Steampunk Specs
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Narrated by:
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Tom Dheere
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Vanessa Hart
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Nancy Linari
About this listen
This collection of unabridged, spectacular steampunk speculations includes several classics of the genre. These tales will sweep you away with their amazing automata, daring dirigibles, grinding gears, and scintillating steam as days gone by are infused with tech. In "Smoke City," by Christopher Barzak, a woman comes to terms with the loss of her family to the child labor mills of the city. A doctor tries to cope with a strange plague terrorizing the citizens of London in Jeffrey Ford's "Dr. Lash Remembers." In "Machine Maid," by Margo Lanagan, a sexually repressed wife gets revenge on her husband through a robot maid. Friedrich Engels strives to spread class revolution as a labor organizer for factory cyborg matchstick girls in "Arbeitskraft," by Nick Mamatas. In "Ninety Thousand Horses," by Sean McMullen, an acclaimed mathematician, with a murky past, is forced to spy for an industrialist prior to becoming Britain's foremost rocket expert during World War II. An orphan boy builds an automaton, in an aging scientist's laboratory, that becomes more than an idle companion in Cherie Priest's "Tanglefoot (A Clockwork Century Story)." In "Clockwork Fairies," by Cat Rambo, an English aristocrat courts a woman who would rather spend time in a laboratory than at high society balls. At Chicago's Columbian Exposition, in 1893, an Algerian bodyguard crosses paths with a disoriented naked man in Chris Roberson's "Edison's Frankenstein." In "A Serpent in the Gears," by Margaret Ronald, a dirigble journeys to an isolated land and discovers people and animals merged with machine parts. Radio Jones finds a way to listen in on the Naked Brains, who rule the world, while Rudy the Red fights against the oppressors in "Zeppelin City" by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn.
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Angelmaker
- By: Nick Harkaway
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Joe Spork repairs clocks, a far cry from his late father, a flashy London gangster. But when Joe fixes one particularly unusual device, his life is suddenly upended. Joe's client, Edie Banister, is more than just a kindly old lady - she's a former superspy. And the device? It's a 1950s doomsday machine. And having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the government and a diabolical South Asian dictator, Edie's old arch-nemesis.
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A cure for the modern cynic
- By Maine Colonial 🌲 on 08-28-12
By: Nick Harkaway
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The Romanov Conspiracy
- A Thriller
- By: Glenn Meade
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Laura Pavlov, an American forensic archaeologist, is about to unravel a mystery that promises to solve one of the twentieth century’s greatest enigmas. Dr. Pavlov is a member of an international team digging on the outskirts of the present-day Russian city of Ekaterinburg, where the Romanov royal family was executed by their captors in July 1918. When Pavlov discovers two bodies perfectly preserved in permafrost in a disused mine shaft, they offer dramatic new clues to the disappearance of the Romanovs and, in particular, their famous daughter, Princess Anastasia, whose murder has always been shrouded in doubt.
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Ho- Hum
- By monet on 10-03-12
By: Glenn Meade
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The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack
- Burton & Swinburne, Book 1
- By: Mark Hodder
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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Sir Richard Francis Burton and Algernon Charles Swinburne are sucked into the perilous depths of a moral and ethical vacuum when Lord Palmerston commissions Burton to investigate assaults on young women committed by a weird apparition known as Spring Heeled Jack - and to find out why werewolves are terrorizing London's East End.
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Fun Steampunk but on the outlandish side
- By Robert L. on 02-08-12
By: Mark Hodder
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The Sky Is Yours
- A Novel
- By: Chandler Klang Smith
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In the burned-out, futuristic city of Empire Island, three young people navigate a crumbling metropolis constantly under threat from a pair of dragons that circle the skies. When violence strikes, reality star Duncan Humphrey Ripple V, the spoiled scion of the metropolis' last dynasty; Baroness Swan Lenore Dahlberg, his tempestuous, death-obsessed betrothed; and Abby, a feral beauty he discovered tossed out with the trash; are forced to flee everything they've ever known.
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a hot mess
- By Alison on 04-09-19
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The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown
- A Novel
- By: Paul Malmont
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1943, when the United States learns that Germany is on the verge of a deadly innovation that could tip the balance of the war, the government turns to an unlikely source for help: the nation’s top science fiction writers. Installed at a covert military lab within the Philadelphia Naval Yard are the most brilliant of these young visionaries. The unruly band is led by Robert Heinlein, the dashing and complicated master of the genre. His “Kamikaze Group,” is tasked with transforming the wonders of science fiction into science fact....
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Pulp Perfection!
- By Jim N on 08-31-12
By: Paul Malmont
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Six of Crows
- By: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder, Brandon Rubin, Fred Berman, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.
