Online steampunk fiction, novels, writing ad infinitum

I really should come up with a proper title for these updates on steampunk fiction on the web. Anyway, about time we had another rummage around the aethernet for new fiction and new authors.

First up - kids, look away now! - and akin to the wonderfully titled Steamypunk (being the fanciful erotica of a steampunk world) - is the new Like a Corset Undone for those who like their punk very steamy indeed...

All the trappings of steampunk society--corsets, airships, and 'leaping technologie'--meet the simmering undertone of sexuality so well-hidden by Victorian morality in LIKE A CORSET UNDONE, Circlet Press's third volume of erotic steampunk stories. By turns kinky and romantic, the stories in Like a Corset Undone explores all the reasons to unlace, whether to rebel, or for more intimate purposes.

This is the third title in the series from Circlet Press - "The Intersection of Erotica and Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Futurism", previous collections being Like Clockwork and Like a Wisp of Steam. More titles may be found at the homepage, which also includes new stories. Vinne Tesla's Ontological Engine is also available via mp3, for those who like their steam via aural means.

More prosaically, over at Booksie, ("Share Your Poems, Short Stories, Novels, and more with the world"), we find Incorrigable by 'chopetov13', a new young writer from Russia:

Will Forthright faces the opposites of neglagence and faithful service after the boiler on his ship explodes.

This appears to be the second of his steampunk stories, the previous being Goggles and flames .

A revolutionary rails against the injustices of the system as a factory mechanic finds shelter in his labor.

Also present on the site are 'Acid Varrakin', whose first draft of their entry to the 2010 Somerset Novella writing competition, To Destroy a Symbol promises a

steampunk-themed story, based on the premise that the 1970s punk revolution happened in Victorian England. It follows the adventures of the squeamish, womanizing D.I. Tril Henderson in his struggle to put an end to the violence.

and 'Ati's' Hounded: A Tale of Baker Street, whereby the Hound comes to Baker Street...

The cobblestones rolled like drops of rain under the metal paws of the Hound. The sky had a sick yellow pallor, and glowed weirdly. The cobblestones, slick with fresh rain reflected the yellow light grimly. The world took on a different hue around the Hound. Smiles, what smiles there could be on such an unnatural day shriveled like poisoned trees. Open doors shut, and shades came down on windows. Groups of people dispersed, and people vanished indoors. The Hound continued it’s bizarre walk, each stride the twin of the last, every dull yellow gas lamp gleaming over it’s chrome skin and morphine fangs the same as the one before.

The Hound had come to Baker Street.

As an aficionado of all thing Sherlock Holmes, I shall dive into this one with relish!

Finally in this brief round up, a visit to the Writer's Symposium ("Our mission is to "Help Writers Write."), a collective of 20 professional writers and editors who usuall come together at the Gen Con Game Fair. News from their blog reveals that Paul Genesse - author of The Dragon Hunters - will be writing a piece for Jean Rabe's anthology Steampunked:

I was fortunate enough to be asked to write a story for Jean Rabe’s next DAW anthology, Steampunked. I’ve been working on a story idea and have come up with a setting that I think has not been done before in this genre. I don’t want to say what it is now. However, I was able to attend a panel on Steampunk at the World Fantasy convention a few weeks ago and it got my mind going.

Worryingly, it appears that Mr Genesse has only just got to the Vendermeer's Steampunk, so we shall see what emerges from his pen...

'Ultramarines' WH40K movie in production

Yes indeed! After years of anticipation and frustration, finally, the first Warhammer 40,000 movie - Ultramarines - is in production.

Games Workshop (GW) first produced the table-top miniature wargame fantasy version of Warhammer back in the 1980s, creating a futuristic version - Warhammer 40,000 or WH40K - in 1987 (based upon an idea for a Rogue Trader game, which became incorporated into the first titles before a refocussing of the game). Originally intended to replace the dependence upon US titles such as Dungeons and Dragons, both Warhammer and WH40K have become the mainstay of GW, with books and computer games based upon the original table-top miniature game.



Set in the 41st millennium, most of the major storylines that provide the backdrop and history span over millennia.

The popularity of WH40K can be seen by just a brief perusal of the aethernet. Home movies, often produced by remashing footage from the computer games, or by stop motion animation, are a popular way of sharing enthusiasm, and can be found on youtube.

Probably the greatest disappointment came when Damnatus, a non-commercial low-budget movie made in Germany by fans and for fans, set in the WH40K universe, was blocked following ruling over copyright conflicts in England and Germany German copyright law confers the intellectual rights of created works to the people that created them, and thus Games Workshop would lose the rights to the intellectual property of Warhammer 40,000, on which Damnatus was based. GW has thus far refused to allow it to be shown, and has not changed this position despite online petitions and requests from the filmmakers. As a result, Damnatus was ended indefinitely on October 15, 2007. However, some footage was available online earlier in 2009 via Pirate Bay, and the trailer (and more) may be seen via here :




However, GW has now announced that an official WH40K movie is in production. Entitled Ultramarines, this has been greeted by fans of all ages enthusiatically.

