List of steampunk works
Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world wherein steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.
Although many works now considered seminal to the genre were published in the 1960s and 1970s, the term "steampunk" originated in the late 1980s, as a tongue-in-cheek variant of cyberpunk.
This article is a list of works in the science fiction and fantasy genres considered by commentators to be steampunk.
Precursors
Although the term "steampunk" was not coined until 1987, several works of fiction significant to the development of the genre were produced before that. For example, Mervyn Peake's novel Titus Alone (1959) anticipated many of the tropes of steampunk. Steampunk elements have also consistently appeared in mainstream manga since the 1940s, dating back to Osamu Tezuka's epic science-fiction trilogy consisting of Lost World (1948), Metropolis (1949) and Nextworld (1951).
Steampunk was particularly influenced by, and often adopts the style of the scientific romances and fantasies of the 19th century. Notably influential authors are:
- G. K. Chesterton
- Charles Dickens
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- George Griffith
- H. P. Lovecraft
- Albert Robida
- Mary Shelley
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Bram Stoker
- Mark Twain
- Jules Verne
- H. G. Wells
Early adaptations of this scientific romance literature genre to film, particularly those from the 1950s and 1960s, are notable precursors of steampunk cinema:
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
- From the Earth to the Moon (1958)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
- The Time Machine (1960)
- Master of the World (1961)
- First Men in the Moon (1964)
- Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)
Comics and graphic novels
Film and television
Films
Television
Games
Role-playing games
- Airship Pirates (2011)
- Castle Falkenstein (1994) by Mike Pondsmith
- Forgotten Futures (1993) by Marcus L. Rowland
- GURPS Steampunk (2000)
- Iron Kingdoms (2004)
- Kerberos Club for Wild Talents (2009), Savage Worlds (2010), and Fate (2011)
- Space: 1889 (1988)
- Tephra: The Steampunk RPG (2012)
Video games
- The Eidolon (1985)
-
Final Fantasy series (1987–present)
- Final Fantasy (1987)
- Final Fantasy IV (1991)
- Final Fantasy VI (1994)
- Final Fantasy IX (2000)
- Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams (1991)
- Steel Empire (1992)
- The Chaos Engine (1993)
- Myst series (1993–2005)
- Wild Guns (1994)
- Sakura Wars series (1996–present)
- Wild Arms (1997)
- Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (1998)
- Thief series (1998–2014)
- Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey (1999)
- Elemental Gimmick Gear (1999)
- Skies of Arcadia (2000), Victorian fantasy setting, where the main form of transportation is airships
- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2001)
- Progear (2001)
- Syberia (2002)
- Darkwatch (2005)
- Submachine (2005)
- Bang! Howdy (2006)
- Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (2006)
- Steambot Chronicles (2006)
- On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (2007–2008), steampunk RPG, first two episodes (out of four) available
- Professor Layton (2007–2011)
- Nostalgia (2008), steampunk fantasy RPG for Nintendo DS
- Shikkoku no Sharnoth: What a Beautiful Tomorrow (2008)
- Damnation (2009)
- Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent (2009), MMORPG set in a steampunk-style fantasy world.
-
Guns of Icarus (2009)
- Guns of Icarus Online (2012)
- Greed Corp (2010)
- Resonance of Fate (2010)
- Gatling Gears (2011)
- Vessel (2012)
-
Dishonored (2012)
- Dishhonored 2 (2016)
- Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017)
- BioShock Infinite (2013)
- SteamWorld Dig (2013)
- The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013)
- Transport Empire: Steam Tycoon (2014)
- Styx: Master of Shadows (2014)
- The Order: 1886 (2014)
- Subterfuge (2015)
- Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (2015)
- SteamWorld Heist (2016)
- Viktor, a Steampunk Adventure (2017)
- Frostpunk (2018)
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)
Literature
| Year | Title | Author(s) | First publisher | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Queen Victoria's Bomb | Ronald W. Clark | Jonathan Cape | ||
| 1971 | Warlord of the Air | Michael Moorcock | A Nomad of the Time Streams book 1 | ||
| 1974 | The Land Leviathan | Michael Moorcock | A Nomad of the Time Streams book 2 | ||
