Steampunk Is Pretty Cool
I've been adventuring further and further into the mysterious realm of steampunk. I've always had a bit of a fascination and admiration for this sci-fi subgenre, though my knowledge of it has accrued slowly over time. The first time I'd ever heard of it was when I was a pre-teen and got a book on how to draw fantasy characters. There was a whole chapter on steampunk, and I was like, what is this??
I like thinking of steampunk as Victorian sci-fi, or sci-fi set in the past instead of the future. I suppose it's really more alternate-reality. It's defined, obviously, by steam power, and things like gears, zeppelins, vests and tophats, tinctures, wires and tubes and neon glowing chemicals. But at the same time, one of it's most endearing qualities is how the genre is more of a collection, a heterogeneous hodgepodge of ideas and gadgets and dark colors. Part of what makes it is the combination of all those things--the sum of its parts.
The grandfathers of steampunk are probably H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. I sometimes get hazy on what is or isn't considered steampunk--a google search yields lists that include Frankenstein or The Golden Compass, which I don't immediately associate with the genre. A recent read of mine, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (which he describes as more dieselpunk), was a really fun adventure with superbly clever worldbuilding.
We were lucky enough to discover the Southern Maine Steampunk Fair, and throw together some costumes from Goodwill. It was an afternoon full of vendors, art, music and dancing, and melting in the summer heat.
We had a number of steampunk adventures in New Zealand, as well.
The first encounter was in a little shop called the Steampunk Emporium in Christchurch. It's a tiny store with jewelry and watches on the first floor, and costume pieces on the second floor.
It's on this street, which is very cute:
The shopkeepers are appropriately costumed up and unimpressed with life:
That's as close as we could get them to a smile. They totally remind me of the people in that season of the Guild with the steampunk booth at the Mega-game-o-rama-con. They were very serious.
Then, later on our journey, there was the Steampunk Museum in Oamaru, which was a completely different atmosphere. Much darker in tone (and actual light levels!), with more of a focus on electricity and creepy gadgets than the typical clockwork and whimsy. (Sorry for the poor resolution camera)
All in all, I find it a difficult genre to describe, and more of a visual/audio "experience" than anything else, but there are plenty of steampunk novels out there and it's something I'm excited to read more into! I can't wait for when a big steampunk movie finally hits the mainstream and it becomes more widespread.
I like thinking of steampunk as Victorian sci-fi, or sci-fi set in the past instead of the future. I suppose it's really more alternate-reality. It's defined, obviously, by steam power, and things like gears, zeppelins, vests and tophats, tinctures, wires and tubes and neon glowing chemicals. But at the same time, one of it's most endearing qualities is how the genre is more of a collection, a heterogeneous hodgepodge of ideas and gadgets and dark colors. Part of what makes it is the combination of all those things--the sum of its parts.
The grandfathers of steampunk are probably H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. I sometimes get hazy on what is or isn't considered steampunk--a google search yields lists that include Frankenstein or The Golden Compass, which I don't immediately associate with the genre. A recent read of mine, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (which he describes as more dieselpunk), was a really fun adventure with superbly clever worldbuilding.
We were lucky enough to discover the Southern Maine Steampunk Fair, and throw together some costumes from Goodwill. It was an afternoon full of vendors, art, music and dancing, and melting in the summer heat.
We had a number of steampunk adventures in New Zealand, as well.
The first encounter was in a little shop called the Steampunk Emporium in Christchurch. It's a tiny store with jewelry and watches on the first floor, and costume pieces on the second floor.
It's on this street, which is very cute:
The shopkeepers are appropriately costumed up and unimpressed with life:
That's as close as we could get them to a smile. They totally remind me of the people in that season of the Guild with the steampunk booth at the Mega-game-o-rama-con. They were very serious.
Then, later on our journey, there was the Steampunk Museum in Oamaru, which was a completely different atmosphere. Much darker in tone (and actual light levels!), with more of a focus on electricity and creepy gadgets than the typical clockwork and whimsy. (Sorry for the poor resolution camera)
All in all, I find it a difficult genre to describe, and more of a visual/audio "experience" than anything else, but there are plenty of steampunk novels out there and it's something I'm excited to read more into! I can't wait for when a big steampunk movie finally hits the mainstream and it becomes more widespread.
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