On 5 October, London-based production company Codex Pictures announced today that it is in production in the UK and Canada on Ultramarines, a feature-length movie on DVD/Blu-ray set in Games Workshop’s futuristic Warhammer 40,000 universe. The sci-fi thriller, which is employing CGI and state-of-the-art animation production techniques, is being produced by Codex Pictures in association with Good Story Productions Ltd. The Canadian co-producer is POP6 Studios. The producers are Bob Thompson of Good Story Productions and David Kerney of Codex Pictures.

The film has been financed by Aramid Entertainment BV, POP6 Medias Inc and the Wales Creative IP Fund. The team behind Ultramarines were producers of the original, highly successful and multi award-winning DVD BIONICLE®, made for the LEGO Company. “We are delighted to be working with Codex Pictures on the first ever feature-length DVD movie set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe,” says Andy Jones, Head of Legal and Licensing for Games Workshop. “The talented team at Codex has a wealth of experience and are very passionate about Warhammer 40,000. We are confident that Ultramarines will deliver a fantastic visual and narrative experience.”

"We are thrilled to have been chosen to produce a feature film based on such an iconic global property - much sought-after by many other studios and producers over the years," says Vanessa Chapman, MD of Codex Pictures and executive producer of Ultramarines. "It's an important part of our company strategy going forward and marks the return of many members of the award-winning team behind BIONICLE®. Considerable time and research has gone into developing an authentic yet fresh approach to the design of the film. We hope it will be the first of many such projects."

Upon DVD release, there will be both a collector’s edition and international version.

Key to note here is that, unlike the perception at Game Day, the movie will have a DVD, and not a cinematic, release.

The director is Martyn Pick, whose credits include the 2009 film 'The Age of Stupid', on which he was animation director; London 2012, the promotional film commissioned by Film London and the London Development Agency which was
premiered at the Beijing Olympics; the 2001 US Budweiser NBA commercial; and the celebrated BBC promotional trailers for the Euro 2004 soccer tournament. Martyn was chosen to direct Ultramarines for his renowned and highly distinctive ability to fuse live action and animation and the fluid, rich painterly style of his film-making.

The screenplay has been written by someone who needs no introduction to Warhammer 40,000 fans – best-selling author Dan Abnett. Dan has penned more than 25 books for Games Workshop’s Black Library, with total sales in excess of 1.2 million copies. He also works regularly for 2000 AD, Marvel Comics and DC Comics
and has recently seen publication of the first of three novels for HarperCollins' new sci-fi, fantasy and horror imprint, Angry Robot.

Despite concerns about the director's lack of feature film experience, the presence of Abnett as screenwriter seems reassuring.




Video of the news release:



More information may be found at: http://codexpictures.com/news.html and http://ultramarinesthemovie.com/

As to what this means to steampunks?

Last chance to appear in 'Steampunk - the movie'

Those who have inadvertently wandered up this cul-de-sac of the aetherweb previously may have seen the posting upon the marvellously exciting prospect of Steampunk - the Movie.

Those of you present on Facebook may be interested to know that the production team have a page which is well worth visiting. As the movie's homepage illustrates, the intial footage is promising, although the page itself is still somewhat lacking in content.

The movie's premise?

imagine a city in the year 1897, but the world is different. Steam-powered airships prowl the skies, Inustrial cities that stretch to the horizon. Brass cufflinks and tophats with clockwork mechanizms that pop out umbrellas when it rains. Handlebar mustaches, party dresses, all the trappings of victorian society enmeshed in a clockwork technocracy.

Now imagine it all came crashing down. The airships stopped flying. The industrial complexes shut down. The lights of the world faded and grew dim, and in the slums it became harder and harder to get by. This is the story of four such people, trapped in a dying city, desperately seeking a way out."

If you would like to be part of this as an extra, (and are near Kentucky!) then Billy Boyd has sent out the call:

Saturday, 21 November 2009
Time: 08:00 - 16:30
Location: 1200 Old Frankfort Pike

This is your last chance to get in on Steampunk! We're looking for extras, ages 16-243 (no older!) who want to be a part of this thing. We need as many extras as we can get, so spread the word! Bring a friend! We'll have some food on hand, and there is a chance for some pretty decent screen time if you hang around for the chase scene! Come dressed in your funkiest steampunk attire (emphasis on Punk more than Steam). If you don't have Steampunk clothing, come in a dress shirt or tanktop, dark dress pants and shoes and we'll try to cover the rest. We can't put you in the film if you wear jeans and tennis shoes. The location is 1200 Old Frankfort Pike.

