Pathfinder: The Steampunk Movement

A UnLibrarian Resource

Courtney Lerner
LIBR 210 Reference Services
Spring 2009, Professor Midyette
Master of Library & Information Studies 
San Jose State University, California

Friday, April 24, 2009

Reference Books: Books, Encyclopedias, Guides, Anthologies


.......................................


Resources for Finding Books in a Library Near You:

WORLDCAT: WorldCat.org lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. WorldCat grows every day thanks to the efforts of librarians and other information professionals.


Or feel free to enter any isbn, title, author, 0r keyword!

*****************************************************


Title: New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Paperback) By: Peter Nicholls 

  • Paperback: 1408 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit (November 25, 1999)
  • ISBN-10: 1857238974
Type: Encyclopedia

Find Entry on Steampunk: p.896 1st Ed., (1997)

Reader's Annotation (Via Booklist): There are 212 topical entries, including RobotsTime Travel, and Cyberpunk. A list of these topics is found in the introduction. Sixty-five scientific or sf jargon terms are defined. Science fiction in 27 different countries is covered in separate articles, which helps to balance the collection's strong U.S.-U.K. bias. This focus is probably inevitable given the anglophone domination of the field, but it has its drawbacks. The Japanese film industry, which "owned" the monster-movie market for years, is relegated to a few paragraphs in the article Japan.

***********************************************************************
A Selection of Basic Guide/Reference Titles:


Title: Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory (Catalogue Edition) (Hardcover)
By: by Greg Broadmore (Author, Artist) 
Type: Art Book/Steampunk Weaponry Dictionary
  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Publisher: Dark Horse; Catalogue Ed edition (February 6, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1593078765
  • ISBN-13: 978-1593078768
Reader's Annotation: Product Description
By jingo, by crikey, and by all that's good in this world, he's done it! Dr. Grordbort has released his directory of scientific splendor. A catalogue of wondrous contraptions and wave weapons of unprecedented power, this book makes available a myriad of destructive and beneficial devices to any intergalactic explorer: Rayguns, Metal Men, Ironclads, and Rocketships are all presented. Also included is a sequential pictographic essay (also known as a "comic") on the exploits of world-famous naturalist and adventurer Lord Cockswain. See him uncover the natural mysteries of Venus with several big guns!

***********************************************************************


Title: Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology 
By: Nick Gervers
Type: Anthology
  • Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Solaris (September 30, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1844166007
  • Reader's Annotation (Via Amazon): Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology assembles original stories by some of the genre's foremost writers. Edited by Nick Gevers, this collection includes brand new stories by Stephen Baxter, Eric Brown, Paul Di Filippo, Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, Jay Lake, Ian R. MacLeod, Michael Moorcock, Robert Reed, Lucius Shepard, Brian Stableford, Jeff VanderMeer and more.



***********************************************************************


Title: Steampunk
By: Ann & Jeff Vandermeer
Type: Anthology
Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Tachyon Publications (May 1, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1892391759
Reader's Annotation:  From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The VanderMeers (The New Weird) have assembled another outstanding theme anthology, this one featuring stories set in alternate Victorian eras. Michael Moorcock, the godfather of steampunk, is represented by an excerpt from his classic novel The Warlord of the Air. In Lord Kelvin's Machine, a fine tale from prolific steampunk author James P. Blaylock, mad scientists plot to throw the Earth into the path of a passing comet, declaring that science will save us this time, gentlemen, if it doesn't kill us first. Michael Chabon's vivid and moving The Martian Agent, a Planetary Romance recounts the lives of two young brothers in the aftermath of George Custer's mutiny against Queen Victoria, while historical fantasist Mary Gentle describes a classic struggle between safety and progress in A Sun in the Attic. This is a superb introduction to one of the most popular and inventive subgenres in science fiction.

***********************************************************************

Title: Fantastic Victoriana
By: Jess Nevins
Type: Encyclopedia
Hardcover: 1200 pages
  • Publisher: MonkeyBrain Books (December 25, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1932265155
  • Reader's Annotation (Via Amazon):  This enormous volume is the first comprehensive encyclopedia of fantastic literature of the nineteenth century. From detective fiction to historical novels, from well-known authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to Russian newspaper serials and Chinese martial arts novels, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASTIC VICTORIANA is a truly exhaustive look at every aspect of fantastic literature in the days of Queen Victoria. Readers of science fiction and fantasy will be surprised to find here the roots of genres thought to be strictly contemporary, and students of literature will be amazed at the breadth and scope of writings produced in the Victoriana era. This is an invaluable reference, and truly one-of-a-kind. 
***********************************************************************



No comments:

Post a Comment