk fast forwarded 200 years. I enjoyed the podiobook and the setting, but I felt that in some places the pacing moved too fast. I hope Brand will get a commercial contract to re-develop this book and will explore some of the concepts in more depth.

I think the next Steamy thing on my list is Gail Carriger's second novel, Changeless.

Doc

I just started The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross. It's a 78 page "prequel" and I'm about halfway through it with no complaints. If it stays this good to the end I'll have to grab the next one, The Girl in the Steel Corset.

Doc wrote: "I also recently finished listening to the podiobook version of [book:The Hidden Institute|10..."

"Podiobook" - is that where you walk while you read ??

Doc wrote: "Neon wrote: "I had the audiobook of Boneshaker and I found it most uninvolving. But the majority opnion is against me on this one.

That could just be a case of a badly produced audiobook.

Or perh..."

@Doc - Could be, but the number of times I felt like screaming "just get on with it" didn't bode well!

@Kbes74 - Thanks for the heads up on Steamed... I was going to buy it for Mrs Neon :-)

Rob wrote: "Doc wrote: "I also recently finished listening to the podiobook version of [book:The Hidden Institute|10..."

"Podiobook" - is that where you walk while you read ??"

You could! Podiobooks.com is an online service for novels and anthologies published in podcast format. You can subscribe to a story and adjust how often new chapters are delivered. It isn't your standard audiobook format, but most podiobooks are created by the author and give you a flavor for what the author had in mind for the story.

Doc

Finished Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, it was pretty good, light of course as a YA... I also finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, which I wouldn't necessarily have termed "steampunk" per se. I like Clive Barkers work better in the genre Neverwhere would fit into (er, fantasy distopia?)

On to Steampunk 2, although I've always got issues with reading short stories...

Kbens74 wrote: "Finished Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, it was pretty good, light of course as a YA... I also finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, which I wouldn't necessarily have termed "steampunk" per se. I like Cli..."

Have you seen/heard of the Neverwhere TV series?

A TV series? Is it of worth, by any chance?

OOOOOO... nope, hadn't heard of a TV series... but now that you've mentioned it... :D have it downloading now!

Thanks for that Neon! *squee*

Kbens74 wrote: "OOOOOO... nope, hadn't heard of a TV series... but now that you've mentioned it... :D have it downloading now!

Thanks for that Neon! *squee*"

The TV series is..... OK. It was made on Hi-def video meant to be converted to a film-look format. However the budget was cut forthis so it has a very odd look to it. If you from America this means it'll look cheap, if you're from England it looks like it was made on the set of Eastenders.

The only similar novel is Roofworld by Christopher Fowler, which though less magickal is full of adventure.

It reminded me of Barkers Cabal or Weaveworld... I'm used to BBC productions, just didn't know it existed :) am excited to see it!

Gaiman's "Neverwhere" television series was an awesome show (I have had it on DVD since it became available.) The book that followed, in typical Gaiman style, was even more so.

I enjoyed Leviathan and Behemoth more than Boneshaker, but Boneshaker wasn't bad. I had troubles getting into Neverwhere.

Cherie Priest's "Clockwork Century" series, _Boneshaker_, _Clementine_, and _Dreadnought_ were my Outstanding Reads for 2010.

I'm starting The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primertonight. I expect good things.

Doc wrote: "Rob wrote: "Doc wrote: "I also recently finished listening to the podiobook version of [book:The Hidden Institute|10..."

"Podiobook" - is that where you walk while you read ??"

You could! Podiobo..."

Bravo! I just learned something new...Podiobook! I'll have to look into it since it's my duty (not to mention my job) to get people connected with books.

I'm trying to finish Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey before I start *another* book but I'm leaning toward "Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville.

Karen wrote: "Doc wrote: "Rob wrote: "Doc wrote: "I also recently finished listening to the podiobook version of [book:The Hidden Institute|10..."

"Podiobook" - is that where you walk while you read ??"

You co..."

If you're of the same character as Oscar Wilde and delight in the completely strange and unusual, then Perdido Street Station would be worth pausing the reading of another book!

Karen wrote: "Bravo! I just learned something new...Podiobook! I'll have to look into it since it's my duty (not to mention my job) to get people connected with books."

Glad I could help. If you like podcasts or audiobooks, podiobooks are a great way to get new stories in your ears.

I should probably also mention the View from Valhalla, a blog which features reviews of podiobooks and other podcast novels. If you're not sure what podiobook to try, Odin1eye's reviews can usually give you a good idea. http://viewfromvalhalla.com

Disclaimer: Odin1eye is a friend of mine on Twitter, but he has a fairly large following for his reviews.

Doc

I'm currently reading Changeless by Gail Carriger and The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. Normally I don't care to read 2 things at once, but the voice in both books is similar enough that they mesh well without confusing me which story is which. The Hodder novel jumped up in my queue after learning a second one is coming out soon (or maybe has been now?) and it sounded really good. Plus, the cover is GORGEOUS.

If you guys haven't read Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris's Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising yet, it's definitely the next one you should. It's been a very long time since a book was that fast and fun to read for me!

My next reads will be Blameless (Carriger again) and the newest Mark Hodder (the title escapes me, Curious Case of something or other).

