80 Days of Venturesome steampunk, novel edition

August 11, 2018 9:42 PM

I was recently introduced to the delightful 80 Days, an iOs game I'd link to if I weren't on mobile. It has unexpected steampunk vibes. I'd love more like it. Needless to say, I will read the original.

This is not a genre I have been exposed to previously, so my requirements aren’t super narrow or anything. Adventurous, with likable protagonist in as little overt nastiness as possible, would be wonderful. Something of a “Victorian adventure,“ vibe would be fun, just to match the game, but is not strictly necessary. A nice Romance is a plus. Please show me your best airships and dirigibles. :-)

posted by Alensin to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

You might like Elizabeth Bear's Karen Memory. It's a feminist alternate-history Western-inspired action novel with dirigibles and steam-powered machinery of all kinds.
posted by kandinski at 5:18 AM on August 12, 2018

I highly recommend Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series. It is a steampunk alternate history of Victorian England where humans live side by side with highly civilized vampires and werewolves. It is full of adventure, mystery, and it is hilarious!
posted by Hanuman1960 at 7:03 AM on August 12, 2018

If you would like a gentle, shortish book, try Newt's Emerald, which I recall being a fun Regency adventure with some steampunk bits and a fairly PG rated romance.

Also on the more gentle side are the Lady Trent books, which focus somewhat more on dragons, but ticks your adventurous Regency romance box and they do have airships later on.

If you're willing to tolerate a degree of piratical grit, Retribution Falls is all about the airship combat and a motley crew of misfits. No real romance there, though.
posted by tautological at 1:31 PM on August 13, 2018