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A review by abigcoffeedragon
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer
2.0
Meh - for a steampunk bible, this was not put together very well. The book is mostly fluff with images and photos that you can find in any internet search of steampunk, and the information in and of itself was not informative.
I was hoping for more than just mention of writers, but actually examples of the aesthetics. I believe that the word Steampunk is overused, and has become this huge cultural phenomenon that is more about dressing up than creating the Utopian world that most of the books try to describe.
Slapping gears on a hat does not make something Steampunk. The period (IMHO) was about learning, discovery, invention, exploration, and making the best use of everything that you could find. That is what the gears are about. They are parts used from something smaller to make something bigger, better, faster. My hat and boots do not need gears. The inventions do.
Overall disappointed in this collection of ramblings and disappointed in the culture as a whole. Too many people want to play dress up and not enough people wanted to write the good stories.
On that note, there are some great steamPULP stories that I enjoy, including the Cherie Priest series mentioned within the 'bible', Scott Westerfield's Leviathan, and many others. This book however, HUGE let down. Coming from someone who writes within the genre, I expected more from Van Der Meer.
I was hoping for more than just mention of writers, but actually examples of the aesthetics. I believe that the word Steampunk is overused, and has become this huge cultural phenomenon that is more about dressing up than creating the Utopian world that most of the books try to describe.
Slapping gears on a hat does not make something Steampunk. The period (IMHO) was about learning, discovery, invention, exploration, and making the best use of everything that you could find. That is what the gears are about. They are parts used from something smaller to make something bigger, better, faster. My hat and boots do not need gears. The inventions do.
Overall disappointed in this collection of ramblings and disappointed in the culture as a whole. Too many people want to play dress up and not enough people wanted to write the good stories.
On that note, there are some great steamPULP stories that I enjoy, including the Cherie Priest series mentioned within the 'bible', Scott Westerfield's Leviathan, and many others. This book however, HUGE let down. Coming from someone who writes within the genre, I expected more from Van Der Meer.