Much recently-published steampunk fiction could be described period romance with airships. I was seeking something different, which is why the blurb for this novel caught my eye: “A steampunk adventure with snark and sass.” It had a great title as well. I expected something unique, and it most certainly was. First of all, the story […]
As an aficionado of steampunk, I tend to focus on fiction set in the Gilded Age of the late 19th Century. Yet I enjoy historical fiction from all eras. Halestorm (published 2012) is set in the 1700s and features Revolutionary-era American hero Nathan Hale. Despite the rather lame pun of the title, I was interested […]
The Desperado is back on YouTube! Today we talk about the amazing #steampunk game Bioshock Infinite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-POpiyx4Pw
When as a student in elementary school, I first heard about the underground railroad, I was disappointed to discover it was only a metaphor. In Colson Whitehead’s alternate history, The Underground Railroad, it has real steam locomotives. Though the book won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017, I hadn’t heard of it until I saw a […]
The Powers of the Earth is not the first sci-fi novel about a war between the Earth and its colonies on the Moon. Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, is probably the most famous. Ursula Le Guin wrote her own version, The Dispossessed. Even if an idea is not truly original, a great author […]
I love historical fiction, and one of the most fascinating settings for that genre is feudal Japan. The culture was quite alien to that of modern America, yet there were shared values like honor, bravery, and chivalry. Mojo Mori’s Six Expressions of Death is a murder mystery set in this era. Though I’ve never been […]
In science fiction, I have my specific interests, such as steampunk and alternate history. I didn’t pay attention to annual awards until the “Sad Puppies” controversy* concerning the politicization of the Hugos arose in 2013. I heard about Scalzi due to his feud with right-wing sci-fi/fantasy author Vox Day regarding this movement. I’ve read several […]
