Here we go with another list of “books I like.” This one is Steampunk and Gaslamp (think: alternate history with magic or advanced tech). When I first decided to do a post in this category, I thought I wouldn’t have much to offer you that I liked. Then I finished classifying books as steampunk and discovered I have 144 rated! Here are my favorites.
As ever, my suggestions for age groups are loose. Within age groups, they are listed in random order.
Middle Grade
The League of Seven series, by Alan Gratz
Larklight, by Phillip Reeve
City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau (there’s a series, but the first one is by far the best and better than the movie)
Mysteries of Cove series, by J. Scott Savage
Young Adult
The Cecilia & Kate series, by Patricia C. Wrede
Frontier Magic series, by Patricia C. Wrede
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series, by Theodora Goss
The Iron Fey series (plural), by Julie Kagawa
The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare (Fair warning: I got tired of the world after the first series or two. Please don’t throw tomatoes.)
Incarceron series, by Catherine Fisher
Storm Thief, by Chris Wooding
Finishing School series, by Gail Carriger (warning: some of her other series are adult, and I do mean adult)
Monster Blood Tattoo series, by D.M. Cornish
Rebel Mechanics series, by Shanna Swendson
Leviathan series, by Scott Westerfield
Howl’s Moving Castle, by Dianna Wynne Jones
The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson (Hey, Brandon, where’s the next one??)
Stoker and Holmes series, by Colleen Gleason
The Elemental Trilogy, by Sherry Thomas
Adult
The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison (honestly, I didn’t think of this one as steampunk, but I guess it is). I recommend you flip to the back and find the explanation of names BEFORE you start the book.
Steampunk Proper Romance series, by Nancy Allen Campbell
The Silvered, by Tanya Huff
Raising Steam, by Terry Pratchett (the rest of his aren’t really steampunk, but they’re generally hilarious)
Mistborn series (plural, sort of), by Brandon Sanderson
The Fall of Ile-Rien series, by Martha Wells
Glamourist Histories series, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Regency romance with magic)
Since most of those are series, you should have enough to read for at least a few days. 🙂
Happy reading,
M. C. Lee
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