Extravagantly sewn leather and lace Victorian-style attire? Double Check.
Unique steam and gear-driven clockwork contraptions that are just as likely to explode in your face as they are to provide some oddly-defined utilitarian need? Most assuredly: CHECK!
Welcome to the retro-future! Welcome to the world of steampunk!
- Beware! Steampunk slang ahead!-
So what is this fantastical oddity-of-a-literary genre that "plays to the gallery" (shows off) of today's pop culture world and "cuts-a-swell" (captivates) to readers seeking not just period adventure stories of a bygone age, but one that is also saturated with a heavy dose of audacious -and sometimes absurd- science fiction?
Imagine living in the 19th century. The Victorian era!
In England, Queen Victoria reigns while British colonialism remains at its peak. The Opium Wars rage throughout China. In America, settlers move into the wild west while ominous signs of a terrible civil war loom just beyond the horizon.
The steam engine is king, mechanizing the world into the very pinnacle of the industrial revolution. Trains, paddle ships, even air balloons are possible with the help of emergent innovations.
Now, let's sidestep a bit and reimagine an outlandishly futuristic version of the same world; except the steam engine has never gone out of style and the mannerisms and themes of the Victorian culture remain wondrous and ever-punctuated throughout every facet of life.
THIS is steampunk.
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From pocket watches, to steam trains, to pirate airships, to ether-infused tesla cannons, to coal-powered lumbering robotic automatons; EVERYTHING is bizarre, outlandish and completely extraordinary. Such was the imagined retro-future of an entire generation of people living before the invention of the light bulb.
