2012 Steampunk Reading Challenge - Finished

This challenge was hosted by Dark Faerie Tales. The sign-up post was here and it contained a couple of links to get you started on what steampunk is, exactly. The sign-up post and this blog have a compiled list of a few steampunk works. You could post your reviews here and everyone's completed lists can be consulted here.

Books read for this Challenge

• Soulless, Gail Carriger
• The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook
• The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, Kady Cross
• Goliath, Scott Westerfeld
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• Steampunk! - An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories, anthology edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
• Stormdancer, Jay Kristoff

I chose the "Gaslight" level (6 books), so I would say I completed this challenge since I read 7 books. I wish I had read more, since many steampunk books I had in my TBR pile still remain there. I am so undisciplined, lol. But I kinda lost my motivation to read for this challenge mid-year, so these last three months I didn't even read anything for the challenge. Too bad, but maybe I'll read these books next year. I don't plan to sign up to any challenge, but maybe I'll make my own personal challenge.

The ones left behind:

• The Map of Time, Félix J. Palma
• The Court of the Air, Stephen Hunt
• Pavane, Keith Roberts
• Vaporpunk - Relatos steampunk publicados sob as ordens de Suas Majestades, Brazillian anthology edited by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro and Luís Filipe Silva
• Steamed, Katie MacAlister

The ones I wanted to read:

• Clockwork Prince, Cassandra Clare (this one depended on this book being released in my country, and since it didn't... but I'm so dying to read it)
• The Subtle Knife, Philip Pullman
• The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman

The ones in my wishlist:

• The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, anthology edited by Sean Wallace
• Dead Iron, Devon Monk (and the following book[s])
• Heart of Steel, Meljean Brook (and the following book[s])
• The Iron Wyrm Affair, Lilith Saintcrow (and the following book[s])
• Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances, anthology edited by Trisha Telep
• All Men of Genius, Lev A.C. Rosen
• The Girl in the Steel Corset, Kady Cross (and the following book[s])
• The Greyfriar, Clay & Susan Griffith (and the following book[s])
• Phoenix Rising, Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris (and the following book[s])
• Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (and the following book[s])
• Steampunk, anthology edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer

And if I took a peek at my Goodreads wishlist I might find so much more steampunk books, but this is a big enough list, so I'll leave it at that.

Stormdancer, Jay Kristoff

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales.

Description

My thoughts: I must confess, reading this book was almost torture during the first two days. I was quite frustrated at how slowly things (and my reading) were progressing – 60-80 pages in two long days, which is ridiculously slow for me. If I were one of those people that read 50-100 pages of a book to assess whether they are going to like it, I might have given up.

I think this failure at capturing my attention has two causes. First, the book starts with a prologue-ish chapter, as it contains an exciting event, but then the story goes back 2 weeks to tell us how it all began. It’s not smart to start a book with a thrilling event and then spend some chapters doing some worldbuilding, in my opinion. Which leads me to cause number 2 – the author is a bit too descriptive, and it takes a while to get used to. (Or when things got interesting, I didn’t mind as much.)

Fortunately for all parties involved, I am very stubborn and kept reading – and ended up enjoying myself much more. The worldbuilding is pretty interesting and well-thought, depicting a decadent, dystopian, steampunk-ish, Japanese-in-feudal-times, setting. The author anchors this world in a real place and time (Japan in feudal times, which is quite interesting in itself, though I admit I'm not well-versed) and creates a world that depends on a fuel-like substance, chi, which is fabricated from the blood lotus, a native plant.

The thing is, the dependence on chi and the blood lotus has nocive results on this society – nature is polluted by the manufacture of the chi, some people are addicted to the lotus’ fumes, other people are dying of the black smoke produced bu machinery, and the social structure is just crumbling. I think there's a bit of well-built social, economical and even political commentary, and that was interesting to read.

The main character, Yukiko, is a typical teenager, since she has extreme stances towards many things – which I felt was realistic, yet it made it harder for me to get to know her. I wish I could understand better what makes her tick. As for the other characters... some made me curious, but not enough to point them out. The author should definitely work on building stronger characters. Buruu, however, was awesome. The way he thought and spoke, and how that changed after spending time with Yukiko was fascinating. I want more of him!

