Dreams of Steam By Kimberly Richardson

Kimberly Richardson ↠ 3 summary

This is a collection of short and short-short steampunk SF&F. It is a good collection of stories. Some were pretty good. Some ... well, not so much. It was worth the read, though. I've been out of touch with steampunk so this was a good view into where the genre stands now.
English The best stories in this collection were good ideas that were poorly executed. I'm pretty apathetic about even the best stories in here and didn't even get past the first few pages of most of them. It's also pretty obvious that a copy editor didn't even think about looking at this collection. English This was a great anthology of short stories. All of the stories were well written but my favorites were Dead Man's Hand, The Bunker; Endeavour of the Rose, Five Copper Bowls, and Artificial Love. I can't wait to read the other books in Ms. Richardsons series.
English First, let me recuse myself from giving anything like an unbiased review of this collection. Full disclosure: it includes my story Dead Man's Hand, which the editor (Kimberly Richardson) assures me has creeped people out.

However, I'd like to give a shout-out to a few of my other favorite stories from the collection: Black Rhino by M. Keaton, Five Copper Bowls by Dale Carothers, Harry Was One of Us by Sara M. Harvey, and Phoenix by H. David Blaylock. All the stories were unique and creative variations on the steampunk theme, and the collection as a whole is a warm, welcome bundle of sheer pulpy goodness.

Track down a copy and enjoy! English I'll have a full review soon. I loved this analogy--the stories are different lengths, including some poetry, and all our unique. It was a great read. English

Highly recommend this well-edited anthology for anyone looking for an introduction to the Steampunk genre. It's a grabbag of tales by a talented group of writers guaranteed to satisfy any reader's desire to learn more about Steampunk, be it alternate history or an original setting. Not sure if I can pick a personal favorite from this collection so just read them all to find your own. English I'm fascinated by the whole steampunk phenomenon, but I have to say, the stories in this collection were very uneven. Some great stories, with a plot, good characters, a nice pay-off, but some of the stories just meandered through the pages, describing cool things, but no real story I could sink my teeth into. English Surprise, surprise. I read the whole book. Unusual? In this case yes because it contains short stories. I must admit that I struggled to read short stories in the past.
But this collection convinced me. There are two stories in form of poems which I think are good but not my cup of tea.
All in all refreshing and entertaining views in to the world of steam.

Full review in progress ... English
Today's post is on Dreams of Steam edited by Kimberly Richardson. It is a short story anthology and is 246 pages long. The cover has a woman reading with a boiler behind her. The intended reader is someone who likes steampunk. There is language, talk of sex, and some violence in this anthology. Age 16 and up just to be safe. The stories go from third person close to first person from author to author. There Be Spoilers Ahead.



From the back of the book- This is Steampunk! Travel back to a time when steam powered inventions ruled the land, water, and sky. It's a time of extraordinary contraptions and innovative ideas created by men and women who dared to ask the question, “What if ?”. Peer through the glazed window into a world long gone, but not forgotten. Make a cup of tea, find a comfortable chair, strap on your goggles, and be amazed at the power of steam!



Review- This is a pretty good anthology. Like all anthologies some stories were better than others but in my opinion there are only two weak stories of the seventeen offerings. The stories cover everything from airships flights to building mechanical limbs to replace the ones lost in war. Every flavor you could want in both steampunk and short stories. The poetry was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. My favorite story was For the Love of Steam by Missa Dixon. She writes from the perspective of a beloved dog Charlie. Charlie just wants his mommy to be happy again now that the war is over. She lost a leg in the war but she built herself a new one. So she ends up building new arms and legs for people who lost them in the war and Charlie gets a new Daddy. The thing that I really enjoyed about this story was how real the chracters were to me. You can feel how sad Charlie is for his mommy and how happy everything is at the end of the story. The story is so uplifting. Another favorite is In the Mountain Skies by Stephen Zimmer. It is about a man who goes from place to place stopping evil forces with his cat. Together they keep people safe from the things that go bump in the night. For this story it was the world that got me. Zimmer made it so clear and real to me. I believed in the monster and in the magic spring. If you are looking for a quick read or something steampunk or just something different try this one.



I give this anthology a Four out of Five Stars. I get nothing for this review and I bought this book with my own money.
English A good anthology. Some of the work was better than others. Nick Valetino's story, Engine 351 and Seven Copper Bowls were the shining stars of this collection. English

This is Steampunk Travel back to a time when steam powered inventions ruled the land, water, and sky. It's a time of extraordinary contraptions and innovative ideas created by men and women who dared to ask the question, What if? Peer through the glazed window into a world long gone, but not forgotten. Make a cup of tea, find a comfortable chair, strap on your goggles, and be amazed at the power of steam Dreams of Steam