Search Worlds Without End

Steampunk, the retro-futuristic cultural movement, has become a substantial and permanent genre in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. A large part of its appeal is that, at its core, Steampunk is about doing it yourself: building on the past while also innovating and creating something original. VanderMeer's latest book offers practical and inspirational guidance for readers to find their individual path into this realm. Including sections on art, fashion, architecture, crafts, music, performance, and storytelling, The Steampunk User's Manual provides a conceptual how-to guide that motivates and awes both the armchair enthusiast and the committed creator. Examples range from the utterly doable to the completely over-the-top, encouraging participation and imagination at all levels.

Steampunk -- a grafting of Victorian aesthetic and punk rock attitude onto various forms of science-fiction culture -- is a phenomenon that has come to influence film, literature, art, music, fashion, and more.

The Steampunk Bible is the first compendium about the movement, tracing its roots in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells through its most recent expression in movies such as Sherlock Holmes. Its adherents celebrate the inventor as an artist and hero, re-envisioning and crafting retro technologies including antiquated airships and robots. A burgeoning DIY community has brought a distinctive Victorian-fantasy style to their crafts and art. Steampunk evokes a sense of adventure and discovery, and embraces extinct technologies as a way of talking about the future.

This ultimate manual will appeal to aficionados and novices alike on a wild ride through the clockwork corridors of Steampunk history.

An outrageous trio of novellas that bizarrely and brilliantly twists the Victorian era out of shape, by a master of steampunk alternate history

Welcome to the world of steampunk, a nineteenth century outrageously reconfigured through weird science. With his magnificent trilogy, acclaimed author Paul Di Filippo demonstrates how this unique subgenre of science fiction is done to perfection--reinventing a mannered age of corsets and industrial revolution with odd technologies born of a truly twisted imagination.

In "Victoria," the inexplicable disappearance of the British monarch-to-be prompts a scientist to place a human-lizard hybrid clone on the throne during the search for the missing royal. But the doppelgänger queen comes with a most troubling flaw: an insatiable sexual appetite. The somewhat Lovecraftian "Hottentots" chronicles the very unusual adventure of Swiss naturalist and confirmed bigot Louis Agassiz as his determined search for a rather grisly fetish plunges him into a world of black magic and monsters. Finally, in "Walt and Emily," the hitherto secret and quite steamy love affair between Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman is revealed in all its sensuous glory--as are their subsequent interdimensional travels aboard a singular ship that transcends the boundaries of time and reality.

Ingenious, hilarious, ribald, and utterly remarkable, Di Filippo's The Steampunk Trilogy is a one-of-a-kind literary journey to destinations at once strangely familiar and profoundly strange.

Table of Contents:

• Victoria - (1991) - novella
• Hottentots - (1995) - novella
• Walt and Emily - (1993) - novella

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.

Table of Contents

• Clockwork Fagin - novelette by Cory Doctorow
• Everything Amiable and Obliging - novelette by Holly Black
• Finishing School: A Colonial Adventure - shortfiction by Kathleen Jennings
• Gethsemane - novelette by Elizabeth Knox
• Hand in Glove - novelette by Ysabeau S. Wilce
• Nowhere Fast - novelette by Christopher Rowe
• Peace in Our Time - shortstory by Garth Nix
• Seven Days Beset by Demons - shortfiction by Shawn Cheng
• Some Fortunate Future Day - shortstory by Cassandra Clare
• Steam Girl - novelette by Dylan Horrocks
• The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor - novelette by Delia Sherman
• The Last Ride of the Glory Girls - novelette by Libba Bray
• The Oracle Engine - novelette by M. T. Anderson
• The Summer People - novelette by Kelly Link

The stories in this all-original anthology explore alternate timelines and have been set all over the world, running the gamut from science fiction to mystery to horror to a melding of these genres.

