100 Best Steampunk Books of All Time

We've ranked the best steampunk books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

1

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)

Gail Carriger

5.0
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations.

First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous,
Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) book cover2

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)

Cassandra Clare

5.0
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soo
Changeless (Parasol Protectorate, #2) book cover3

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate, #2)

Gail Carriger

4.9
Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol,
4

Leviathan (Leviathan, #1)

Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson

4.9
Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn'
Timeless (Parasol Protectorate, #5) book cover5

Timeless (Parasol Protectorate, #5)

Gail Carriger, Emily Gray, et al

4.8
Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a dampener on Alexia's e
6

Blameless (Parasol Protectorate, #3)

Gail Carriger

4.8
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season in the third book of the NYT bestselling Parasol Protectorate series.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical
7

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2)

Cassandra Clare

4.8
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark
8

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)

Cassandra Clare

4.8
Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless auto
9

Heartless (Parasol Protectorate, #4)

Gail Carriger

4.8
Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time
10

Behemoth (Leviathan, #2)

Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson

4.7
The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disas
11

Goliath (Leviathan, #3)

Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson

4.7
Alek and Deryn are abroad the Leviathan when the ship is ordered to pick up an unusual passenger. This brilliant/maniacal inventor claims to have a weapon called Goliath that can end the war. But whose side is he really on?

While on their top-secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn's deeply kept secret. Two, actually. Not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy...she has feelings for Alek.

The
12

Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School, #2)

Gail Carrige

4.7
Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy--won't Mumsy be surprised? Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intr
The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1) book cover13

The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1)

Jim Butcher

4.6
Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors…

Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled
14

Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)

Cherie Priest

4.6
In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroyi
15

The Iron Duke (Iron Seas, #1)

Meljean Brook

4.6
After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power - and fear - of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

But when Mina uncovers the victim's identit
16

The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

Kady Cross

4.6
This edition: BONUS BOOK INCLUDED, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne -98 pages

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one... except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one p
Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1) book cover17

Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1)

China Miéville

4.6
Beneath the towering bleached ribs of a dead, ancient beast lies the city of New Crobuzon, where the unsavory deal is stranger to no one--not even to Isaac, a gifted and eccentric scientist who has spent a lifetime quietly carrying out his unique research. But when a half-bird, half-human creature known as the Garuda comes to him from afar, Isaac is faced with challenges he has never before encoun
18

Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School, #3)

Gail Carriger

4.5
Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style—with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland.

No one suspected what—or wh
19

Manners & Mutiny (Finishing School, #4)

Gail Carriger

4.5
If one must flirt...flirt with danger.
Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sootie Soap nearby. She would rather thwart dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored.

Who can she trust? Royal werewolf dewan? Stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale
20

Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk, #1)

Bec McMaster

4.5
When Nowhere Is Safe

Most people avoid the dreaded Whitechapel district. For Honoria Todd, it's the last safe haven. But at what price?

Blade is known as the master of the rookeries—no one dares cross him. It's been said he faced down the Echelon's army single-handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood-craving he's been quicker, stronger, and almost immortal.

When Honoria shows up at his d
21

The Time Machine

H.G. Wells

4.5
Preview Summary
“I’ve had a most amazing time....”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest h
Adam Roberts portraitAdam Roberts portraitRoger Luckhurst portrait Recommended by Adam Roberts, Adam Roberts, and Roger Luckhurst.
Adam Roberts portrait
Adam Roberts

It is a short novel, almost a novella, but it is smoothly and evocatively written, and it manages to open a chink in the reader’s mind that gives a her dizzying, thrilling glimpse down the vertiginous perspectives of long time. My favourite moment comes near the end, after the time traveller has left the Eloi and Morlocks behind him (as it were) and travelled more than 30 million years into the far distant future. He finds himself on a desolate beach, seemingly lifeless but for green slime on the rocks, the sun grown to massive proportions, and witnesses an eclipse [source]

