New steampunk book tips

The Magpie on 7/1/2009 at 12:57

From guardian.co.uk, no less:

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jan/07/steampunk-chiang-lake-macleod)

Ted Chiang, Jay Lake, and Ian R MacLeod in particular.

Myself, I'm about to start (http://www.solarisbooks.com/books/thiefnoshadow/thiefnoshadow.asp) Thief With No Shadow, btw. While it isn't steampunk, it's at least somewhat Thief-related. Don't know what to expect from it, though. Got it for Christmas. I'll post here when I'm done reading it.

--
Larris

jtr7 on 1/2/2009 at 01:58

How is it thus far? Without getting into a synopsis, does it scratch the Thiefy itch while opening up a whole new world of its own?

And thanks for the linking that article. I regret I somehow missed your post before.:confused:

The Magpie on 2/2/2009 at 05:24

Funny you should mention it. I found it again last night after having mislaid it before beginning (and then being distracted, as is my wont). Starting anew today.

--
L.

Solabusca on 4/2/2009 at 18:22

Quote Posted by The Magpie

Funny you should mention it. I found it again last night after having mislaid it before beginning (and then being distracted, as is my wont). Starting anew today.

--
L.

For those looking for a good new-ish book in the genre, allow me to recommend The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt.

Again, it's more Victorian/Fantasy Steampunk, but I found it to be pretty enjoyable.

.j.

The Magpie on 6/2/2009 at 01:08

Quote Posted by jtr7

How is it thus far? Without getting into a synopsis, does it scratch the Thiefy itch while opening up a whole new world of its own?

No, it doesn't. Actually, Thief With No Shadow is something of a chore to read, seeing as I'm only 120 pages in so far. The world is underdescribed, I'll go as far as to call it uninteresting. I find it decidedly un-Thiefy.

The language suffers from multiple flaws. I don't even like a single one of the characters. I'll possibly give the novel credit for its quite short chapters, which make it all the easier to put it away and do something more rewarding.

Can't really recommend it, even if it the rest of the book should turn out to be brilliant.

OTOH, I'm going to sit down and enjoy a (http://www.freakangels.com/) FREAKANGELS marathon at the soonest opportunity. Been putting it off for too long.

--
L.

The Magpie on 17/2/2009 at 07:30

(http://www.emilygee.com/books.html)

Inline Image:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1844164691.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Enjoy this picture, 'cause it's easily the best thing about the book. So much for judging it by its cover. Please believe me when I urge Thief fans to stay away from it.

And in case someone was misled by my original thread title here, no, this is far from steampunk. Try "shearpunk". As genres go, it belongs on the cheap pulp woe-is-me romance-on-a-sheep-farm shelf. I got maybe 5 pages of sneaking total. "Thief with no equal" my butt.

I had a bunch of other negative stuff to write about this <expression deleted>, but I won't. I need to read something good instead. Fast. Mieville, perhaps.

--
L.

jtr7 on 17/2/2009 at 08:21

That's a shame. Thanks for the head's up.