While I’ve been out here on the coast, I’ve been devouring the rest of the VanderMeer Steampunk Anthology. I’ve read most of it, but there were some stories that I didn’t get to, or wanted to wait to get to until I had a little more focus. There’s good reason for this, because I’d like to review the stories individually here.

One of my goals in the AC blog is to raise awareness for other writers of steampunk, fantasy, and sci-fi, and Steampunk is definitely a good place to start (hooray for the painfully obvious, Natania). What’s a little difficult is approaching each story, each tale, individually. They differ so much from one another in tone, style, and format, that it’s really important that I not only read and take notes, but take a little time to think about them before I write the review, kind of compile what I’ve read. I am by no means an expert, but I think talking about the stories will certainly help to further the genre (or sub-genre if that’s what you’d like to call it).

Some quick initial thoughts: Don’t read Ian R. McLeod’s “The Giving Mouth” before right before bed, and save Joe R. Lansdale’s “The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider” for a time that members of your family won’t inadvertently pick it up, read a paragraph, and assume you’re some kind of sick freak (read: there’s a hearty helping of gore, sex, and violence in that one that casual readers of Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler might not get). Just saying.

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