If you spend much time in Second Life, you will probably heard about the community of Caledon. It is (very) loosely based on 19th century Victorian England, but the community includes a “steampunk” subculture. I had, of course, heard of “cyberpunk” before joining Second Life, but steampunk is new to me. (NYT has a new article on steampunk fashion.) I’ve been working to get my mind around it, at least from a literary stand point.

So, what is steampunk? It is speculative fiction, alternative history, and gadgetry. It came into being during the 1980s and 1990s with the works of Tim Powers and James Blaylock, but it has its roots in the 19th century. The works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are perhaps the most obvious examples. I tend to think of the old 70s TV show “Wild, Wild West” as an example of steampunk gadgetry. Or the film “The Illusionist” for the sentiment.

As I mentioned, I’m getting my head around the steampunk concept. To do so, I’m exploring three resources:

So far, Girl Genius has been a blast to read, so I’m looking forward to the rest of my steampunk explorations.

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