Introduction
When I first discovered science fiction, I was drawn to it by a sense of wonder. And of course there was the appeal of all the cool toys—ray guns and spaceships, robots and time machines, all the things my teenage life was sadly lacking. Steampunk has that same feeling of endless possibilities. What if things had turned out just a bit differently, or Jules Verne had been writing science fact instead of science fiction?
When it came time to propose the first anthology project for Zombies Need Brains press, Joshua Palmatier and I were immediately drawn to the idea of a steampunk project. Taking our inspiration from classic nineteenth century science fiction adventures stories, we asked authors to imagine what would happen when aliens discovered a Steampunk Earth. Would the first encounters be peaceful or violent? Would humanity emerge triumphant or be defeated? Would Earth even recognize the threat before it was too late?
We found a half-dozen authors who agreed to anchor the project, and inspirational cover art by Alex Broeckel. Then we solicited submissions to fill out the anthology. Choosing the final story list was incredibly difficult, we had far more good stories than we could use. In the end we narrowed it down to fourteen stories which best fit the original concept, while representing a range of settings and themes. You’ll find stories from bestselling authors to those making their professional debut. From steampunk cities to remote wildernesses, with stories ranging from light-hearted humor to horror, there’s something for everyone.
Enjoy!
Patricia Bray