Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

First off, I loved the design that went into this book: the cover by Yuko Shimizu is beautiful as always and the typeface used throughout is nice. Steampunk as a concept has always intrigued me, so I requested this book from the library with no hesitation. However I have to say that for the most part this collection misses what I adore in the genre. Steampunk as a genre can be such a mixed bag that of course not every fan will like the same aspects, nor can we all even really agree about what it should even entail. So the last sentence of the forward gave me pause "...everywhere except Victorian London." Personally the allure of the Victorian era, and London (or at least the British Isles more broadly) are like 90% of the draw for me, so I knew that I was not likely to be a fan of this book. My interest in steampunk is likely an offshoot of my fascination with the aesthetic appeal of Victorian London, so that's a big hole to fill for me. What I liked (in order): - "Steam Girl" - Dylan Horrocks - "Everything Amiable and Obliging" - Holly Black - "The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor" - Delia Sherman - "Finishing School" - Kathleen Jennings Liked in a more neutral way: - "Hand in Glove" - Ysabeau S. Wilce - "Some Fortunate Future Day" - Cassandra Clare (I've long given up on Cassandra Clare so this was a surprise) - "Gethsemane" - Elizabeth Knox Neutral on: "The Last Ride of the Glory Girls" - Libba Bray; "Clockwork Fagin" - Cory Doctorow; "Peace in Our Time" - Garth Nix; "Nowhere Fast" - Christopher Rowe; "The Orace Engine" - M.T. Anderson Didn't read/Abandoned: - "Seven Days Beset by Demons" - Shawn Cheng (turned off by art style) - "The Summer People" - Kelly Link

„Steampunk-An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories“ edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant is published by Candlewick Press. As the title promises this is a collection of steampunk stories by various authors. To most of the stories I sadly could not connect at all. I am really interested in the subgenre but found few of the stories really interesting. I listed to this as an audiobook in tandem with the book and I did not appreciate the narration of many stories. While it can be immersive to have a narrator talk in an accent it was too overwhelming for me as a non-native speaker. The stories themselves also did not feel as varied as I would have liked and many have similar vibes. I feel like there could have been more done with the theme. The short stories I liked the most are the following: 1.„Some Fortunate Future Day“ by Cassandra Claire. 4/5 ⭐️ 2.„Clockwork Fagin“ by Cory Doctorow. 5/5 ⭐️ 3.„Peace in our Time“ by Garth Nix. 4/5 ⭐️