We start filming our first scene of the day from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, then we will shoot the second scene from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Sandwiches and water will be served at 1:00 PM. If you have any questions, please reply on the event thread!

If you are unable to make the shoot, but are still interested in being involved, then Billy says:

It's deceptively easy. You simply e-mail me and say "Heya, I want to be involved!" or something like that. We're mostly looking for extras and crewpersons. If you want to help crew, it's important that you have some experience, and any equipment you can bring will be a bonus.If you want to extra, it's great if you have a costume. If not, you can just wear dress shoes and dark slacks and we have whatever you'll need to be in costume!There will be notices from time to time as to when a "public" shoot will occur. These are scenes where we'll be asking for volunteers to be extras. Some parts are still available, and we tend to pull from people who show up to be extras, so if you're interested in taking on a big role, come by to extra-- it's a good way to get exposure if that's what you're after.

So, if you want to be involved, get over to the websites or e-mail Billy!

20,000 Leagues down...

With many thanks (I think!) to Erasmus, lamentably it looks like the plug has been pulled on Disney's new 20,000 Leagues under the Sea: Captain Nemo movie. With $10m already spent, and locations and sets about to be built, this seems a bizarre move by new Disney chief Rich Ross.

The new movie was originally to be fast-tracked for release in 2010, although this was later revised to 2012. A successful movie was envisaged as the first in a new franchise along the lines of Pirates of the Caribbean, exploding across the Disney franchise with new attractions at their themeparks as well as other media and merchandising.

Terminator 4 director McG was on board to direct, with script by Bill Marsilli (with revisions just completed by Michael Chabon), with the movie being a prequel to 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and based upon Jules Verne's disclosure of Nemo's origins in The Mysterious Island.

More information on the movie itself may be found over at the excellent Voyages Extraordinaire and on the demise of the movie here.

Steampunk Matrix

With many thanks to 'yousibtube' for bringing this to the wider world's attention, the genius of the Russian actor's group "Big Difference" (Bolshaya Raznitsa / Большая Разница) has finally come to my attention.

The group specialise in parodies of famour shows and films on Russian television, and Matrix 1905" presents a fine piece of their work, wonderfully crafted, and drawing upon key elements of early cinema to tell the story of a Matrix set in an earlier time. More of their work on Russia's "First Channel" may be found here.

In the meantime, enjoy Matrix 1905!

World's First Museum Steampunk Art Exhibition (allegedly)

Ah, academics! Tucked away in their Ivory Towers, the world passing them by in their blissful ignorance. At least, that is the perception which prevails. As an academic myself, my approach towards steampunk is naturally through academic goggles, as it were. As you may be aware, I try to do things a little differently here, and bring academic ventures into steampunk out of the shadows and into the light of the wider world - knowledge is useless unless it is shared!

The new exhibition taking place at Oxford University's Museum of the History of Science may be, as is claimed, the world's first museum steampunk art exhibition. I can think of at least two other steampunk art exhibitions previous to this - one hosted online by ESBQart, and the Anarchotechnofetishism exhibition of "artefacts by pioneers of American steampunk", hosted by Halogen in Seattle last year. I have absolutely no doubt that there are many, many more of which you are aware., but this latest is surely to be welcomed!

This exhibition does look enticing, inviting you to

Imagine the technology of today with the aesthetic of Victorian science. From redesigned practical items to fantastical contraptions, this exhibition, curated by Art Donovan, showcases the work of eighteen Steampunk artists from across the globe.
Expect ’steam-powered’ computer mice, clockwork hearts, brass goggles and the latest state-of-the-Steampunk-art eye-pod…

This is nothing new to 'punks, but very new to the great unwashed masses of the British public. What makes this worthwhile is that it is being curated by the genius that is Art Donovan, of whom I have reported before.

More than this, the exhibition aims to bring the world of steampunk to students, with a competition running to coincide with the event. To coincide with the exhibition, Secondary School Art and D&T departments are invited to submit students’ work to The Great Steampunk Art and Design Competition! More details, if you are lucky enough to fall into the entry categories, may be found via downloadable pdf here.

The organisers have certainly achieved a coup d'art in that the Museum's Broadsheet bulletin features the work of Sydney Padua, in a specially commissioned strip of her brilliant Lovelace and Babbage comic featuring Oxford. Ms Padua's wonderfully irreverant creation may be found at 2DGoggles, and, if you are new to Lovelace and Babbage, I suggest you click here to start your journey of discovery.

The exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science runs from 13 October 2009 until 21 February 2010. The Museum may be found at Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AZ. Mr Donovan has created a blog for the event, which may be found here, and which contains images from the exhibition.

For some truly awe-inspiring steampunk artwork in wood, you really need to see the work of Michael Rea, more of which will be posted in due course...

Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?

Forty-Two.