Adam Roberts portrait
Adam Roberts

It is a short novel, almost a novella, but it is smoothly and evocatively written, and it manages to open a chink in the reader’s mind that gives a her dizzying, thrilling glimpse down the vertiginous perspectives of long time. My favourite moment comes near the end, after the time traveller has left the Eloi and Morlocks behind him (as it were) and travelled more than 30 million years into the far distant future. He finds himself on a desolate beach, seemingly lifeless but for green slime on the rocks, the sun grown to massive proportions, and witnesses an eclipse [source]

Roger Luckhurst portrait
Roger Luckhurst

It invents the idea of far-future visions that science fiction writers such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke have constantly tried to achieve. [source]

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) book cover22

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)

Philip Pullman

4.5
Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a cham
23

Mortal Engines (The Hungry City Chronicles, #1)

Philip Reeve

4.5
"It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea."

The great traction city London has been skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. But now, the sinister plans of Lord Mayor Mangus Crome can finally unfold.

Thaddeus Valentine, London's Head Hi
24

Prudence (The Custard Protocol, #1)

Gail Carriger

4.5
From New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger comes a new novel in the world of the Parasol Protectorate starring Prudence, the daughter of Alexia Tarabotti.

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Custard and floats to India in pursuit of the per
25

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

4.5
The first book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth's survival against villains from outer space.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No on
Estelle Francis portrait Recommended by Estelle Francis.
26

Lady of Devices (Magnificent Devices, #1)

Shelley Adin

4.4
London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habi
27

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1)

Gail Carriger

4.4
It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desp
28

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

Neal Stephenson

4.4
The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.
Andrew Chen portraitEv Williams portraitPeter Thiel portrait Recommended by Andrew Chen, Ev Williams, Peter Thiel, and 3 others.
Marvin Liao portrait
Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

Hope King portrait
Hope King

@JerryCremin @amazon @JeffBezos It’s the best book [source]

Kelly Starrett portrait
Kelly Starrett

Kelly is a legitimate fantasy and sci-fi nerd. He knows Dune by Frank Herbert and The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson inside and out. Kelly has daughters and texted me about the latter book, which follows a young female protagonist: "How do you raise girls that are of the system but crush the system while rebuilding a better one?" [source]

29

Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #1)

Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris

4.4
In Victorian England, Londoners wash up dead on Thames, drained of blood and bone. Clandestine Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is forbidden to investigate. But Eliza Braun, with bulletproof corset, fondness for dynamite, remarkable devices, drags along timorous new partner Wellington Books, of encyclopedic brain, against Phoenix intent on enslaving Britons.
30

Airborn (Matt Cruse, #1)

Kenneth Oppel

4.4
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea book cover31

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Jules Verne, William O'Connor

4.4
Go 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Sterling's Illustrated Classics series, and see Jules Verne's fantastic water-world as never before: through more than 70 stunning steampunk images illustrated by the incredible William O'Connor. Originally published in 1870, Verne’s amazing adventure is one of the earliest sci-fi novels ever written—and one of the most popular. Come on board the Nautilus and p
Richard Branson portraitAlan Kay portraitJan Zalasiewicz portrait Recommended by Richard Branson, Alan Kay, and Jan Zalasiewicz.
Richard Branson portrait
Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Jan Zalasiewicz portrait
Jan Zalasiewicz

Re-reading it recently, I was struck not just by its dynamic plot, but also by how much science he smuggled in. [source]

32

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2)

Philip Pullman

4.3
In this stunning sequel to The Golden Compass, the intrepid Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted otherworld—Cittagazze, where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: twelve-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another's, has also stumbled into this strange new realm.

On a perilous journey f
Steve Mcpherson portrait Recommended by Steve Mcpherson.
33

Imprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2)

Gail Carriger

4.3
Rue and the crew of the Spotted Custard return from India with revelations that shake the foundations of England's scientific community. Queen Victoria is not amused, the vampires are tetchy, and something is wrong with the local werewolf pack. To top it all off, Rue's best friend Primrose keeps getting engaged to the most unacceptable military types.

