Steampunk

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What is Steampunk?

Steampunk is a science‑fiction and speculative‑history sub-genre imagining an alternate past (usually the 19th century) in which advanced technology is powered by steam, clockwork, and Victorian‑era engineering. Often described as “elegant machinery and anarchic adventure,” Steampunk stories explore societies transformed by retro‑futuristic inventions, with characters, inventors, and rogues navigating worlds where brass, gears, and steam drive both progress and social conflict.

Steampunk characteristics include:

Alternate historical or Victorian‑inspired settings where steam power and clockwork tech are dominant
Visible, mechanical technology: brass, gears, pressure gauges, airships, clockwork prosthetics, and elaborate contraptions
Characters who are inventors, engineers, explorers, artisans, or social outsiders familiar with mechanical craft
Aesthetic influences from Victorian fashion, gaslight streets, and period design mixed with imaginative machinery
Themes exploring industrialization, class disparity, the ethics of invention, nostalgia for craftsmanship, and questions about progress versus human cost