This past week I've been reading an anthology of Dieselpunk stories. Dieselpunk is analogous to Steampunk. Where on constructs a retro-futuristic view onto the Victorian Era, the other focuses a little later, mostly between WWI and WWII. This era had a very active science fiction field to begin with, so there might be some weird echoes.
Anyway, some of the stories were better than others. I'd have to note that even in the very good ones, the science tends toward the soft. But the way I worded that previous sentence might seem to imply that that bothers me, which it doesn't.
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Naturally enough, having been something of a long-time fan of sci-fi novels, I tried to think of one that could be described as Dieselpunk and couldn't. Maybe a couple of P.K. Dick's novels might pass for that but I'm not sure. The Mad Max movies, maybe? It appears that I may have missed that genre almost entirely.
I've enjoyed reading hard sci-fi much more, especially those that have convincing scientific premises, but I get bored if the writer isn't good with characters. That above all else is what makes any story worth reading - that and having an interesting plot.
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btw: I came across this video of a musical train that you might enjoy too. It's quite a stunning accomplishment.
It's a pretty new subgenre, and one that I've heard/read about more than I've actually read it. Which is why I looked into this book, essentially. I'd hesitate to call Philip K. Dick books anything other than Philip K. Dick books, but some of his stuff might be a precursor: Man in the High Castle, say. The Mad Max movies wouldn't have much to do with it. If I were to point to a movie it would be Brazil.
A writer having a grip on character is certainly key. Whether that or plot is more crucial I'm not sure. To some degree a matter of personal preference. Atmosphere helps as well.
That glass harmonica train was pretty jaw-dropping. No way could I keep track of how many songs it played.
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