Nicole B. (noisechick) reviewed on 12/11/2011 + 95 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

The editor says it all in the introduction: "... might seem a tad light-hearted to the steampunk purist..."
Um... yeah. There are several stories in this anthology (most notably "Chickie Hill's Badass Ride" that have NOTHING to do with steampunk. )(Unless you count taking apart a clock in an alternate 1960s with some 'Lovecraftian beasties' to be steampunk. I don't. Much like I don't consider Justin Bieber's xmas video to be steampunk.
There's a video up on youtube: Just Glue Some Gears On It (And Call It Steampunk) which harps on the fashionably of the genre right now. And having read this anthology, I feel the same way. Cheated.
There is exactly THREE dirigibles in the entire 13 story collection. Less than half the stories take place in a proper Victorian era setting... I'm NOT a purist, but this... is insulting.
It gets 2 1/2 stars for having a few stories with independent young heroines who aren't ruled by love. But being independent while wearing a corset doesn't make it steampunk.

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