IF I were to be completely honest, I have been intrigued with the world of Steampunk for many, many moons as I simply adore the style of dress, the artwork of illustrators & indie visual artists, the motion pictures that bring a bit of Steampunkiness to the story-lines (especially the last Three Musketeers & The Invention of Hugo Cabret!), and of course, the idea of having the technology of Steampunk fused and fixed in the Victorian age whilst the regular time continuum shifts forward through the centuries! Now, that is something that I think most can appreciate because Steam Energy and Technology is a cleaner resource than those that were utilized in the Industrial Revolution. I have never known honestly how to jump-dash into the Steam-side of Literature, as I even was so bold and daring as to contact the largest SteamCon over on the West Coast about how one would go about digging into Steam novels — only to be returned a short notice that due to the vastness of the genre, it’s up to each reader to decide! Aye! How then, did I sort it out!? Let me tell you!

Prior to a fortuitous evening at my local library, I took part in The Clockwork Carnival which served as my Introduction to the literary side of Steampunk! Whereupon I read my first-ever novel set in a Steampunk world that revolved around automation! Prior to this contribution piece where I read the novel “The Clockwork Man”, I hadn’t realised that the genre of Steam was as far-fetching as the SteamCon had led me to believe! For instance, when you first start to research books & authors to read, you’re going to run into a few hurdles, especially if you’re at your local library as the card catalogue can only give you certain cross-reference word searches! Of which, limitations pursue, because you’re not always given the direct line of results you’re looking for as I would search for: cogs, clocks, clockwork, steam, steampunk, Victorian London, etc. Some of the best Steam books do not even come up cross-referenced as you think they would be listed but rather are listed as something else entirely! Such as the main subjects that are contained in the book rather than the genre by which the book is attached! A bit frustrating but I must be making progress because for this SFN Reading Challenge I harnessed for myself, I found quite a few new selections that I hadn’t discovered back during “The Clockwork Carnival!”

I do hope you will take the time to click-through to read my piece on The Clockwork Man, because its such a humbling story that emotes such a level of humanity through its wholly unusual lead character! I was taken by his willingness to learn how to adapt to our society, but also, how to love, how to feel, and how to properly live! I wonder if anyone else has read this novel by the indie author William Jablonsky!?

After I read it, I had it in mind to pick up the other alternates I had selected to read during that time, but alas! Time and life tend to run into our blogging affairs every so often, and I was detained! I decided to hold off until another moment arrived where Steampunk could be the main focus again! (hmm, did I have to wait long? winks!) Whilst I tabled reading those selections, I had the pleasure of being given the opportunity to read another indie author’s novel set in a post-apocalypse Steampunk world, where I would imagine it would be considered part Dsytopian as well!? I am referring to “The Boxcar Baby” by J.L. Mulihill, in which the main character is taking a quest to find her long-lost Papa!? As you will read in that review, I was left with mixed feelings when I came to the conclusion of the story. However, what it did for me was open up my eyes further to the wide expanse this genre affords us to read! Each time I find a new book that is of Steampunk nature, I get a bit giddy inside for where I will be led next! Reading is a learning curve, as each book and author you stumble across as your seeking what you’re looking for will be a step closer to where you hope to arrive!

I was originally intending to start off my Steampunk Book Showcase with the selection of “The Iron Wyrm Affair” as its been one of those books that starts to vex you because you keep having to return it and re-check it out again!? I was thinking this would have been perfect timing for me to consume it, only I was not alone in this thinking, as it is quite high in the hold que! Either that, or perhaps a sequel is due out and everyone is trying to re-read the beginning! I do notice that that can happen as well! Instead I am thinking that my first selection could be “The Dark Unwinding” by Sharon Cameron, as I speculate this based on what I read of the author’s website just the other day! I haven’t yet opened the book because I must confess, I am running a bit behind on my SFN writings & readings due to the fact I get a bit addicted to visiting all your lovely SFN blogs!! I get caught up in the social aspects of the event, to where I burnt so much midnight oil on the first three days of SFN, I had to crash a bit earlier today in order to make up the deficient in sleep! Don’t misunderstand me – I am not complaining, but my posts are being drawn out a bit longer to post due to this! Plus, too, let’s face it during lunch I decided to see a new Hallmark Thanksgiving movie entitled: “The Thanksgiving House” which was a lovely addition to the holiday film season!

I am only in the beginnings of my journey into this wicked genre, which is why I do not have too much to disclose in this opening post, as I find that each book brings me a bit closer to understanding it overall! I would love to open up a discussion thread though right now, and encourage anyone who has had history with Steampunk in Literature to post a link back to a post on your own blog that delves into how you came to start reading Steampunk &/or of whom your favourite authors, stand-alone novels, and Steam serial books would be!? Be sure to come back to this post to attach the link of your post in the comments! ONLY link directly to the post you created on this topic, DO NOT link to the main page of your blog! I will be checking! Thank you! I cannot wait to see what everyone’s post!! :)

In the interim, these are the books I pulled from my local library to explore this month:

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron – A most excellent choice! Started to read on 17 November!
The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
Steamed: A Steampunk Romance by Kate MacAlister
Not Less For Gods by Kage Baker
Steampunk: An Anthology by Ann Vandermeer
The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick
Mainspring by Jay Lake
Airborn by Kenneth Opel

I selected each of them for different reasons, as I wanted to see how far I could push myself into the realms of the genre itself. I am not even sure if the settings, plot, and characters will be ones that I can warm myself up too properly, as that is all part of the discovery process, but those that I do warm too are going to be reviewed during SFN! Again, I am running a bit behind in this, as my first Steampunk review might post on the 10th rather than the 3rd as I am just this shy of falling asleep on my keyboard!

I would be curious to hear from you, dear hearts, if you have perhaps read one of these books yourself, what your lasting impression was of them, and if you have a few book selections to provide me for future Steampunky readings!?

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{SOURCES: Sci-Fi November Badge provided by Rinn Reads for participants to advert the month long event and to encourage people to follow along with those of us who are contributing! SFN badge used with permission. SFN Feature badge created by Jorie in Canva.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.