Steampunk News

Steampunk Tribune | November 30, 2010

The world of Steampunk music is quite challenging to define, and my personal tastes tend to lean more towards the classical music of the era.  When I was contacted by Miss Alexandra Hamer, I was pleasantly suprised with her outstanding work, and do hope that you indulge in a bit of her stylings - please do enjoy!

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The Steampunk Librarian | November 30, 2010

Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded, edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer

The VanderMeers have put together another fantastic compendium of steampunk stories. After 2008's steampunk anthology, the genre only got more popular, and this collection expands the boundaries of "steampunk" even further. There's a fiction and a nonfiction section this time around; the latter includes a "roundtable interview" of several online presences, which means that not only does the reader have the chance to read different viewpoints, but is also directed toward more reading material after the book is finished, huzzah!

Stories by Cherie Priest, Jess Nevins, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and William Gibson share space with amazing art by Eric Orchard, John Coulthart and Ramona Szczerba. One of my favorite entries is the "Secret History of Steampunk," which combines art, typography, and, perhaps, a mecha-ostrich.(Yes, truly.) Steampunk Reloaded is more fantastic, more artistic, and more inventive than its predecessor — and its predecessor was quite the fun read, too.

We have an Advance Reading Copy of Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded to give away! There may be typographical errors, but the essence and the art are all present in their glory. To be included in the drawing, post a comment below and tell us of a steampunk author or artist (past, present, perhaps future?). The deadline for entries is Friday, December 17. Good luck!

(More information on Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded is available at the Tachyon Publications website.)

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The Steampunk Librarian | November 30, 2010

The Steampunk Librarian Book Giveaway is in full swing! Here's what's up so far (go to each link to participate in the giveaway), with December 10th as the deadline to enter.

• The Greyfriar, Clay & Susan Griffith
• Dreadnought, Cherie Priest
• The Horns of Ruin, Tim Akers

Two or three more will hopefully go up this week, with an added week to the deadline. Winners will have the books by Christmas! Go and enter now!

A book on steampunk self-defense will not be out till spring, sadly, but it looks like it will be great.

Monique Poirier's post on steampunk and Native American culture has been getting a lot of attention, and for good reason, because it's a must-read for anyone interested in how steampunk and other cultures blend.

A report from the Emerald City Steampunk Expo in Kansas depicts a wonderful time!

I had no idea that preparing tea involved putting the leaves through "agony." Yikes.

And finally, have you seen "The Narrative of Victor Karloch: A Victorian Ghost Story Puppet Play" yet? You should!

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Steampunk Workshop | November 29, 2010

I can not express how awesome this is! Not only is it Steampunk, but the speed is controlled with and Arduino!  See the whole story here.
(this is new from Simon Jansen!)

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Steampunk Tribune | November 28, 2010

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Steampunk Workshop | November 28, 2010

By BillyBlue22, info below the cut.

I'm going to say right off the bat that I am not a fan of the greater american gift giving frenzy. I don't do black friday deals, I don't by things out of some obligation to do so. 

However, that being said, I do find joy in giving gifts. My friends and I used to practice 'Present Day'. Present Day was any day between December 15th and January 15th. You had the option to give (or not) gifts to as many or few people as you wanted- on any day in that month. It was spontaneous, it was fun. 

So, If you practice any kind of Present Day, I'm going to do a few gift guides. Just things I see around that I would be thrilled to receive, for whatever reason. This time: animal parts. Vegans, take note: animal parts of made of animals. Usually (hopefully) dead ones. 

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Steampunk Magazine | November 27, 2010

There’ve been a few interesting posts recently about Native American-inspired Steampunk, particularly issues surrounding costuming, so I thought I’d pass them along!

Beyond Victoriana has a guest post on stereotypes in costuming and incorporating native technology.

And Multiculturalism for Steampunk has about a dozen posts on the topic. Here are my favorites:

Native American Steampunk: An Approach, a good overview on the subject.

Reflection from the Crow-Lady, Miss Kageshi’s response to criticisms of the above-mentioned post.

(There’s a bunch of costuming stuff on the same site, in addition to some recipes.)

And finally, I missed most of Tor.com’s Steampunk Fortnight a while ago, but there were a few posts dealing with imperialism, colonialism, and non-Euro-centric steampunk, including this one which has an overview non-European steampunk possibilities, including Native American characters.

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Brass Goggles | November 27, 2010

Maufacture Royale has just released  (via a 9 page press release, no less, where they mention in the first few lines; that they are “unashamedly elitist.”) this masterpiece.

The Opera Time-Piece contains a manufacture new movement that is manually wound, has a tourbillon and a minute repeater. It was designed by at Fabrique du Temps. Built of 319 parts, the movement is well decorated, and has a silicon escapement. Power reserve is to be in excess of 100 hours. The minute repeater plays the hours in A, and the minute in C sharp. The watch box is done in veneers, and a reproduction of the Bastille Opera House in Paris. Cost? $1,200,000

Specs:

Case materials and finishing:
-Folding/unfolding case in patented 18 carat gray or rose gold. 3 sapphire crystals.
-Moveable transparent back. Screws and axles in 18 carat gray or rose gold.
-Assembled and polished entirely by hand
-Individually numbered -Case dimensions 50mm in diameter -Number of components 60 -Crown 18 carat rose gold. Polished and diamond encrusted / Manufacture Royale logo hand-polished surface -Hands Hours and minutes in hand-polished 18 carat rose gold.
-Strap Hand sewn Mississippi alligator skin
-Buckle Hand-polished 18 carat rose and gray gold.

