Steampunk. That's one of the rising trends in the world of genre fiction, bridging itself between historical fiction, science-fiction, fantasy, and whatever else its author wants to jury-rig into place. It has its roots in such classic authors as H. G. Wells, but it's been in just the last few years that the boom has taken the literary world by storm - sweeping up the costuming world as well, along with the design world.
As it's apt to do, the land of YA Literature has mirrored the shift in genre, and more and more books show up on shelves that romp in the vast world of steampunk. The titles sometimes give them away - gears, clockwork, and iron are keywords that proudly proclaim their heritage. If the title avoids these commonalities, the covers and spines can also portray their identity, done in bronzes or browns with gears and clockwork decorating them. A walk through our Teen Room revealed to me a series I hadn't yet heard of: the Steampunk Chronicles by Kady Cross. Very straightforward, right? I saw the title Girl in the Clockwork Collar and found the others in the series. I look forward to starting the series.
An easy series to spot - and a great starting point - is the Leviathan series by Uglies author Scott Westerfeld. Following the steampunk map of alternate history, it takes place during World War I, but this isn't your great-grandfather's war. Heavily inundated with machinery new to its time period, the story follows two teenagers - one a prince with no claim to his own throne and the other a girl passing off as a boy to gain access to adventures otherwise off-limits to females. The adventure presented is fast-paced, and an easy read for even reluctant readers.
Steampunk offers much to the world of literature. As a new track for alternate history, it can hook readers to a new genre even outside of steampunk. It offers a fresh new insight to this tried and true genre, while offering sprinkles of other styles, including science-fiction, fantasy, and outright literary fiction. When attending a panel on this breakout style, I learned my favorite aspect for the genre, one I had known in my subconscious but hadn't put to words. Steampunk, as if often takes place in either the industrial era or a new era stuck in the industrial age, represents an age of hope. Literature after the creation of the atom bomb became stark, less hopeful about the future. Given the nature of steampunk, set in a world without nuclear weapons, in an era where the mechanics of things are out in the open and accessible to all, it eases the fear that dampens the modern day - sometimes without even leaving the modern day.
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| The Girl in the Steel Corset |
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| Worldshaker |
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| The Gaslight Dogs |
And, let's be honest. The bronze, the browns, the gears and the steam power, the clockwork and the gadgets - they're just cool. And they're great hooks for readers who aren't sure if they like literary fiction or fantasy or science-fiction or historical novels, because it's all of the above, put together in a showy, eye-catching way. Give them a try! Included around this paragraph are a few selections I've loved: some are series, one's a graphic novel, and they're all great introductions to this brand new frontier.
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| Girl Genius |
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| Clockwork Angel |
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