Steampunk – Ann & Jeff VanderMeer (ed.)
2008, Tachyon Publications
373 pages
RRP: US$14.95
ISBN: 9781892391759

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

This anthology is a diverse mix of novel excerpts and short stories from the canon of the steampunk subgenre and rounded out with some newer stories. They are balanced by some non-fiction writings on the genre. Steampunk aficionados will find the collection a useful addition to their libraries.

Standout stories for me included Ian R. Macleod’s almost high fantasy steampunk world in The Giving Mouth, where a Blight has overtaken the land. The story is gritty, with elements of the grotesque, as a young boy grows up in the shadow of his father.

A Sun in the Attic, Mary Gentle’s offering, is an interesting take on house rivalry in a matriarchal society. It is an entertaining and thought-provoking read about the cultural dangers of new technology and maintaining the status quo.

Molly Brown’s The Selene Gardening Society is another excellent story: a comedy of manners where a group of society ladies plan to cultivate the moon via the judicious application of compost.

Victoria by Paul di Filippo is another wonderfully entertaining story from the light-hearted side of steampunk. What would happen if a scientist bred a human/newt who bore more than a passing resemblance to Queen Victoria? Obviously, there is going to be lots of sex, political intrigue and a new court!

The final story in the anthology, Neal Stephenson’s Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of ‘Tribes of the Pacific Coast’ is a delightful story in the same vein as his novel The Diamond Age. It is a cyberpunk/steampunk story about a race for control of technology, told in a pompous pseudo-scientific tone which serves to heighten amusement.

While the range of material in this anthology was broad, the “something for everyone” approach meant that the collection was a bit hit and miss for my personal taste. The inclusion of essays and early steampunk stories may have not been my preferred reading, but they do serve to round out the collection to be a broad overview of the genre.