| 1979 | Morlock Night | K. W. Jeter | |||
| 1981 | The Steel Tsar | Michael Moorcock | Granada | A Nomad of the Time Streams book 3 | |
| 1983 | The Anubis Gates | Tim Powers | Ace Books | ||
| 1983 | Kelly Country | Bertram Chandler | Penguin Books | ||
| 1987 | Infernal Devices | K. W. Jeter | St. Martin's Press| | ||
| 1990 | The Difference Engine | William Gibson & Bruce Sterling | Gollancz | ||
| 1992 | Anno Dracula | Kim Newman | Simon & Schuster | Anno Dracula series book 1. World Fantasy Award nominee | |
| 1992 | Lord Kelvin's Machine | James Blaylock | Arkham House | ||
| 1993 | Anti-Ice | Stephen Baxter | Ace Books | ||
| 1994 | For the Crown and the Dragon | Stephen Hunt | Green Nebula | ||
| 1994 | Pasquale's Angel | Paul J. McAuley | |||
| 1995 | Northern Lights (The Golden Compass) | Philip Pullman | His Dark Materials book 1 | ||
| 1995 | The Steampunk Trilogy | Paul Di Filippo | Collection of 3 stories | ||
| 2000 | Perdido Street Station | China Miéville | Macmillan | A Bas-Lag novel | |
| 2001 | Mortal Engines Quartet | Philip Reeve | Scholastic | ||
| 2001 | The Peshawar Lancers | S.M. Stirling | Tor | ||
| 2001 | Zeppelins West | Joe R. Lansdale | "Ned the Seal" trilogy book 1 | ||
| 2003 | The Light Ages | Ian R. MacLeod | Ace Books | "The Light Years" book 1 | |
| 2004 | Fitzpatrick's War | Theodore Judson | DAW Books | ||
| 2004 | Airborn | Kenneth Oppel | HarperCollins | First in series | |
| 2006 | Flaming London | Joe R. Lansdale | "Ned the Seal" trilogy book 2 | ||
| 2007 | Mainspring | Jay Lake | Tor Books | ||
| 2006 | The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters | Gordon Dahlquist | Bantam Press | ||
| 2007 | The Court of the Air | Stephen Hunt | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 1 | |
| 2007 | Pax Britannia | Jonathan Green | Abaddon Books | ||
| 2007 | Wicked Gentlemen | Ginn Hale | Blind Eye Books | Gaylactic Spectrum Award winner. | |
| 2008 | The Affinity Bridge | George Mann | Snowbooks | ||
| 2008 | Steampunk | Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer | Tachyon Publications | Anthology | |
| 2008 | Clockwork Heart | Dru Pagliassotti | Juno Books | RT Book Reviewers' Choice Award 2008: Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal / Futuristic Novel | |
| 2008 | The Kingdom Beyond the Waves | Stephen Hunt | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 2 | |
| 2008 | Extraordinary Engines | Nick Gevers | Solaris | Anthology | |
| 2009 | The Black Lung Captain | Chris Wooding | Spectra | Tales of the Ketty Jay 2 | |
| 2009 | The Iron Jackal | Chris Wooding | Gollancz | Tales of the Ketty Jay 3 | |
| 2009 | Soulless | Gail Carriger | Orbit Books | first novel of the Parasol Protectorate series | |
| 2009 | Worldshaker | Richard Harland | Allen and Unwin (Aus) Simon & Schuster (US) | First in series, Tam-Tam Je Bouquine Award 2011, Inky Award 2009 | |
| 2009 | Leviathan | Scott Westerfeld | Simon Pulse | First in a New Series | |
| 2009 | Boneshaker | Cherie Priest | Tor | First installment in the Clockwork Century Series | |
| 2009 | The Rise of the Iron Moon | Stephen Hunt | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 3 | |
| 2010 | The Iron Duke | Meljean Brook | Berkley Trade | The first in the Iron Seas series | |
| 2010 | Behemoth | Scott Westerfeld | Simon Pulse | 2nd book in the Leviathan series | |
| 2010 | Dreadnought | Cherie Priest | Tor | Second installment in the Clockwork Century Series | |
| 2010 | The Dream of Perpetual Motion | Dexter Palmer | Picador | ||
| 2010 | The Infernal Devices (series) | Cassandra Clare | Walker Books | ||
| 2010 | Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded | Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer | Tachyon Publications | Anthology | |
| 2010 | The Bookman | Lavie Tidhar | Angry Robot | The Bookman Histories series book 1 | |
| 2010 | Secrets of the Fire Sea | Stephen Hunt | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 4 | |
| 2010 | The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack | Mark Hodder | Pyr | Burton & Swinburne series book 1. Winner of the 2010 Philip K. Dick Award | |
| 2010 | Aurorarama | Jean-Christophe Valtat | Melville House Publishing | The Mysteries of New-Venice, I | |
| 2011 | Chasing Schroedinger's Cat | Tom Hourie | Iron Ring Communications | ||
| 2011 | Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel | Philippa Ballantine & Tee Morris | HarperCollins Publishers | The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book 1 | |
