Steampunk Book List

There is a lot of wonderful fiction out there that fits to a greater or lesser extent into the Steampunk canon. I compiled this page based on other reading lists I found on the web and I will continue to refine it as I wend my way through this amazing genre. There is some debate about whether or not the scientific romances of the 19th century can technically be considered Steampunk, but I have included some of the most notable titles here to serve as a backdrop for more contemporary works.

Classic Science Fiction and Short Stories to Get Your Gears Going:

Edward Bulwer-Lytton
۞ The Coming Race (1871)

Samuel Butler
۞ Erewhon (1872)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
۞ The Professor Challenger Series– The Lost World (1912), The Poison Belt (1913), The Land of Mist (1926), When the World Screamed (short story 1968), The Disintegration Machine (1929 short story)
۞ Shelock Holmes Series– These have been released in so many different formats I am not listing them here, but click on the link for a full list.

Jane C Loudon
۞ The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (1836)

Edgar Allen Poe
۞ Steampunk: Poe (2011) (Poe stories illustrated in Steampunk Style)

Mary Shelley
۞ Frankenstein (or The Modern Prometheus) (1818)
۞ The Last Man (1826)

Robert Louis Stevenson
۞ The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

Jules Verne
۞ Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
۞ Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)
۞ Around the World in 80 Days (1873)
۞ The Mysterious Island (1874)

H. G. Wells
۞ The Time Machine (1895)
۞ The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896)
۞ Tales of Space and Time (1897)
۞ The Invisible Man (1897)
۞ War of the Worlds (1898)
۞ The First Men in The Moon (1901)
۞ When the Sleeper Wakes (1910)

Steampunk Literature before the term existed (1960s to the 1980s):

Ronald W. Clark
۞ Queen Victoria’s Bomb (1967)

Philip Jose Farmer
۞ The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (1973)

Harry Harrison
۞ The Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! (1972)

K. W. Jeter
۞ Morlock Night (1979)
۞ Infernal Devices (1987)

Keith Laumer
۞ Imperium Series–  Worlds of Imperium (1962), Other Side of Time (1965), Assignment in Nowhere (1968), Zone Yellow (1990)

Michael Moorcock
۞ Oswald Bastable Series– Warlord of the Air (1971), The Land Leviathan: A New Scientific Romance (1974), The Steel Tsar (1981), The Nomad of the Time Streams (1971)

Tim Powers
۞ The Anubis Gates (1983)
۞ On Stranger Tides (1987) (The Pirates of the Caribbean film borrowed heavily from this work)

Contemporary Steampunk Literature (1990-Present)
(Graphic Novels are grouped together at the bottom)

Kevin J. Andersen
۞ Clockwork Angels (2012)

Stefan Bachman
۞ The Peculiar Series

Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris
۞ The Ministry of Peculiar Occurences Series– Phoenix Rising (2011), The Janus Affair (2012), Dawn’s Early Light (2014), The Diamond Conspiracy (2015), The Ghost Rebellion (coming 2016)

David Barnett
۞ Gideon Smith and Mechanical Girl (2013)

Libba Bray
۞ Gemma Doyle Series– A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003), Rebel Angels (2005), The Sweet Far Things (2007)

Meljean Brook
۞ Iron Seas Series: The Iron Duke (2010), Heart of Steel (2011), Riveted (2012), The Kraken King (2014)
۞ Interspersed in timeline of the novels, Brook wrote many short stories and blog posts that enrich the world

Gail Carriger
۞ Parasol Protectorate series: Soulless (2009), Changeless (2010), Blameless (2010),  Heartless (2011), Timeless (2012)
۞ Finishing School series: Etiquette and Espionage (2013), Curtsies and Conspiracies (2013), Waistcoats and Weaponry (2014), Manners and Mutiny (2015)

Cassandra Clare
۞ Infernal Devices Series- Clockwork Angel (2010), Clockwork Prince (2011), Clockwork Princess (2013).

Eoin Colfer
۞ The Airman (2007)

Kady Cross
۞ Steampunk Chronicles: Girl in the Steel Corset (2011), The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (2012), The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy (2013), The Girl with the Iron Touch (2013), The Wild Adventures of Jasper Renn (2013), The Girl with the Windup Heart (2014)

Gordon Dalquist
۞ Miss Temple, Doctor Svenson and Cardinal Change Series– The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters (2006), The Dark Volume (2008), The Chemickal Marriage (2012)

Raven Dane
۞ Absinthe and Arsenic (2013) (A collection of short stories)
۞ Cyrus Darian Series- Cyrus Darian and the Technimicron (2011), Cyrus Darian and the Ghastly Horde (2013)

Paul Di Filipo
۞ The Steampunk Trilogy

Rod Duncan
۞ Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire Series– The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter (2014), Unseemly Science (2015), The Custodian of Marvels (coming 2016)

