Posting with reference to the steampunk subgenre, as I did over the past two Mondays, made me reflect on some of the reads that are well regarded in the genre, which generally features mechanical and steam technology and an alternate Victoria age.

This post is my first stab at a list — but do add more through the comments. The only order is alphabetical (and all “The’s” are “silent”.)

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

The Clockwork Angel and sequels (Infernal Devices series) by Cassandra Clare

The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling

 Girl Genius Online —  the graphic novel series is available  three times a week at Girl Genius Online.

The Golden Compass and sequels (His Dark Materials series) by Philip Pullman.

Leviathan and sequels by Scott Westerfeld

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Phoenix Rising (and sequels in the A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series) by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Soulless (& Parasol Protectorate sequels) by Gail Carriger

So what else would you add to the list?

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series explores the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.

From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the posts traversed locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.

Now the series returns to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.)  The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new listings.

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Gray Lands:   the desolate plains that adjoin the Wall of Night
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The wind was blowing again, no longer a full Wall storm but driving in gusts, bringing dust and grit from the jagged peaks that towered above the Gray Lands.  It blew under the bivouac where the small band of fugitives lay hidden and shrilled around its perimeter.

~ The Heir Of Night: The Wall of Night Book One; Chapter 25 — The River Of No Return

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She turned away, but another voice spoke out of the heart of the cairn, ominous as distant thunder: “There is always a price … And now Winter’s heart lies buried in these gray lands, Winter’s blood soaked into barren ground.”

~ from ©  The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two; Chapter 32 — Cockcrow

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…[she] feared hunger and cold might prevent sleep, but was just nodding off when the wolf howled.

The sound jerked her upright, her heart pounding wildly for the second time that day. A wolf here, in the Gray Lands, she thought, shocked because Haarth’s larger predators, like their prey, rarely ventured so close to the Wall. She lay awake for a long time, tense with listening, but heard nothing more—although when sleep finally claimed her, a fiery-eyed wolf stalked through her dreams.

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 12 — The Lonely Grave

In last Monday’s post I mentioned the creation of the steampunk subgenre, largely credited to William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s The Difference Engine.

It’s a subgenre that loans itself to cosplay and the creation of personas, one of the most well-known being author Gail Carriger’s public image associated with tea, vintage clothes, and etiquette, consistent with her Parasol Protectorate series. In short, Gail—like her books 🙂 —is very stylish.

Which got me thinking, though, about whether it was important for an author to have a persona, either consistent with her/his genre or independent of it? So I thought I would ask what fellow readers and writers out there think. Is it important? Not important? Adds to the fun but is not essential? Or distracts from the serious business of writing and reading?

Colour me curious, I guess… But humour me, let me know your powerful thoughts on the topic! And more—share your favourite author persona! 😉

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This year, while concentrating on writing The Chaos Gate (working title—aka The Wall Of Night Book Four) I’ve resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, because :

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood simultaneously — in alphabetical order, of course! (The quotes will be the key to whether the character appears in both or only one of the books.)

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Bajan:  a Derai warrior of the House of Blood, hailing from Bronze Hold
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Another attacker staggered backward, doubled up over her stomach, and Myr finally saw the three beleaguered fighters at the center of the melee. Her hands flew to her mouth as she recognized Taly and Dab fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Bajan of Bronze Hold, their backs to the wall. They were outnumbered three or four to one, and as Myr watched, more assailants pushed forward.

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 23 — The Midnight Keep

Writing about Georgette Heyer as I did last Monday (and also on August 28) put me in mind of authors who have effectively kicked off their own genre or subgenre of literature.

Georgette Heyer certainly did so, generating the subgenre of the Regency romance via novels such as Friday’s Child and Cotillion. Her imitators are legion and in almost all cases, can only generate pale–and unsatisfying–shadows of the original (imho).

In June I did a guest post on Five Fabulous worlds of SFF for Shaun Duke of Skiffy and Fanty. In it I mentioned that Canadian novelist, William Gibson, had also created his own subgenre, that of Cyberpunk science fiction. Interestingly, Gibson is also credited with kicking off another subgenre, together with Bruce Sterling — that of Steampunk, through their novel The Difference Engine. Steampunk is a blend of fantasy and SF. Many other authors have written in both subgenres, particularly Steampunk, with some really great reads as a result.

Some may cite ER Edison’s The Worm Ourubous, but while it is unquestionably a forerunner, I would argue that it was JRR Tolkien‘s classic The Lord Of The Rings that really kicked off the Epic Fantasy subgenre—in which, of course, many very fine authors have written some wonderful series … 😉 And long may it continue, say I!

And then there’s Louisa May Alcott, whose famous novel Little Women (which will be 160 years old next year) effectively pioneered what we think of as Young Adult literature. So not just a subgenre in this case, but a whole class of literature. Go Louisa!

Going further back, the contemporary Horror genre is generally traced back to Horace Walpole‘s The Castle of Otranto (1764.) However, when it comes to the Monster subgenre, the palm must go to Mary Shelley with the publication of Frankenstein in 1818. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history…

Coming a little further forward in time, I also feel that George Tompkyns Chesney’s 1871 novella The Battle of Dorking deserves a mention, mainly as the beginning of Invasion fiction and as a precursor of contemporary Science Fiction.  Subsequent titles in the Invasion subgenre include works as diverse as HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds and John Marsden’s  Tomorrow When The War Began.

So that’s my initial list—but how about you? Have you any subgenre or genre creators to share? If so, I’d love to learn about them in the comments. 🙂

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series explores the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth—including those that exist in the psychic and supernatural realms.

From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the posts traversed locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.

Now the series returns to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.)  The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new listings.