Rue has family problems as well. Her vampire f
34

The Rithmatist (The Rithmatist, #1)

Brandon Sanderson, Michael Kramer, et al

4.3
The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson's New York Times bestselling epic teen adventure is now available in paperback.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now thr
35

Heart of Steel (Iron Seas, #2)

Meljean Brook

4.3
The Iron Duke introduced the gritty, alluring adventure of the Iron Seas, where nanotech fuses with Victorian sensibilities—and steam.

As the mercenary captain of Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her only loyalty bound to her ship and her crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, Yasmeen will be damned if she gives him anothe
36

Stormdancer (The Lotus Wars, #1)

Jay Kristoff

4.3
Arashitoras are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shõgun, they fear that their lives are over – everyone knows what happens to those who fail the Lord of the Shima Isles. But the mission proves less impossible and more deadly than anyone expects. Soon Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderne
37

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles, #2)

Kady Cross

4.3
In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him... for the life of the girl Jasper loves.

One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around M
38

The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4)

Brandon Sanderson

4.3
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reachi
39

Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #2)

Cherie Priest

4.3
Mercy Lynch is working at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when she learns that her husband has died in a POW camp and her estranged father is gravely injured and wishes to see her. With no good reason to stay in Virginia, Mercy sets out to see her father in Seattle.

But crossing the country is no small task; it's a harrowing adventure through war-torn border states by dirigible, rail, and the
40

Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1)

Chris Wooding

4.3
Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship Ketty Jay—or his motley crew. They are all running from something. Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death. So w
41

The Emperor's Edge (The Emperor's Edge, #1)

Lindsay Buroke

4.2
The adventure starts here...

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.
42

Heart of Iron (London Steampunk, #2)

Bec McMaster

4.2
In Victorian London, if you’re not a blue blood of the Echelon then you’re nothing at all. The Great Houses rule the city with an iron fist, imposing their strict ‘blood taxes’ on the nation, and the Queen is merely a puppet on a string…

Lena Todd makes the perfect spy. Nobody suspects the flirtatious debutante could be a sympathizer for the humanist movement haunting London’s vicious blue blood el
43

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3)

Philip Pullman

4.2
Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel - by the command of his dying father.

But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and intrigues that beset him.

The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for
44

Riveted (Iron Seas, #3)

Meljean Brook

4.2
The New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel returns to the Iron Seas with a riveting new adventure of steampunk and passionate romance . . .

A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland’s inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island has become enshrouded in legend. Fishermen tell tales of giant trolls guarding the land and of seductive witches who s
45

The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1)

Genevieve Cogman

4.2
Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently...

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prep
46

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (Steampunk Chronicles, #0.5)

Kady Cross, Tavia Gilbert, et al

4.2
Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automato
The Difference Engine book cover47

The Difference Engine

William Gibson, Bruce Sterling

4.2
1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full and inexorable swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. And three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with history - and the future: Sybil Gerard - dishonored woman and daughter of a Luddite agitator; Edward "Leviathan" Mallory
48

The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, #1)

Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

4.2
Rousing pulp action and steampunk come together in a heartbreaking story of high adventure and alternate history.

In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. It is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming. Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. When she becomes the target of a merciless vamp
49

The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #2)

Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris

4.2
Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance - every case inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.
50

God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire, #1)

Kate Locke

4.2
Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist.

The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are co
51

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne, #1)

Mark Hodder

4.2
London, 1861.

Sir Richard Francis Burton—explorer, linguist, scholar, and swordsman; his reputation tarnished; his career in tatters; his former partner missing and probably dead.

Algernon Charles Swinburne—unsuccessful poet and follower of de Sade; for whom pain is pleasure, and brandy is ruin!

