Ghosts By Gaslight
Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense
Edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers

Harper Voyager / HarperCollins
September 6, 2011/ 9780061999710
Horror
Amazon

Reviewed by Jan Fields

In this collection of seventeen ghost stories, the authors bring forth haunted houses, haunted people, and horrifying steampunk machines with ghastly effect. The setting and voice of each is distinctly Victorian. This was an age where men of science and reason expected to be able to solve any mystery, so the characters in these stories are using the wonders of Victorian technology -- clockwork, steam, and magical electricity (with special nods to the work of Tesla) -- to explore spiritual questions as well. Can you trap the soul of the departed? Can you reanimate that dead?

Can you listen in to the voices of the afterlife? As we might imagine, the results are never good, but often deliciously creepy. I loved the nods to Poe and Dickens in several of the stories -- the slow decent into madness of a mind that is certain it is being completely scientific and rational, and the horrifying effects on the spirit of the crushing poverty of much of the population. These are not quick reads, but they're stories you'll find yourself pondering long after the book is closed. Every story was enjoyable, and some were simply brilliant. If you don't mind dipping into voices from the past, this book is well worth the effort.