The Reading Room

[Cambrius]

All right lads and lasses, I have need of your input!

I read... a lot. And usually when I'm into a hobby I like to read it a lot. My last focus was on Warhammer 40K - and will be again, I'm sure - and consequently I own most of the Black Library publishings. Now, it's all about Malifaux.

My steampunk-ish reads thus far has almost exclusively been His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. The 1632 series by Eric Flint is the only other one, but isn't quite on target for steampunk.

So, my fellow nerds and bookworms, I need some recommended steampunk reading. Western steampunk, Victorian - pretty much anything that includes the end of the 19th Century, beginning of the 20th.

My thanks in advance, and:

Mr. Caroland, have you yet considered published Malifaux fiction? :D

[Necromorph]

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest is a very good one. It feels almost exactly like malifaux in the setting (characters, weapons...zombies, etc etc).

[edonil]

The Temeraire books are good for it, although after the second one the series slows down (in my opinion at least). If you're not looking for true Alternate History steampunk, I'd honestly recommend C. S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy. She created a new world, with a blend of science and magic that inspired the very basics of my setting (although, I use physics whereas hers is entirely based on geology). Ummm...that's all I'm coming up with right now, unfortunately. It's a bit of a rare setting type I've found. True scifi or true fantasy is much more common.

[Cambrius]

Necromorph, I will be looking into that one for sure. Edonil, it seems I forgot all about Temeraire. I've read the first four books and really liked them. Might be time for a second read.

The Coldfire trilogy will also definitely get a look, particularly for the magic/science speculation. In my Alt-Earth I replaced religions - which are, in my personal estimation, theological philosophies - with colleges of magic that espouse/teach magical philosophies.

[Thechosenone]

I'd suggest Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. It's really a malifaux like setting with several books in that series. I suggest it highly

[Cambrius]

Noted and added to my shopping list! :)

[Cambrius]

All right, I survived the holidays and celebrated my continued sanity with a trip to a bookstore! I went straight to the science fiction/fantasy section and started my search in reverse alphabetical order. This meant looking first for Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.

I didn't find it.

What I did find was another of her novels, Dreadnought. Steampunk, with the main character headed for the Pacific Northwest (where I live), leaving behind an alternate universe Civil War. Well holy crap, I found my prize. The book is even printed in sepia ink!

And that's where I'll start. :)

[Thechosenone]

let me know. I have bone shaker but havent started it yet

[Cambrius]

Dreadnought by Cherie Priest is... awesome! Just plain awesome. :)

[Cambrius]

Dreadnought directly references Boneshaker in the last 25 pages or so. So now I gotta read about the events in Seattle, dang it! :)