Jeanne DuPrau
۞ The City of Ember (2003)

A. W. Exley
۞ Artifact Hunter Series– Nefertiti’s Heart (2013), Hatshepsut’s Collar (2013), The Unicorn’s Tail (2014), Nero’s Fiddle (2014), Moseh’s Staff (2015)

G. D. Falksen
۞ Hellfire Chronicles Series– Blood in the Skies (2011)
۞ The Ouroboros Cycle Series– A Monster Coming of Age (2013), A Cautionary Tale for Young Vampires (2014)

Lindsay Faye
۞ Timothy Wilde Mysteries Series– Gods of Gotham (2012), Seven for a Secret (2013), The Fatal Flame (expected 2015)

Jasper Fforde
۞ Thursday Next Series– The Eyre Affair (2001), Lost in a Good Book (2002), Well of Lost Plots (2003), Something Rotten (2004), First Among Sequels (2007), One of Our Thursdays is Missing (2011), The Woman Who Died a Lot (2012), Dark Reading Matter (expected 2015)

Catherine Fisher
۞ Incarceron series: Incarceron (2007), Sapphique (2008)

Toby Frost
۞ Chronicles of Isambard Smith Series– Space Captain Smith (2008), God Emperoro of Didcot (2008), Wrath of the Lemming Men (2009), A Game of Battleships (2013), End of Empires (2014)

Neil Gaiman
۞ Stardust (1998)

William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
۞ The Difference Engine (1990)

Colleen Gleason
۞ Stoker and Holmes Series– Clockwork Scarab (2013), The Spiritglass Charade (2014), The Chess Queen Enigma (2015)

Jonathan Green
۞ Pax Britannia Series– Unnatural History (2007), Leviathan Rising (2008), Human Nature (2009), Evolution Expects (2009), Blood Royal (2009), Dark Side (2010)

Clay Griffith
۞ Vampire Empire Series– The Greyfriar (2010), The Rift Walker (2011), The Kingmakers (2012)

Nick Harkaway
۞ Angelmaker (2012)

Mark Hodder
۞ Burton and Swinbourne Series– The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (2010), The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (2011), Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (2012), The Secret of Abdu El-Yezdi (2013), The Return of the Discontinued Man (2014), The Rise of the Automated Aristocrats (2015)

Sarah A. Hoyt
۞ Magical British Empire Series– Heart of Light (2008), Soul of Fire (2008), Heart and Soul (2008)

Stephen Hunt
۞ Jackelian Series– The Court of Air (2007), The Kingdom Beyond the Waves (2008), The Rise of the Iron Moon (2009), Secrets of Fire Sea (2010), Jack Cloudie (2011), From the Deep of the Dark (2012)

Joseph Robert Lewis
۞ Aetherium Series– Wreck of Frost Finch (2013), Assassins of the Steam Age (2013), Legend of the Skyfire Stone (2013), Revenge of Exiles (2013), Plague of the Demon King (2013), Fury of the Witch Queen (2013), Curse of the Golden Dragon (2013), Twilight of the Immortals (2014)

Melanie Karsak
۞ Chasing the Star Garden (2013)

Danny Knestaut
۞ Arachnodactyl Series- Arachnodactyl (2016)

E. C. Jarvis
۞ The Blood and Destiny Series– The Machine (2016), The Pirate (2016), The War (2016), The Destiny (2016)

Jay Lake
۞ Clockwork Earth Series– Mainspring (2007), Escapement (2007), Pinion (2010)

Scott Lynch
۞ Gentleman Bastard Series– Lies of Locke Lamora (2006), Red Seas Under Red Skies (2007), Republic of Thieves (2013), The Thorn of Emberlain (coming 2016)

D. L. Mackenzie
۞ The Magnetron Novella Series– The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum (2012), Spring-heeled Jack and the President’s Ring (2012), Escape from Xanadu (2012), High Crimes and Miscreants (2012)

George Mann
۞ Newbury and Hobbes Series– The Affinity Bridge (2008), The Osiris Ritual (2010), The Immortality Engine (2011), The Casebook of Newbury and Hobbes (2013)

China Mieville
۞ New Crobuzon Series: Perdido Street Station (2000), The Scar (2002), Iron Council (2004)
۞ Un Lun Dun (2007)

Kim Newman
۞ The Anno Dracula Series– Anno Dracula (1992), The Bloody Red Baron (1995)

Billy O’Shea
۞ Kingdom of Clockwork (2014)
۞ It’s Only a Clockwork Moon (2015)

Kenneth Oppel
۞ Matt Cruse series: Airborn (2004), Skybreaker (2005), Starclimber (2009)

Dru Pagliassotti
۞ Clockwork Heart (2008)

Felix J. Palma and Nick Caistor
۞ Trilogia Victoriana Series– Map of Time (2008), The Map of the Sky (2012), El mapa del caos (2014)

