Steampunk

For the comic book, see Steampunk (comics).

File:Voyage dans la lune (1902) still 01.jpg

A manned cannon bullet lands on the moon in Le Voyage dans la Lune

Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction which came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history–style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality. It is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Origin

Although many works now considered seminal to the genre were published in the 1960s and 1970s, the term steampunk originated in the late 1980s as a tongue in cheek variant of cyberpunk. It seems to have been coined by the science fiction author K. W. Jeter, who was trying to find a general term for works by Tim Powers (author of The Anubis Gates, 1983), James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986) and himself (Morlock Night, 1979 and Infernal Devices, 1987) which took place in a Victorian setting and imitated conventions of actual Victorian speculative fiction such as H. G. Wells's The Time Machine. In a letter to the science fiction magazine Locus, printed in the April 1987 issue, Jeter wrote:

Dear Locus,

Enclosed is a copy of my 1979 novel Morlock Night; I'd appreciate your being so good as to route it Faren Miller, as it's a prime piece of evidence in the great debate as to who in "the Powers/Blaylock/Jeter fantasy triumvirate" was writing in the "gonzo-historical manner" first. Though of course, I did find her review in the March Locus to be quite flattering.
Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like "steampunks," perhaps ...

-- K.W. Jeter.

Some prototypical steampunk stories were essentially cyberpunk tales that were set in the past, using steam-era technology rather than the ubiquitous cybernetics of cyberpunk but maintaining those stories' "punkish" attitudes towards authority figures and human nature. Originally, like cyberpunk, steampunk was often dystopian, sometimes with noir and pulp fiction themes as in cyberpunk. As the genre developed, it came to adopt more of the broadly appealing utopian sensibilities of Victorian scientific romances.

Steampunk fiction focuses more intently on real, theoretical or cinematic Victorian-era technology, including steam engines, clockwork devices, and difference engines. While much of steampunk is set in Victorian-era settings, the genre has expanded into medieval settings and often delves into the realms of horror and fantasy. Various secret societies and conspiracy theories are often featured, and some steampunk includes significant fantasy elements. There are frequently Lovecraftian, occult and Gothic horror influences as well.

Influences

Steampunk was influenced by, and often adopts the style of the scientific romances of the late 19th century, by Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mark Twain and Mary Shelley.

The Edisonade stories of the late 1800s and early 1900s, written by Edward S. Ellis, Luis Senarens and others, can also be seen as an influence on Steampunk. Their characters Johnny Brainerd, Frank Reade, Jr., Tom Edison, Jr., and Jack Wright used steam-powered and technologically-advanced vehicles to adventure across the United States and around the world. In addition to providing later writers with early examples of steam-powered science fictional creations, these stories had a direct influence on the "boy inventor" subgenre of science fiction as personified by Tom Swift.

A rather dystopian British alternate history featuring steam-based technology may be found in Keith Roberts' 1968 novel Pavane.

Other early examples include Harry Harrison's 1972 novel A Transatlantic Tunnel Hurrah, Robert A. Heinlein's 1980 novel The Number of the Beast, whose characters travel between alternate universes that are realizations of classic SF stories, and Philip José Farmer's 1983 foray into the writing style of L. Frank Baum, A Barnstormer in Oz.

The Moondog comics by George Metzger, published by the Print Mint in 1969 and 1971, embody many aspects of sci-fi/post-apocalyptic steam technology.

Science fiction and fantasy author Michael Moorcock also made several early, and often overlooked, contributions to the genre. The most noteworthy of these are his The Warlord of the Air and its 1974 and 1981 sequels, The Land Leviathan and The Steel Tsar (collectively republished as A Nomad of the Time Streams). Moorcock's works were among the earliest to remold Edwardian and Victorian adventure fiction within a new, ironic futuristic framework, and also had a strong influence on the later absorption of fantasy elements into the steampunk genre.

Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds by Manly Wade Wellman and Wade Wellman, published in 1975 as a novel but previously published as a series of magazine stories, places Arthur Conan Doyle's characters Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger (who never met in any of Doyle's works) into the events depicted in H.G. Wells's novel 1897 The War of the Worlds, depicting an invasion of London by Martians.

Aside from the fact that he coined the term, K.W. Jeter's 1979 novel Morlock Night (a continuation of Wells's The Time Machine) is cited by most as establishing the genre. However, this novel was preceded by James Blaylock's "The Ape-Box Affair" a decidedly Steampunk story, which appeared in a 1978 edition of Unearth Magazine.

Recent steampunk

William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's 1990 novel The Difference Engine is often credited as bringing widespread awareness of the genre "steampunk" among science fiction fans (although as mentioned above, the term was coined by Jeter in 1987). This novel applies the principles of Gibson and Sterling's cyberpunk writings to an alternate Victorian era where Charles Babbage's proposed steam-powered mechanical computer, which he called a difference engine (a later, more general-purpose version was known as an analytical engine), was actually built, and led to the dawn of the information age more than a century ahead of schedule.

Other steampunk works include the works of animator Hayao Miyazaki, Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic book series, and Erik Svane and Dan Greenberg's General Leonardo graphic novel. The long delayed film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo titled Steamboy, a Japanese anime film about a boy in Victorian England struggling with modern geopolitical ideals, is one of the more recent examples of this in film. Author China Mieville has also incorporated many steampunk elements, such as steam-driven computers, dirigibles, and Dickensian social commentary, in his novels Perdido Street Station, The Iron Council, and The Scar, all of which are set in the fictional world of Bas-Lag.

Categories of steampunk

File:Steamboy.jpg

Steamboy, an example of steampunk anime.

While most of the original steampunk works had a historical setting, later works would often place steampunk elements in a fantasy world with little relation to any specific historical era. Historical steampunk tends to be more "science fictional": presenting an alternate history, presenting real locales and persons from history with different technology. Fantasy-world steampunk, on the other hand, presents steampunk in a completely imaginary fantasy realm, often populated by legendary creatures coexisting with steam-era or anachronistic technologies.

Though this article only lists a few representative examples, a much more extensive listing can be found in the article "List of steampunk works."

Historical steampunk

In general, the category includes any recent science fiction that takes place in a recognizable historical period (sometimes an alternate-history version of an actual historical period) where the Industrial Revolution has already begun but electricity is not yet widespread, with an emphasis on steam- or spring-propelled gadgets. The most common historical steampunk settings are the Victorian and Edwardian eras, though some in this "Victorian steampunk" category can go as early as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Some examples of this type include the comic book series League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Disney animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire, the novel The Difference Engine, the roleplaying game Space: 1889, television series such as The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, and the computer game The Chaos Engine. Some, such as the comic series Girl Genius, have their own unique times and places despite partaking heavily of the flavor of historic times and settings.

Karel Zeman's film The Fabulous World of Jules Verne from 1958 is a very early example of cinematic steampunk. Based on Jules Verne novels which were actually futuristic science fiction when they were written, Zeman's film imagines a past based on those novels which never was.

The next most common setting is "Western steampunk", being a science fictionalized American Western, as seen in the television shows The Wild Wild West and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., the film Wild Wild West, and the Deadlands role-playing game. See Science fiction Western for a list of fiction combining these two genres.

There are also "Medieval steampunk" stories set in the Middle Ages, in which steam and industrial technology is developed in the Medieval era, such as Leo Frankowski's Crosstime Engineer series; and Renaissance stories, such as Erik Svane and Dan Greenberg's General Leonardo graphic novel, in which Leonardo da Vinci's avant-garde war machines are used to start a new Crusade.

A rare example of a story that arguably has elements of steampunk but is set in the present day is Lawrence Leonard's The Horn of Mortal Danger (1980). However, since the steampunk elements take place in a hidden underground civilization which coexists with our own but is not derived from any actual historical civilization, this story could also be placed in the "fantasy-world steampunk" category below.

