Reviews
Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense by Nick Gevers, Jack Dann
m_is_for_awesome's review
3.0
My favourites from this anthology. Ranked individually.
"The Iron Shroud" by James Morrow. Good, atmospheric, left questions. 3/5
"Music, When Soft Voices Die" by Peter S. Beagle. Just loved it. 5/5
"The Shaddowwes Box" by Terry Dowling. Pretty good, a little narrow. Only passingly steampunk in my opinion. 3/5
"The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils" by Garth Nix. Very lovely story. 5/5
"The Jade Woman of the Luminous Star" by Sean Williams. Nice story, less Steampunk and more straight science fiction perhaps? 3/5
"Rose Street Attractors" by Lucius Shepard. Somewhat steampunk, as the supernatural elements are technologically influenced, and a good ghost story if a little unfinished. 3/5.
"The Iron Shroud" by James Morrow. Good, atmospheric, left questions. 3/5
"Music, When Soft Voices Die" by Peter S. Beagle. Just loved it. 5/5
"The Shaddowwes Box" by Terry Dowling. Pretty good, a little narrow. Only passingly steampunk in my opinion. 3/5
"The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils" by Garth Nix. Very lovely story. 5/5
"The Jade Woman of the Luminous Star" by Sean Williams. Nice story, less Steampunk and more straight science fiction perhaps? 3/5
"Rose Street Attractors" by Lucius Shepard. Somewhat steampunk, as the supernatural elements are technologically influenced, and a good ghost story if a little unfinished. 3/5.
lamusadelils's review
3.0
El título es engañoso, aquí no hay mucho steampunk en realidad. Lo que me agrada porque no soy muy fan del steampunk y mucho menos en historias cortas. Solo escogí este libro porque son autores que me gustan y es el mes del miedo.
A estas alturas ya no tengo que decir que en las antologías tienen sus buenas y malas historias, pero en este caso son algunas bastante buenas y el resto decentes. Y sin steampunk, afortunadamente.
A estas alturas ya no tengo que decir que en las antologías tienen sus buenas y malas historias, pero en este caso son algunas bastante buenas y el resto decentes. Y sin steampunk, afortunadamente.
bickleyhouse's review
4.0
As I've stated before, anyone who knows me well knows that I love short stories and ghost stories. So here is a book that was perfect for me! There's even a little bit of steampunk thrown in, to boot.
Ghosts by Gaslight has seventeen stories, all set in the Victorian/Edwardian era of England. While I can't say that any of them gave me chilling goosebumps, they were all good stories. Some of my favorites include: "Music, When Soft Voices Die," by Peter S. Beagle, in which a man inadvertently invents a device that allows people to hear voices from the past; "The Shaddowwes Box," by Terry Dowling, in which a man gets revenge on some who have wronged him, using a box that contains only darkness; "The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder," by Garth Nix, featuring Sherlock's little known brother, Magnus, and "Almost-Doctor Susan Shrike;" "Why I Was Hanged," by Gene Wolfe, in which a man is seduced by a "ghost" of a woman who isn't dead; "Smithers and the Ghosts of the Thar," by Robert Silverberg, in which some explorers discover a thriving civilization in the middle of the Thar desert, where time seems to move differently; "The Grave Reflection," by Marly Youmans, written after the style of Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which a ghostly apparition remains in reflective surfaces.
All in all, a great collection of ghostly stories, chosen by the editors.
Ghosts by Gaslight has seventeen stories, all set in the Victorian/Edwardian era of England. While I can't say that any of them gave me chilling goosebumps, they were all good stories. Some of my favorites include: "Music, When Soft Voices Die," by Peter S. Beagle, in which a man inadvertently invents a device that allows people to hear voices from the past; "The Shaddowwes Box," by Terry Dowling, in which a man gets revenge on some who have wronged him, using a box that contains only darkness; "The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder," by Garth Nix, featuring Sherlock's little known brother, Magnus, and "Almost-Doctor Susan Shrike;" "Why I Was Hanged," by Gene Wolfe, in which a man is seduced by a "ghost" of a woman who isn't dead; "Smithers and the Ghosts of the Thar," by Robert Silverberg, in which some explorers discover a thriving civilization in the middle of the Thar desert, where time seems to move differently; "The Grave Reflection," by Marly Youmans, written after the style of Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which a ghostly apparition remains in reflective surfaces.
All in all, a great collection of ghostly stories, chosen by the editors.
robyotter's review
2.0
This was more like "Victorian Ghost Stories," which is fine, but the title is misleading. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been expecting a steampunk element to the stories.
mackle13's review
I don't know why I keep falling for these anthologies, when I don't tend to have a good track record with them. Usually one or two of the short stories are good, and the rest of just meh or outright boring.