There are a few more assorted things I could point out. The plot turned out very enjoyable and I kept eagerly turning the pages to find out what was going on. The romance amused me, because it was interesting to watch Yukiko's crush come back and bite her in the ass, pardon my French, since that's all it was, a crush, not epic love (thank God for the small blessings), and she got screwed over it. Also, I felt bad for Kin, who had a one-sided thing for Yukiko.

What can I conclude from here? Well, this book was a lot of trouble when I began it, but I ended up really liking it, which only proves how easily I can change my mind. I won't be impatiently waiting for the next one, but I will surely pick it up whenever it comes out.

Steampunk! - An anthology of fantastically rich and strange stories

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales.

Description

My thoughts: Reading this anthology made me realize a few things. Number One, it's a very bad idea to try to read an anthology during work days, because I don't have much time and short stories require I am much more invested in them, despite the shorter span. In the weekend my reading flowed much more smoothly.

Number Two, it's interesting to read about how different people write about a theme (and sometimes write around it too). Even though I'm a sucker for worldbuilding (and nothing begs more for worldbuilding than steampunk), if the story is good, I might overlook the fact that there isn't much steampunk in it. But if the story sucks, throwing a flying zeppelin in, or something like that, will not save you from the fact that the story sucks. (Fortunately only a couple of stories fit this bill.)

That said, it was an interesting anthology, with a variety of themes and writers, of times and spaces. I wish some stories were more true to the anthology's theme, after all it is why I bought the book - but only one story truly disappointed me, so I would say this a satisfying read overall.

Some Fortunate Future Day, Cassandra Clare

Too short to properly explore the theme. There was a paradox about time travelling I would have like to see better explored. Not much steampunkish.

The Last Ride of the Glory Girls, Libba Bray

Loved it. Libba Bray has a fantastic imagination and I was captivated by the Glory Girls and by Addie's narration (I even read the story with an accent in my mind). The steampunkish themes are well explored and tie well with the western tone. Besides, this was the inspiration for the cover, and that says something.

Clockwork Fagin, Cory Doctorow

This one explores more the clockwork part of steampunk. I liked it, it was a fun tale of kids at a disadvantage taking control of their destinies.

Seven Days Beset by Demons, Shawn Cheng

A comic tale. I liked the concept, but it missed something. I wasn't a big fan of the art.

Hand in Glove, Ysabeau S. Wilce

This was such a crazy story (in a good way). It shows the "mad science" angle in steampunk, and it has some awesome humorous moments. I'd like to read more about Constable Etreyo's endeavours,

The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor, Delia Sherman

A cute story that blends well the ghost story with the steampunk. It just didn't make my favourites, I thought it lacked something.

Gethsemane, Elizabeth Knox

The WTF short story of this anthology. I just couldn't understand what was going on. The writing was confusing and it was too much descriptive. I couldn't care for the characters, despite what was going on. There was just no passion in the story. I'm sure I missed the biblical references, and the moral ending fell short. Besides, steampunk isn't just sticking a zeppelin in the middle of the story.

The Summer People, Kelly Link

Another tale that breaks the anthology's theme, which is hilarious coming from one of the anthology's editors. (I'm sorry, but the trinkets by the summer people are not steampunk.) I chose to overlook it because the tale itself was properly creppy and with quite an atmosphere. But the ending was a bit anti-climatic.

Peace in Our Time, Garth Nix

This was a pretty good story, which shows you can do so much with so few pages. The author managed to introduce steampunk well, and mix it with some post-apocalyptic tones. It was chilling, to realize what had happened in the past.

Nowhere Fast, Christopher Rowe

This isn't steampunk either, but it was interesting enough for me not to care. It shows a plausible future for the Earth, and the ending just promises more.

Finishing School, Kathleen Jennings

Another comic tale. I liked it and its striving, chase-your-dream themes. The art is quite dynamic, even in black and white.

Steam Girl, Dylan Horrocks

Not steampunk literally, but in spirit. A bit of a sad story, but it made me very curious about the adventures of Steam Girl. Also, I'd like to know whatever happened to the main characters.

