Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world wherein 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 and Jules Verne, 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 with a presumption of functionality.
Although many works now considered seminal to the genre were published in the 1960s and 1970s, the term "steampunk" originated in the late 1980s,[1] as a tongue-in-cheek variant of cyberpunk.[2]
This article is a list of works in the science fiction and fantasy genres considered by commentators to be steampunk.
Although the term "steampunk" was not coined until 1987, several works of fiction significant to the development of the genre were produced before that. For example, Mervyn Peake's novel Titus Alone (1959) anticipated many of the tropes of steampunk.[3] Steampunk elements have also consistently appeared in mainstream manga since the 1940s, dating back to Osamu Tezuka's epic science-fiction trilogy consisting of Lost World (1948), Metropolis (1949) and Nextworld (1951).[4]
Steampunk was particularly influenced by, and often adopts the style of the scientific romances and fantasies of the 19th century. Notably influential authors are:
Early adaptations of this scientific romance literature genre to film, particularly those from the 1950s and 1960s, are notable precursors of steampunk cinema:
Year | Title | Author(s) | First publisher | Note | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967 | Queen Victoria's Bomb | Jonathan Cape | [69] | |||
1971 | Warlord of the Air | A Nomad of the Time Streams book 1 | ||||
1974 | The Land Leviathan | A Nomad of the Time Streams book 2 | ||||
1979 | Morlock Night | |||||
1981 | The Steel Tsar | Granada | A Nomad of the Time Streams book 3 | |||
1983 | The Anubis Gates | Ace Books | [70] | |||
1983 | Kelly Country | Penguin Books | ||||
1987 | Infernal Devices | St. Martin's Press | ||||
1990 | The Difference Engine | & Bruce Sterling | Gollancz | [71] | ||
1992 | Anno Dracula | Simon & Schuster | Anno Dracula series book 1. World Fantasy Award nominee[72] | [73] | -- for gaslight romance genre --> | |
1992 | Lord Kelvin's Machine | Arkham House | ||||
1993 | Anti-Ice | Ace Books | ||||
1994 | For the Crown and the Dragon | Green Nebula | ||||
1994 | Pasquale's Angel | [74] | ||||
1995 | Northern Lights (The Golden Compass) | His Dark Materials book 1 | [75] | |||
1995 | The Steampunk Trilogy | Collection of 3 stories | ||||
2000 | Perdido Street Station | Macmillan | A Bas-Lag novel | [76] [77] | ||
2001 | Mortal Engines Quartet | Scholastic | ||||
2001 | The Peshawar Lancers | Tor | [78] | |||
2001 | Zeppelins West | "Ned the Seal" trilogy book 1 | [79] | |||
2003 | The Light Ages | Ace Books | "The Light Years" book 1 | [80] | ||
2004 | Fitzpatrick's War | DAW Books | ||||
2004 | Airborn | HarperCollins | First in series | |||
2006 | Flaming London | "Ned the Seal" trilogy book 2 | [81] | |||
2007 | Mainspring | Tor Books | [82] | -- for clockpunk genre --> | ||
2006 | The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters | Gordon Dahlquist | Bantam Press | |||
2007 | The Court of the Air | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 1 | |||
2007 | Pax Britannia | Abaddon Books | [83] | |||
2007 | Wicked Gentlemen | Blind Eye Books | Gaylactic Spectrum Award winner.[84] | [85] | ||
2008 | The Affinity Bridge | Snowbooks[86] | [87] | -- for genre --> | ||
2008 | Steampunk | & | Tachyon Publications | Anthology | ||
2008 | Clockwork Heart | Juno Books | RT Book Reviewers' Choice Award 2008: Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal / Futuristic Novel | [88] | ||
2008 | The Kingdom Beyond the Waves | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 2 | |||
2008 | Extraordinary Engines | Solaris | Anthology | [89] | ||
2009 | The Black Lung Captain | Spectra | Tales of the Ketty Jay 2 | |||
2009 | The Iron Jackal | Gollancz | Tales of the Ketty Jay 3 | |||
2009 | Soulless | Orbit Books | first novel of the Parasol Protectorate series | |||
2009 | Worldshaker | Allen and Unwin (Aus) Simon & Schuster (US) | First in series, Tam-Tam Je Bouquine Award 2011, Inky Award 2009 | |||
2009 | Leviathan | Simon Pulse | First in a New Series | [90] | ||
2009 | Boneshaker | Tor | First installment in the Clockwork Century Series | |||
