If you want anyone to see this, I'd suggest you change the tag "scifi" to "sci-fi"

Thanks for the suggestion!

I don't see 'Neverwhere' as steampunk. It's just fantasy.

"Anno Dracula" - has Dracula so it's horror, but it's clearly steampunk horror.

Travis wrote: "I don't see 'Neverwhere' as steampunk. It's just fantasy."
agreed.

There's a great graphic novel called Vogelein: The Clockwork Faerie by Jane Irwin, that should be on this steampunk list; also a #2 Vogelein: Old Ghosts.

I'm surprised Ginn Hale's Wicked Gentlemen isn't higher up on the list. It's a superb example of the genre.

Lamplighter This is a great series (Monster Blood Tattoo) and I can't believe it hasn't gotten more notice!

I just finished Modern Marvels - Viktoriana and highly recommend it.

Why doesnt anybody now about this book!people these day cant reconise a good book when they see it!

The Iron King is so NOT steampunk. It is not set in the 19th century nor is it set up in England. It's just a modern fantasy book.

Technically, Steampunk does not have to take place in England, merely the Victorian age.
Besides, at the time the British Empire was about a quarter of the globe, so plenty of room there.

The City of Ember is not steam punk. It's dystopian/ post apocalyptic book.

Mendy wrote: "The City of Ember is not steam punk. It's dystopian/ post apocalyptic book."

I second that.

Snow Crash doesn't belong up there either, it's futuristic sci-fi or cyber-punk or whatever, but there is nothing remotely steam punk about it. I think there should be a button that allows you to vote to remove a book if it doesn't belong.

The Diamond Age is technically cyberpunk, not steampunk.

Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron
Goodreads Giveaway - ends October 1st

Released earlier this month at The Weekend at the Asylum Steampunk Event at Lincoln - this is true steampunk at its finest.

The Technomicron; ancient, deadly, powerful and in 1860s London every seeker of power - natural or supernatural - wants to wield it. And they are prepared to stop at nothing to get it. Enter Cyrus Darian; hedonist, philanderer, alchemist and necromancer, hired by wealthy American Zachariah P. Dedman to find it. Dedman's life, the honour of his beautiful, haughty daughter Athena and the future of the world itself rest in the hands of Cyrus Darian. What could possibly go wrong? Steampunk, sex and magic in a heady mix that will make your head spin.

Search on Google for "Raven Dane" Cyrus Darian The Asylum and then click images - for some great pictures from the event & the book launch.

I don't think Howl's Moving Castle is steampunk; while the movie certainly contains some of those elements, the book is as straight a fantasy as they come.

Whoa, there are so many books on this list that are not steam punk! Temeraire, the Baroque Cycle, the Lies of Locke Lamora just to name a few. Who categorised this list?

I'm in favor of the widest possible definition of steampunk. Genre police are boring. They're a big part of the reason genre fiction doesn't get the respect it deserves. If it has any technology—any, not just steam-powered stuff—that's an extrapolation of Victorian-era technology or Victorian-era notions of where technology was headed, without necessarily having any regard for how plausible or realistic these notions were, I think it's close enough to be included in the genre. Who cares what kind of supernatural, cryptozoological, or anachronistic stuff is added to the story on top of that?

Leviathan *cough cough*

Omg. "Soulless" on the first place. That girlish twilight-like romance book... Is it the best steampunk novel so far?

When I read Clockwork Angel I felt that it was seriously lacking in the steampunk department. Yeah it was set in the right period but having one or two scenes that included automatons doesn't exactly make it steampunk in my opinion.

A great number of these books are not steampunk, such as His Dark Materials and Windup Girl. Some are actually cyberpunk, which has quite a few significant differences from steampunk. While I like both genres and some of other the books here, it'd be a good idea to tweak this list for the genre it's aimed at representing, or change the list title to include cyberpunk, weird fiction, and whatever else is going on here. I'm not trying to be a stickler about genres or anything, it's just that this list has obviously already confused people as to what steampunk actually is. Someone's in for one heck of a surprise if he or she reads something by Neal Stephenson, likes it and thinks it's steampunk, then turns around and reads something by Cherie Priest, who actually writes steampunk.

very true. there are a lot of genres to the whole steam punk world.

steampunk
cyberpunk
dieselpunk
weird west
girl genius

yeadie yadie yadie

but do you think that readers who arent as familiar with the who steam cogs gears and clockwork worlds might get a little confused?

But still, once you get into all the similar genres/sub genres, it can get annoying. I mean, what if I want just steam punk?

true true. people who enjoy the steam may not like the diesel. ;)

The Temeraire series is not steampunk. Firstly it's set during the Napoleonic era which proceeded the Victorian era and secondly it's about dragons. No steam of any kind involved.

I'd say Howl's Moving Castle isn't either. Yes his castle moves via steam but it's magical, not mechanical. Otherwise the Harry Potter series could qualify as steampunk.

Ummm Neuromancer is cyberpunk. It takes place in the future. There's space travel, cyberspace, computer hacking. Not steampunk. Your list is too confusing. There are so many not-steampunk books here. I can't vote on it.

How is "Blackout" by Connie Willis Steampunk?

Most people agree that the Steampunk era ends at the First World War.

Also, there is no steam based technology anywhere in the book.

It's excellent, but not Steampunk.

The Lathe of Heaven is not a steampunk novel either!

I have to agree with Kari: Blackout by Connie Willis is not in any way steampunk. It's a time travel novel set during the Blitz. No alternate technology.

I would suggest two items to be added on the list: "Steampunk: Manimatron" and "Steampunk: Drama Obscura", by Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo. Details here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32... and here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15....

How on earth did Phule's Company make it onto this list? It's straight up Science Fiction Parody. It's about as steampunk as Galaxy Quest.