S. M. Peters
۞ Whitechapel Gods (2008)

Cherie Priest
۞ Clockwork Century Series: Boneshaker (2009), Clementine (2010), Dreadnought (2010), Tanglefoot (2011), The Inexplicables (2012), Fiddlehead (2013)

Philip Pullman
۞ His Dark Materials Series– The Golden Compass (also known as Northern Lights, 1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), The Amber Spyglass (1999)

Philip Reeve
۞ Hungry City Chronicles: Mortal Engines (2001), Predator’s Gold (2004), Infernal Devices (2005), A Darkling Plain (2006)
۞ Larklight Series– Larklight (2006), Starcross (2007), Mothstorm (2008)

Lilith Saintcrow
۞ Bannon and Clare Series– The Ironwyrm Affair (2012), The Damnation Affair (2012), The Red Plague Affair (2013), The Ripper Affair (2014)

Drew Salzen
۞ Downturn Abyss

Ekaterina Sedia
۞ The Alchemy of Stone

Liesel Schwarz
۞ Chronicles of Light and Shadow Series: A Conspiracy of Alchemists (2013), A Clockwork Heart (2014), Sky Pirates (2015)

Stephanie R. Sorensen
۞ Sakura Steam Series– Toru: Wayfarer Returns (2016)

David Lee Summers
۞ Clockwork Legion Series– Owl Dance (2011), Lightning Wolves (2014), The Brazen Shark (2016)

Brian Talbot
۞ The Grandville Series– Grandville (2005), Grandville Mon Amore (2006), Grandville Bete Noir (2012), Grandville Noel (2014)

Ichabod Temperance
۞ Icky tells me that his books can be read in any order, but feature the same central characters. I’ll be reviewing some of his books soon to stay tuned!
۞ A Matter of Temperance (2013)
۞ For the Love of Temperance (2013)
۞ A World of InTemperance (2013)
۞ A Study in Temperance (2014)
۞ In a Latitude of Temperance (2014)
۞ The Measure of Temperance (2014)
۞ The Seventh Voyage of Temperance

Lavie Tidhar
۞ The Bookman Histories Series:  The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2010), The Great Game (2012)

Steve Turnbill
۞ Mahila Anderson Series– Murder out of the Blue (2013), Blue Sky at Night (2014), Halo Around the Moon (2014), Wind in the East (2015), Thunder Over the Grass (2015)

Scott Westerfield
۞ Leviathan Series: Leviathan (2009), Behemoth (2010) and Goliath (2011)

April White
۞ Marking Time (2012)

Jean-Christophe Valtat
۞ The Mysteries of New Venice Series– Aurorarama (2010), Luminous Chaos (2013)

Chris Wooding
۞ Ketty Jay Series– Retribution Falls (2009), The Black Lung Captain (2010), The Iron Jackal (2011), The Ace of Skulls (2013)

Novels and Picture Books for Kids (of any age!)

Kit Cox (aka Major Jack Union)
۞ The Adventures of Benjamin Gaul Series- The Monster Hunter (2014), Smoke and Mirrors (2015)

G. D. Falksen
۞ A Cats Steampunk Alphabet

James Gurney
۞ Dinotopia- A Land Apart From Time

Leonardo Ramirez
۞ The Jupiter Chronicles: The Secret of the Great Red Spot

Graphic and Illustrated Novels

Hiromu Arakawa
۞ Full Metal Alchemist Series– 27 Volumes

Joe Benitz
۞ Lady Mechanika Series
۞ Girl Genius Series– Volumes 1-11
۞ There are also 2 Girl Genius Novels, Agatha H and the Airship City and Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess

Penny Blake
۞ Smith and Skarry (coming in 2015!)

K. L. Brooks
۞ Reese and Reeves Series- Overture (2014), Arpeggio (Visit the Kickstarter page!)

Matt Fraction and Steven Sanderson
۞ Five Fists of Science

Alan Moore
۞ The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Series– Vol. 1 (2000), Vol 2 (2003), Century 1910 (2009), Century 1969 (2011), Century 2009 (2012)

Brian Selznick
۞ The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)

Anthologies and Artwork
۞ Gaslight and Grimm
۞ Hot and Steamy: Tales of Steampunk Romance (2011)
۞ Steampunk (2008)
۞ Steampunk World (2015)
۞ The Art of Steampunk (2011)
۞ The Immersion Book of Steampunk (2011)

Reference Books and Collections of Essays

۞ Hustlers, Harlots and Heroes: A Steampunk and Regency Field Guide (2014)
۞ Steamdrunks: 101 Steampunk Cocktails and Mixed Drinks (2012)
۞ The Steampunk Bible (2011) and The Steampunk User’s Manual (2014)
۞ Steampunk: The Art of Victorian Futurism