Table of Contents:

• 1 - Introduction (Steampunk'd) - essay by Jean Rabe
• 3 - Chance Corrigan and the Tick-tock King of the Nile - [Chance Corrigan] - novelette by Michael A. Stackpole
• 29 - Foggy Goggles - short story by Donald J. Bingle
• 44 - The Battle of Cumberland Gap - novelette by William C. Dietz
• 65 - Portrait of a Lady in a Monocle - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• 85 - Foretold - novelette by Bradley P. Beaulieu
• 114 - The Echoer - short story by Dean Leggett
• 127 - Of A Feather - novelette by Stephen D. Sullivan
• 158 - Scourge of the Spoils - novelette by Matthew P. Mayo
• 179 - Edison Kinetic Light & Steam Power - short story by C. A. Verstraete
• 193 - The Nubian Queen - novelette by Paul Genesse
• 224 - Opals from Sydney - novelette by Mary Louise Eklund
• 246 - The Whisperer - novelette by Marc Tassin
• 262 - Imperial Changeling - novelette by Penny Williams and Skip Williams
• 292 - The Transmogrification Ray - short story by Robert E. Vardeman

Using the winners of a charity auction as characters, Eileen Gunn riffs on four formative steampunk books in this mini-collection comprised of "A Different Engine," "Day After the Cooters," "The Perdito Street Project," and "Internal Devices."

All stories can be read for free at Tor.com:

• A Different Engine
• Day After the Cooters
• The Perdito Street Project
• Internal Devices

An anthology showcasing the very best steampunk stories from three different countries released by three different publishers in three different languages.

From the UK, George Mann (a new Newbury & Hobbes tale), Jonathan Green (a new Pax Brittania tale), and Derry O'Dowd; from Finland, Magdalena Hai (winner of the Atorox Award and the Finnish Literary Export Prize), multiple award-winning Anne Leinonen, and J.S. Meresmaa (whose work has been shortlisted for the Anni Polva, Kuvastaja, and Atorox Awards); and from Portugal, Anton Stark, Diana Pinguicha, and Pedro Cipriano (winner of Fórum Fantástico's Choice of the Year Award).

Table of Contents:

• Introduction by Ian Whates

Steampunk UK

• Seasons of Wither - George Mann
• Reckless Engineering - Jonathan Green
• The Athenian Dinner Party - Derry O'Dowd

Steampunk Finland

• Foreword by J.S. Meresmaa
• The Winged Man Isaac - Magdalena Hai
• The Cylinder Hat - Anne Leinonen
• Augustine - J.S. Meresmaa

Steampunk Portugal

• Foreword by Pedro Cipriano
• Videri Quam Esse - Anton Stark
• The Desert Spider - Pedro Cipriano
• Heart of Stone - Diana Pinguicha

Contents:

• 6 - Introduction (Steampunk Cthulhu) - essay by Brian M. Sammons and Glynn Barrass [as by Brian M. Sammons and Glynn Owen Barrass ]
• 10 - Those Above - shortstory by Jeffrey Thomas
• 30 - The Blackwold Horror - shortstory by Adam Bolivar
• 40 - No Hand to Turn the Key - shortstory by Carrie Cuinn
• 56 - The Reverend Mr. Goodworks & the Yeggs of Yig - shortstory by Edward M. Erdelac
• 78 - Carnacki--The Island of Doctor Munroe - [Carnacki (William Meikle)] - shortstory by William Meikle
• 92 - Pain Wears No Mask - shortstory by John Goodrich
• 106 - Before the Least of These Stars - shortstory by Lee Clark Zumpe
• 130 - The Promised Messiah - shortstory by D. J. Tyrer
• 142 - Unfathomable - shortstory by Christine Morgan
• 169 - The Flower - shortstory by Christopher M. Geeson
• 181 - Tentacular Spectacular - shortstory by Thana Niveau
• 198 - Fall of an Empire - shortstory by Glynn Barrass and Brian M. Sammons [as by Glynn Owen Barrass and Brian M. Sammons ]
• 220 - The Baying of the Hounds - shortstory by Leigh Kimmel
• 232 - Mr. Brass & the City of Devils - shortstory by Josh Reynolds
• 247 - The Source - shortstory by D. L. Snell
• 271 - Happy Birthday, Dear Cthulhu - shortstory by Robert Neilson
• 291 - The Strange Company - shortstory by Peter Rawlik [as by Pete Rawlik]

