| Title | : | Steampunk Cthulhu |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1568823940 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781568823942 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 309 |
| Publication | : | First published July 1, 2014 |
So said H.P. Lovecraft in the first chapter of his most famous story, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1926). This is also the perfect introduction to Steampunk Cthulhu, for within these stories mankind has indeed voyaged too far, and scientific innovations have opened terrifying vistas of reality, with insanity and worse as the only reward.
The Steampunk genre has always incorporated elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror and alternative history, and certainly the Cthulhu Mythos has not been a stranger to Steampunk. But until now there has never been a Steampunk Cthulhu collection, so here are 18 tales unbound from the tethers of mere airships, goggles, clockwork, and tightly bound corsets; stories of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and alternative realities tainted with the Lovecraftian and the Cthulhu Mythos. Here you will discover Victorian Britain, the Wild West era United States, and many other varied locations filled with anachronistic and sometimes alien technology, airships, submersibles and Babbage engines. But the Victorian era here is not only one of innovation and exploration, but of destruction and dread.
Steampunk Cthulhu Reviews
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An interesting blend of the Cthulhu Mythos with the darker side of steampunk. Among the standout stories for me was Carrie Cuin's "No Hand To Turn the Key" which told about a group of automata fighting to preserve humanity's knowledge. Adam Bolivar's "The Blackwold Horror" had a nice steampunk take on human augmentation with clockworks. Lee Clark Zumpe's "Before the Least of these Stars" was another example of his deft storytelling. Christine Morgan's "Unfathomable" was probably the most fun story in the bunch combining elements of Jules Verne and H.P. Lovecraft. The editors' story "Fall of an Empire" presented a frightening alternate British Empire.
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I'm giving this 4 stars because the writing's good and the theme is fun. However, I found too many of the stories to be repetitive. Some only had a thin veneer of "Steampunk" on them and could just have easily been set in the classic Pulp era, or the modern era.
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Some stories were riveting, others were simply boring... But overall it was just nothing spectacular or very Cthullian about them...
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Една от най-добрите идеи за комбинация на стилове и вселени за мен ще си остане сдружението между Лъвкрафт и Дойл, тоест преследване на всякакви изчадия от човешки и съвсем не вид с помощта на дедукцията и твърдата логика, плюс някоя и друга древна магия, разбира се, къде без езотерика. Но кой да знае, че има и даже по-добра идея, а именно да поставиш над главите на стиймпънк викториана жителите, които и без това все си имат проблеми с луди учени и откачени машини със случайно придобито съзнание, и един Ктхулу и компания да веят с пипалца ведро от небето. Дори и дивите технологии, основани на Тесла електричество и парна сила, зареждаща цял арсенал от забавни приспособления, с които може да реши в днешно време всеки военен конфликт за около десетина минути, обаче не може да се справи със заплахата на древните. Е, имат и някой и друг пробив, но не напълно, и не задълго. И въпреки това историите за отчаяние пред великото зло могат и да имат своето очарование.
Дали ще шепнат обещания на лековерните от небесата, или ще дебнат в усойните местенца на стара Англия за случайни, или не съвсем, жертви – онези, от чиито имена кървят ушите на неподготвените лесно намират кой да ги слуша, защото явно човешкото видиш ли винаги ламти да бъде признато и за божествено, дори като подлога на някое свръх велико чудовище. Понякога машините, уж създадени да обслужват нуждите на хората, придобиват повече човещина от създателите си и сили да се опълчат на онова, което разрушава истински важното за една цивилизация като книги, изкуство или която и да е демонстрация на креативна божествена искра, а хората след десетки механични подобрения може и да имат шанс да преодолеят самите себе си, за да се опълчат на корените на извечния мрак.
