The Appeal of Steam Punk

By Dennis D. McDonald

Command Line’s podcast  rant about Steam Punk is a fun listen. He refers to William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s 1990 novel The Difference Engine as the seminal work of “steam punk” literature where technology and 19th Century history are re-imagined. If you’ve never read that novel, I recommend it.

I’ve always enjoyed tales of alternate history and of time travel. Command Line’s rant is against the too-easy application of the “steam punk” descriptor to works as derivative and unimaginative as the 2003 film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I much prefer the imaginative and creative work that went into Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. That movie imagines a 1930’s “high tech” world complete with giant robots, ray guns, and Saturday matinee heroes (plus Angelina Jolie wearing an eyepatch). There’s no way you could refer to Sky Captain as “steam punk,” but it works for me because it describes a “future world that never was,” a concept that has always fascinated me.

You could probably say that Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s STEAMBOY follows the criteria that Command Line sets out for defining what constitutes “steam punk,” although the characterizations in that movie leave much to be desired, even if you are willing to accept the absurd technology that underlies the film’s adventures. The novel Difference Engine is much more believable, partly because we have seen in our own times how information technology has impacted society, and partly because authors Gibson and Sterling do not ignore mechanical realities as much as Katsuhiro Ôtomo does in Steamboy.

Another example of a “steam punk” facade is the bizarre technology that underlies ground-based and aerial transportation devices in Hayao Miyazaki’s HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE. But the technology there, while it reflects Miyazaki’s consistent emphasis on flight in his films, is secondary to the story which concentrates instead on magic and human relationships against a background of politics and warfare.

One could make the case that Howl’s castle is itself a “steam punk” device but I think that would be inappropriate, given that the castle is “powered” not by technology but by a demon (or is that “daemon?”)

Copyright (c) 2008 by Dennis D. McDonald

Comments

[Lisa Junker]

Ah, you liked The Difference Engine? I wanted to like it so much--I went in as a huge Gibson fan, and I thought, Gibson and steampunk, what's not to like? But I was really disappointed, especially by the main female character in the first section, who seemed fairly useless and then disappeared for the rest of the book (I can't even remember her name at this point). Maybe I should give the book another shot someday.

Any other steampunk books you'd recommend?

[Dennis D. McDonald]

Lisa, it's been so long since I read the novel I have no memory of the characters. I do remember being very impressed with the mixing of historical people with imaginative alternate technologies. Cme to think of it, though, I have no memory of other novels I would classify as "steam punk" -- my SF tastes have usually run to "hard SF" and intergalactic adventure. Maybe someone else can make a suggestion? (I just realized that I have only two SF book reviews on this blog: http://www.ddmcd.com/book-reviews-index/ ) .

[Lisa Junker]

If you prefer hard SF, have you read Peter Watts? He's a somewhat depressing writer, but fantastic. His latest is Blindsight, and it's absolutely worth reading. (I think all or most of his books are available full-text on his website, actually, if you ever wanted to check out some of his writing ...)

[Dennis D. McDonald]

Thank you for the suggestion Lisa -- I have added BLINDSIGHT to my request list at the Alexandria Public Library. - Dennis

[Dennis D. McDonald]

Here's a link to my review of Peter Watts' novel "Blindsight":

http://www.ddmcd.com/books/peter-watts-blindsight.html