Historical steampunk usually leans more towards science fiction than fantasy, but there have been a number of historical steampunk stories that incorporated magical elements as well. For example, Morlock Nights by K. W. Jeter revolves around an attempt by the wizard Merlin to raise King Arthur to save the Britain of 1892 from an invasion of Morlocks from the future, while The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers involves a cabal of magicians trying to raise ancient Egyptian Gods to try to drive the British out of Egypt in the early 19th century.

Fantasy-world steampunk

Since the 1990s, the application of the steampunk label has expanded beyond works set in recognizable historical periods (usually the 19th century) to works set in fantasy worlds that rely heavily on steam- or spring-powered technology. China Miéville is one of the better-known fantasy steampunk authors. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy also includes steampunk settings, most notably Lyra's world in The Golden Compass and The Amber Spyglass.

There are also many examples of the Steampunk subgenre in anime and manga series and films, some notable examples include Fullmetal Alchemist, Last Exile, and Howl's Moving Castle (Steamboy would also be a prime example of steampunk anime, but falls more into the above category of 'historical steampunk').

Fantasy steampunk settings abound in tabletop and computer role-playing games. Notable examples include the Privateer Press Iron Kingdoms, a Dungeons & Dragons style RPG setting, and the Warmachine tabletop wargame, the Goodman Games role-playing game DragonMech, the OGL steampunk campaign setting by Mongoose publishing, the Castle Falkenstein role-playing game, the Ironwolf comic from Howard Chaykin and Mike Mignola, the Thief first-person sneaker series, many of the games in the Final Fantasy console role-playing game series, where characters get around in airships run by steam (especially Final Fantasy VI, which has the most prominent steampunk themes), and the PC game Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, in which the world is torn between its roots in magic and its steam-driven, industrial future.

In the tabletop wargame setting of Warhammer, both the Dwarf and Skaven factions display prominent steampunk stylings, while certain of the more prosperous sections of the Empire also stray into the genre.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels have shown increasing steampunk leanings as the series progresses.

Many of the settings and puzzles in the classic game series Myst have a clear influence of Jules Verne and other steampunk styles.

Other notable, and more recent, additions are the games set in the Warcraft Universe, produced by Blizzard Entertainment. There is a vast amount of technology, engineered and built by Gnomes, Goblins, and Dwarves, reminiscent of steampunk. This is most clearly seen in the 'wondrous techno-city of Gnomeregan,' a city run primarily by steam engine technology, and experienced as an instance dungeon in the game World of Warcraft. The traditional dwarven tanks are also known as "steam tanks" or "siege engines", with Goblins having created steam or clockwork-powered mechanical suits called "Shredders". Also, since the release of The Burning Crusade expansion pack the Naga race have been showing a large inclination towards steampunk technology (operated primarily by Draenei slaves, for example using huge steam-powered pumps to drain the swamps of Zangarmarsh and in the 5-man dungeon The Steamvaults.

Variants of the steampunk concept

In between the historical and fantasy sub-genres of steampunk is a type which takes place in a hypothetical future or a fantasy equivalent of our future where steampunk-style technology and aesthetics have come to dominate, sometimes (as in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines or Frank Herbert's Dune) as a result of modern computer-based technology being mysteriously forgotten or completely forbidden. Other examples include the Neotopia comic, Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War and even Disney's Treasure Planet film. This could also be considered a type of Retro-futurism.

John Clute and John Grant have introduced another category: gaslight romance. According to them, "steampunk stories are most commonly set in a romanticized, smoky, 19th century London, as are Gaslight Romances. But the latter category focuses nostalgically on icons from the late years of that century and the early years of the 20th century—on Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Jack the ripper, Sherlock Holmes and even Tarzan—and can normally be understood as combining supernatural fiction and recursive fantasy, though some gaslight romances can be read as fantasies of history." This category is no longer in use (as well as its distinction from steampunk), with the exception of French fandom.