Everything Amiable and Obliging, Holly Black

Strangely enough, the only Victorian-ish tale. I loved it. It conveys the right amount of propriety, and all things amiable and obliging. It shows a side of steampunk and automatons I'd never considered, and it is well explored. I wish I could read more about this world and these characters, written by Holly.

The Oracle Engine, M.T. Anderson

Ha! Who would have though Romans were steampunk too? And it worked so well. What a fun story, especially when dealing with the themes of fate and self-fulfilling predictions.

Incarceron, Catherine Fisher

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales.

Description

My thoughts: Catherine Fisher does create a very interesting world here, with a sentient prision (Incarceron) who turns against its prisioners at every turn, making living in it a living hell. But story-wise, I just disliked way too many things to make this a stellar read.

First, it took me way too much time to read a book this big. I felt my reading was dragging on because apparently nothing was happening, except it was - the action scenes just weren't creating the sense of urgency they should. I couldn't care enough for what was going on and engage in the characters' worries. Then the big revelations were way too obvious. Seriously, I could tell Finn's secret in the first 30 to 50 pages (and that never happens to me). The discoveries we make about Incarceron were a bit more interesting, though.

The characters made me harder to care for them as well. They either are cardboard-like (Finn), despicable (at least we're told so - the queen, Casper or even John Arlex), ou just annoying (Claudia, I'm talking to you, with your selfish and thoughtless actions). Jared was interesting enough, and I felt bad for Keiro and Attia. I'd like to know more about Sapphique as well.

The bright star in the book is the worldbuilding, really, and even that got me questioning the book. A previous king decided to prohibit any kind of technology or technological advancements in order to avoid turbulence in society, thus this society is frozen in time, but one can't tell exactly when. Many people on Goodreads mention the Victorian era, but I personally got a few French court circa Louis XIV vibes.

The creation of Incarceron and its idiosyncrasies was what truly captivated me. The notion of a sentient entity, responsible for all the lives in it, and determined to make everything harder to them, was just wonderful. The imagery of the prison was quite interesting as well, and I just wish there was more "screentime" dedicated to Incarceron.

I will still be reading the second book, because I'm curious about a few things, and I refuse to let the disappointments in this book to get me down. But this could have been a much better book (and read).

Goliath/Golias, Scott Westerfeld

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales.

Description/Sinopse

Review: *sigh* I love these books, yet I have a hard time explaining why... Could it be Scott Westerfeld's masterful use of events and characters from the World War I to make his alternate reality so believable? Could it be the amazing characters, so true to themselves? Or the way the story is written, a plain adventure filled with exciting moments? Or even the way the author never loses sight of what he has planned, and keeps the story and the characters truly believable?

This book starts a few days after Behemoth's end, and the airship Leviathan is headed towards Japan. However, a message from the Russian czar has them stopping in Siberia to pick up Nikola Tesla, a clanker scientist who claims he has built a powerful weapon that can destroy cities, and with it he plans to stop the war.

I found Tesla's plan to end the war quite interesting, as it posed some ethical questions, not only for the characters as well as for the reader. I traced some parallels between this weapon and the way the atomic bombs were used in the end of World War II... I'm sure these are not unintentional. Tesla was the right mix of crazy and visionary, and the final scenes with him were very terrifying and exciting, of all that could've happened.

I loved to follow Alek and Deryn throughout the series, especially in this one. I had underestimated Alek - he still is a bit naive and idealistic, but he means well, actually, he means nothing less than to save the world! He also was a true and loyal friend to Deryn as he learned her secret, and thankfully he didn't have the reaction I expected when he found about it.

As for Deryn, I adore how she is a better boy than Alek, as it's mentioned several times throughout the books, and how she is brave and fearless, and how she brags a little and also how she calls Alek names without being reverent of his social standing, yet she is painfully aware of the gap between the two of them. What I liked about Alek and Deryn was how they were friends and equal partners before anything else happened between them. (And what does happen is terribly fun and adorable.)

Bovril and his twin were just the perfect complement to the story, providing useful commentary and comic relief. Dr. Barlow and Volger were the ever present conspirators, with something up in their sleeves. The historical characters (like William Randolph Hearst, Pancho Villa or Adela Rogers) were interesting to meet, and gave a sense of reality to the story.

