Steampunk fiction is a popular genre that has a bigger fanbase than many people would have guessed. It is a young genre that has carved a niche for itself over the decades. Keep reading to find out the best steampunk books of all time!
What is Steampunk Fiction?
Not everyone will be familiar with the term steampunk. It is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on technology that hasn’t developed beyond steam. Authors use their creativity to predict what happens in this “era” as they introduce concepts that revolve around the technology available.
The Best Steampunk Books of All Time
- Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon
- Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil & Kaja Foglio
- Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Homunculus by James P. Blaylock
- Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina
- Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
- Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
- Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
- Morlock Night by K.W. Jeter
- Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
- Soulless by Gail Carriger
- Steampunk Edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
- The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
- The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
- The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
- The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
- The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
- The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman
- The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
- The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Familiar Names
Even if you aren’t familiar with the subgenre, there are classics that you will recognize on the list. Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Time Machine, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea fall under this subgenre.
The term steampunk was created by author K.W. Jeter in 1987 to describe the Victorian technology and technology that was powered by steam. As you can guess, there were dozens of novels that already did this before he came along and gave it a name that stuck.
Conclusion
That is all for the best steampunk books of all time list. What books should we have included on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
You can’t use a word to describe the definition of the same word! As in “Not everyone will be familiar with the term steampunk. It is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on technology that hasn’t developed beyond steampunk”. See?
Thanks for pointing it out. I’ll rewrite it
You forgot Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. Perhaps not strictly Steampunk, but a perfect distillation of the Victorian sensibilities and tone of the genre.
How about a list of the best “lost world” novels (in which modern man discovers a previously unexplored island, continent, etc., where dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals are still very much alive)?
I would add “Aurorarama” by Jean-Christophe Valtat
You might find Paul Eccentric’s The Periwinkle Perspective series interesting. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Periwinkle-Perspective-Giant-Step-ebook/dp/B08JJBRW8B/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2SHCTHAD9L1BT&keywords=the+periwinkle+perspective&qid=1680376758&sprefix=the+ortiwinkle+perdoective%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1
I’m somewhat shocked that ‘The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack’ (Burton & Swinburne #1) by Mark Hodder didn’t make the list. One of the best I have read. The series is excellent. Lavie Tidhar’s The Bookman series also deserves a mention.
I don’t think The Diamond Age is steampunk. Just my opinion.
Das Siegel von Rapgar von Alexej pehov.
Würde ich hinzufügen.
Ansonsten danke für deine Arbeit 👍
If you’re a fan of steampunk, I feel like Senlin Ascends and its sequels, by Josiah Bancroft, are essential reading.
A Nomad of the Time Streams – Michael moorcock
The Diamond Age isn’t steam punk. It is set in a future society that chooses to live by Victorian and Edwardian standards from the late 1800s to early 1900s, hence The Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer, also a cool book within a book that is way more subversive than the name suggests.
The technology in that book is future tech, it’s about the affects of nano technology on all aspects of life. The title The Diamond Age refers to them being so advanced they can build stuff out of its constituent atoms so everything is coated in diamond to protect it.
The Diamond Age is a Bildungsroman, but not steam punk