06-22-2008, 11:02 PM | #16 | |||
New York Editor
Posts: 6,384
Karma: 16540415
Join Date: Aug 2007
Device: PalmTX, Pocket eDGe, Alcatel Fierce 4, RCA Viking Pro 10, Nexus 7
|
Quote:
For instance, while Jules Verne is widely considered an early SF author today, the genre didn't exist as such when he was writing. He thought he was writing adventure stories for boys. (And he was careful to keep the science consistent with what was known at the time, and limited himself to one scientific device per story. The closest he got to modern SF was the nebulous and undescribed electrical power source for the submarine Nautilus on _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_) Calling his work SF happened well after he was gone, and I've sometimes wondered what his reaction to the classification would be. Along similar lines, the late John Brunner's works like _The Shockwave Rider_ were called proto-cyberpunk by the promoters of that movement. John just laughed and pointed further back at some Fred Pohl/Cyril Kornbluth collaborations. Going back farther, we have the New Wave that coalesced around the Michael Moorcock edited New Worlds magazine in the 60's, and new wavers claimed things like Roger Zelazny's _Creatures of Light and Darkness_ as an example. Roger was amused. He did it as an experiment, tossing in every radical writing technique he could think of, saw it as a literary joke, and was startled when it was taken seriously. Any new movement seems to try to retro-actively claim some existing works as its own to help give it legitimacy. The claims often become whimsical. Quote:
I understand about the TBR pile. The nice thing about ebooks is that the unread stack won't hurt you if it falls over on you. My TBR stack of hardcovers would be another matter. Quote:
Dennis |
|||
06-22-2008, 11:12 PM | #17 | |||
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 10,155
Karma: 4632658
Join Date: Nov 2007
Device: none
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Cheers, Marc |
|||
Advert | |
|
06-22-2008, 11:26 PM | #18 | ||||
New York Editor
Posts: 6,384
Karma: 16540415
Join Date: Aug 2007
Device: PalmTX, Pocket eDGe, Alcatel Fierce 4, RCA Viking Pro 10, Nexus 7
|
Quote:
TJO, SOZ, TSLU, and TSR were all produced during the same period. Brunner borrowed the form John Dos Passos used in the USA Trilogy as the appropriate vehice for telling those stories, and reading them led me to Dos Passos. The Sqaures of the City is an earlier work and an exercise in formalism, with a structure based in a master's chess game. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Dennis Last edited by DMcCunney; 06-22-2008 at 11:30 PM. |
||||
06-22-2008, 11:53 PM | #19 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,366
Karma: 12000
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Texas, USA
Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C
|
Quote:
|
|
06-23-2008, 12:18 AM | #20 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 10,155
Karma: 4632658
Join Date: Nov 2007
Device: none
|
Quote:
By the way, I'd noted to myself as well, seeing it in the newsfeed, that you have recently uploaded some books to MobileRead. I was struck with fond memory, since my Mum would occasionally refer to any two people dressed the same or behaving the same (that is, thick as thieves) as The Bobbsey Twins and, although I knew what she meant (she'd occasionally refer to my sister and me as such...which is somewhat disconcerting in hindsight ), I never knew where she'd got the phrase from. Now I do. Cheers, Marc |
|
Advert | |
|
06-23-2008, 06:11 AM | #21 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 7,452
Karma: 7185064
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Linköpng, Sweden
Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW
|
Quote:
And the term was invented to describe books that already existed. |
|
06-23-2008, 08:05 AM | #22 |
Wizard
Posts: 4,395
Karma: 1358132
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3
|
Stephen Baxter "Anti-Ice"
|
06-23-2008, 10:30 AM | #23 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,244
Karma: 3439432
Join Date: Feb 2008
Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12
|
Kaja and Phil Foglio's _Girl Genius_ ``Gaslamp Fantasy'' graphic novels / on-line comics are along this vein.
http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ William |
06-23-2008, 12:20 PM | #24 | ||
New York Editor
Posts: 6,384
Karma: 16540415
Join Date: Aug 2007
Device: PalmTX, Pocket eDGe, Alcatel Fierce 4, RCA Viking Pro 10, Nexus 7
|
Quote:
SOZ won the Hugo Award it's year. TSLO got nominated for a Nebula, but dropped out of print fairly rapidly. I think it was a little too downbeat and dystopian for the audience. Quote:
Dennis |
||
06-23-2008, 01:13 PM | #25 |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
|
06-23-2008, 02:12 PM | #26 |
Wizard
Posts: 4,395
Karma: 1358132
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3
|
|
06-23-2008, 03:26 PM | #27 |
Lector minore
Posts: 655
Karma: 1738720
Join Date: Jan 2008
Device: Aura One, Paperwhite Signature
|
I would say that The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson is very close to steampunk (closer than The Diamond Age in fact).
I don't think there are any inventions that appear before their time, but there are enough anachronisms to make it feel steampunky. My favourite is when some of the characters embark on a pirate expedition and find themselves in much the same situation as founders in a technology startup today (eg pitching the idea to angel investors, trying to get to market first, losing founders to other ventures etc). |
06-24-2008, 03:54 PM | #28 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,222
Karma: 769316
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Eternal summer
Device: 350, iPad, PW
|
Bummer that hardly any of the recommendations you guys came up with are available for ebook :-(
It's just so-o much more convenient to have my Sony in the car when I'm reading than a big dead tree =( Thanks for the help though guys. I have to go Brick-n-Mortar hopping now! =) |
09-22-2010, 04:40 AM | #29 |
Junior Member
Posts: 6
Karma: 14
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: smartphone
|
Swanwick, Michael
The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick.
Also the last year's sequel - The Dragons of Babel. |
09-22-2010, 04:57 AM | #30 |
Warrior Princess
Posts: 5,038
Karma: 9724231
Join Date: Sep 2009
Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD
|
Have a look at "The Light Ages" by Ian R. MacLeod. I really enjoyed it and am planning on reading its follow up "The House of Storms" soon.
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
IN MAPS & LEGENDS, an ongoing fantasy/steampunk digital comic, just $.99/issue | MichaelJasper | Self-Promotions by Authors and Publishers | 2 | 04-06-2012 03:08 PM |
Call For Submissions: Steampunk/Steampunk Crossovers | UntreedReads | Writers' Corner | 0 | 06-25-2010 05:02 PM |
Steampunk Tales Free #1 - PDF & iTunes App. | tamzilla | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 0 | 09-14-2009 09:23 PM |