Another Look at Steampunk Tales #1

Artist Melita "missmonster" Curphy

The Speculative Society Book Club’s first selection is Steampunk Tales #1, an anthology of ten stories published by Steampulp Publishing LLC.  I must admit if this wasn’t our book club choice, I doubt if I would have bothered with it. 

When confronted with an unknown book, I usually look at three things to decide whether to read or not to read.  I mean if I’m going get cozy on the sofa with a stranger, the unknown book, I want to be darn sure it’s going to be a worth the time. 

So, first thing I look at is the cover.  Okay, bad me.  I do judge a book by it’s cover.  For the cover of Steampunk Tales #1, I give it a five out of a ten.  The artwork is good but the concept screams, predictable.  Girl, googles, gloves, scarf, gun, and dirigibles. 

Second, I look at the blurp.  This is the description on Amazon.  “Emulating the style of the pulp adventure magazines of the 1920s and '30s, Steampunk Tales contains first-run, original fiction written by an A+ list of award-winning authors. Issue #1 contains 10 stories, each running between 4,300 to 11,000 words, for an unbelievable price. Authors contributing to issue #1 include Jay Lake, Catherynne M. Valente, SatyrPhil Brucato and G.D. Falksen. The cover art was painted by popular artist Melita "missmonster" Curphy.”   Nothing in that pushed any of my buttons and enticed me to read on.    

But I did.  I read the first tale called Project Mobius-5 by K. E. Kendall.  How many times have you heard how important the first paragraph, the first five pages, the first chapter are to keep the reader reading?   I think this bit of advice was lost somewhere in the time continuum and I stopped reading.  

There might have been better stories to read in the anthology but not by me.  After all, time is precious, so when I spend time with a book I want to feel like I’m walking with a friend down an unfamiliar road.  

Till next time,

Elizabeth

Steampunk Magazine

I guess there really is a magazine for everything.  My new favorite is Steampunk Magazine.  It’s got the usual, if you’re old school.  Stories, as well as articles and interviews.  The extra bit that the folks at Steampunk mag give is crafts. That’s right.  Crafts.  Isn’t the essence of steampunk doing things yourself, invention.  After all, invention starts out as just fooling around and seeing what you get when you cross that with this. 

 

For example: paper and flour and water.  Paper mache. Victorian paper mache was a far cry from masks and pinatas.  I would love to have my Featherweight sitting on this sewing table.

And can't you see yourself playing a game of whist on this table?

However, there are really good masks made from paper.  And you could make your own paper mache chair.  Ok.  It might not be like this one

  but it will be your own. 

Ooo and there’s a treat on Steampunk Mag's home page. Besides the tour (sorry I missed the first part of it. If you’re in Texas though, there’s still time to show up).  The table of contents for the next steampunk anthology Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution is up.  There are not only some familiar names (Cherie Priest, Jeff Vander Meer, Bruce Sterling), there are also a couple of familiar (to me, at least) stories.  Excellent ones worth being shared once again. 

Here’s also a review on SF Signal. Definitely something to look forward to.

Ok, back to reading.  I'm headed to the Mammoth Book of Steampunk. Happy reading!

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Saved by...

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I was going to write about how story makes us feel better, how each genre has a specific way of going about that task and what I get specifically from steampunk.  Today, though, all of this is more than an idea to fill up blog space or stimulate conversation.  

Since October, before I started looking at steampunk seriously, I found myself at the mercy of public agencies whose intent is to protect the otherwise helpless.  Not somewhere I was expecting to be.  It was stressful in a way that I have not been stressed before and were it not for my writing friends I might not have got through it as well as I did.  While things are a lot better, it’s not over yet. Once more I feel like grain of sand at the mercy of a very large grinding wheel.  Or caught between two industrial-sized steam-driven gears.  And that made it all better. 

Suddenly, not only was I not alone (my tribe has scattered  into married life with children), but I was now the hero of the story.  In steampunk, it’s the creative individual that has a chance to make a difference.  I have choices.  Ok maybe not time travel, but I at least know I’ve not done anything that the machine itself is not trying to do.  It just looks different. I've been listening to Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant.

Cory Doctorow’s  Clockwork Fagin, reminded me of the value of tribe, and the beauty of imagination, skill, and mischief.  Especially mischief.  I am reminded, also, that there are ways around every issue, every challenge, if I just keep my sense of adventure about me.  We don’t always know what to expect, what’s coming even when we have decided what we want for ourselves.  Hand in Glove was a surprise. At least it was for Califa Police Constable Aurelia Atreyu (and I’m sure she’ll forgive me if I spelled her name wrong).  Her story reminded me that when things seem to be overwhelming and wrong, relax and follow what I know to be right. 

I did. And I not only feel much better for it, but I now understand there the plan I was expecting someone else to make was mine all along.  Thanks, Ysabeau.

There may not be a direct correlation between my situation and any one of the stories I’ve been filling up on lately, but there is an effect.  I felt better. I was happy, happier than I’ve been in days.  I’m back working on my novel, seeing gaps and lapses that I haven’t been aware of. And I’m looking forward to the next story, another author to find out what else there is to make me happy, to show me how to make the world a better place.