Steampunk seems to be one of those previously fringe genres that has gained prominence in mainstream culture in recent years. For the few who don’t already have some inkling of what steampunk is, it is an alternate view of history, usually the Victorian era, where futuristic developments exist as the Victorians expected they would and usually involve steam power as opposed to electricity. For instance, airships and flying machines may exist or formally discredited Victorian scientific theories may hold to be true, such as Tesla’s teleportation engine used in the movie The Prestige. The mix of Victorian romance and technology is fertile ground to the most imaginative of authors, and so here are a few accessible reads to get you started, which capture the essence of steampunk without alienating newcomers.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and The Dark Volume by GW Dahlquist
While I can appreciate that steampunk is not to everybody’s taste, the relative little success these books have enjoyed perplexes me. The title of the first in the two-part series is unwieldy and suggests something more akin to fantasy or sci-fi, but actually, these two books form a heady Dickensian mystery tale, laden with erotic overtones and indulgent satire of Victoriana. The mad scientists and creepy laboratories may conjure comparisons with Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes and the gothic horror story, and indeed, there is a lot of homage paid in Dahlquist’s work to writers who inspired him.
Following the well trodden path of a period mystery story with multitudes of characters muddying the waters, the plot follows Miss Temple, Cardinal Chang and Dr. Svensen, an unlikely trio who are thrown together as they try to defeat a secret cabal who are using strange indigo glass books to record the memories and experiences of others and enslave the world. The cabal’s apparently complex scheme hides a deceptively simple plot, and if you find yourself completely befuddled half way through, rest assured, that all becomes clear by the end of the second book. You must read these books together. They don’t, despite the author’s protests, stand alone as separate narratives. In fact, they are simply one epic story that was cruelly torn in two. The fate of a third book remains undecided, with rumours that the publisher pulled the plug based on poor sales of the first two. Frustrating as that is for fans such as myself, The Dark Volume does offer a conclusion to the saga, so you won’t be left hanging.
Yes, there may be plot holes galore if the story is subjected to enough scrutiny, but this is pure entertainment to be enjoyed, rather than over-analysed. The real magic of these books though is that reading them is an immersive experience, akin to an opium haze. The pace is thrilling, admirably sustained over the substantial length of the novels and the result is a good old-fashioned adventure romp with period costumes, steampunk ingenuity and a hearty dose of sex and violence. The very definition of a ripping yarn.
Aurorarama by Jean-Christophe Valtat
The blurb of this book should be more than enough to entice in readers who are keen on adventures and mystery. Set in 1908 in the steampunk styled city of New Venice in the Arctic with colonial British undertones, drug fuelled aristocrats and oppressed natives, the story is one of political intrigue. The local police force, The Gentlemen of the Night, are hunting the ringleader of an impending revolt while a mysterious black airship hovers over the city. The date is deceptive, ostensibly placing it in a time with which we are all familiar, and yet, it is revealed that the date is 1908 AB, After Backwards, which raises more questions than it answers as we face the concept of time being counted backwards. It is never discovered whether this is an enclave of Victorian life within a futuristic society, but that uncertainty is part of the charm.
Revelling in its literary excellence this book is full of beautifully crafted lyrical sentences, that made me pause and reread them, just to fully savour and appreciate their beauty. It is a rare book that can slow my break neck reading pace, but this is not a book to be dashed through. It deserves to be slowly and fully enjoyed. This self-conscious construction of prose may be alienating to some readers, the result of a Frenchman writing in sleek English, but it isn’t often that you come across a book so quietly unique in structure. There may be times where it is apparent that the author is not a native English speaker, but it is an impressive feat to be able to blend his distinctive use of the language into the mythos of the world of New Venice. Even swearing is handled in a bizarre way – my favourite being ‘phoque-in-iceholes.’
A surreal blend of dreamlike inventiveness and the supernatural, Aurorarama is quite an experience. More books set in the same universe are promised, and now that the rules of his world have been established, Valtat will no doubt bring us masterfully told polar adventure stories with a decidedly French accent.
Mystic by G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez
I simply couldn’t miss a chance to recommend a comic in amongst all the literature! Over the past two months, Marvel has been reviving a title which previously belonged to defunct comic company, Crossgen. Mystic is described by writer G. Willow Wilson as a ‘high-fantasy Mean Girls meets Les Miserables’ and is the story of two orphan girls who teach themselves the forbidden noble arts. Set in the beautifully rendered steampunk city of Hyperion, this could well a suitable replacement for anyone pining after the Harry Potter series.
And the art, well, I could go on for ages about the art. Beautifully clear and expressive, with film-like framing and creating dynamic movement on the page, this is a triumph. It could even be said to resemble a polished version of the storyboards for a Disney animated movie. And indeed, the Mouse does now own Marvel comics. If that means we’ll be seeing more inventive genre fare like Mystic, that can only be a good thing. At only four issues long, it is as yet only a mini-series, and while it may well be collected into graphic novel form in the future, buying it now in single issues would go a little way to help boost the comics industry. Issues 1 and 2 should be readily available online, with the final two issues coming in the next few months.
You have made these sound enticing …especially the first two …even to a person who tends to read cookery books and the odd book that contains background for family history.