| 2011 | Retribution Falls | Chris Wooding | Gollancz | Tales of the Ketty Jay 1 | |
| 2011 | The Manual of Detection | Jedediah Berry | Heinemann | ||
| 2011 | Camera Obscura | Lavie Tidhar | Angry Robot | The Bookman Histories series book 2 | |
| 2011 | Jack Cloudie | Stephen Hunt | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 5 | |
| 2011 | Modern Marvels - Viktoriana | Wayne Reinagel | Knightraven Studios | First book of the Modern Marvels Trilogy | |
| 2011 | Liberator | Richard Harland | Allen and Unwin (Aus) | Second in series | |
| 2011 | Across the Stonewind Sky | Ged Maybury | Jaffa Books | Into the Storm's Domain book 1 | |
| 2011 | The Wrath of Fate | Robert Brown | Three Ravens | Book One of the Airship Pirate Chronicles | |
| 2012 | From the Deep of the Dark | Stephen Hunt | HarperCollins | Jackelian series book 6 | |
| 2012 | The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel | Philippa Ballantine & Tee Morris | HarperCollins Publishers | The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book 2 | |
| 2012 | The Great Game | Lavie Tidhar | Angry Robot | The Bookman Histories series book 3 | |
| 2012 | Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution | Ann VanderMeer | Tachyon Publications | Anthology | |
| 2012 | The Mammoth Book of Steampunk | Sean Wallace | Constable & Robinson / Running Press | Anthology | |
| 2012 | Resurrection Engines: 15 Extraordinary Tales of Scientific Romance | Scott Harrison | Snowbooks | Anthology | |
| 2012 | Ether Frolics | Paul Marlowe | Sybertooth | Short story collection. | |
| 2013 | The Aylesford Skull | James Blaylock | Titan | A Langdon St. Ives novel. | |
| 2013 | Clockwork Planet | Yuu Kamiya, Tsubaki Himana | Kodansha | Light novel series | |
| 2013 | Hour of the Wolf | Andrius Tapinas | Andrius Tapinas | Steam and Stone Saga Book 1 | |
| 2013 | Luminous Chaos | Jean-Christophe Valtat | Melville House Publishing | The Mysteries of New-Venice, II | |
| 2013 | A Steampunk Guide to Tea Dueling | Khurt Khave | Dangerous Worlds | Steampunk Game Guide | |
| 2014 | The Adventures of Alan Shaw | Craig Hallam | Inspired Quill | The Adventures of Alan Shaw book 1 | |
| 2014 | Chainsaw Alice in Wonderland | Khurt Khave | Dangerous Worlds | Steampunk Horror | |
| 2014 | The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy | Jacopo della Quercia | St. Martin's Griffin | Steampunk / Historical Fiction | |
| 2015 | The Aeronaut's Windlass | Jim Butcher | Penguin Group | Steampunk, Magic, Fantasy | |
| 2018 | Old Haunts | Craig Hallam | Inspired Quill | The Adventures of Alan Shaw book 2 | |
| 2018 | Watch City: Waltham Watch | Jessica Lucci | Indie Woods | Steampunk, First in a new series | |
| 2019 | Sigimmortal | Tom Waguespack | Alban Lake Publishing | Steampunk, First in a new series |
Music
Steampunk musicians
The following is a list of musicians and bands that have either adopted a steampunk aesthetic in their appearance, or have a decidedly steampunk approach to their music.
Other bands with steampunk-themed works
While not strictly steampunk in their general appearance or approach to music, several musicians and bands have produced music, music videos or concept albums that directly appeal to the steampunk aesthetic. Included in these are:
- AC/DC - "Rock 'n' Roll Train" (video, stage production)
- Justin Bieber - "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (Arthur Christmas Version) (video)
- Gandalf's Fist - The Clockwork Fable (album)
- David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj - "Turn Me On" (video)
- John Hartford - Steam Powered Aereo-Takes (album)
- Lovett - "Eye of the Storm" (video)
- Mushroomhead - Qwerty (video)
- Gary Numan - Splinter (Songs from a Broken Mind) (album)
- Panic! At The Disco - "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" (video)
- Rush - Clockwork Angels (album and Time Machine tour)
- Smashing Pumpkins - "Tonight, Tonight" (video)
- Lindsey Stirling - "Roundtable Rival" (video)
- Tom Waits - Blood Money (album)
- Therion - "Adulruna Rediviva" (video)
- Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me with Science" (video)
Performance art
- Airship Isabella
- League of S.T.E.A.M. (Supernatural and Troublesome Ectoplasmic Apparition Management), a.k.a. the "Steampunk Ghostbusters", a performance art troupe from Southern California popular in the steampunk community and specializing in live interactive themed entertainment
- Penny Dreadful Productions
- The Cirque du Soleil touring show Kurios