The usual mix-bag of good, bad and meh stories. I started out enjoying the eclectic feel of the stories, which didn't always (or even usually?) fit into my preconceived notion of what Steampunk is supposed to be. A great many of them tended to veer quite a more into fantasy than expected. Toward the end, however, the slow pace and intentionally archaic language became tedious and I started a lot of skimming.

I picked this volume up because it included, "Tanglewood", a "Clockwork Century" story by Cherie Priest. As expected, it was one of the good ones, though also not what I expected. My favorite was "The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday" by G.D. Falksen, with it's odd take on 19th Century social media.

Anyone that is really into this genre will probably find the collection enjoyable. If you're not already a Steampunk fan, the odds are more like 50-50. ( )

It’s not often that I find a short story anthology that works the whole way through. I think it’s only happened twice? No dud stories, no questionable narrative choices, stories that flow together, a good breadth of subject matter, and entertaining to boot! And this one came with illustrations. It made me all excited for steampunk again, and sad that both that the movement has fizzled and that few steampunk novels get to the same levels of depth and vibrancy and creativity, at least of the ones I’ve read.

This collection has a little bit of everything: steam-powered robots, fantastical cities, spies, socialist orphans, angry housewives, mad scientists, mad photographers, time travel, mathematical fish, steampunk blogging, horror, whimsy, humour, mysteries, metafiction, and everything in between. I’m not even sure I can name any favourite stories, they were all that good! (Also, it’s been nearly two months. The brain, she forgets things.)

So yeah: if you’re looking for a solid anthology or a lot of fun steampunk, this is a great book to pick up. I’m not sure I’m up for reading another one in the series (there are three total) but I am definitely going to have Vandermeer anthologies on my radar in the future. They’ve served me really well on this one.

To bear in mind: Contains stories that tackle racism, sexism, colonialism, and various other social problems of the 1800s, but in a punching-up sort of way.

9/10 ( )

Collection of stories in a sub-genre of science fiction/fantasy. I really liked Catherynne M. Valente's story "The anachronist's cookbook" as it was really the only story with a strong dose of feminism. Cherie Priest's "Tanglefoot," about a young boy who creates his own automaton who then basically begins sabotaging things around him, was simply creepy. Samantha Henderson's "Wild Copper," with Titania and Oberon making an appearance, had a more traditionally touch of fantasy that I liked, and William Gibson's "The Germsback Continuum" seemed oddly realistic to me. Really intriguing collection of stories. I do feel like I rushed myself a little bit on it, though, and I didn't actually read everything. ( )

This was a pretty stellar collection. Not only were the individual stories consistently interesting (and varied, which, given that they were all collected under the "steampunk" banner, I did not dare to hope for) but there were authors from all over the world, which is a lovely treat.

I didn't care as much for the long absurdist piece at the end or the non-fiction essays (which seemed rather slight) but all the traditional-format short stories were lovely. ( )

Steampunk Reloaded is a rather good collection of steampunk tales. It has it's ups and downs, but overall the stories are enjoyable. Along with the stories, there are a couple of interesting non-fiction pieces and a round-table interview about the future of steampunk.

Here are a few of the stories that I especially enjoyed:
-- In "The Unblinking Eye" by Stephen Baxter, Europe has advanced steam technology, but has never ventured toward the new world. Rather it is the Incas, who have developed their own advanced technology, and have ventured into lands unknown, colonizing each new territory they come across. come to pay Europe a visit.
-- Caitlin R. Kiernan tells the story of a maimed young woman, who has been outfitted with steam-powered limbs in "The Steam Dancer."
-- "The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar" by Shweta Narayan, presents a new take on a traditional folktale, involving the beautiful clockwork birds of the Emperor's aviary.
-- "Wild Copper" by Samantha Henderson can barely be labeled steampunk genre. It's more of a fairy story, in which a girl offers to serve Oberon to save her brother. Steampunk or not, this is still a great tale.
-- An lonely orphan builds himself a mechanical friend in "Tanglefoot (A Clockwork Century Story)" by Cherie Priest. But his souless begins to take on a life of its own.
-- "The Anachronist's Cookbook" by Catherynne Valente rails against the accepted politics of a steampowered era as it presents the exploits of an angry and vicious young woman.

While there were a couple of stories that I was not a fan of (i.e., "A Secret History of Steampunk" by The Mecha-Ostrich and "Flying Fish Prometheus" by Vilhelm Bergsøe), overall I enjoyed this collection of steampunk fiction and art. ( )