The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature [Anglais] [Relié]

I bought this sight unseen at a Steampunk convention just days after it's release. It is very lovely, full of pretty photos and some nice articles. I have to say it does try to cover a lot of ground, and there is just no way to cover everything, even with as ambitious an undertaking as a genre "bible"... It manages to be pretty comprehensive, even if you can actually get a lot more details on every little bit online, it would be sort of preposterous to ask that a printed book cover the vastness of the internet resources on a subject as individual and hard to pin down as Steampunk. What disappointed me, really, was the most un-steampunk tonality of many of the articles. Every convention and event I have attended featured friendly, outgoing, DIY-loving people eager to help each other and share their crafting knowledge, musical interests, literary loves... many sections of this "bible" take a very demeaning tone, describing what is "absolutely NOT steampunk" and telling you what you "MUST NOT" call steampunk-- as though a collection of people who have more financially invested in a fantasy genre than you have the right to dictate how you should view the entire movement. For example, the section by "reknowned" author Cathrynne M. Valente is particularly condescending and vitriolic; mainly decrying the use of *gears* in artwork and fashion as childish and overdone, implying that there is a frosty clique of elite and erudite steampunks tittering behind their hands at anyone who is so uncouth as to wear a *gear* on their clothing. Oddly, this snide little section didn't stop the editors from including an awful lot of gear imagery in the book. It's funny, another reviewer also felt that some of these people were WAY TOO INTO IT.... well, there is that, but anyone can go to any extreme they want, and it's not really a problem until they start getting all "holier than thou" on you, and suddenly what is mostly a fun, dynamic, creative movement steeped in literature and music and fashion is-- in one fell swoop-- reduced to a snotty clique you can't possibly join. I adore steampunk, I love the events, the people, the fashion and the creativity... but this little "bible" lays out some sections like a rulebook, and I really don't think such a diverse movement with so many aspects needs a rulebook as much as it might need a directory. If they had stuck to showing aspects and listing bands, books and artists, with their lovely photos and mostly positive articles about what people are doing in this genre they may have been a five star bit of publishing.

Vandermeer's neo-vintage gem is more than worthwhile for the photography and art alone. The images have me inspired and scrambling for sketchpad and charcoal. The steampunk history and bibliography inside are worthy treasures as well for any speculative Victorianistas out there.
Right. My foolproof plan: fire up the armored dirigible, make speed to the bookstore, and lower Miss Quidsworth to purchase a couple of copies.

Without a doubt, this book lives up to its name. Inside the unbelievably beautiful cover--it lacks only the gilt-edged pages many bibles have--is an excellent overview of Steampunk, in its incarnations as a literary and film genre, a clothing aesthetic, and a sub-culture, from its roots and origins to its possible future. In addition, there are special sections and closer looks at certain topics written by well-known contributors, including a project you can do yourself. And as if that isn't enough, the book is also chock full of more beautiful pictures (some of them are even of beautiful book covers themselves). There are contraptions and costumes galore, in full color--or sepia-tones, as the case may be!

This is a pretty quick and easy read even if you do actually read all the words, which I recommend, but it's very quick and definitely still worth it if all you want to do is look at the pretty pictures. I was looking forward to this book so much (on a boring day at work, I got an email from Amazon that it had shipped and I whispered "Steampunk Bible" over and over again to myself for probably five minutes...or maybe more) that it would have been nearly impossible for it to live up to my expectations--and yet, apart from the afore-mentioned lack of gilt-edged pages, it did! I loved it. I kind of hope it will soon be outdated by a huge influx of new Steampunk and Steampunk-related materials into our culture and our bookstores (and maybe clothing stores), but for now, this book is a must have.