Start Here
A civil introduction to steampunk
No prior knowledge assumed, no goggles required. Four short routes to take you from “what is this?” to “where do I start?” without the usual cosplay lecture.
The short answer
Steampunk is a retro-futurist genre and aesthetic that imagines steam-age technology, Victorian or Victorian-inspired societies, alternate histories, automata, airships, brass machinery and rebellious futures that never were.
What Is Steampunk?
The plain-English definition, the argument behind it, and why the goggles are the least interesting part.
Read on Begin hereThe Ages of Steampunk
Five eras of the genre, from Frankenstein’s laboratory to the frozen survival cities of now.
Read on Begin hereSteampunk vs Gaslamp, Clockpunk & Dieselpunk
A field guide to the neighbours, so you can tell a cog from a carburettor.
Read on Begin hereStart Reading, Watching or Playing
Hand-picked first steps that will not drown a newcomer in brass.
Read onGentle first steps
Beginner-friendly entries
Eight titles chosen because they welcome newcomers rather than testing them at the door.
Proto-Steampunk / Borderland Work
Around the World in Eighty Days
Verne's race around the globe is not pure steampunk, but its trains, steamships and imperial timetable helped shape the genre's map.
Proto-Steampunk / Vernean / Scientific Romance
The Time Machine
H. G. Wells's The Time Machine is not brass-bound steampunk, but its machine, social bite and Morlocks haunt the genre.
Proto-Steampunk / Vernean / Scientific Romance
The War of the Worlds
Wells's Martian invasion is proto-steampunk by ancestry: tripods, imperial reversal and terrible machines stalking late Victorian England.
Core Anime Steampunk
Castle in the Sky
Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky is core anime steampunk, full of air pirates, Laputa, lost technology and skyward adventure.
Core Steampunk
The Difference Engine
Gibson and Sterling's The Difference Engine is a core steampunk landmark, imagining a Babbage-powered Victorian information revolution.
Dieselpunk-adjacent
Porco Rosso
Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso is dieselpunk-adjacent anime of seaplanes, air pirates, interwar melancholy and flying romance.
Alchemy / Dieselpunk-Steampunk Adjacent
Fullmetal Alchemist
Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist is alchemical manga with automail, militarised science and diesel-steam adjacency.
Post-apocalyptic Steampunk
Mortal Engines
Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines is essential YA steampunk, imagining post-apocalyptic traction cities and mobile London.