They stand at a crossroads in their lives and are caught in the epicenter of an empire torn by conflicting
52

The Girl with the Iron Touch (Steampunk Chronicles, #3)

Kady Cross

4.2
In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken...

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by
53

My Lady Quicksilver (London Steampunk, #3)

Bec McMaster

4.2
Determined to destroy the Echelon she despises, Rosalind Fairchild is on seemingly easy mission. Get in. Uncover the secrets of her brother's disappearance. And get out.

In order to infiltrate the Nighthawks and find their leader, Sir Jasper Lynch, Rosalind will pose as their secretary. But she doesn't count on Lynch being such a dangerously charismatic man, challenging her at every turn, forcing h
54

The Kraken King (Iron Seas, #4)

Meljean Broo

4.1
A former smuggler and thief, Ariq-better known as the Kraken King-doesn't know what to make of the clever, mysterious woman he rescues from an airship besieged by marauders. Unsure if she's a spy or a pawn in someone else's game, Ariq isn't about to let her out of his sight until he finds out. After escaping her fourth kidnapping attempt in a year, Zenobia Fox has learned to vigilantly guard her i
55

The Falconer (The Falconer, #1)

Elizabeth May

4.1
One girl's nightmare is this girl's faery tale

She's a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.

She's a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìth
56

Colormorphia: A Celebration of Coloring

Kerby Rosanes

4.1
A sensational compilation of the most striking images taken from the Morphia series has been gathered together in a celebration of Kerby Rosanes's talent.

Colormorphia is a selection of Kerby Rosanes's most remarkable artwork, featuring a stunning, full-color sixteen-page section at the beginning of the book that displays some of the most accomplished completed artworks produced by Kerby's fans. Th
57

The Clockwork Scarab (Stoker & Holmes, #1)

Colleen Gleason

4.1
Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you’re the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there’s no one more qualified to investigate.

Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious
58

Karen Memory (Karen Memory, #1)

Elizabeth Bear

4.1
"You ain't gonna like what I have to tell you, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I'm one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Hôtel has a little hat over the o like that. It's French, so Beatrice tells me."

Set in the late 19th century—when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and st
59

Steampunk Darlings Coloring Book

Hannah Lynn

4.1
60

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening

Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda

4.1
Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers. Collects MONSTRESS
61

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)

Marissa Meyer

4.1
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts
62

Dearly, Departed (Gone With the Respiration, #1)

Lia Habel

4.1
Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead - or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria - a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far
63

Her Own Devices (Magnificent Devices, #2)

Shelley Adin

4.1
Escaped lunatics, lost children, vengeful lords, and love. Really, the situation is becoming quite impossible.

Seventeen-year-old Lady Claire Trevelyan, left alone after the Arabian Bubble financial disaster claims home and family, now leads the cleverest gang in the London underworld. Between outwitting a rival gang, inventing a device that will net her and her scientist employer worldwide fame, a
64

The Iron Wyrm Affair: Bannon and Clare: Book One

Lilith Saintcrow

4.1
The game is afoot!

London's geniuses are being picked off by a vicious killer, and Emma Bannon, a sorceress in the service of the Empire, must protect the next target, Archibald Clare. Unfortunately he's more interested in solving the mystery of the murders than staying alive . . .

In a world where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare will face dark so
65

Agatha H and the Airship City (Girl Genius Novels, #1)

Phil Foglio, Angela Dawe, et al

4.1
Adventure! Romance! Mad Science!

The Industrial Revolution has escalated into all-out warfare. It has been eighteen years since the Heterodyne Boys, benevolent adventurers and inventors, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Today, Europe is ruled by the Sparks, dynasties of mad scientists ruling over—and terrorizing—the hapless population with their bizarre inventions and unchecked power, wh
Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle, #2) book cover66

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle, #2)

Jay Kristoff

4.1
Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church hierarchy think she's far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she's no closer to ending the men who destroyed her familia; in fact, she's told directly that Consul Scaeva is off limits. But after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia's suspicions ab
67

Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)

Brandon Sanderson

4.1
Shadows of Self shows Mistborn’s society evolving as technology and magic mix, the economy grows, democracy contends with corruption, and religion becomes a growing cultural force, with four faiths competing for converts.

This bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society now faces its first instance of terrorism, crimes intended to stir up labor strife and religious conflict. Wax and Wayne, assist
Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1) book cover68

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)

Jay Kristoff

4.1
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrade
69

Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City (Iron Seas, #1.5)

Meljean Broo

4.1
Eight months after The Iron Duke, can their marriage survive a new danger?

After Mina is called in to investigate the murder of an aristocratic bounder, her husband Rhys—known to the world as the Iron Duke—must overcome his fear for his new bride before his need to protect her tears them apart. But when she invites him to join her at the murder scene, a search for a mysterious killing machine puts
The Vault of Dead Gods: A Progression Fantasy Epic (The Years of Apocalypse, Book 2) book cover70

The Vault of Dead Gods: A Progression Fantasy Epic (The Years of Apocalypse, Book 2)

Uranium Phoenix

4.1

The battle of Torrviol is won, but the time loop continues.And unfortunately, it seems like Mirian isn’t the only one looping.A hostile time traveler has seized control of the intelligence agencies in both Akana Praediar and Baracuel. Worse, the attackers are using curse magic to try to permanently impair her. Forced to flee the Academy, Mirian must pursue a new category of magic to survive: soul

71

Poison or Protect (Delightfully Deadly, #1)

Gail Carrige

4.1
London’s most scandalous lady assassin versus one very hot Highlander.

Lady Preshea Villentia, the Mourning Star, has four dead husbands and a nasty reputation. Fortunately, she looks fabulous in black.

What society doesn’t know is that all her husbands were marked for death by Preshea’s employer. And Preshea has one final assignment.

It was supposed to be easy, a house party with minimal bloodshed
72

Competence (Custard Protocol, #3)

Gail Carriger

4.1
From New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger comes the delightful sequel to Imprudence.

Accidentally abandoned!

All alone in Singapore, proper Miss Primrose Tunstell must steal helium to save her airship, the Spotted Custard, in a scheme involving a lovesick werecat and a fake fish tail.

When she uncovers rumors of a new kind of vampire, Prim and the Custard crew embark on a mission to Peru.
73

Bronze Gods (Apparatus Infernum, #1)

A. A. Aguirre

4.1
Hy Breasil is grimmer than it used to be.

Before the Architect closed the door, there were regular crossings, and a great war decimated both humans and Ferishers. The native fae who refused to treat with the invaders faded; their bodies withered and died, stranding them as hungry, angry spirits that haunt the countryside.

That means there’s always trouble brewing in Dorstaad.

Janus Mikani and Celeste
74

The Land: Raiders (Chaos Seeds, #6)

Dr Aleron Kong

4.1
“This is the world you were meant to fight for!”

Welcome to the SIXTH vivacious installment of Aleron Kong's, Chaos Seeds series.

The time of hiding has passed. The Mist Village will make itself known. Goblins have invaded Richter’s lands. Though the first incursion has been defeated, the anger of Chaos Seed remains. Those who challenge Richter’s power will learn there is a reason all creatures fe
Saviors: Quest Academy, Book 3 book cover75

Saviors: Quest Academy, Book 3

Brian J. Nordon

4.1

The first semester is ending. It's time to take on the Tower!The excursion was a mess. Sal's trust in his team is at rock bottom from the actions of another in the final fight. He now needs to enter the Tower and fight demons with the same person who betrayed him.As if that wasn't enough, he's pretty sure the former Super-Rookie and wonder kid on his team is actually a ticking time bomb, just wait

76

Incarceron (Incarceron, #1)

Catherine Fisher

4.1
Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visi
77

The Goblin Emperor (The Goblin Emperor, #1)

Katherine Addison

4.1
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, a
78

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

Kelly Link, Gavin J. Grant

4.0
Fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, from Appalachia, ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California, create alternate universes where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk a
79

Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1)

Josiah Bancroft

4.0

The first book in the stunning and strange debut fantasy series that's receiving major praise from some of fantasy's biggest authors such as Mark Lawrence and Django Wexler.


The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel in the world. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses

80

Imagimorphia: An Extreme Coloring and Search Challenge

Kerby Rosanes

4.0
Fans of adult coloring books are invited to enter the weird and wonderful world of Kerby Rosanes, the illustrator behind internationally bestselling Animorphia, Geomorphia, Fantomorphia, and Mythomorphia. The perfect stocking stuffer gift for anyone who loves a coloring book challenge!

A coloring book like you've never seen before--perfect for colored pencils, crayons, or markers!

In Imagimorph
81

Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly, #1)

Susan Dennard

4.0
There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.

Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombi
82

The Windup Girl

Paolo Bacigalupi

4.0
Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko...

Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engine
Marvin Liao portraitSeth Godin portrait Recommended by Marvin Liao and Seth Godin.
Marvin Liao portrait
Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

Seth Godin portrait
Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

Novels: The Windup Girl and Pattern Recognition are chock full of images and ideas that will stick with you for months. [source]

83

The Steampunk Bible

Jeff VanderMeer, S. J. Chambers

4.0
Steampunk—a grafting of Victorian aesthetic and punk rock attitude onto various forms of science-fiction culture—is a phenomenon that has come to influence film, literature, art, music, fashion, and more. The Steampunk Bible is the first compendium about the movement, tracing its roots in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells through its most recent expression in movies such as Sherlock Holmes.
84

Ganymede (The Clockwork Century, #3)

Cherie Pries

4.0
The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he’s happy to run alcohol guns wherever the money’s good, he doesn’t think the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side-effects. But becoming legit is easier said than done, and Cly’s first legal gig—a supply run for the Seattle Underground—will be paid for by sap money.

New Orleans is not Cly’s first pick for a shopp
85

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1

Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill, Ben Dimagmaliw, Bill Oakley

4.0

London, 1898. The Victorian Era draws to a close and the twentieth century approaches. It is a time of great change and an age of stagnation, a period of chaste order and ignoble chaos. It is an era in need of champions.

In this amazingly imaginative tale, literary figures from throughout time and various bodies of work are brought together to face any and all threats to Britain. Allan Quatermain,

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, #1) book cover86

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, #1)

Natasha Pulley

4.0
87

Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 (The Parasol Protectorate Manga, #1)

Gail Carriger, Rem

4.0
The life of a spinster in Victorian London isn't an easy one on the best of days, but such a life becomes infinitely more complicated when said spinster is "soulless" - a preternatural bridging the gap between the natural and supernatural worlds. Miss Alexia Tarabotti has this unique distinction, and when she is assailed at a formal gathering by a rove vampire, an encounter that results in the dea
88

Wicked as They Come (Blud, #1)

Delilah S. Dawson

4.0
When nurse Tish Everett forced open the pesky but lovely locket she found at an estate sale, she had no idea she was answering the call of Criminy Stain, from the far off land of Sang. He’d cast a spell for her, but when she’s transported right to him, she’s not so sure she’s ready to be under the spell of another man. (It didn’t go so well last time with controlling, abusive, domineering Jeff.) I
89

Clockwork Heart (Clockwork Heart, #1)

Dru Pagliassotti

4.0
A steampunkish romantic fantasy set in Ondinium, a city that beats to the ticking of a clockwork heart. Taya, a metal-winged courier, can travel freely across the city's sectors and mingle indiscriminately among its castes. A daring mid-air rescue leads to involvement with two scions of an upperclass family and entanglement in a web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and secrets.
90

Dead Iron (Age of Steam, #1)

Devon Monk

4.0
In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother's death. Then he's offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who
For Those Who Resist book cover91

For Those Who Resist

Nox Zephyrus

4.0

Kilometers tall and looming menacingly over the surrounding landscape, the Spire is an ancient and ominous structure. Power courses through it from the thousands of graknium engines burning day and night. Rusted metal walls and ceilings contain a society that long ago lost its connection with the outside world. Lush and prosperous, the upper tiers above the smoke layer are inhabited by the goldeni

92

Clementine (The Clockwork Century, #1.1)

Cherie Priest

4.0
Maria Isabella Boyd’s success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty…she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.

Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport
93

The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6)

Brandon Sanderson, Michael Kramer, et al

4.0
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action.

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscraper
Warriorborn: A Cinder Spires Novella: The Cinder Spires, Book 1.5 book cover94

Warriorborn: A Cinder Spires Novella: The Cinder Spires, Book 1.5

Jim Butcher

4.0

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the Dresden Files comes an action-packed all-new fantasy adventure set in the Cinder Spires universe.Benedict Sorellin-Lancaster hasn't even broken in his lieutenant's insignia when he's summoned to meet with the Spirearch of Spire Albion himself for a very special—and very secret—purpose. The Spirearch needs Benedict to retrieve a bag he's "misplac

95

Predator's Gold (Mortal Engines Quartet #2)

Philip Reeve

4.0
In this breathtaking sequel to his award-winning Mortal Engines, Reeve plunges readers into a ruthless and terrifyingly believable world where cities eat each other, betrayal is as common as ice, and loyalty offers the only chance for survival.
96

Reticence (Custard Protocol, #4)

Gail Carriger

4.0
Bookish and proper Percival Tunstell finds himself out of his depth when floating cities, spirited plumbing, and soggy biscuits collide in this delightful conclusion to NYT bestselling author Gail Carriger's The Custard Protocol series.

Percival Tunstell loves that his sister and her best friend are building themselves a family of misfits aboard their airship, The Spotted Custard. Of course, he'd n
97

Forged by Desire (London Steampunk, #4)

Bec McMaster

4.0
A fear she can't escape....

Nine years ago, Perry fled her thrall contract to find sanctuary among the Nighthawks. In that time, she's become a respected member of the Guard, and she's wanted Garrett Reed for as long as she can remember. But when a new case takes a chillingly familiar turn, Perry finds herself once again in the path of a madman...only this time, there's nowhere left to run.

A desire
98

Steam & Sorcery (Gaslight Chronicles, #1)

Cassie F. Quigley, Danielle Herro, et al.

4.0
Sir Merrick Hadrian hunts monsters, both human and supernatural. A Knight of the Order of the Round Table, his use of magick and the technologies of steam power have made him both respected and feared. But his considerable skills are useless in the face of his greatest challenge, guardianship of five unusual children. At a loss, Merrick enlists the aid of a governess.

Miss Caroline Bristol is relu
99

Romancing the Inventor (Supernatural Society, #1)

Gail Carrige

4.0
Vampires are keeping an inventor in their potting shed. Imogene wants to seduce her.

Imogene Hale is a lowly parlourmaid with a soul-crushing secret. Seeking solace, she takes work at a local vampire hive, only to fall desperately in love with the amazing lady inventor imprisoned there.

Genevieve Lefoux is heartsick, lonely, and French.

With culture, class, and the lady herself set against the matc
100

Of Silk and Steam (London Steampunk, #5)

Bec McMaster

4.0
Enemies. Allies. Lovers.

When her beloved father was assassinated, Lady Aramina swore revenge. The man responsible is well beyond her grasp, but his dangerously seductive heir, Leo Barrons, is fair game. When Mina obtains evidence proving that Leo is illegitimate, she has the means to destroy both the killer and his son, a man who troubles her heart and tempts her body.

A woman of mystery, Mina's lo