Stepping sideways : Worlds of Steampunk & Dystopia
2024
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A circus is not all it seems. A monster… and opportunity… waits in ocean mists. A friendship is out of time. A group of kids escape scavenger dogs in a brutal world. A water sprite is far from home. And a machine generates romance. These stories and others await in this steampunk and dystopian anthology by Australian authors, sure to transport you into worlds of danger and wonder. An Irish water sprite takes on human form with dire consequences, young people without professional prospects are farmed out to sadistic circuses, and a clockwork pneumatic contraption becomes sentient. These are some of the scenarios featured in Stepping Sideways: Worlds of steampunk and dystopia, a new YA short story anthology edited by Emily Larkin and Lynne Stringer. Including emerging and established authors, the collection features alternate realities of hardship and despair under corrupt authority. Though short, the stories are immersive and catapult the reader into strange, albeit familiar, worlds. However, the stories are far from bleak, as whimsical clockwork devices, mechanical iron horses, steam-powered airships, gear-powered metallic fairies and spring-loaded trams spark the imagination. Woven throughout as a connective tissue in the anthology are overarching themes of ecological or apocalyptic disaster, with pollution featuring widely. Similarities between stories end here, however, with assorted tales of varying styles, genres, eras and fantasy worlds leaving a disjointed feeling. While atmospheric, some stories read like the first chapters of longer novels, ending abruptly and feeling incomplete. A stellar standout is ‘The Spark’ by Rachel Denham-White, which, with a clear voice and intriguing premise, gives the collection a strong finish. Overall, Stepping Sideways is a fun and original anthology, reimagining steampunk dystopia in new ways
Main title:
Stepping sideways : Worlds of Steampunk & Dystopia / edited by Emily Larkin & Lynne Stringer.
Author:
Stringer, Lynne, editorLarkin, Emily, editor
Imprint:
Chinchilla, Queensland : Rhiza Press, 2024.
Collation:
180 pages ; 20 cm.
Notes:
Authors include Lynne Stringer, Emily Larkin, Annaliese Hudson, Linsey Painter, Shaye Wardrop, Andreas Katsineris-Paine, Adele Jones, Elizabeth Klein, Jeanette O’Hagan, Rachel Denham-White, Jennifer Horn and Bianca Breen.
Audience:
Secondary
ISBN:
9781761111785 (paperback)
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
BRN:
518135
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith | Teenage Fiction | STEPPI | Onloan - Due: 21 Feb 2025 |