2009 | The Rise of the Iron Moon | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 3 | |||
2010 | The Iron Duke | Berkley Trade | The first in the Iron Seas series | [91] | ||
2010 | Behemoth | Simon Pulse | 2nd book in the Leviathan series | |||
2010 | Dreadnought | Tor | Second installment in the Clockwork Century Series | |||
2010 | The Dream of Perpetual Motion | Picador | [92] | |||
2010 | The Infernal Devices (series) | Walker Books | [93] | |||
2010 | Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded | & | Tachyon Publications | Anthology | ||
2010 | The Bookman | Angry Robot | The Bookman Histories series book 1 | |||
2010 | Secrets of the Fire Sea | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 4 | |||
2010 | The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack | Pyr | Burton & Swinburne series book 1. Winner of the 2010 Philip K. Dick Award | |||
2010 | Aurorarama | Melville House Publishing | The Mysteries of New-Venice, I | |||
2011 | Chasing Schroedinger's Cat | Iron Ring Communications | ||||
2011 | Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel | & Tee Morris | HarperCollins Publishers | The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book 1 | [94] | |
2011 | Retribution Falls | Gollancz | Tales of the Ketty Jay 1 | |||
2011 | The Manual of Detection | Heinemann | [95] | |||
2011 | Camera Obscura | Angry Robot | The Bookman Histories series book 2 | |||
2011 | Jack Cloudie | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 5 | |||
2011 | Modern Marvels - Viktoriana | Knightraven Studios | First book of the Modern Marvels Trilogy | [96] | ||
2011 | Liberator | Allen and Unwin (Aus) | Second in series | [97] | ||
2011 | Across the Stonewind Sky | Jaffa Books | Into the Storm's Domain book 1 | [98] | ||
2011 | The Wrath of Fate | Three Ravens | Book One of the Airship Pirate Chronicles | |||
2012 | From the Deep of the Dark | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 6 | |||
2012 | The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel | & Tee Morris | HarperCollins Publishers | The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book 2 | ||
2012 | The Great Game | Angry Robot | The Bookman Histories series book 3 | |||
2012 | Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution | Tachyon Publications | Anthology | |||
2012 | The Mammoth Book of Steampunk | Constable & Robinson / Running Press | Anthology | |||
2012 | Resurrection Engines: 15 Extraordinary Tales of Scientific Romance | Snowbooks | Anthology | |||
2012 | Ether Frolics | Sybertooth | Short story collection. | [99] | ||
2013 | The Aylesford Skull | Titan | A Langdon St. Ives novel. | |||
2013 | Clockwork Planet | Yuu Kamiya, Tsubaki Himana | Kodansha | Light novel series | ||
2013 | Hour of the Wolf | Andrius Tapinas | Andrius Tapinas | Steam and Stone Saga Book 1 | [100] | |
2013 | Luminous Chaos | Melville House Publishing | The Mysteries of New-Venice, II | |||
2013 | A Steampunk Guide to Tea Dueling | Khurt Khave | Dangerous Worlds | Steampunk Game Guide | [101] | |
2014 | The Adventures of Alan Shaw | Craig Hallam | Inspired Quill | The Adventures of Alan Shaw book 1 | [102] | |
2014 | Chainsaw Alice in Wonderland | Khurt Khave | Dangerous Worlds | Steampunk Horror | [103] | |
2014 | The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy | Jacopo della Quercia | St. Martin's Griffin | Steampunk / Historical Fiction | [104] | |
2015 | The Aeronaut's Windlass | Jim Butcher | Penguin Group | Steampunk, Magic, Fantasy | [105] | |
2018 | Old Haunts | Craig Hallam | Inspired Quill | The Adventures of Alan Shaw book 2 | [106] | |
2018 | Watch City: Waltham Watch | Jessica Lucci | Indie Woods | Steampunk, First in a new series | ||
2019 | Sigimmortal | Tom Waguespack | Alban Lake Publishing | Steampunk, First in a new series | ||
2023 | The Engineer's Apprentice | J. R. Martin | Underdog Press | Steampunk, First in series, Magic, Fantasy | [107] |
The following is a list of musicians and bands that have either adopted a steampunk aesthetic in their appearance, or have a decidedly steampunk approach to their music.
While not strictly steampunk in their general appearance or approach to music, several musicians and bands have produced music, music videos or concept albums that directly appeal to the steampunk aesthetic. Included in these are: