Coffee Bean Bookshelf

I'm not really sure WHAT to think about this. First, this is my first time reading steampunk. Second, this is my first time reading short stories. I (mistakenly) thought that the best way to dive into steampunk would be to read it bits at a time. But, I'm not really sure that ALL of these stories would be classified as steampunk.

I'm finding it hard to rate this as a whole, though, since I did enjoy about half of the stories, so I guess I'll rate them that way:

1 - Rude Mechanicals by Lesley Livingston (3 stars) - I was a bit confused by this one...a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable nonetheless.

3 - Wild Magic by [a:Ann Aguirre|835348|Ann Aguirre|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1275442049p2/835348.jpg] (5 stars) - Another one that I really enjoyed...obviously with a bit of magic in it (which I don't usually like), but I liked the characters and the idea of the story, I was sad when it ended.

4 - Deadwood by Michael Scott (4 stars) - This one screamed steampunk. I liked it, for the most part...I just found bits of it hard to believe (as if a 16-year-old girl could do what she did when nobody else in the history of Deadwood could). I was willing to give that a pass, though, and then the last 2 sentences of the story brought it back down to a 4 star.

5 - Code of Blood by [a:Dru Pagliassotti|1058653|Dru Pagliassotti|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1260752228p2/1058653.jpg] (4 stars) - This one was probably one of the most entertaining and unique of the stories in the book. What brought it down to 4 stars for me was that many of the words were in Italian and I had a hard time figuring out what was going on for about half the story.

6 - The Clockwork Corset by [a:Adrienne Kress|777907|Adrienne Kress|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1325978138p2/777907.jpg] (5 stars) - LOVED this one. Everything about it is steampunk. EVERYTHING. I loved, loved, loved it. It ended too soon for me, it could have been a (short) novel...

7 - The Airship Gemini by [a:Jaclyn Dolamore|3009541|Jaclyn Dolamore|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1250436377p2/3009541.jpg] (1 star) - This one was just bizarre...it could have been good, I actually was enjoying it until halfway through, when there was a BIG revelation that just made me mad. I'm OK with bizarre, but this was just...too far.

8 - Under Amber Skies by [a:Maria V. Snyder|445303|Maria V. Snyder|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224476079p2/445303.jpg] (4 stars) - Again, another great story. This one had me very excited, but ended strangely. Honestly, if some of these authors had just fleshed their stories out a bit more and finished them properly, they'd have been very successful novels.

9 - King of the Greenlight City by [a:Tessa Gratton|3111338|Tessa Gratton|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1328563756p2/3111338.jpg] (3 stars) - This one was just OK for me...it had good stuff in it, but I didn't really relate it to steampunk so much, except for the clockwork carousel horse mentioned a couple times. I believed the story for the most part, but it ended weird.

10 - The Emperor's Man by [a:Tiffany Trent|345572|Tiffany Trent|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1279853483p2/345572.jpg] (2 stars) - Interesting premise, but flawed in the execution. Not really very steampunk, in my opinion, except for this mysterious heart that got them to the strange land.

11 - Chuckie Hill's Badass Ride by [a:Dia Reeves|2885316|Dia Reeves|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1241028065p2/2885316.jpg] (1 star) - Terrible, terrible, terrible. Again, not really steampunk in my opinion. White aliens that get mistaken for the KKK, poorly written fight scenes, silly ending. Just all around bad.

12 - The Vast Machinery of Dreams by [a:Caitlin Kittredge|823146|Caitlin Kittredge|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1304116660p2/823146.jpg] (1 stars) - This is what happened: I had no idea what this story was about. Seriously. I was confused for the entirety.

13 - Tick, Tick Boom by [a:Kiersten White|3027554|Kiersten White|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1254205920p2/3027554.jpg] (2 stars) - This one had potential, but I guessed at the ending about halfway through.

So, I guess all those averaged out, the collection itself gets 3 stars...