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7 Narrators, But That's Not a Good Thing
- By KM on 03-18-16
By: Leigh Bardugo
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The Monstrumologist
- By: Rick Yancey
- Narrated by: Steven Boyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Warthrop is a scientist who tracks and studies real-life monsters. Assisted by his 12-year-old apprentice, Will Henry, Dr. Warthrop discovers a pod of Anthropophagi and launches a hunt to destroy the foul beasts.
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Reader Be Warned
- By Eddie on 01-25-15
By: Rick Yancey
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The Mangle Street Murders
- The Gower Street Detectives, Book 1
- By: M. R. C. Kasasian
- Narrated by: Lindy Nettleton
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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After her father dies, March Middleton has to move to London to live with her guardian, Sidney Grice, the country's most famous private detective. It is 1882, and London is at its murkiest yet most vibrant, wealthiest yet most poverty-stricken. No sooner does March arrive than a case presents itself: A young woman has been brutally murdered, and her husband is the only suspect.
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Witty and clever British mystery
- By Kathi on 03-22-14
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Lady of Devices: A Steampunk Adventure Novel
- Magnificent Devices, Book 1
- By: Shelley Adina
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire's talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It's not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices...
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Was it really just one book divided into four?
- By Kitty Lagorio on 03-16-14
By: Shelley Adina
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The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
- By: Jess Faraday
- Narrated by: Philip Battley
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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London, 1889. For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard's blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone's after it, including Ira's bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus.
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Brilliant book, Phenomenal audio experience!
- By 'Nathan on 04-24-13
By: Jess Faraday
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Airborn
- By: Kenneth Oppel
- Narrated by: David Kelly
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.
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Fantastic!
- By Ashley on 04-19-11
By: Kenneth Oppel
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A Most Extraordinary Pursuit
- By: Juliana Gray
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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February, 1906. As the personal secretary of the recently departed duke of Olympia - and a woman of scrupulous character - Miss Emmeline Rose Truelove never expected her duties to involve steaming through the Mediterranean on a private yacht, under the prodigal eye of one Lord Silverton, the most charmingly corrupt bachelor in London. But here they are, improperly bound on a quest to find the duke's enigmatic heir, current whereabouts unknown. Maximilian Haywood was last seen at an archaeological dig on the island of Crete.
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This Book Would Have Been A Hot Mess...
- By Alexis on 10-06-16
By: Juliana Gray
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The Constantine Affliction
- A Pimm and Skye Adventure, Book 1
- By: T. Aaron Payton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1864, and London is a city in transition. The Constantine Affliction - a strange malady that kills some of its victims and physically transforms others into the opposite sex - has spread scandal and upheaval throughout society. Scientific marvels and disasters, such as clockwork courtesans, the alchemical fires of Whitechapel, electric carriages, and acidic monsters lurking in the Thames, have forever altered the face of the city.
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A Mash-Up that Gels into a Rollicking Adventure
- By Tango on 08-09-14
By: T. Aaron Payton
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Phoenix Rising
- A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel
- By: Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Evil is most assuredly afoot - and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade... and a librarian. These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences - the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling - will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest...
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Great Steampunk - worth a listen
- By DarkFish on 05-11-12
By: Pip Ballantine, and others
What listeners say about Steampunk Specs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Troy
- 09-25-13
Short Trips into Fun
The nice thing about anthologies is that they're a great way to explore an unfamiliar genre, learn about authors you might be unfamiliar with, and to get some fun stories that don't require a full-length investment. If it turns out you don't like a story, move on to the next one without feeling like you've wasted your time.
This particular anthology didn't have any disappointing stories for me, and there were a couple that really stood out for me, so on the whole I'd say this venture was well worth my credit. The stories were well-crafted and well-told, and the performances served largely to improve them. The couple that stood out... they REALLY stood out for me and pushed this from a 3-star to a 4-star rating. There's a lot of fun here, but there are also some decidedly darker twists that I didn't expect, the kind of thing that haunts the reader that lingers on it a bit too long. Sometimes it's surprising how much punch a short story can have.
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- Craig Hurley
- 08-21-19
A few great stories
Not all of these stories were my steamed cup of tea. Maybe I am not privy to stories laden with emotion and woke tales, as many who fancy these tropes. The performances were stellar nonetheless. Dabbling from dripping tales of heavy clockwork miracles and tales of the times to fairies and magical sorcery, these stories do somehow string together for this volume.
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- L. Tagrin
- 08-22-15
Uneven anthology with no underlying theme
Since there's nothing that binds these stories together, I will write a short review of each story:
Tanglefoot - Cherie Priest
This story fits into the alternative Civil War history first explored in Boneshaker and has elements of Frankentein, a belief in changelings, and posession. It's easy to immerse yourself in the setting, especially since the author provides a quick summary of the salient points up front.
Ninety Thousand Horses- Sean McMullen
Told in flashback, this is a fascinating story with an alternative view of the original development of rocket technology as a way to increase the speed of a railway.
Arbitescalf - Nick Mamatas
This is an alternative history of the worst abuses of the industrial age in terms of child labor taught from the viewpoint of Frederick Engles and the completion of thenext volume of Das Capital.
Machine Maid - Margo Lanagan
It's a long, pointless riff on a woman's sexual hangups. There isn't a single character in this story worth the time it takes to read about it. Unless you are a woman who hates both men and heteralsexual sex, this story is a total waste.
A serpent in the Gears - Margaret Ronald
An exploration of Cyborgs and society. I found this to be a carefully constructed, thoughtful story exploring clockwork cyborgs and their places in multiple societies viewed through the lens of an airship-based expedition from one society to another and told through the viewpoint of an enigmatic character whose full identity isn't disclosed until late in the story.
Dr. Lash Remembers - Jeffry Ford
If you're into hoplessness, this is for you.
Zeppelin City - Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn
This was the most polished, well-plotted story in the collection. A tightly woven story which excels in demonstrating the "Show, don't tell" rule of great writing and seamlessly transitions among three viewpoints to tell a single story.
Edison's Frankenstein - Chris Roberson
In Roberson's story the discovery of a new element called "Promethium" is the key to his setting. Promethium tanks ended the civil war at the Battle of Bull Run and William Cody is running a wild west show at the Columbian exposition. Since Promethium provided cheap, unlimited energy, the development of electricity was short circuited" and Thomas Edison was a minor engineer struggling to make electricity profitable, while Tesla was a minor science fiction writer. The title gives away the punch line, which is telegraphed throughout. The elements of the setting overwhelms the story. This author engages in long stretches of pointless exposition and is, quite frankly, boring. All through the story I was imagining how I would do it better, which is not a good reaction for an author too impose on a reader. While the Swanwick/Gunn story was a triumph of "Show, don't tell," this was a case study in failure to heed that dictum.
Smoke City - Christopher Barzak
This is more of a Lovecraftian set piece than a Steampunk story. It's hard to care at all for the first person point of view character, or anyone else, for that matter.
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- 🔥 Phx17 🔥
- 07-28-24
Overwhelmingly depressing or dull
As much as I love steampunk, this collection of ten stories was disappointing. True, these stories are heavy on steampunk and industrial period science, but they are also heavy on depressing themes of oppression, pollution and corruption. Women in particular repeatedly get hit with the hard end of the authors’s sticks. Did any of these have a happy ending? Could even one offer action, humor, or heart? Sadly, no.
There were only three stories that engaged me, and only mildly so. I was also annoyed at the lack of a Table of Contents, especially given there are twenty six chapters for ten stories.
1) Ch1 Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest - boy builds a playmate
2) Ch3 90,000 Horses by Sean McCullen - FMC in smoker’s voice is a paranoid scientist
3) Ch6 Arbitescalf by Nick Mamatas - clockwork girls as slave labor
4) Ch11 Machine Maid by Margo Lanagem - man-hating wife discovers clockwork sex doll- graphic
5) C14 A Serpent in the Gears by Margaret Ronald - steampunk espionage and even a little action ⭐️
6) Ch16 Dr. Lash Remembers by Jeffrey Ford - steampunk horror ⭐️
7) Ch17 Zepplin City by Michael Swanwick, Eileen Gunn - endless blah blah mechanical talk
8) Ch21 Edison’s Frankenstein by Chris Robinson - nothing new
9) Ch23 Smoke City by Christopher Barzak - more steampunk horror
10) Ch25 Clockwork Faeries by Cat Rambo - sly, satirical and yes, steampunk ⭐️
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- Skycaptain1883
- 03-19-19
A really fun steampunk anthology.
Excellent variety of well-thought-out well assembled steampunk stories for any enthusiast. Maybe the only complaint I have is that the stories are so good I’d love to see them turned into novels. Excellent book, highly recommend
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- J. Brand
- 09-29-13
No decent stories
What disappointed you about Steampunk Specs?
Most of the stories are just porn. I don't understand how you can sell sex stories as actual short stories.
What do you think your next listen will be?
Mansfield Park
What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?
There were too many narrators. A few of the narrators used horrible accents but then dropped the accent randomly.
What character would you cut from Steampunk Specs?
Most of the characters were flat and predictable.
Any additional comments?
Don't bother with this book!
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