Movement
-Movement dimensions Height: 5.45 mm / Diameter: 32 mm
-Number of components 319
-Number of rubies 29
-Power reserve 108 hours
-Frequency 3Hz, 21,600 vibrations per hour
-Plates Brass with sunray brushing, polished angles
-Bridges Brass with sunray brushing, polished angles
-Entirely hand finished
-Bells/chimes Hours in A / Minutes in C sharp
-Tourbillon Escape wheel and anchors in silicon
-One rotation per minute
-Functions Hours, Minutes. Repeater (triggered by slide)
-Gears Counter gears and sound system NIHS 20-02
-Balance spring Flat
-Balance with screws

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Aether Salon | November 27, 2010

Viv Trafalgar: Miss Puchkina, Mr. Kiergarten, Miss Dagger, and I are pleased to welcome you to the November Aether Salon, Aestheticism! : We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community, and we humbly thank you all. Many fine people have contributed to today’s salon: we are grateful to Miss Ceejay Writer, Miss Breezy Carver, and Canolli Capalini of Capalini Fine

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Steampunk Tribune | November 27, 2010

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Steampunk Tribune | November 25, 2010

Having seen a bit of the evolution of Steampunk online, I’d say that perhaps one of the most calamitous events of recent memory was the changing of the Ning business structure.  While many may not be familiar with the “old” Ning, its early incarnation allowed individuals to make versatile websites for focused online meeting locales for groups with specific interests (for free – an excellent price).  Many Steampunk groups (especially Second Life groups) flourished on the Ning, until the company changed its business model, eliminating the “free” groups in favor of a pay-model, with differing tiers.  ”Business is Business”, and if economic realities required the change, so be it, but an off-shoot was the dissolution of many established Steampunk groups.  Some migrated to other locations (such as New Babbage and Armada), but other simply dissolved, losing an excellent platform for Steampunk creativity.

So why the journey down memory lane?  There are still Steampunk sites which took the plunge and continued on with the Ning model.  Some, such as the well known Steampunk Empire (perhaps the most active Steampunk location on the aethernet) are doing outstandingly well, but a new Steampunk Ning has emerged, named the “Steampunk Writers Guild”.  A well designed Ning (yes, there are poor ones, as counter-intuitive at that might sound), it is a central clearing house for Steampunk discussion and writing.  It introduces itself as a “… home for readers, writers, publishers, and bloggers of Steampunk fiction…”, the Steampunk Writers Guild is an excellent locale to discover new authors, learn of new works, and garner a bit more into the written background of Steampunk Fiction.  I would heartily recommend a visit, and look around a bit, as one can not only find new endeavors being labored upon, but obtain a bit of insight as to the direction of the Steampunk published word.  Their website is located at: http://steampunkwriters.ning.com/, so do stop by!

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The Steampunk Librarian | November 24, 2010

The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers

What do you do when you're one of the last of a dying religious cult?

If you're Eva Forge, the last Paladin of the Cult of Morgan and the heroine of The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers, you fight with every last heartbeat for your dead god. Eva lives in the city of Ash, once home to three gods who were brothers. Two gods died long ago when one murdered the other, but the cults of all three still exist in the city. Eva's cult has lost members and is dying off slowly…and then, quite suddenly, events occur which make Eva believe the end of her cult is being hastened rapidly.

If this does not sound all that steampunky, that's because The Horns of Ruin is more fantasy than technological gearcrunching. Eva fights with magically charged weapons and spells, and the gods of her world are quite real and quite godlike. But the city of Ash is filled with monorails and glass and iron and "pedigears" and strange alleyways, like any self-respecting steampunk metropolis should be, and this mashup of dark urban fantasy and sci-fi (some have coined the term "noired" – noir + weird) tells a twisting, complex story.

The dialogue in The Horns of Ruin is one of its best aspects, sharp and fast-paced like a movie from the 1930s. Eva is aggressive and feisty, regardless of whether she's protecting the remaining members of the Cult of Morgan or sparring with members from the rival cults. She encounters several different factions in an increasingly murky, multifaceted conflict which goes back to the initial betrayal amongst the god-brothers, finding that the stories handed down aren't necessarily truthful depictions of what really happened. (And, meanwhile, there are other races outside the city, possibly looking to invade…)

In summation, The Horns of Ruin is a dense fantasy with a steampunk bent, which can get confusing at times and leaves some unanswered questions (although it's possible this is part of a series). Eva is a refreshing protagonist, however, who tries to cut through the mysticism and explain what's happening, even as she fights like the holy terror she is. And as a librarian, I have to love a tale which includes a class of people called the Librarians Desolate.

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