I am almost wishing for another book, so I can selfishly spend more time with these characters, but at the same time this series ended on a high note, and it pleased me immensely to read it.

Opinião: em breve

Páginas: 384

Editora: Vogais

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, Kady Cross

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales.

Description

Review: This was a welcome surprise. I'm always wary of short stories and novellas, because they can often fall short of a satisfying tale. But The Strange Case of Finley Jayne was quite interesting, presenting interesting characters and worldbuilding, while being able to stand on its own feet without being necessary to read the main series.

Finley Jayne is an apparently normal working girl. Except she has some unusual, unhuman powers, and a temper that seems like she has another personality altogether. She was just fired from a job, but she quickly finds another with Lady Morton: she is to be her daughter Phoebe's companion. Finley soon gets entangled in a mistery that envolves Phoebe's fiancé, and gets to explore her abilities.

I liked Finley, she's a smart, sassy girl who I would like to read more about. Lady Morton and Phoebe were quite amusing as the damsels in distress, although their distress was a bit too convenient. The way things progressed were a bit obvious, but I enjoyed to read about this world nonetheless and I am curious about the main series.

The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales.

Description

Review: Well, this author was a very nice surprise. She balances the romance with a fantastic worldbuilding and exciting plot, and bonus, she discusses Portuguese pastry by page 4!

The plot, as I mentioned, is complex and takes many twists and turns, with a mystery that captivated me. I was rooting for Mina to find her brother again, and that she and Rhys would figure out what was going on. And the worldbuliding! So complex! I was very excited to discover the hows and whys behind the steampunk part of the book - the time under Horde rule, how people are divided between having bugs and mechanical parts, or not having them, the prejudices toward Mina and people like, the airships... everything!

As for the characters, Meljean Brook certainly creates some memorable ones. I wasn't a big fan of Rhys, because he is a bit too possessive and stalkerish for my taste (he even tries to get Mina into his bed using her brother's life as leverage... not cool, I would have used Mina's opium darts on him a lot more), and because he seemed so underdeveloped compared to Mina. It seems I never got what made him tick. (Pun somewhat intended.)

Mina, on the other hand, was a fully fleshed character. It was great to read about what she had to face every day, the support of her family and friends, how everyone who knows her really cares for her, and she still kicks ass and knows how to fend herself. I loved how she was devoted to her family. The romance was satisfying, with some interesting, steamy scenes. Though I would have liked Rhys to tone down his intensity, but I liked how the romantic part didn't overwhelm the rest of the story.

And there were so many other interesting characters! Yasmeen and Fox, who are the main characters in book #2 and seem to have a juicy backstory; Scarsdale, who I wish would have a story of his own and a happy ending - he is so amusing and interesting; and Newberry, who was such a good unofficial bodyguard for Mina, and of whom I'd like to see (well, read) more.

All things considered, I really enjoyed this book, despite the romance (that sounds weird, I know). Meljean Brook summons a complex, compelling story that made me think. I will certainly be reading more of her books!

Pages: 384

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

Soulless, Gail Carriger

This book is for the Steampunk Reading Challenge, hosted by Dark Faerie Tales. The english part of the review is at the bottom of the post.

Sinopse/Description

Opinião: Confesso, começar este livro foi um pouco difícil. A Gail Carriger tem uma maneira estranha de narrar as coisas que acabava por me empurrar a mim, leitora, para fora da história quando me estava a embrenhar na mesma. Houve mesmo uma falsa partida há umas semanas, em que li umas páginas e deixei de lado porque não estava com a disposição certa.

Felizmente, desta vez lá insisti e adaptei-me ao livro, e em menos de nada estava a adorar este mundo que a Gail criou. Gostei muito do cenário, vitoriano, em que os seres sobrenaturais saíram do armário algures no período correspondente ao Renascimento. Há descobertas científicas mais avançadas, o que justifica a etiqueta steampunk do livro, enquanto se mantêm as morais vitorianas estritas.