An anthology focusing on newer elements of steampunk, one which deconstructs the staples of the genre and expands on them, rather than simply repeating them, with a greater spread both in terms of location and character. This is steampunk with a modern, post-colonial sensibility. Contributors include: Jeff VanderMeer, Caitlín Kiernan, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jay Lake, Cherie Priest, Cat Rambo, Catherynne M. Valente, Genevieve Valentine and many more.

From the editor of The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, this anthology of steam-powered short stories, dirigibles aloft, retro-tech wonders, and astounding adventure will set clockwork-loving hearts hammering with delight. Longtime steampunk fans: prepare to gleefully grab your goggles to read these remarkable stories! Newcomers: prepare to become fans of this popular genre involving both the past and present-entertainingly and provocatively re-thought, re-invented, and re-evaluated. With stories by K.W. Jeter, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Ken Liu, Cherie Priest, Carrie Vaughn, and many others.

Full list of contributors: Christopher Barzak; Tobias Buckell; C. S. E. Cooney; Aliette de Bodard; Lisa L. Hannett; Samantha Henderson; K. W. Jeter; Caitlin R. Kiernan; Jay Lake; Ken Liu; Alex Dally MacFarlane; Tony Pi; Cherie Priest; Cat Rambo; Chris Roberson; Margaret Ronald; Sofia Samatar; Gord Sellar; Nisi Shawl; Benjanun Sriduangkaew; E. Caterine Tobler; Genevieve Valentine; Carrie Vaughn; AC Wise; Jonathan Wood.

Contains:

• It's a Steampunk Universe, Victoria essay by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer
• The 19th Century Roots of Steampunk essay by Jeff Nevins
• Benediction (excerpt from The Warlord of the Air) by Michael Moorcock
• Lord Kelvins Machine, by James P. Blaylock
• The Giving Mouth by Ian R. MacLeod
• A Sun in the Attic by Mary Gentle
• The God-Clown is Near by Jay Lake
• The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down: A Dime Novel by Joe R. Landsdale
• The Selene Gardening Society by Molly Brown
• Seventy-Two Letter by Ted Chiang
• The Martian Agent, A Planetary Romance by Michael Chabon
• Victoria by Paul Di Fillipo
• Reflected Light by Rachel E. Pollack
• Minutes of the Last Meeting by Stepan Chapman
• Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of "Tribes of the Pacific Coast" by Neal Stephenson
• The Steam Driven Time-Machine: A Pop-Culture Survey essay by Rick Klaw
• The Essential Sequential Steampunk: A Modest Survey of the Genre within the Comic Book Medium by Bill Baker

Contents:

