Steampunk is one of those underground genres, it’s like cyberpunk in the early 80’s before Gibson came along and made it mainstream with Neuromancer. It is basically the same ideas as cyberpunk as well except instead of looking into the near dystopic future, it gazes longingly on a a past that never happened. Steampunk is revival Victorian Science fiction, it’s the world of Verne and Wells but with 20/20 hindsight. It’s how luddites wished the future would have happened as opposed to how it did, it’s capping technology with steam engines and early electrick works… It’s very much in its infancy a genre still trying to find its way.
I’ve taken somewhat of a liking to it, I’ve been reading articles on, short stories in it, submerge myself in it on occasions. I haven’t been able to write anything though that could be construed as belonging to the genre… A few times I thought I had something, but no, I worry that the confines of the genre are too limiting for good storytelling. All pieces of the genre I’ve read have been poor things or have reached outside the genre to legitimize themselves (if you can call what some of them have done legitimizing).
If you’re curios to know more just Google the word or you could check out Steampunk Magazine, and e-zine that is specializing in the genre. Brass Goggles is a blog that concerns itself solely with the genre as well. So there you go, knock yourself out