Steampunk as a subculture

Because of the popularity of steampunk with people in the goth, punk, cyber and Industrial subcultures, there is a growing movement towards establishing steampunk or "Steam" as a culture and lifestyle.

The most immediate form of steampunk subculture is the community of fans surrounding the genre. Others move beyond this, attempting to adopt a "steampunk" aesthetic through fashion, home decor and even music. This movement may also be (more accurately) described as "Neo-Victorianism", which is the amalgamation of Victorian aesthetic principles with modern sensibilities and technologies. (The growth of which was presaged by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in The Diamond Age.)

"Steampunk" fashion has no set guidelines, but tends to synthesize punk, goth and rivet styles as filtered through the Victorian era. This may include Mohawks and extensive piercings with corsets and tattered petticoats, Victorian suits with goggles and boots with large soles and buckles or straps, and the Lolita fashion and Elegant Gothic Aristocrat styles. Some of what defines steampunk fashion has come from cyberpunk, and cyberlocks have appeared being used by people adopting a steampunk look.

"Steampunk" music is even less defined, and tends to apply to any modern musicians whose music evokes a feeling of the Victorian era or steampunk. This may include such diverse artists as Tom Waits, Abney Park, Emilie Autumn, The Dresden Dolls, Strawfoot, Rasputina, and Vernian Process.

Steampunk as an object style

Various modern utilitarian objects such as computer keyboards and electric guitars have been reimplemented by individual craftpersons in a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style. The goal of the redesigns are to employ appropriate materials (such as polished brass, iron, and wood) with design elements and craftsmanship consistent with the Victorian era. This is a form of modding.

See also

• List of steampunk works
• Literary punk genres
• Uchronia
• Retro-futurism
• Boilerplate
• Science fiction Western, Weird West setting with anachronistic technology in the Old West
• Steampunk Magazine

References

• Clockwork worlds, Richard D. Erlich and Thomas P. Dunn (1983). ISBN 0-313-23026-9
• The Steampunk issue of Nova Express, Volume 2, Issue 2, Winter 1988
• The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana by Jess Nevins
• Fiction 2000: cyberpunk and the future of narrative, George Slusser and Tom Shippey (1992). ISBN 0-8203-1425-0
• Science fiction after 1900, Brooks Landon (2002). ISBN 0-415-93888-0
• Science fiction before 1900, Paul K. Alkon (1994). ISBN 0-8057-0952-5
• Victorian science fiction in the UK, Darko Suvin (1983). ISBN 0-8161-8435-6
• Worlds enough and time, Gary Westfahl, George Slusser, and David Leiby (2002). ISBN 0-313-31706-2
• "Louis la Lune", Alban Guillemois (2006). ISBN 2-226-16675-0

External links

• Aether Emporium, a Steampunk wiki
• Gothic Steam Phantastic, Steampunk articles and reviews
• OTTENSteam, Steam- and dieselpunk articles and galleries
• Brief Steampunk FAQ
• Steampunkopedia, compendium of all things steampunk
• The Steampunk Workshop, Steampunk DIY projects and blog
• Wildwinter Steampunk, a Steampunk resource
• History of Robots of the Victorian Era
• How to Draw Steampunk Machines, art and mechanics of Steampunk machines
• Steampunk Magazine
• Steam Trek, a Steampunk version of Star Trek
• Steam Trek: The Moving Picture, the original Steampunk version of Star Trek
• Steam Wars, artwork of giant steam-powered robots
• Victorian SciFi Showcase
• A list of Steampunk-related videogames at Mobygames
• Steampunk - the New Genre - talk delivered by James Roy, author of Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Adventure (ISBN 0702233641) at the 2003 Children's Book Council of Australia Conference in Hobart, Tasmania.
• Retrostacja, Polish steampunk website
• The Age of Steampunk - in depth article from The Boston Globe