2009 was a
monumental year for steampunk. Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker – the first
installment of her Clockwork Century sequence – was released and was not only nominated for the prestigious Hugo and Nebula Awards but also won
the Locus Award for Best Novel. A bunch of other noteworthy steampunk novels
hit the shelves in ’09 – Gail Carriger’s Soulless, Heart of Veridon by Tim
Akers, George Mann’s The Affinity Bridge, to name just a few – but the year’s most
historically significant event had to be Steamcon, the first ever convention dedicated to steampunk, which was held October 23rd – October 25th,
2009, in Seattle.
And to make it official, the term “steampunk” was even recently added to the newest edition of the New Oxford American Dictionary:
steampunk n. a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.
A few years
back not many readers even knew what steampunk was – but in 2009, the steampunk
renaissance hit mainstream readers with a vengeance. Genre fiction fans who
didn’t even understand the term were now becoming hardcore steampunk fanatics –
and I attribute this, in large part, to Cherie Priest. She had already amassed
a devoted following from her Eden Moore novels (Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Wings to the Kingdom and Not Flesh Nor Feathers) – which blended
together elements of contemporary ghost story, supernatural mystery, and dark
fantasy with a southern gothic feel – but Boneshaker was a simply genre
transcendent work that was palatable to just about everyone. After reading
Boneshaker and experiencing Cherie’s extraordinary narrative – particularly the
breathtakingly original world building – I know of dozens of BarnesandNoble.com
forum regulars who essentially said, “Hey, if this is steampunk, I’m in!”
But with
the meteoric rise of zombie fiction in 2010 – and the continued phenomenal popularity of
vampire and shape-shifter-powered paranormal fantasy – mainstream fiction
readers may have perceived the shine surrounding steampunk fading a bit. That
wasn’t the case, however. In fact, 2010 quietly produced a bumper crop of steampunk
fueled novels and anthologies. Priest released two brilliant Clockwork
Century novels and team VanderMeer followed up their landmark anthology Steampunk (2008) with Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded – an unarguable treasure
of an anthology that not only featured new stories from Priest, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Stephen Baxter, William
Gibson, Margo Lanagan, Catherynne M. Valente, etc. but also included an insightful introduction (entitled “What is Steampunk?”) as well as two
outstanding nonfiction works by Gail Carriger and Jake von Slatt.
There was a real evolution in the steampunk releases of 2010 – it wasn’t all alternate history Victorian London, gaslights and goggles – daring authors have embraced the spirit of this literary movement and have really begun to push the boundaries with wildly innovative settings and inspired storylines.
So for all of those naysayers who think steampunk was just a short-lived literary fad, here is a list of exceptional 2010 releases that prove otherwise. Put that in your handmade, steam-powered hookah and smoke it!
1. Dreadnought by Cherie Priest
2. Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
3. Changeless by Gail Carriger
4. The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
5. Pinion by Jay Lake
6. The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman
7. The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers
8. Clementine by Cherie Priest
9. The Clockwork Man by William Jablonsky
10. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder
11. The Last Page by Anthony Huso
12. Flaming Zeppelins (omnibus reissue of Zeppelins West [2001] and Flaming London[2005]) by Joe R. Lansdale
13. The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick
“Steampunk is not a narrative structure, but an array of aesthetic elements. It is a visual style that can be imposed upon a genre, as well as multimedia: art, music, fashion, décor… if steampunk is only a genre, then we can continue rehashing the themes of imaginary voyages and scientific romances. If it is an aesthetic, then the sky in which the airships fly isn’t even a limit.” – Mike Perschon from The Future of Steampunk: A Roundtable Interview
Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for almost the last two decades and has written more than 6,000 reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, and BarnesandNoble.com. In his free time, he reads.
I adored Boneshaker, and really enjoyed Priest's standalone follow-up Dreadnought. I love the distinctive American flavor of her Clockwork Century series blended with well-imagined steampunk and horror elements. And, most importantly, her main characters are very sympathetic and multi-dimensional.
I'm waiting for delivery of The Iron Duke as I type. Not only is it a stellar steampunk offering, it was named by PW as one of the best romantic releases in 2010. It's got to be good!
Thanks for your steampunk list, Paul. I'll refer to it whenever I'm in the mood.
Paul this is one heavy list! There are a few I have on my list wanting to get and drive into. I am currently reading The Half-Made World. I'm not far into it but I love the mix of demons and machines in this. Great world setting!
This really is a massive list many should be looking at and acting on.
I am ashamed to say a few of these have been in my hot little hands but I didn't have enough money at the time to get them. I will get them!
Thanks Paul!
