I was working on Old Reviews earlier today and in one of them came across this link to a closed blog I used to have. Man, 10 years and still ranting about genres! Guess I haven’t changed that much 😀 😀 😀
Basically, Steampunk is a sub-par genre, literary wise, and, in the broadest of terms, is for complete losers and pot heads.
Steampunk- An Erudite and Indepth Essay
I have disabled the Reblog function here at wordpress so you’ll have to click on the link to read the rest of the post. But as you can tell from my opening sentence, I pull no punches.
It made me laugh though and if you choose to read it, I hope it gets a chuckle or even a slight guffaw out of you.
Wow, I have found some real gold on that old blog. I’m enabling the reblog feature so I can make use of it in the future when my idea well runs dry…
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Well *I* like steampunk so nener nener nener! 😛
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Good thing I love you, isn’t it? 😀
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That was fun but I like steampunk! 🤷
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I’ll try not to hold it against you! 😉
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Haha, so far my experience with steampunk has been mostly positive, although sometimes of questionable believability. That “other” punk on the other hand, cyberpunk… blech! 😉
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Cherie Priest was definitely the wrong author for me to start in on the steampunk genre
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I haven’t read that one yet, although I do have it on my list and now I’m more curious about it!
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I haven’t read her either. Honestly, besides some young adult fiction, the only other steampunk I’ve read is comics like girlgeniusonline.com and enjoy the clunkiness of it all. 😛
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I haven’t read a lot of steampunk either, really. One I read recently and liked was the trilogy that starts with Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. It’s YA, so it might be one of the ones you read already. It wasn’t YA in an annoying way (no love triangles and minimal angst until book 3 if I remember correctly).
I also greatly enjoyed the first few books in the Burton & Swinburne series by Mark Hodder, but then the author went off the rails with complete illogic at the end of book 3 so I got mad.
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I applaud the well-used metaphors! It gave me a laugh! 🤣
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Glad you laughed. It certainly made me laugh remembering it all over again 😀
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For some reason the entire, original post came to my e-mail as an update from this blog. So I was able to read it on my phone.
It does not surprise me even a little bit that you don’t like steampunk.
As for me, I like its aesthetic. But then, I kind of hate machinery. I realize it’s super convenient, but I’m not simpatico with it. I don’t find it sexy. More of a necessary evil. Hence, I think it’s kind of charming when it clanks, belches smoke, and breaks down just when you most need it. Perhaps some well-timed breakdowns in machinery can prevent humans from accomplishing their nefarious ends.
I haven’t read much in the steampunk literary genre. I once picked up an anthology of steampunk short stories that included a helpful introduction about what counts as steampunk. I liked the stories in it that I read, but I did note from the intro that the genre often includes “a concern for social justice issues,” which technically could mean many things, some of them good, but we all know it means being woke and subscribing to a class war narrative.
I submit that the movie Box Trolls is a steampunk movie. I really liked it, except for the horrifying part about the cheese allergy.
Sorry, that got kind of long.
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the original came through because I had to publish it here on wordpress (it was originally on blogspot) and everyone who gets my posts through email get ALL my posts, old and new. And considering I posted something like 30 old posts today, I figured I could slip it in and nobody would notice, hahahaaa.
When it comes to tech, I’m more of a futurist persuasion. We’re talking the flow-metal of the T-1000 here 🙂
I haven’t really checked recently what steampunk is up to these days. I’m not sure how well it has survived as a sub-genre.
I have not heard of the movie Box Trolls. But considering my movie habits (almost non-existent these days), that doesn’t surprise me.
never apologize for a long comment. They’re a huge part of why I blog, to get comments like that 😀
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*sits on hands in effort not to apologize for having apologized*
Yeah, I actually like long comments to be left on my blog as well. I guess the habit is left over from personal interactions, where that kind of pontificating is frowned upon.
I’m sure the habit will quickly fade.
I know about Box Trolls cause I have kids. I think you would like it though.
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I just checked the wiki for box trolls. I like stop animation, so it might actually work for me 🙂
Knowing your audience is a big thing. There are bloggers I follow where I’ve stopped commenting altogether because they never respond but I still like what their posts are. Then there are the people like Bormgans who I have philosophical differences with but we write huge comments on his posts. I’ve learned to simply accept both. But I LIKE big comments 😀
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C’mon, airships are sooo cool! Think T-1000 gliding silently over your head I a big balloon… 🤣
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See, that would be cool. But steampunk was always dirty and coal’y and filthy and noisy….
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*laughing so hard*
Wow! 😀
I like the clunky-ness of steampunk, and as an aesthetic I find it very pleasing. Which is a bit weird because I don’t, in general, like things that are clunky, overly accessorized, or faffy in real life. Perhaps it’s the fantasy of it that appeals to me.
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See, even 14 years ago I had strong opinions. Maybe even stronger? Now I’m not quite so willing to engage in battle over every little thing I dislike 😀
I think the clunkiness IS what attracted a lot of people 🙂
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Don’t ever change! 😊
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Oh my goodness!!! 🤣🤣
The part where you try to redirect Skynet’s aim is beyond hilarious!
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If Skynet has to exist, at least let it do some good! 😀
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I’ve never really liked any of the steampunk I’ve tried. I love the idea of airships co-existing with zombies and mechanical animals and stuff but haven’t found a really good series yet…
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There is a webcomic, called Girl Genius, that I enjoyed for quite some time. it’s still going but I can’t remember why I stopped reading it.
Other than that though, yeah, nothing I can point to and say “that was some good steampunk”
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There was only one series that ever really peaked my interest as far as Steam Punk went and that was Burton and Swinburne by Mark Hodder.
Bodacious Creed was a good book (Steampunk zombie western) but ordinarily I find the genre less than exciting.
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Burton & Swinburne rings a bell, but since I didn’t read it I’m guessing it didn’t peak my interest at the time.
Do you think steampunk has shrunk as a genre or is it just me ignoring it?
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I’m not seeing it about as much as I once did, but I’m also not a big lover of it so probably ignore it too.
The only reason I picked up Bodacious Creed was because when the author e-mailed saying ‘it’s a steampunk zombie western’ I thought ‘that will either be awesome or a trainwreck and I’m happy to see either.
Turned out to be quite good 😂
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Hahahahah I love that Mrs. B made an appearance to state her love for steampunk! 😛 As for your hate for it, were there particular books or authors who killed it for you or is it just the idea in itself that doesn’t appeal to you like erotica is for others? 😛
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Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. It drove me bonkers and it was touted as the “cutting edge” of steampunk. Never read another book by her and wasn’t even tempted…
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Ohhh 😮 the same author who wrote that horror story I read during the summer? Wow. 😂
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Yep, that was her 🙂
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