In this case - I didn't even finish them. I just stalled out and couldn't muster the energy or desire to continue. Especially since the "steampunk" elements are barely existent... and completely non-existent in some of the stories. Which, I could be down for a good ghost story now and again, but that's not what I was looking for in a book which promotes itself on the steampunk tailcoats.
Anyway-
The first two stories were lackluster, though 'The Iron Shroud' better than
Music, When Soft Voices Die' which was just boring.
'The Shaddowwes Box' was the best of the ones I read, and gave me hope that I could get through the set.
'The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodil Murders' was fun - introducing a more supernaturally inclined cousin to the Holmes brothers. Bit silly, but not bad.
'Why I Was Hanged' was ok, and the 'The Proving of Smollett Standforth' utterly failed to be suspenseful.
'The Jade Woman of the Luminous Star' is where I call it quits, and I never even got through the whole story.
I suppose I could've just skipped it and hopped stories until I found some likely looking ones... but I had got this to read for a suspenseful October book, and since it didn't really work on that account, and since I put it aside for awhile and it's now mid-November, I'm throwing in the towel.
Maybe I'll get it from the library again at some point in the future... but I highly doubt I'll bother.
In this case - I didn't even finish them. I just stalled out and couldn't muster the energy or desire to continue. Especially since the "steampunk" elements are barely existent... and completely non-existent in some of the stories. Which, I could be down for a good ghost story now and again, but that's not what I was looking for in a book which promotes itself on the steampunk tailcoats.
Anyway-
The first two stories were lackluster, though 'The Iron Shroud' better than
Music, When Soft Voices Die' which was just boring.
'The Shaddowwes Box' was the best of the ones I read, and gave me hope that I could get through the set.
'The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodil Murders' was fun - introducing a more supernaturally inclined cousin to the Holmes brothers. Bit silly, but not bad.
'Why I Was Hanged' was ok, and the 'The Proving of Smollett Standforth' utterly failed to be suspenseful.
'The Jade Woman of the Luminous Star' is where I call it quits, and I never even got through the whole story.
I suppose I could've just skipped it and hopped stories until I found some likely looking ones... but I had got this to read for a suspenseful October book, and since it didn't really work on that account, and since I put it aside for awhile and it's now mid-November, I'm throwing in the towel.
Maybe I'll get it from the library again at some point in the future... but I highly doubt I'll bother.
thiefofcamorr's review
5.0
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
Very engaging - I loved the visualisations these stories induced.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
Very engaging - I loved the visualisations these stories induced.
amyellerlewis's review
4.0
I am a fan of short stories, and of themed anthologies as a rule, and this was a very good one. While it's being presented as a book of Steampunk stories, it seems many of the contributing writers have only a rudimentary understanding of Steampunk as a set of aesthetics, which is what I think makes the collection so very interesting. Fantasy writers not known for their Steampunk aesthetic try their hand at some 19th Century Ghosts Stories with terrific results. Gene Wolfe has the very compelling "Why I Was Hanged", and John Harwood gives us "Face to Face" and darkly disturbing exploration of the Myth of the Fatal Book (one of my favorite tropes). And Peter Beagle's "Music, When the Soft Voices Die" was equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking.
Another reason I tend to like themed anthologies, is that it is a way I often discover new readers. "Kiss Me Deadly" introduced me to Caitlin Kittredge's "Iron Codex" series, and "The Eternal Kiss" gave me Holly Black's *tremendous* "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown". "Ghosts by Gaslight", too, introduced me to new (to me) writers from whom I am anxious to hear more: Theodora Goss (her "Christopher Raven" was lovely. Part allegory, part cautionary tale), and Margo Lanagan to name only two.
I was also interested to see how the Victorian tropes were used throughout -- authors made great use of both travelogues and correspondance.
I recommend this for lovers of dark and elegant stories -- there is not much here to truly keep you up at night, but sometimes an elegant shiver is what I want more.
Another reason I tend to like themed anthologies, is that it is a way I often discover new readers. "Kiss Me Deadly" introduced me to Caitlin Kittredge's "Iron Codex" series, and "The Eternal Kiss" gave me Holly Black's *tremendous* "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown". "Ghosts by Gaslight", too, introduced me to new (to me) writers from whom I am anxious to hear more: Theodora Goss (her "Christopher Raven" was lovely. Part allegory, part cautionary tale), and Margo Lanagan to name only two.
I was also interested to see how the Victorian tropes were used throughout -- authors made great use of both travelogues and correspondance.
I recommend this for lovers of dark and elegant stories -- there is not much here to truly keep you up at night, but sometimes an elegant shiver is what I want more.