The gentleman (or gentlewoman) explorer/scientist is as much a Steampunk trope as the gears themselves.īut one of the most celebrated Steampunk novels, Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan (which, for the record, has the best interior decoration of any book EVER), takes place during World War I, decidedly after the Victorian era. In fact, considering how popular and well done Mieville's novels are, they should be cornerstones of steampunk literature, but they're not, which leads me to believe that Steampunk is more than technological.Īnother common element in Steampunk besides the actual steam is a Victorian sensibility.
I agree with this sentiment 100%, but if dirigibles do not Steampunk make, what does? Because if we're defining Steampunk on a strictly technological basis, then any of China Mieville's Bas-Lag novels (King Rat, Perdido Street Station, etc) would count.
