Steampunk
Steampunk is a subgenre of
science fiction, typically with
dystopian and
noir themes, usually set in an
anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian
alternate history setting. Various
secret societies and
conspiracy theories are often featured, and some steampunk includes significant
fantasy elements.
The origin of the term
Steampunk is uncertain, though it is probably a
tongue in cheek variant of "
cyberpunk": rather than emphasising the
computer,
robotic, and
nanotechnology focus of cyberpunk fiction, steampunk fiction focuses more intently on Victorian-era technology, including
steam engines.
Origins of Steampunk
Though there are precedents as old as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, Steampunk developed in the 1980's. K.W. Jeter's 1979 novel Morlock Night is sometimes cited as crystalizing the genre: It incorporates elements of Wells' The Time Machine, which Jeter expands with his own ideas.
Other Forms
Some subdivide Steampunk , noting differences between "Victoria Steampunk" and "Fantasy Steampunk". [1] Victorian steampunk tends to be more science fiction-oriented: presenting an alternate history, presenting real locales and persons from history with different technology. Fantasy steampunk, on the other hand, tends to present steampunk in a completely imaginary world, often populated by fantastic creatures coexisting with steampunk technology.
A similar subgenre is the science fictionalized American Western, as seen in the television shows The Wild Wild West and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.)
As a continuing play on the cyber/steam-punk naming convention, there have been a handful of novels published, self-described as "sandal-punk" which posit a world in which ancient civilization never collapsed into the Dark Ages and instead saw rapid technological advancement after a few key discoveries are made.
See also Alternate history, Clockpunk.
Bibliography
\nSteampunk
Quasi-Victorian science fiction
\n* A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah by Harry Harrison -- an alternate history novel written and set in the 1970s in a world where the American Revolution failed and the British Empire is still going strong. It has a nice mix of technologies advanced or behind ours, with high powered lasers used for drilling, while Babbage engines are used to do calculations for sub-orbital flights.\n* Queen Victoria's Bomb by Ronald Clark -- in the mid 19th century; a physicist gets the idea of isotopic separation after seeing pebbles graded by size on a pebble beach, and makes an atomic bomb. He intends to use it to end the Crimean War, but it never gets used, and no difference is made to history.\n* The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson -- A cyberpunk adventure in a nanotechnological future, with much of the action in a neo-Victorian society\n* The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling -- Meteors devastate Europe and America in the 19th century, causing much of the British upper class to flee to India. The story is set in 2025 in a thoroughly Indianized Angrezi Raj (British Empire), with its capital in Delhi.
Influential Victorian science fiction
\n* From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne\n* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne\n* The Time Machine by H. G. Wells \n* The Ablest Man in the World by Edward Page Mitchell
Comics / graphic novels
\n* Daisy Kutter by Kazu Kibuishi\n* Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio\n* The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1898 by Alan Moore\n* Steam Detectives manga by Kia Asamiya\n* Steampunk by Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo \n* Texas Steampunk series by Lea Hernandez: Cathedral Child and Clockwork Angels\n* Les Cités Obscures by Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten
Steampunk role-playing game material
\n* Castle Falkenstein (RPG) by Mike Pondsmith\n* GURPS Steampunk by William H. Stoddard\n* Iron Kingdoms by Privateer Press\n* Sorcery & Steam by Fantasy Flight Games\n* Space: 1889\n* Forgotten Futures\n* Brassy's Men by Interactivities Ink (Live action roleplaying game)
Filmography
\nMovies
\n*The Adventures of Mark Twain (1982 claymation)\n*The Asphyx (1972)\n*Atlantis: The Lost Empire\n*Back to the Future Part III\n*Bram Stoker's Dracula \n*The City of Lost Children (1995)\n*Dark City (1998)\n*First Men in the Moon\n*Greystoke, the Legend of Tarzan (1983)\n*The Invisible Man \n*Journey to the Center of the Earth\n*The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)\n*Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) \n*Steamboy (2004 anime)\n*The Time Machine\n*20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)\n*Van Helsing (2004)\n*Wild Wild West (1998)
Television
\n*The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr, FOX series\n*Doctor Who: "Pyramids of Mars", "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", "Ghost Light"\n*Firefly, neo-Western space opera, FOX series\n*Gormenghast BBC series\n*Jack of All Trades, syndicated series\n*Last Exile, 2003 26-episode anime TV series\n*Legend, series\n*Read or Die, short anime series\n*The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Sci Fi Channel series\n*Steam Detectives, anime series \n*Trigun, anime series\n*The Wild Wild West, ABC series
Games
\n*Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura\n*Final Fantasy \n*The Chaos Engine\n*Chrono Trigger\n*Chrono Cross (aka Chrono Trigger 2)\n*Shining Force Series\n*Syberia\n*Thief