Uno de las pocas novelas originales del subgénero escritas en español.

This is definitely steampunk and is a wonderful book. The author is working on a sequel and I can't wait! Since the wonderful book cover does not show: The Captain and The Lady Fair: Changing Times, by Quinne Darkover. It should definitely be on this list!

Be ready for the 72nd World SciFi Convention - 14 to 18 August in London - I will be there introducing an Art Steampunk book based in my novels.

Well...even though a lot of books on the list aren't necessarily steampunk, I have found a lot of great books on this list that I want to read! So it has its uses.

Well, the definition of "Steampunk" that I've always preferred is: "Yesterday's Tomorrow".

So, that's pretty wide. It doesn't require England, it doesn't require the gears and clockwork or the Victorian (or even Edwardian) era(s). That having been said however, there are still some books I see on this list that shouldn't be here.

Stardust catches my eye, that one is a Fantasy, pure and simple, no "steampunk" about it in my opinion. I loved the book, but I don't think it belongs on this list.

The Windup Girl is pure Hard Science Fiction. The technology of the setting is fairly low because it represents a world-after-the-oil-is-gone, but it's still a science fiction setting with extremely high levels of bio-tech and gene manipulation. It's a great book, it won the Nebula for its year and tied for the Hugo, but that doesn't make it steampunk.

There are a LOT of books out there, the whole goal of lists like this one and of library curation in general is to help potential readers make sense of it all. If I'm looking for more books like The Black Lung Captain, or The Horns of Ruin, or Boneshaker, then I'm not going to find this list too helpful.

I agree with Brittney, there should be a way to vote to remove books from a given list. Being inclusive is all well and good, but I'd prefer to see tighter curation on most of these lists.

Tracy wrote: "The Lathe of Heaven is not a steampunk novel either!"

But it's a wonderful story nonetheless!

Ducky wrote: "very true. there are a lot of genres to the whole steam punk world.

steampunk
cyberpunk
dieselpunk
weird west
girl genius

yeadie yadie yadie

but do you think that readers who arent as familiar..."

Cyberpunk has nothing to do with Steampunk other than the word punk.

I agree that several books on the list are not steampunk. Back before definitions got nuts, steampunk was generally defined as Victorian era, technology used steam and mechanical for the devices. Basic electricity was allowed. Largely it used the Victorian mores of the day. The characters were a challenge to those values and standards. Aether crept in a short time later to add an extra permissible power source to modify the results of the steam power output. There was no: had to be England: had to have lots of gears: or even great clunking robots. The beginnings of steampunk allowed for anything the imagination could create as long as it was mechanical, or steam powered. I dash of "mystery energy" was allowed. I was happy with that.

Why can I not access page 5? It's been two days now and I'm getting sick of it.

I have not been able to see page 5 since I joined.

Chris wrote: "Well, the definition of "Steampunk" that I've always preferred is: "Yesterday's Tomorrow".

So, that's pretty wide. It doesn't require England, it doesn't require the gears and clockwork or the Vi..."

librarians can remove books from a list if they don't fit. If you become a librarian to do so, remember only to take it off the list it you're sure it doesn't fit :)

Ok I've removed Night Circus and City of Ember for not being steampunk although they're both good books. Night Circus is just straight-out fantasy, and City of Ember is post-apocalyptic/dystopian.

The Killing Floor by Lee Child is NOT steampunk and shouldn't be on this list at all - It's a Jack Reacher novel.

I'd like to see The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman in this list. Which it is now, I only just discovered how to add it myself!

I thought I would acquaint myself with the world of steam punk and hoped I would find out what it was and some recommendations as to what to try to see if i would enjoy - so far Goodreads is letting me down:( reading the comments on the list I am no nearer knowing what I might like to try - surely there is a definition?

please help this old lady:)

Alberta wrote: "I thought I would acquaint myself with the world of steam punk and hoped I would find out what it was and some recommendations as to what to try to see if i would enjoy - so far Goodreads is lettin..."

The definition of Steampunk is "Yesterday's Tomorrow".

Frequently Steampunk stories are set in a re-envisioned Victorian era, with fantastical, sometimes magical technology added in, but that's not a requirement.

The book which originally defined the sub-genre is William Gibson's The Difference Engine, which ponders what the world would have been like, had the Victorian empire mastered Charles Babbage's mechanical computational tool: The Difference Engine (of the story title). The sub-genre derives its name from the earlier literary movement Cyberpunk (also defined by William Gibson's works), which was an attempt to render more traditional Science Fiction with a more deconstructionist, "punk" approach.

Retroactively, it would be safe to include many (most) of the works of H. G. Wells in the Steampunk category, though of course the concept didn't exist at the time he was writing.

My own definition of Steampunk is much narrower than what's presented here. I tend to eschew the more romantically themed stories and to prefer more action oriented works.

Bearing my personal bias in mind, I'd personally recommend looking at Retribution Falls, The Aeronaut's Windlass, or perhaps Agatha Heterodyne & the Golden Trilobite: A Gaslamp Fantasy with Adventure, Romance & Mad Science.

Hope that helps.

My definition of Steampunk is
1) HISTORICAL fiction - not necessarily Victorian era, even though most of it is placed there, but it should be historical
2) the steam engines and clockwork machines should play a prominent role. It is after all a subgenre of Sci-Fi, and the science and technology should be a big part of the story.

Which means that

I don't think Perdido Street Station is Steampunk. It feels pretty modern or even futuristic to my taste.

Stardust is not Steampunk. Sure, there were air ship pirates, but the technology wasn't an important part of the story. It was more magical fantasy in my mind.

Winter's Tale is absolutely not Steampunk. I'd classify it Magical Realism.