Very large softcover, September 2013. Publisher David B. Riley.
Reviewed Steve Johnson.
Not usually keen on Steampunk, but there’s some very good stories in this issue. Fade of the Innocent by O.M. Grey deals with a killer for hire who has his own rules and sticks to them, and in doing so finds he has a problem. One that ends up providing him with something he’s never realized he needs and will end up cherishing. Quincy Allen’s Family Heirloom was an excellent ‘going back in history’ with the real kicker as you realize at the end just who is telling the story. Lone Star Jackson – Outlaw is one of Lyn McConchie’s ‘awww’ stories as she puts it and she’s right, it’s also a darn good steampunk tale for someone who writes very few of them. And Moshito Masquine, a Sam Knight and Rhye Manhattan collaboration is an interesting steampunk vampire version that goes unexpected places and takes in some clever new angles on the way through.
The cover of this issue – by Wayne Miller - has colour, professional quality work, and is wholly appropriate to the theme, something in which some anthologies fall down. And let’s not forget the article – What We talk About When We talk About Steampunk Fashion by Carrie Vaughn. Not only is this very lucid article useful for those of us who weren’t that sure what the term really did mean, but I’m wondering if this is the Carrie Vaughn who writes the ‘Kitty’ series. If so, then that was a bonus as I have all of the books bar the first and love the series. Yes, for someone who isn’t usually that keen on Steampunk I got a lot of enjoyment and good reading from this issue, and I don’t mind admitting it.
1 comment
Steve,
Thank you so much for the review. Yes, that was the Carrie Vaughn who writes the Kitty series. She is quite the sight when she dresses up for a steampunk convention, as she goes all out. Seeing her and Gail Carriger on panels together at the steampunk convention AnomalyCon in Denver last year was a real treat.