Hot & Steamy
Tales of Steampunk Romance
edited by Jean Rabe & Martin H. Greenburg

DAW Books
June 2011 / ISBN 978-0-7564-0689-9
Science Fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

This collection of short stories by 16 authors blends the genres of steampunk and romance like a finely mixed cocktail of neon Blue Curarco and the finest champagne.

For those of you unfamiliar with steampunk, it is loosely defined as a mixture of science fiction, alternative history and, yes, steam power. Adding romance to the mix makes it just that much more fun. Having so many writers each try their hand aa this unorthodox marriage of genres makes for a very interesting, if somewhat bumpy, read. I do not intend for “bumpy” to be taken negatively. What I mean is that the stories are rather like a roller coaster, jumping in time and space from one place to another suddenly. I read the stories in order, and do believe that the editors did an admirable job of placing them in the correct sequence.

While I am tempted to single out a story or two and tell you more about them, it is my feeling that it would give too much away if I did so. Each reader will enjoy their own particular favorite stories and I don’t wish to cloud that with my own preferences. So for the purposes of this review, suffice it to say that the short stories are unique, colorful, and yes, quite often hot and steamy.

You’ll discover scientific ideas with interesting twists; romances that appear out of nowhere and unexpected insights as you read about people who touch your heart with their own heart’s problems, be they of the romantic sort or the physical sort.

The authors included in this anthology include Michael A Stackpole, Maurice Broaddus, Tobias S. Buckell and the acclaimed Jody Lyn Nye, as well as C A Verstraete to name just a handful. Very talented authors contributed to this book, and I do highly recommend it to fans of both romance novels and the steampunk genre. I also recommend it to people looking to break out of the cycle of the usual types of books they read who want to try something truly new and exciting.