Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded

The dynamic VanderMeers follow 2008's Steampunk with this engaging anthology of 23 stories (three original to this volume, including Jeffrey Ford's "Dr. Lash Remembers"), two essays (including one by Gail Carriger), and a roundtable interview, all of which define, deepen, and demonstrate the clockwork beauty of automaton-laden science fiction. Standouts include Tanith Lee's madness-inspired "The Persecution Machine"; Caitlín R. Kiernan's hauntingly beautiful tale of "The Steam Dancer (1896)"; Marc Laidlaw's photographic encyclopedia of "Great Breakthroughs in Darkness"; Sydney Padua's comic "Lovelace and Babbage: Origins, with Salamander"; the frightening Pinocchio of Cherie Priest's "Tanglefoot"; William Gibson's proto-steampunk tale "The Gernsback Continuum"; and "Flying Fish ‘Prometheus' (A Fantasy of the Future)" by Vilhelm Bergsøe, a Danish contemporary of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Fabulous interior design by John Coulthart completes this worthy sequel to its well-regarded predecessor. (Nov.)