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Grayharbor: port and northenmost town between the River and the Wall of Night
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Malian narrowed her eyes at the flock of starlings swirling across the sky behind his head, a sure sign that evening was drawing in.  “The Band has eyes-and-ears amongst the caravans that journey to the Border Mark, and also in the Grayharbor warehouses that specialize in the Wall trade.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two, Chapter 27 — Rumor and Doubt

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The three hooded figures came up Grayharbor’s Sailcloth Street just as the rain swept in off the sea for the second time that day. The deluge brought a swirl of leaves and rubbish down the deep gutters on either side of the cobbled thoroughfare and all three leapt for the portico of Seruth’s temple where Faro had taken shelter. He heard one of the strangers curse as his boot came down in the flood. The fine black leather was soaked in an instant and the man cursed again as he followed his companions into the porch. Faro moved further back, into the corner closest to the temple door, wary of the long black cloaks and deep hoods that did not fall back even when the newcomers sprang for shelter. They were carrying swords, too. He recognized the shape of hilt and scabbard beneath their cloaks and knew that likely meant other weapons as well.

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 2 — The Serpent Prince

Relatively recently, on August 28, I mentioned Georgette Heyer’s Friday’s Child and also observed that: “I’ve certainly smiled and even laughed outright a good deal when reading Georgette Heyer’s historical romances…possibly more than with any other author…”

In short, although Georgette Heyer will never be recognised as a literary great, I think she rocks as a storyteller and here are a few reasons why:

1. Although Heyer’s novels are generally lighthearted fun, her historical research is impeccable and this research grounds her stories in a sense of the real that gives them considerable authenticity.
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2. The sort of humour that keeps you smiling as you read and laughing out loud from time to time is a gift that few authors possess—but together with the historical research, it’s the magic ingredient that makes Heyer stand head and shoulders above her many imitators.
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3. She has a real gift for dialogue, particularly witty repartee between characters, and uses her research to introduce slang phrases from the era, including thieves’ cant. The former keeps the story spinning along, the latter helps build the authenticity discussed under 1.
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4. Heyer always writes great characters, even if quite a few of them are “stock” in type, and even her minor characters come alive on the page: quite an art.
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5. Although her books are lighthearted overall and always considerable elements of fun, Heyer also has sufficient depth to her characters and just enough gravitas to ensure there is substance to the read, without weighing the reader down.

So when the going gets tough and it’s time for a comfort read, a Georgette Heyer novel, with one or two exceptions, is always to be relied upon.

Some of my favourites include:

The Masqueraders
The Talisman Ring
These Old Shades
The Corinthian
The Grand Sophy
Faro’s Daughter
Friday’s Child
Cotillion
Sylvester
A Civil Contract
Frederica
The Nonesuch

“Gleamy as”

Those of you who spend time on Twitter will know that coffee (or perhaps I should say “coh-fe-fe” 😉 ), together with cat photos and gifs, is an essential part of the writing life.

Coffee, of course, has form in this respect since the 18th century coffee houses first provided focal points for literary discussion.

So I thought I would share the good news that my life literaire is back on track with a brand new and very (like Tirael in Daughter of Blood) gleamy stovetop coffee maker. 🙂

And prove it with a photo of both the new “shiny” (as the Buffy ‘verse would have it) and the very first brew — which was excellent, by the way. (Like all the others since.)

Let’s hope it proves to be ambrosia for the Muses as well as the author, scribbling and sipping in the metaphorical garret. 🙂

Mmmm, delicious…

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This year, I’ve resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series — because “I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood simultaneously — in alphabetical order, of course! (The quotes will be the key to whether the character appears in both or only one of the books.)

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Audin Sondargent:  a young Emerian knight, nephew to the Duke of Emer
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Audin looked from one to the other as the captain strode away. His smile was pleasant, although his gaze, too, was measuring. “We had best be on our way if we are to reach Normarch before midnight. Although we should have good light once the moon rises, since it’s near full. Come with me, Maister Carick, and we’ll get you that horse.”

“Just Carick will do,” said Carick, limping after him. He had stiffened badly while they talked.

“Carick, then,” said Audin, with a quick smile. “Oi, Hamar! Bring out Mallow for Carick here. And bring your own horse with her. You, too, Raher. We are to escort our friends here back to Normarch.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two, Chapter 12 — Nightfall

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The only weapon [Kalan] would not trade was the dagger that Lord Falk had given him, on the first anniversary of his arrival at Normarch. It was a fine weapon, with a blade of damascened Ishnapuri steel, a ball of Winter Country amber for a pommel, and Lord Falk’s own red fox device stamped into the scabbard. Along with the oak-tree buckle Audin had given Kalan for his last birthday, and the yellow tourney favor bearing Ghiselaine of Ormond’s lily insignia, the dagger lay at the bottom of his travel roll. All three were wrapped into waterproof cloth and stitched closed—underlining that the Emerian life, like Kalan’s armor, belonged in the past.

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 5 — Blood Warrior

Photo Credit: Roger Czerneda Photography

Last week I hosted a guest post from award-winning speculative fiction author, Julie E Czerneda, with not one but two giveaways — the first was fully international and organised through my blog; the second is US only and run via the Penguin Random House website. (So if you were eligible for that, please keep checking there for the result details.)

In respect of Giveaway #1 — for a hardcover copy of the new-out To Guard Against The Dark and a mass-market paperback of This Gulf of Time and Stars — firstly I’d just like to thank you all for your fabulous comments.

It’s so nice to see some genuine author / reader interaction through the comments. So a big hand from me to all of thee, and to Julie, for that. 🙂

And now, as promised, we have the draw result for Giveaway #1 — and the winner is [pauses for Drum Roll and Trumpet Fanfare]:

Zara

Congratulations, Zara!

I’ll be emailing you directly, too, but ‘just in case’ you can also get in contact with me via my webmail: contact[at]helenlowe[dot]info