Title: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk Adventures
Author: Multiple authors – Edited by Sean Wallace
Genre: Steampunk
Book procurement: Bought the book at the now defunct Exclusive Books The Glen.
Synopsis:
Looking to the future through the lens of the past, here is a second fantastic collection of over 30 typically anarchic mash-ups that push the boundaries of steampunk from the same editor of the bestselling Mammoth Book of Steampunk.
Review:
First Thoughts
I picked this up while I was writing my first Steampunk novel, hoping to get a glimpse into his mysterious world of amazing steam and clockwork powered inventions, and alternate universes where electricity was obsolete. I was hoping for grandiose descriptions, compelling characters, incredible machines, fantastical worlds, and grungy, sooty Victorian-Era stories. What I got was a little bit of that, but mostly it was other genres set in a steampunk world where you don’t see much of the steam. It wasn’t the greatest anthology but it was just enough. Just.
Story
There were 30 stories in this anthology, and not all of them were great, which is why I’ve been reading this book for over a year now. Haha *looks away guiltily* Some of the stories I ate up like a good double bacon and egg burger, and other’s I chewed over like overcooked steak. Here were a few that stood out:
Tanglefoot – Cheri Priest
Harry and Marlowe and the Talisman of the Cult of Egil
Edison’s Frankenstein – Chris Robertson
Green Eyed Monsters in the Valley of Sky, An Opera
The Clockworks of Hanyang – Gord Sellar
I Stole the DC’s Eyeglass – Sofia Samatar
The Collier’s Venus – Caitlin R. Kiernan
Final Thoughts
Eh I wasn’t severely impressed. A few stories were tantalizing only to end abruptly, while other’s dragged on forever and they weren’t the most compelling. I got a sense of the Steampunk genre but not enough to fall in love with it as I had expected. I think I’ll have to read a proper novel next.
Rating: A meh 3 out of 5
A-Scribe To Describe 
Sorry, you weren’t that into the book. But at least there were a few good stories in there. Maybe you’ve learned what not to do? 😉
Yeah I did it’s really hard to write the genre but I’ll figure it out. Thanks 🙂