Making Steampunk Cool(er) Part Two – What’s in a Name?
![Jeter's 1979 novel (here with a contemporary cover) was a science-fiction/fantasy tale set in 19th century England threatened by the eponymous creatures from The Time Machine. It was in describing it, along with the work of his colleagues Blaylock and Peters, that Jeter invented the term "Steampunk[s]."](/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/morlocknight-450x450.jpg "Morlock Night")
Names are powerful things. They provide foundations for castles and the bedrocks of empires. But that strength is seductive, and inevitably comes at a cost. At some point, instead of being empowering they become constricting – instead of describing reality they create it . . . and instead of liberation they offer enslavement. I was [...]
Making Steampunk Cool(er): Part One – Beyond Popularity Contests
I’m worried about Steampunk. Over the last few years I’ve watched Steampunk conventions grow and proliferate like fungi and Steampunk become a word that is greeted with nods of understanding rather than blank stares. But I worry that these signs of external good health obscure a potentially fatal, or at least disfiguring, disease. I’m worried that [...]
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