Steampunk Prime edited by Mike Ashley

Title: Steampunk Prime

Edited by: Mike Ashley

Publisher: Nonstop Press 2010

Genre: Steampunk

Pages: 239

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Local Library; Steampunk

An anthology of classic (written between 1880-1914) steampunk stories. The origins of the genre. I thought it would be good to read this anthology before diving completely into the modern takes on the genre. While most were science heavy with explanations of the machines, they were great reads. Ashley chose not to include the more famous authors (like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne), but instead focused on some relative unknowns. My favorites:

1. "The Automaton" by Reginald Bacchus and Ranger Gull (1900) -- A creepy story about a chess playing automaton. Right amount of suspense, supernatural, and intrigue. Definitely my favorite from the entire anthology!

2. "The Gibralter Tunnel" by Jean Jaubert (1914) -- A classic style man-made disaster. What could go wrong by digging a train tunnel underwater from Spain to Morocco? Yeah. Try everything. Great action adventure story!

3. "In the Deep of Time" by George Parsons Lathrop (1897) -- A good story involving Mars, suspended animation, and a love story. Supposedly written after a conversation with Thomas Edison, the story definitely focuses on the new machines.

Steamed by Katie MacAlister

Title: Steamed

Author: Katie MacAlister

Publisher: Signet 2010

Genre: Steampunk Romance

Pages: 332

Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Steampunk

I read another review of this book; one that didn't like the book very much. I must say that I have mixed feelings about this book. Some parts I loved, and others I hated.

The Good

I enjoyed the politics behind Octavia's actions. That may be because I like politics in general. I find it interesting to see how people get wrapped up in competing agendas. It wasn't hard at all to keep all the different factions separate. I loved the intrigue, the uncertain nature of various characters, the keeping secret of information. It made the book at bit more than a steampunk romance. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the steampunk world. having Jack and Hallie come from the real 2010 world created a great way for the characters to explain the steampunk technology. So the weapons and airships run on nuclear physics? Interesting. I liked the scientific side of the story.

The Bad

There were two big things wrong with the book: Hallie and the romance. Jack's sister was a nonexistant character, simply a plot device. The little we saw of her wasn't good at all. She was stuck up and stiff and stupid. I mean who gets herself captured while standing at a fountain. Wouldn't you be a little cautious in a war zone? Better yet, wouldn't you be a little cautious in a completely different world? Instead she wanders over to look at a fountain and gets captured as a spy. Seriously! We could have done without her character all together. The other issue I have is with the romance. It just wasn't believable at all. Jack comes off as a complete sex crazed chauvinist masquerading as a Quaker (really a Quaker?). And Octavia comes off as a pretentious slut. (I know harsh language, but that was my initial thought) I wasn't interested at all in their "romance." Just get to the action (fighting, no sex) scenes already.

Overall, interesting premise and background plot but boring characters and romance.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Black Dossier)

Author: Alan Moore

Genre: Graphic Novel

Rating: Vol. 1 4/ 5 stars, Vol. 2 4/5 stars Black Dossier 2/5 stars

Movie Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Page to Screen; Support Your Local Library; Steampunk

I picked these three volumes up from the library. A group of literary heroes/villains brought together until shadowy circumstances to "aid" England against threats, what better idea? I was intrigued. J convinced me to read them. He said I would like them. And I did. Each character not quite a hero even with their actions. The art was amazing. If you ever read it, make sure to really look at each panel, especially the backgrounds. There's a lot of details drawn into the background. While the dialogue was good and plot interesting, I really liked finding the surprises in the backgrounds. And of course, I really enjoyed the allusions to other literary characters and historical events.

Volume one consisted mostly of setting up the universe and characters. The storyline was intriguing though somewhat predictable. Volume two was an interesting take on War of the Worlds. I liked the Martian invasion and inclusion of Dr. Moreau and other shadowy secrets. Unfortunately, the Black Dossier was a real let down. Set in 1958, it attempted to pick up the continuation of the League but was much too confusing for me. I only half-heartedly finished the volume. It just really didn't grab my attention like the other two volumes.

A few years back I had seen the movie version of The Leagues of Extraordinary Gentlemen and was very disappointed. I revisited the movie to see if it had grown on me. Alas, it was as bad as I remembered. Unfortunately, most of the characters fell flat. the plot boring and predictable, and the dialogue cheesy. There were moments when the movie shined, but they were few and far between. Of all the characters in the movie, I thought Mina Harker and Dorian Grey were the only interesting ones. And even their story could have been expanded and more interesting. The allusions to their history could have set up a much more complicated relationship. Unfortunately the entire movie tried to play it safe and ended up being boring instead. Not the worst movie I've ever seen, but definitely not one I am going to seek out to rewatch.

2011 Steampunk Reading Challenge

Another challenge for 2011. I've recently become aware of this huge great genre of steampunk. Elements of action adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and romance? I am so there. And so I joined the Steampunk Challenge from

Book Soulmates.

According to the website:

ALL ABOARD!! FULL STEAMPUNK AHEAD! This year we thought we'd do something a little different. Seeing as Steampunk is pretty new to us we thought it'd be fun to challenge ourselves as well as you guys! I'm adding my GoodReads LIST of Steampunk books as a guide. There are close to 200 books!

There will be prizes throughout the year. The months of the prizes will be chosen at random - you know, to keep things interesting, hehe. The prizes won't just be books… they can be anything from Bookmarks, to Giftcards, and possibly, if we're feeling frisky, maybe even a book tote! Who knows what the year may bring!
Challenge Rules & Info:
Challenge STARTS January 1, 2011 and ENDS December 31, 2011
Sign up by filling your info in the Mr. Linky below {If you don't have a blog, you can use your FB, Goodreads, etc}
Read at least 10 Steampunk books this year. Remember, the more the merrier!
The books can be print, ebooks, and audio books.
Reread books ARE allowed, BUT, the review must be rewritten. You cannot use old reviews.
I'll have a post up each month with the Mr. Linky to have the reviews posted.
Challenges are open to non-bloggers. A review must be written and posted on a literary site, such as GoodReads, Amazon, etc.
Grab a button to show your Challenge spirit!
Lastly, have fun reading!

And so I present my tentative list for the Steampunk Challenge (with crossovers from other challenges):

The Affinity Bridge -- George Mann
Boneshaker -- Cherie Priest
Clockwork Heart -- Dru Pagliassotti (A to Z: P)
Leviathan -- Scott Westerfeld
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -- Alan Moore (Pages to Screen)
Souless -- Gail Carriger (A to Z: C)
Steampunk -- Ann VanderMeer (A to Z: V)
Whitechapel -- S.M. Peters
City of Golden Shadows -- Tad Williams
Idoru -- William Gibson
Clockwork Angel -- Cassandra Clare (YA)
Steamed -- Kate MacAlister (A to Z: M)

Like all my other reading challenges, I will write a review for each book I read. Stay tuned for some great reads!