Clockwork Futures: the Science of Steampunk and the Reinvention of the Modern World
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
The gear turns, the whistle blows, and the billows expand with electro-mechanical whirring. The shimmering halo of Victorian technology lures us with the stuff of dreams, of nostalgia, of alternate pasts and futures that entice with the suave of James Bond and the savvy of Sherlock Holmes. Fiction, surely.
But what if the unusual gadgetry so often depicted as "steampunk" actually made an appearance in history? Zeppelins and steam-trains; arc-lights and magnetic rays: these fascinating (and sometimes doomed) inventions bounded from the tireless minds of unlikely heroes. Such men and women served no secret societies and fought no super-villains, but they did build engines, craft automatons, and engineer a future they hoped would run like clockwork.
Along the way, however, these same inventors ushered in a contest between desire and dread. From Newton to Tesla, from candle and clockwork to the age of electricity and manufactured power, technology teetered between the bright dials of fantastic futures and the dark alleyways of industrial catastrophe.
In the mesmerizing Clockwork Futures, Brandy Schillace reveals the science behind steampunk, which is every bit as extraordinary as what we might find in the work of Jules Verne, and sometimes, just as fearful. These stories spring from the scientific framework we have inherited. They shed light on how we pursue science, and how we grapple with our destiny—yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 5, 2017 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781681775821
- File size: 11618 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781681775821
- File size: 11618 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2017
Steampunk, a subgenre of sf, merges past and present and encompasses themes of discovery, individualism, and craftsmanship. Here, Schillace (Death's Summer Coat) examines how developing technologies in the Victorian era are reflected in steampunk books, graphic novels, films, and TV shows. Her wide-ranging narrative connects the inventions of Galileo, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, and Charles Babbage to the writing of William Gibson (The Difference Engine), Alan Moore (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), and Scott Westerfeld (Leviathan). Victorian writers such as Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, and Arthur Conan Doyle influenced other authors as well as scientists of the day who were investigating energy, medicine, artificial intelligence, and computing. Those not yet immersed in the steampunk ethos will get a sweeping introduction to the heroes, outlaws, and automatons populating the subgenre and their real-life progenitors. VERDICT An engaging social history of technology and invention that offers a great nonfiction crossover for steampunk fans.--Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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