Starla wrote: "I'm currently reading Changeless by Gail Carriger and The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. Normally I don't care to read 2 things at once, but the voice in both books is similar..."

Probably The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man . It's next in the series after Spring-Heeled Jack.

How is that book, by the way--Spring-Heeled Jack? I've seen the book at the store, but I've been unsure of whether or not it's worth buying.

Anna wrote: "How is that book, by the way--Spring-Heeled Jack? I've seen the book at the store, but I've been unsure of whether or not it's worth buying. "

I'm quite enjoying it. It's a fun alternate history that uses actual historical figures, but not in the way that you'd need to read the wikipedia entry on every person if you're not already familiar with them. They become new characters in the book. It's written in the standard, slightly flowery prose that most Victorian-esque novels have, but not quite as flippant a voice as the Carriger books. As I haven't finished it yet, I can't speak for the whole thing, of course. It's worth picking up, IMO.

Starla wrote: "Anna wrote: "How is that book, by the way--Spring-Heeled Jack? I've seen the book at the store, but I've been unsure of whether or not it's worth buying. "

I'm quite enjoying it. It's a fun altern..."

I'll take your word on it, considering you've read much more of it than I have!

Either way, thank you. ^_^

I'm currently reading Lady of Devices, by Shelley Adina. I'm about 60 pages into it and it's quite good so far.

I just read The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge and I really liked it. It is shelved as a YA novel but the girl is like sixteen and she acts older so it wasn't annoying to read from like a thirteen year olds perspective. Unfortunately it just came out so we have to wait a long time for the second novel. I recommend checking it out!

Doc wrote: "I am currently in the middle of reading Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

I also recently finished listening to the podiobook version of [book:The Hidden Institute|10..."

I really enjoyed Phoenix Rising and am looking forward to it becoming a series (or at least hoping) I just picked up "the Map of Time" by Felix J. Palma which I will probably start this weekend.

Ginger wrote: "I really enjoyed Phoenix Rising and am looking forward to it becoming a series (or at least hoping)"

I have it on good authority that they're working on the second book ("Of Cogs and Corsets") as we speak. If you'd like to hear more stories from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, they have a free podcast called "Tales from the Archives", in which you can hear short stories of other cases. You can listen on their webpage (http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurren...) or look it up on iTunes.

Okay, so I'm a contributing author (story to drop next month), but I SWEAR I'm not biased. Srsly.

I just finished "Ghosts of Manhattan". Liked it!

recently finished the young adult novel The Girl in the Steel Corset. Started great but tended to ramble on a bit too much later on. Still- not bad. Have the prequel story on my Nook but haven't read it yet.

I've just started Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space, a book that has been categorized as YA but I'm thinking it should be juvenile. Regardless, it's starting out as a fun read.

Half way through the adventure and I'm getting ready to grab up book 2 so I can have it ready to read! Fun, imaginative, steampunk in space! It would be great for 4th grade and up.

I am reading Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded. I prefer novels to short stories, because I like to feel the growth of the characters. Short story characters may express a sudden shift or twist in their existence, but it doesn't leave me satisfied. I picked it up because the library was about to close, I had a crying three year old in my arms, and I wasn't leaving that place without something steampunk in my clutches.

I just finished Boneshaker and Dreadnought by Cherie Priest. I loved them both in different ways. I didn't feel that Boneshaker dragged in any way.

I just finished both Boneshaker and Dreadnought by Cherie Priest, too. Agree that they are different but each good. I enjoyed Dreadnought more, though the ending isn't satisfying--after all the (mis)adventures, Mercy arrives in Seattle and then what? I suppose she's been changed by the journey in order to survive in her new environs. If the action is better in Dreadnought, then the character development seems better in Boneshaker.

I'm reading (kind of slowly) Jeff VanderMeer's City of Saints and Madmen and Soulless by Gail Carriger. I adore Gail Carriger-follow her books, her blog, her anywhere!

I'm a new member. I've just completed Heartless by Gail Carriger, and started Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti. I must be on a "heart" related theme. *snicker*

Reading Changeless by Gail Carriger currently! :)

I've just started reading Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve. I guess it's technically steampunk, though it is set in the future...
Good book, though. ;)

About to read The Osiris Ritual by George Mann

Just started Chenda and the Airship Brofman by Emilie P. Bush.

Just finished Changeless, loved it! Reading another book for a challenge, but then Blameless will be next! :)

I am fairly new to reading the Steampunk genre, but I am loving it so far.

I am a big fan of Gail Carriger. I recently finished reading Heartless, and I am already excited about Timeless.

I also really enjoy Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century books. I know Boneshaker starts off slow, but I enjoyed. My favorite of the series is Dreadnought. There is another book, Ganymede, coming out in September.

The last Steampunk books I have read are Steam & Sorcery and Photographs & Phantoms by Cindy Spencer Pape. Photographs & Phantoms felt a little rushed because it was only novella length, but overall both were quite entertaining.

Neon wrote: "Anyone know of any Diesel Punk novels...? "


No, but I was just looking for some, have any suggestions now?

Is Fatherland Dieselpunk? I haven't read it, but I've got a copy and a friend teased me about getting into Dieselpunk when he saw it, so it might be worth checking out.