[steam + punk]
neologism : a sub-genre of speculative science fiction
set in an anachronistic 19th century society

"There is a new genre climbing to popularity within
the science fiction world of writing: steampunk. A
mix of Victorian times and futuristic [steam] machines
clash to create a unique world.."

I try to find the meaning of 'speculative' in this context.
Even if I were a true born native speaker I'm afraid I would not understand.

speculative in this case means, "What would it have been like if these technologies and cultures had coexisted?"

Thank you Shrdlu, that makes sense, only I thought in Victorian times [steam] machines already existed.
Maybe I'm totally anachronistic myself.

have you seen the movie Wild Wild West?

they had a steam-powered tank, steam-powered airship, etc.

as t mentions, it takes steam to a whole new level.

Not steam but I read not too long ago* a novel that took place in a Victorian England where Babbage had built and successfully marketed his difference engine. They were everywhere.

*Long ago that I don't remember the title or author.

The Difference Engine, by Gibson/Sterling? link

Amazon isn't being real dialup friendly right now, but that looks like it could be the one. It featured a rather different look in the division of the North American continent without any sort of explanation of whether it had any connection with the difference engine.

I've read some pages and somehow to me it evoques Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in novel form. Don't know if this is my steaming hot cup of the tea.
Those movies then look like action and gadgets. Thank you both for the info. I'm getting the picture.

Not my cup of tea, either. Moving things with no animus
are far from reality.

I'd say Welcome, but you have me confused.

yet another drive-by spammer, who must have grown impatient with his response time.

I reported him/her.

Okay--did I miss something?

the spammer and posts are gone and gone.

And I doubt you would call it "missing", unless you
meant content and coherence.

This reminds me of a comic I used to read called "Mr. Hero" The Newmatic Man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Hero_the_Newmatic_Man

First time I have heard of this
but
am I'm mistaken, it looks like one of the robot heads is sporting 'facial hair'

Is 'The Golden Compass' considered Steam Punk?

It has been quite a while since I read it, and I didn't think of it in that way at the time, but I would support the notion that it's at least borderline steampunk. Whether It's generally considered as such I couldn't say. I guess I'll have to re-read it.

So would steam-emo be like "The Little Engine That Couldn't"?

The Golden Compass took place, mostly, or either basically, in our regular world. There were parallel universes but that's not the same thing as steam punk.

Golden Compass (the movie) is Steampunk, not Fantasy

There are times when my memory is pathetic.

Never judge a book by its movie.

My son just devoured Leviathan and Behemoth by, Scott Westerfeld. The conclusion to the Leviathan trilogy, Goliath, won't be out until September 2011...which annoys him. Does anyone have more Steampunk suggestions? He plays on the computer and PS3 a lot, so finding books to keep his interest was a real surprise.

Scott Westerfeld

list of steampunk novels

If it keeps kids reading, I'm for it.

The league of extraordinary gentlemen has some elements of steampunk such as the nautilus adapted from captain Nemos submarine.

gary--nice to see you again.

I was going to mention the Oppel series, "Airborn", but I see it is t's WikiP list.

Thanks to all! The list will help, as I often feel overwhelmed in the book store.

I have seen some of those stories, but the word 'steampunk' is new to me.

I spend time in comics' shops. The steampunk draws my
attention, but I stick to the old standbys from childhood.

Like Batman and Robin

So is how did the name steampunk arise?

the term steampunk originated in the late 1980s as a tongue in cheek variant of cyberpunk.

Thanks for that Ts, I've read some of that massive article and will go back to it, maybe tomorrow. A bit of a oxymoron then. A modern, historical fiction! Steampunk is a catcher description.

Batman and Robin were around long before steampunk.

true luke....but even they have been modernised.

true

OH! I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THIS FOR A BORING LITERATURE THESIS!!! I love SF novels and you are talking about a great sub-genre (steampunk) here! You could try The Difference Engine or The Anubis Gates some Philip K Dick would probably not go amiss...hmmm you could use it as a springboard into other parts of SF - some comic/steampunk/general laugh at SF with Toby Frost's Space Captain Smith series, some Peter F Hamilton if you like the sciency bits with good characters, if you want any more PM me