Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

by Kelly Link, Gavin J. Grant Narrated by Sarah Coomes, Nico Evers-Swindell, Arthur Morey, Julia Whelan, Shannon McManus

Overview

In the first major YA steampunk anthology, fourteen top storytellers push the genre's mix of sci-fi, fantasy, history, and adventure in fascinating new directions.

Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships. Here, fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, embrace the genre's established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings as diverse as Appalachia, ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California. Visionaries Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant have invited all-new explorations and expansions, taking a genre already rich, strange, and inventive in the extreme and challenging contributors to remake it from the ground up. The result is an anthology that defies its genre even as it defines it.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Veteran editors Link and Grant serve up a delicious mix of original stories from 14 skilled writers and artists. Among the many high points: Cassandra Clare’s creepy “Some Fortunate Future Day,” in which a lonely girl, grown bored with her sentient clockwork dolls, develops a crush on a wounded soldier; Libba Bray’s subversively funny “The Last Ride of the Glory Girls,” which concerns a girl gang robbing trains and dirigibles on another planet (presumably a future Mars) heavily reminiscent of the Old West; Holly Black’s humorous and romantic “Everything Amiable and Obliging,” whose heroine, a rich orphan, must deal with her feelings toward her cousin and persuade his sister not to marry her clockwork dance instructor; and M.T. Anderson’s magisterial “The Oracle Engine,” which explores the political complexities resulting from the Roman Empire’s development of a Rube Goldberg–like supercomputer. Chockful of gear-driven automatons, looming dirigibles, and wildly implausible time machines, these often baroque, intensely anachronistic tales should please steampunks of all ages. As the lovelorn, mechanically gifted “hero” of comics artist Shawn Cheng’s contribution says, “The world is a machine. Imperfect parts together in a perfect arrangement.” Ages 14–up. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

Steampunk is hot at the moment in literature, art and fashion: This collection taps into the ethos without ever seeming topical or transient, thanks to contributions rich with much more than just steam and brass fittings. . . . An excellent collection, full of unexpected delights.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Veteran editors Link and Grant serve up a delicious mix of original stories from 14 skilled writers and artists...Chockful of gear-driven automatons, looming dirigibles, and wildly implausible time machines, these often baroque, intensely anachronistic tales should please steampunks of all ages.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Within these pages, there's a little something for everyone...This exceptional anthology does great service to the steampunk subgenre and will do much to further its audience.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Editors Link and Gavin treat fans, old and new, to an array of fantastically rich stories in this polished, outstanding collection...the result is an anthology that is almost impossible to put down… From rebellious motorists to girl bandits, the characters in this imaginative collection shine, and there isn't a weak story in the mix; each one offers depth and delight.
—Booklist (starred review)

It is about time that steampunk short stories really got a focused and creative exploration in YA lit, and this anthology of fourteen pieces is an excellent start.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

In a genre based upon the re-imagining and reinvention of history, these authors manage to take their characters-and readers-to bold new frontiers.
—The Horn Book

All the stories are of consistent excellence, with surprises galore… Steampunk! will appeal to teen—and adults—for its originality of execution, variety of settings and the pure panache displayed by its 14 authors and artists.
—Shelf Awareness for Readers

Steampunk! is excellent anthology that showcases a fantastic genre. In fact, the majority of these stories are enthralling, and the characters are intriguing and usually easy to relate to. Overall, this is a rich and captivating collection.
—SLJ Teen (a SLJ newsletter)

With a host of various heroes and villains-"scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, Utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans” among them-Steampunk! would be a fine starting point for anyone curious about this genre as these popular authors more than live up to their reputations.
—BookPage

Each story challenges the boundaries of the steampunk aesthetic, while standing on its own as thoughtful, insightful works of short fiction...For those not so pedagogically inclined, it’s got my vote for the best collection of steampunk I’ve seen so far, not only as steampunk tales, but as damn fine short stories in their own right.
—Tor.com (Barnes & Noble Bestseller's Picks)

The anthology is geared to a YA readership, but I think adults who are fans of steampunk will enjoy many (or all) of the tales presented here.
—GeekDad (a Wired blog)

Hot, hot, hot. Each of the stories is it's own unique little gem.
—Someday My Printz Will Come (SLJ blog)

This collection of short stories, including two graphic shorts, is a crazy cool compilation of the hybrid genre that is steampunk. The blending of historical and science fiction is flawless and the graphic shorts with detailed illustrations are a nice addition.
—Library Media Connection

From wish fulfillment to neo-noir, there's a story in this collection for everyone, newcomers and genre devotees alike.
—San Francisco Book Review

School Library Journal - Audio

Gr 8 Up—Fourteen of today's most celebrated young adult authors have collaborated to create this anthology featuring short stories about alternate worlds. Adventure, romance, and, of course, steam-fueled clockwork combine to power this wonderfully inventive collection. Libba Bray's "Last Ride of the Glory Girls" is the highlight of these selections. Read in a sleepy Texas drawl, this otherworldly narrative tells of a young woman getting mixed up with an all-girl band of outlaws who use a time-stopping device to rob trains. Also memorable are Cory Doctorow's "Clockwork Fagin," in which a group of crippled orphans dispose of their cruel caretaker and replace him with a mechanical replica; and Kelly Link's "The Summer People," a hauntingly beautiful tale about a young girl's plot to escape the strange family to whom she is eternally bound in servitude. The collection's two graphic offerings, Shawn Cheng's "Seven Days Beset by Demons" and "Kathleen Jennings's Finishing School," are presented digitally on a bonus disc. These gems could easily get overlooked by listeners—so librarians might want to make note of the bonus offering on the audiobook packaging. Among the authors represented are M. T. Anderson, Holly Black, Elizabeth Knox, Garth Nix, Cassandra Clare, and others. The multiple readers do a fantastic job narrating these tales, employing everything from a Southern twang to an Irish brogue to bring the stories and their characters to life. This anthology has something for everyone and would make a worthy addition to libraries with a high demand for steampunk. However, considering not all stories translate into audio format, libraries may want to offer patrons the print alternative as well.—Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

MARCH 2012 - AudioFile

Fourteen young adult authors push the envelope of steampunk to present tales that feature automatons, gadgets, dirigibles, brave teens, and all in fabulous, exotic locales (but never Victorian London). Listeners will be drawn deep into an alien frontier world, rural Virginia, Wales, ancient Rome, and more, and as each setting varies, so do the expert narrations. Listeners will enjoy hearing about the adventures of “Steam Girl,” fairies who hold their keeper with trinkets that grant wishes, and thieves who are able to stop time to rob trains. The only disappointment is that listeners are not treated to the text of the two graphic tales contained in the printed collection. J.M. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171613969
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	10/11/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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