Forever indelibly moulded into my brain-waves, this seemingly insignificant number provides the key to a wonderfully irreverant dystopian vision of the present day. Why 42? Well, quite simply, author Douglas Adams believed it to be the funniest number.

12 October 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of thepublication of the book The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or H2G2), and sees the publication of another sequel in the trilogy, albeit not by the sadly missed Mr Adams, but by Eoin Colfer, with the blessing of the Adams estate.

And why is this interesting to steampunks? Good question - I am not the first SP to bring this up. In the UKs Guardian newspaper on 3 October, faced with the brilliance that is the Improbability Drive, or the Babel Fish, Jenny Turner notes that:

[Adams's] method is a bit like steampunk, in that it proceeds counterfactually, but with careful logic; or like steampunk, only without the steam. But there's a definite tea theme, and a lot of Englishness, and a distinctive note of piscine melancholy: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish; The Salmon of Doubt. If Adams's books were a domestic appliance, they'd be a Sinclair ZX80, wired to a Teasmade, screeching machine code through quadraphonic speakers, and there'd probably be a haddock in there somewhere, non-compatible and obsolete.

Whilst this seems a strain to try and fit a square SF story into a round steampunk hole, it should be pointed out that H2G2 fits into a strand of English fiction which deals with technology and apocalypse, but in a manner similar to that of John Wyndham or EM Forster, rather than HG Wells. The H2G2 series is reassuringly English, down to its use of cricket - "Particularly the bit about the little red ball hitting the wicket, that's very nasty" - as a metaphor for unspeakable acts which should never be spoken of in polite society:

"Of all the races on the Galaxy, only the English could possibly revive the memory of the most horrific wars ever to sunder the Universe and transform it into what I'm afraid is generally regarded as an incomprehensibly dull and pointless game.

"Rather fond of it myself," Startibartfast added, "but in most people's eyes you have been inadvertently guilty of the most grotesque bad taste."

H2G2 shares much in common with good steampunk writing, whilst admittedly lacking the neo-Victorian element. Adams, like Wyndham, dealt with disasters of global proportions on the personal level, through small-scale obsolescence and disappointment. Brian Aldiss has repeatedly termed Wyndham's writing as "cosy catastrophe", something seen throughout steampunk writing, and Adams' writing certainly fits this description. In H2G2 we see the personal disaster of Arthur Dent's home being demolished mirrored in the demolition of the Earth, both to make way for new bypaths for someone else's traffic. The genius is that Adams brought the inexplicable, the enormous and complex, the confusingly technical down to absurd simplicity - the complexity of the universe's languages simply translated as a by-product of sticking a small yellow fish in your ear - in a manner seen throughout steampunk. Who could forget the amazingly complicated steampowered machine of Doc Brown's blacksmith's shop, whose sole purpose is to produce two pieces of dirty ice for his drink (in Back to the Future III)?

Not perhaps the most obvious of steampunk writing, but H2G2 is underpinned with that same witicism which marks the best of steampunk, including that of Toby Frost, author of the marvellous Captain Smith series. Mr Frost chronicles the adventures of Captain Smith, hero of the British Space Empire. In the third in the series, Wrath of the Lemming Men,

his crew must defend the Empire and civilise the stuffing out of a horde of bloodthirsty lemming-men - which would be easy were it not for a sinister robotics company, a Ghast general with a fondness for genetic engineering and an ancient brotherhood of Morris Dancers...

What better praise for Mr Frost than from Dirk Magg, director of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy's Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases...

Set in a universe where the suns never set on a stiff upper lip, this warm-hearted and funny interstellar romp gives the sacred cows of sci-fi a good kicking before racing home in time for tea.

Adams was never one for resting on his laurels (even trying to create an early version of the internet), always adapting to new environments for his material (until recently, radio was always the best place for an army of 1 million robots enter stage left) and was always desperate to see his vision on film. Although the film of 2005 annoyed many devotees with changed characterisation and story lines, I think he would have been pleased with the final result.

Mostly Harmless was the last in the original trilogy, and was Adams' method of closing down the seemingly unending series - Arthur knows he will die on the planet Stavro Mueller Beta - but Adams was unhappy with the manner in which he finished the series, believing it too depressing. He died (in a tragic, typically English, manner whilst exercising on a static bicycle) before he could produce a sixth book in the trilogy, and this is where Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing comes in.

The H2G2 universe has appeared in slightly different forms, with slightly different stories and conclusions, ever since first appearing as a radio programme in 1978. True to this tradition, the latest novel, And Another Thing, has been adapted for the BBC's Radio 4, and is read by comedians Stephen Mangan and Peter Serafinowitz.

If you have never heard of any of the things I have been writing about above, or if you have ever simply lain in a field, drunk, watching the night sky wheel about you, then, don't panic, but do the decent, civilised thing, and read (or listen) to The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy!