I read this book because I had heard somewhere that it originated the term "steampunk". Next time I guess I should also find out whether a book is any good before I try to read it. As a general analysis: the level of writing was not great, though the ideas were often mildly interesting. I got annoyed by the number of real historical figures DiFilippo tried to cram into every story, for no purpose related to plot whatsoever. I almost quit the book in the middle because it got so tedious. Details (and mild spoilers) below.There are three stories. The first, Victoria, is about Queen Victoria suddenly disappearing before her coronation, and being surreptitiously replaced by a human-newt hybrid. The story follows the scientist who created the false Victoria as he tries to find the real Victoria. The premise was interesting (if you can accept the human-newt thing) but I was really disappointed in the end of the story, when it's revealed (spoiler!) that the queen of England is hiding out in a brothel, because apparently, sleeping with high-ranking government officials and foreign dignitaries and the like is a great way to learn political secrets and gain power as a leader? I suppose I shouldn't expect much realism from a story in which a human-newt hybrid is a central part of the plot, but given the realities of prostitution, I had a hard time believing that Victoria would have enjoyed it quite as much as she did, and that kind of ruined the whole story for me.The second story was about a scientist who teams up with a Dutch man and his African wife to search for a "fetiche" which, if I understood it correctly (and maybe I didn't; I didn't give this story a very close reading, even considered not finishing it at all) is a woman's preserved vulva allegedly possessed of magical powers? I had a hard time focusing on this story because the main character was a self-righteous racist, and I just really didn't enjoy reading a story told from that point of view. I'd be reading along, getting into it, when bam! The main character would suddenly refer to the African woman as an ape or something. Oh, and as a side note, the Dutch character's dialogue was all rendered phonetically, a technique that just drives me up the wall. It really disrupts the narrative flow in my head when I have to slow down and sound out and mentally translate text. The same was true of the salty sea captain and the Native American who featured in the story. I got to a point where I felt like the story was populated by cartoon characters. Horrible, irritating cartoon characters.The third story was probably the best of the three, although the least steampunk-ish, at least as I understand steampunk. Basically it's a romance between Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman that is formed while Emily's brother is assembling a group of people, led by a psychic medium, to take a journey to the spirit world. Odd, but I thought the poetic style of writing in this story was better than the style of the other stories. Not bad -- but didn't really make up for the other stories either.
I had some difficulties with this book. And that’s because two out of three stories bored me slowly to death. But let us start with the good one, the first one:VictoriaThe soon-to-be-Queen disappears and while the search for her goes on a look alike takes her place. Luckily for the court, a scientist have created a look alike…the problem is that “Victoria” is a human-lizard hybrid with a ravenously sexual appetite that usually spends her days at a brothel.This story was good, bizarre yes, but that is why it was so fun to read. And honestly the ending came with a bit of surprise. 3/5HottentotsLouis Agassis is Swiss naturalist (and a big racist) that together with Dottie the daughter of “the Hottentot Venus” and her husband Jacob Cazar tries to find a fetiche that can be used for black magic.And here we have the books BIG problem. This story just kept going for an eternity without an ending; at least it felt like that. The story was miserable boring and to make it worse. Jacob Cazar spoke with a broken accent and English mixed with German that made everything come out like this: “I am zun of Hendrick Cezar, und Dottie is der daughter of-“. Drove me bonkers trying to read everything he said, and he talked a lot. ½/5 Emily and Walt.Emilys Dickinsons brother is trying to cross over to another world to speak with his dead children with the help of a medium and a ship that will take them there. Also on the trip is on Walt Whitman that Emily feels lustfully drawn to. Even though she doesn’t believe the medium she agrees to tag along on the ride and well it is a weird world they get to.I’m not that familiar with Emily Dickinson or her poems. I found her a bit “odd”, and not a really good character, actually a bit annoying. She and Walt had a thing for poems and they liked to express them self in poems in the story. It was a nettlesome to read. Not that I’m against poems. Poems are great, but in this story not so much. But then again I was a bit weary from the last story. This story was a little bit better than the last one…1/5Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
What do You think about The Steampunk Trilogy (1997)?
The Steampunk Trilogy by Paul Di Filippo was published July 8, 2014 by Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy. It is as it says a trilogy of sort of steampunk short novels or novellas. If you like your steampunk really bizarre, then this might be the book for you. Unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me.I did like the first novella in the book entitled, "Victoria." The second novella, "Hottentots," I found increasingly difficult to read. The main character is not at all sympathetic. He is racist and sexist. I just found it very unpleasant to read about him. In the third short novel, "Walt & Emily," the author got several details about Emily Dickinson right at first, but I had a great deal of trouble imagining this famous recluse going on such an adventure when she finds it difficult to make it to her brother's house next door. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief quite that far.So, while I know there are other people out there who enjoyed this book and I am sure there will be others in the future, unfortunately I am not one of them. If you enjoy your steampunk really bizarre, perhaps you should give it a shot. I gave it 2 stars. It was okay, but I didn't really like it.Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
—Laura
This is a globally fine book, although I do believe it's a good thing steampunk has moved on since; the stories are fun, but have a somewhat gimicky feel in places. Your tastes may differ from mine here, but I also find that "vintage" sexism and racism get a bit old sometimes. In other words, endless depictions of victorian gentlemen going to brothels, or victorian scientists getting all worked up around black people, tend to bore me a little after a while. Yeah, yeah, it's "realistic" (in stories full of humanoid newts and Great Old Ones, but what the hell), it's true to the "spirit of the times", we got it. It's just a little annoying to read about it over and over again, between attempts to make us sympathise with the prejudiced protagonists (which usually fail; luckily, though, this is not so much the case in this book), or heavy irony, which works a little better, as is the case here; not so well, however, that it would make the characters stand out. I'm probably setting the bar too high, however. Yes, it's gimicky; no, neither the stories nor their protagonists are extremely original or interesting. It's still inventive and fun to read, and more importantly, it paved the way for a very interesting genre.
—Cécile C.
Cos'è accaduto alla regina d'Inghilterra? E realmente lei la creatura dagli strani appetiti che da qualche tempo siede sul trono dell'Impero Britannico? Da dove vengono i mostri dell'abisso lovecraftiano che minacciano il Massachusetts? In quale curiosa epoca sono stati condotti i poeti amanti Walt Whitman ed Emily Dickinson? Tra i tanti sottogeneri del fantastico, della fantascienza e del fantasy, lo steampunk è uno dei più affascinanti, con i suoi scenari vittoriani, con le sue straordinarie tecnologie senza elettronica ed elettricità basate su ingranaggi e motori a vapore. Tra i pionieri del genere, che annoverano nomi come Tim Powers, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling e Alan Moore con la sua "Lega degli Uomini Straordinari", un posto particolare spetta a Paul Di Filippo, primo a usare il termine steampunk in un titolo proprio con il presente libro. Tre storie ambientate nel diciannovesimo secolo, in una girandola di avventure narrate con arguzia.
—Matteo Pellegrini
