"Dirigible on my Mind": Steampunk Deals/Freebies + Discussion

[crich70]

Could "Time after Time" by Karl Alexander be considered to be Steampunk? It starts out in Victorian times and if the book is anything like the movie the machine certainly looks like something out of the Steampunk genre. Kobo carries both it and the sequel. Click

[ApK]

Originally Posted by crich70

Could "Time after Time" by Karl Alexander be considered to be Steampunk? It starts out in Victorian times and if the book is anything like the movie the machine certainly looks like something out of the Steampunk genre. Kobo carries both it and the sequel. Click

Great movie! I didn't even realize it was based on a book.
If the book is the same story, then no, I would not say it is a steampunk book, just a time travel thriller with, just as with 'The Time Machine', a steampunk device in it.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by ApK

Great movie! I didn't even realize it was based on a book.
If the book is the same story, then no, I would not say it is a steampunk book, just a time travel thriller with, just as with 'The Time Machine', a steampunk device in it.

Well I'm in chapter 4 at the moment and so far the story seems to be following the same basic plot as the movie though there are some details that are slightly altered in the movie version. That's pretty normal though I think as not everything that is described in a book can always be shown in a movie for various reasons. One thing I noticed is that they changed the name of the Time Machine. In the movie it's named "Argo" but in the book its name is "Utopia." I guess they must have thought that Argo sounded better what with the connection to Jason and his search for the golden fleece.

[ATDrake]

Re: upthread on what qualifies as steampunk, aspiring author creative help regarding, and Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, there's a bit of discussion combining those in one of those old Tor/Forge sampler freebies which mixed articles written by the authors about their books with excerpts from said books.

Tor/Forge Author Voices: Volume 2 has a short essay-ette by Priest on what she decided qualified as distinguishably steampunk enough for Boneshaker and a little about how the worldbuilding came to be (plus an excerpt from Boneshaker and Volume 3 has an excerpt from Ganymede).

All 3 volumes are available for free download directly from @ Tor.com (DRM-free, available worldwide, may require site registration), as well as a number of stores which they link to (geo-restricted to US only).

They're actually pretty nifty in terms of giving short behind-the-scenes info on the creative process and the publishing industry (not to mention some fun trivia), and much nicer than the glorified chapter extract wrap-up that I'd dismissed them as when they originally came out a couple of years ago.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Re: upthread on what qualifies as steampunk, aspiring author creative help regarding, and Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, there's a bit of discussion combining those in one of those old Tor/Forge sampler freebies which mixed articles written by the authors about their books with excerpts from said books.

Tor/Forge Author Voices: Volume 2 has a short essay-ette by Priest on what she decided qualified as distinguishably steampunk enough for Boneshaker and a little about how the worldbuilding came to be (plus an excerpt from Boneshaker and Volume 3 has an excerpt from Ganymede).

All 3 volumes are available for free download directly from @ Tor.com (DRM-free, available worldwide, may require site registration), as well as a number of stores which they link to (geo-restricted to US only).

They're actually pretty nifty in terms of giving short behind-the-scenes info on the creative process and the publishing industry (not to mention some fun trivia), and much nicer than the glorified chapter extract wrap-up that I'd dismissed them as when they originally came out a couple of years ago.

Thanks. The kobo link's don't seem to work any more but the B&N ones do.

[RDaneel54]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Is anyone currently reading any steampunk novel or story?

I'm reading one I just obtained from Amazon: "Lady of Devices," by Shelley Adina. It's a very short novel, and quiet enjoyable.

It's also free from Amazon, right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Devices-s...+shelley+adina

I just finished Lady of Devices today. It was not what I expected, better in fact. I just purchased the Magnificent Devices Quartet so I can continue the adventure.

[tubemonkey]

Every time I see the thread title - "Dirigible on my Mind" - this song always pops in my mind - Georgia On My Mind

[Dr. Drib]

I'm almost finished with "Lady of Devices," and it is an absolute delight. This is a wonderful short novel.

Claire is a delight and I would love to meet her!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Every time I see the thread title - "Dirigible on my Mind" - this song always pops in my mind - Georgia On My Mind

The song in my head was Glen Campbell's "Gentle on my Mind," when I was thinking of a title.

ADDED: John Hartford wrote the song.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The song in my head was Glen Campbell's "Gentle on my Mind," when I was thinking of a title.

ADDED: John Hartford wrote the song.

I never even thought about that one. Good song, but I like Georgia better.

[Dr. Drib]

I just finished "Lady of Devices," which was one of the best FUN stories I've read in a long time.

I'm looking forward to buying the other titles in this series.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I just finished "Lady of Devices," which was one of the best FUN stories I've read in a long time.

I'm looking forward to buying the other titles in this series.

That's a total shocker to me. I wouldn't have thought it would be your thing. I liked it, but found it quite light.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

That's a total shocker to me. I wouldn't have thought it would be your thing. I liked it, but found it quite light.

I alternate between "serious" literature and genre fiction.

For example, I just bought "A Manuscript of Ashes," by Antonio Muñoz Molina, along with "Life A User's Manual," by Geroges Perec.

After that, I may read a Michael Avallone fun piece of happy 'trash'!

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I alternate between "serious" literature and genre fiction.

For example, I just bought "A Manuscript of Ashes," by Antonio Muñoz Molina, along with "Life A User's Manual," by Geroges Perec.

After that, I may read a Michael Avallone fun piece of happy 'trash'!

I also alternate between different stuff. I think most people who read do actually. It's easy to get tired of the same genre all the time and need a break. Certainly there is a difference between the old SF that we are all familiar with (i.e. space ships, aliens, etc.) and Steampunk SF. I think it's a still very unexplored field myself. I mean there are hundreds of stories about time travel and space ships and so forth, but how many are there about airships and clockwork robots, etc. by comparison?

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I alternate between "serious" literature and genre fiction.

For example, I just bought "A Manuscript of Ashes," by Antonio Muñoz Molina, along with "Life A User's Manual," by Geroges Perec.

Same here. My love for speculative fiction, I think, is rooted in my love for experimental literary fiction (which admittedly, I rarely mention around here, so one would be forgiven for thinking I only bother to read AU sci-fantasy comedic murder mysteries where everyone tried to dunnit).

At their heart, both are rooted in examining the possibilities of exploring the potential of human achievement based on a challenge to the collective imagination drawing on previous group experience and testing out one's know-how, whether it's about how space colonization might work out when the AI of the colony ship you're in becomes unreliable, or just how alternate an alternate history can get if you assume a POD of Ancient Rome colonizing the Americas under the influence of time-stream-hopping aliens tracking down a meddling rogue criminal*, or if you really can write a fully-coherent novel with an actual plot while omitting the most common vowel in your language†.

Or maybe I just have a really skewed view of things.

* S.P. Somtow's excellent Aquiliad trilogy, BTW, which is kind of steampunk in Ancient Rome-dominated ancient North America, I guess. There are cars and trains and flying pyramids, oh my!

† And whether your translators† can do the same in theirs, which IMHO is a much more impressive feat‡ than coming up with the original story in the first place.

‡ One day I must track down La disparition in the other languages that I more-or-less can kind-of read.

P.S. Freebie Oulipian work to read online if one happens to like constrained writing involving lipograms: Canadian Christian Bök's (Wikipedia) Eunoia (Wikipedia, online read link, online audiobook link), which I notice has come out in a newer, more expanded edition since the one I originally bought, and the publisher offers a free e-book version to match a print purchase if you show them your receipt. I sense more book-buying in the near future.