Gostei muito do leque de personagens, acho que temos muitos personagens divertidos e bem característicos. Os meus preferidos são, claro, a Alexia (que, coitada, na minha cabeça estava sempre a trocar-lhe o nome por Alicia) e o Lord Maccon. As cenas com eles são tão divertidas, especialmente quando tentam ater-se às morais vitorianas e falham redondamente. Irritei-me com a família dela, que bando de snobes, sempre a classificar as pessoas com base no dinheiro e na beleza (ou o que eles acham que é a beleza, porque andavam sempre a atazanar a Alexia por causa do seu ar latino).

O enredo é a parte mais fraca, é fácil adivinhar quem é (são) o(s) vilão(ões), e ao mesmo tempo a história leva um bom bocado a desenvolver-se nessa direcção. Mas fiquei muito curiosa graças ao fim, e à nova posição da Alexia entre os pares do reino.

Review: I confess, starting this book was a bit hard. Gail Carriger has a strange way of narrating things that would pull me away from the story just when I was getting interested in it. I even tried to start the book a few weeks back, but put it aside because I wasn't in the right mood.

Luckily, I insisted this time and adapted myself to the book and its story, and loved the world created by Gail. I enjoyed the Victorian scenery a lot, in which supernatural beings have left the closet right around Renaissance. There are some advanced scientific exploits that justify the steampunk label, while there are still the strict Victorian morals at play.

I really loved the cast of characters, there are many fun, quirky and individual characters to choose from. Though I'm a fan of Alexia (poor girl, in my head I was always calling her Alicia) and Lord Maccon. Their scenes together are so funny, especially when they try to comply with the strict Victorian rules and fail completely. I was so mad at her family, what a bunch of snobs, always classifying people according to money, status or beauty (or what they think beauty is, because they were always needling Alexia for her Italian looks).

The plot is the weakest link in this - it's easy to guess the villain(s), and at the same time the story takes a while to move in that direction. But the ending left me quite curious, especially about Alexia's new position among the kingdom's best.

Páginas/Pages: 384

Editora/Publisher: Orbit

Steampunk Reading Challenge 2012

For the record, this challenge is entirely jen7waters's fault. I was reading her blog last night, and she had this post about the challenges she was going to enter... and this challenge was mentioned there. I started to realize I had a few steampunk books in my shelves, then I realized I had more books than I initially thought, and then I realized I might buy a few more this year. So I might as well cave in and sign up for this challenge, to make me actually read the books instead of just buying them.

This challenge is hosted by Dark Faerie Tales. The sign-up post is here and it contains a couple of links to get you started on what steampunk is, exactly. The sign-up post and this blog have a compiled list of a few steampunk works.

I'm going to choose the "Gaslight" level (6 books), since I own at least as many steampunk books as that level, but I might upgrade the reading level later on. The books I'm planning to read are:

• Steampunk! - An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories, anthology edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
• The Map of Time, Félix J. Palma
• The Court of the Air, Stephen Hunt
• Pavane, Keith Roberts
• Vaporpunk - Relatos steampunk publicados sob as ordens de Suas Majestades, Brazillian anthology edited by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro and Luís Filipe Silva
• Soulless, Gail Carriger
• Steamed, Katie MacAlister

I may read the sequels to the above books whenever they exist. With a little luck, I might also read this year the following books, which are sequels to steampunk books I've already read:

• Clockwork Prince, Cassandra Clare (and I'd like to re-read Clockwork Angel)
• Goliath, Scott Westerfeld
• The Subtle Knife, Philip Pullman
• The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman

And this is my "wishful thinking" list - the books I'd like to explore, but probably won't have time to, this year:

• The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, anthology edited by Sean Wallace
• Dead Iron, Devon Monk
• Tin Swift, Devon Monk
• The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook
• Heart of Steel, Meljean Brook
• The Iron Wyrm Affair, Lilith Saintcrow
• Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances, anthology edited by Trisha Telep
• All Men of Genius, Lev A.C. Rosen
• The Girl in the Steel Corset, Kady Cross
• The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Kady Cross
• The Greyfriar, Clay & Susan Griffith
• The Rift Walker, Clay & Susan Griffith
• Phoenix Rising, Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris
• Boneshaker, Cherie Priest
• Clementine, Cherie Priest
• Dreadnought, Cherie Priest
• Ganymede, Cherie Priest
• Steampunk, anthology edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
• Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded, anthology edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer

So enough of drooling over these titles, I'm going to sign up now.