"I defy you to find anything else that sounds quite like this..." The Tasty Fanzine ~ April 2010

For the uninitiated, steampunk can be a rather slippery concept to get to grips with. Below is a revealing explanation, courtesy of Major Tinker over at the Asylum:

Steampunk started as a joke. There was a movement in science fiction to write in a genre known as "Cyberpunk". When various writers began exploring similar concepts and ideas, but setting them in a pseudo-Victorian world, the term steampunk was jokingly coined. The name stuck, but even steampunks are constantly debating "well what is steampunk?" Like all communities however, steampunk has grown and developed a life of its own.

Steampunk now encompasses a wide variety of input from a highly creative and artistic community. It includes writers, musicians, dancers, sculptors, model makers, costume makers and a host of other disciplines and skills.  It has been summed up as, "can you imagine what things would be like if the Great Exhibition had never finished?" Or better, "what if the internal combustion engine had never been invented?"

Steampunks try to take some of the very best bits of the past and make them part of a bright future. They value good manners and polite conduct, and try to encourage this by setting an example for others. They think things should be made to a high quality and build to last - thus helping the environment. They value and encourage creativity and have been asked to collaborate in educational and arts projects across the country.  Whilst things are set in a pseudo-historical world which harks back to our Victorian heritage, they do not promote any of the inequalities of that past. Indeed theirs is deliberately an all inclusive community. You will find steampunks of all ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds. They also come from all walks of life - from students to academics and from comedians to solicitors.

Steampunk started as a science fiction genre but is now a community with its own fashions, music and tastes.  It's a community that enjoys socialising, often dressing up in steampunk clothes. They visit historical sites as well as enjoying music gigs and performances. Steampunks often make or modify everyday objects to fit the neo Victorian aesthetic. This could be making a wood and brass cabinet for your PC, or a mock raygun suitable for an adventure with Jules Verne.

As far as the public is concerned, steampunks are often mistaken for Victorian re-enactors. But since the community is looking at a science fiction future,  perhaps it should more accurately be called Victorian pre-enactors!  It's a difficult set of ideas to get across but, suffice it to say, followers of steampunk are perhaps simply a little eccentric and, in the words of Douglas Adams, "mostly harmless".

You will find some useful steampunk links in the links section of this site.