• What is Steampunk? - essay by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer
• The Gernsback Continuum - (1981) - shortstory by William Gibson
• Great Breakthroughs in Darkness (Being, Early Entries from 'The Secret Encyclopaedia of Photography') - (1992) - shortstory by Marc Laidlaw
• Dr. Lash Remembers - shortstory by Jeffrey Ford
• The Unblinking Eye - (2009) - shortstory by Stephen Baxter
• The Steam Dancer (1896) - (2008) - shortstory by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• The Cast-Iron Kid - shortfiction by Andrew Knighton
• Machine Maid - (2008) - novelette by Margo Lanagan
• The Unbecoming of Virgil Smythe - shortfiction by Ramsey Shehadeh
• The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar - (2010) - shortfiction by Shweta Narayan
• O One - (2003) - shortstory by Chris Roberson
• Wild Copper - (2006) - shortfiction by Samantha Henderson
• The Bold Explorer in the Place Beyond - (2010) - shortstory by David Erik Nelson
• Lost Pages from the Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana - shortfiction by Jess Nevins
• Tanglefoot (A Story of the Clockwork Century) - (2008) - novelette by Cherie Priest
• A Serpent in the Gears - (2010) - shortstory by Margaret Ronald
• The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday - (2009) - novelette by G. D. Falksen
• The Persecution Machine - (1994) - shortstory by Tanith Lee
• Balfour and Meriwether in the Adventure of the Emperor's Vengeance - (2009) - novelette by Daniel Abraham
• As Recorded on Brass Cylinders: Adagio for Two Dancers - (2010) - shortstory by James L. Grant and Lisa Mantchev
• Flying Fish Prometheus (A Fantasy of the Future) - shortfiction by Vilhelm Bergsøe (trans. of Erindringen fra en Reise med Flyvefisken "Prometheus" 1870)
• The Anachronist's Cookbook - shortfiction by Catherynne M. Valente
• Lovelace & Babbage: Origins, with Salamander - shortfiction by Sydney Padua
• A Secret History of Steampunk - shortfiction by The Mecha-Ostrich
• Which is Mightier, the Pen or the Parasol? - essay by Gail Carriger
• At the Intersection of Technology and Romance - essay by Jake Von Slatt
• The Future of Steampunk: A Roundtable Interview - essay by various

Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Ann VanderMeer
• Harry and Marlowe and the Talisman of the Cult of Egil - (2012) - shortstory by Carrie Vaughn
• Addison Howell and the Clockroach - (2011) - shortstory by Cherie Priest
• On Wooden Wings - (2011) - shortstory by Paolo Chikiamco
• Sir Ranulph Wykeham-Rackham, GBE, a.k.a. Roboticus the All-Knowing - (2011) - shortstory by Lev Grossman
• The Heart Is the Matter - shortfiction by Malissa Kent
• Mother Is a Machine - (2005) - shortstory by Catherynne M. Valente
• Possession - (2007) - shortfiction by Ben Peek
• Beatrice - (2012) - shortfiction by Karin Tidbeck (trans. of Beatrice 2010)
• Arbeitskraft - (2012) - novelette by Nick Mamatas
• Study, for Solo Piano - (2011) - shortstory by Genevieve Valentine
• Beside Calais - (2012) - shortstory by Samantha Henderson
• An Exhortation to Young Writers (Advice Tendered by Poor Mojo's Giant Squid) - shortfiction by David Erik Nelson and Morgan Johnson and Fritz Swanson
• A Handful of Rice - shortfiction by Vandana Singh
• Fixing Hanover - (2008) - novelette by Jeff VanderMeer
• Salvage - (2011) - shortstory by Margaret Ronald
• Urban Drift - (2010) - shortfiction by Andrew Knighton
• Ascension - (2012) - shortfiction by Leow Hui Min Annabeth
• Nowhere Fast - (2011) - novelette by Christopher Rowe
• The Effluent Engine - (2011) - shortfiction by N. K. Jemisin
• To Follow the Waves - (2011) - shortfiction by Amal El-Mohtar
• Captain Bells and the Sovereign State of Discordia - shortfiction by June Yang
• The Seventh Expression of the Robot General - (2008) - shortstory by Jeffrey Ford
• The Stoker Memorandum - (2012) - shortstory by Lavie Tidhar
• Smoke City - (2011) - shortstory by Christopher Barzak
• Goggles (c.1910) - shortstory by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Peace in Our Time - (2011) - shortstory by Garth Nix
• White Fungus - (2009) - shortfiction by Bruce Sterling
• Winding Down the House: Towards a Steampunk Without Steam - essay by Amal El-Mohtar
• Steampunk Shapes Our Future - essay by Margaret Killjoy
• From Airships of Imagination to Feet on the Ground - essay by Jaymee Goh
• The (R)Evolution of Steampunk - essay by Austin Sirkin