Луди учени търсят отговор на въпроса за смисъла на живота и безсмъртието на човешката душа, но дадената им информация се мери само в трупове; Оскар Уайлд предава душата си на Кралят в жълто, докато Виктория открива неизживяната си младост в лапите на древни същества, чиито братовчеди някъде в далечния Запад подготвят своето завръщане и подновяване на войни по-древни от първия дъх на човека. По силите на бог Тесла невнятни пътешественици опитват от въздуха наситен с ужас на дома на всички кошмари, а твърде амбициозни медиуми намират начин да вкарат не едно божество в машина, чиито ледени амбиции включват основно изпитани методи да покосят света ни. Експедиция вдъхновена от Жул Верн посещава дома на онези, които идват от небесата, за да сеят смърт на хиляди мили под водата; бляскави заговори за сриване до основи на великата Британска империя се вихрят под кралския покрив, а войни се водят под ��алшиви флагове и обслужвайки интереси, които са всякакви други, но не и в полза на нашата раса.
Дали красиви приказки за измамни демони от дълбините, или технологични битки между забравените изобретения на Тесла и Едисон и забранените имена от алхимични гримоари, късащи воалите между измеренията, стиймпънк ктхулувизацията е едно от най-задоволителните на множество фронта мултижанрови писания, на които съм попадала в моя случаен куест в откриването на подценявани антологии, предназначени за елитния кръг читатели на свръхестественото без дори кратка спирка в реалността. Или казано по-простичко като за Патрик и Спонджбоб фенове – грешно хубаво е, мхм. -
I'm a fan of steampunk AND a fan of Lovecraft... so what could go wrong? Apparently a lot.
It's the usual bag of random stuff like so many anthologies. But there were some aweful stories in this on.
The only highlight: The Flower by
Christopher M. Geeson. It had the right mix of twists and interesting characters. -
One of the best Lovecraftian anthologies I've encountered. Several stories had me hunting for more by their authors, and there's a lot of originality to be found here.
The only let down for me was the final story, which seems to have been missing an editor (especially as the author is usually pretty good). Ah well - still an excellent book. -
Another great anthology by Sammons. Steampunk Cthulhu, along with Eldritch Chrome, effortlessly blends two genres that have nothing to do with each other and makes it work beautifully. Lovecraft in a time of clockwork gadgets and flying airships was something i didnt know i wanted so badly. Dont miss out
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As usual with these sort of collections, the quality varies. Some good ideas in here, but also a lot of verbosity. A couple of good stories, a couple of stinkers, and the rest are OK. Not bad but not great either.
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"Carnacki – The Island of Doctor Munroe" by William Meikle - This story portrays the technological advancements of the Industrial Revolution as designs of the Old Ones that Munroe hopes to bring to fruition with Carnacki's sorcerous aid.
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I really liked Tentacular Spectacular. This story alone was worth the price of admission. Otherwise, it was the usual mixed bag with some good stories and some not-so-good. The steampunk theme works pretty good.
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Some absolutely wonderful stories, and some fairly average ones. A mixed bag, but still worth checking out if you love Lovecraftian fiction.
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Like all compilations, some stories are better than others. However, in this volume, there are no weak stories - the editors have done a fine job of selecting their entries.
Steampunk and the Cthulhu Mythos have been partnered before, and they do work well together. Some of these stories are primarily Mythos stories, with a bit of steampunk for flavour, and some are primarily steampunk, with a little bit of Mythos. Most achieve a more equal mix of both. Although all written by different authors, several of these tales could easily be related to each other - primarily those in which the American Revolution failed, and America remains a British colony.
Definitely worth reading. -
I think this is a must-read for any fan of the Mythos. I think it's a must-read for any fan of steampunk, when so little of it is well written.
One of the best aspects of it is the juxtaposition between the determined nihilism of Lovecraftian horror and the futuristic positivism of steampunk; in this collection, sometimes one wins out over the other. In one story, suggestive of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the doomed protagonists of Lovecraft's work get a second chance in another reality.
And sometimes people are consumed by the mindless appetite of the Old Ones.
I am insisting Maria stock this for Flights of Fantasy. -
As with all compendiums, some is superb, some is good, and there are the inevitable one or two stinkers.
But when this is good? It's very very good. Some of these short stories will live in on my memory for a long while. Just, maybe a few of them I'd have cut out of the book entirely. -
What a disappointing anthology. I can only venture that the meshing of steampunk with the Mythos meant that a very particular writer contributed stories because many of them were in need of severe editing. One or two were passable but overall a complete waste.
