Steampunk Sci-Fi or Gaslamp Fantasy?

As a cross-genre writer, I'm often most comfortable whenever I can mix things up a bit, adding elements of science fiction to fantasy (and vice versa), horror to historical fiction, and comedy to all of the above. The weird western genre is one of my favorites, bringing the uncanny to the American frontier with monsters of all kinds. Overlapping that time period but set mainly in Victorian England are two genres I haven't dabbled in until now: steampunk science fiction and gaslamp fantasy. Trappings of both can be found in my novel Madame Antic's Hotel Grotesque, but what's the difference between these two subgenres?

While both steampunk and gaslamp stories can take place in the same alternate-historical era, steampunk tends to be more scientific with its gadgets, technology, and anachronistic vehicles, whereas gaslamp fantasy includes sorcery, magical creatures, and an acceptance of the supernatural existing alongside its characters. So which direction does Madame Antic's lean? While there is plenty of gadgetry, nothing in the story is steam-powered. The world I've created prefers electrik power instead. And while there are portals and mention of magik, there's no sorcery involved or unnatural beasts (besides the villains). That's why I'm selecting Alternate History, Steampunk, Gaslamp Fantasy, and Horror as the primary categories when I list it for sale. I reckon that just about covers everything leading up to the big reveal at the end. No spoilers!

New-ish Collection

Alternative Histories collects 7 tales from a past that never was—but could have been, given enough science fiction, fantasy, and horror tossed into the mix. Travel back to a time when super-powered minutemen fought King George's zombie horde, when memories were bought and sold during the Great Depression, and when JFK tried to stop an alien invasion just prior to his assassination. Time-travel with a member of the Mahican tribe searching for answers, meet Goliath's decapitated head that refused to die, and find out just how wild and weird the Old West might have been with a body-hopping, phantasmal anti-hero along for the ride. 

These stories were originally published by a variety of venues and included in Alienated, Soul Smuggler, and Unreal Encounters:  Minutemen, For a Future Peace, Thanks for the Memory, Mo's, The Cost of Freedom, Mercer's Ghost, Shadow of Death. If you act fast, you might be able to snag a free copy.

Blurb + Early Reviews

I'm in the process of getting Madame Antic's Hotel Grotesque ready for pre-order across all sales channels. It should be good to go next week with a release date scheduled for early May. I've overhauled the blurb a bit; here's the current iteration:

In an alternate Victorian era replete with aerovehicles, automatons, and other electrik wonders, factory worker Anthony Reynolds seeks to improve his station in life for the sake of his young bride-to-be. Against his better judgment, he joins Richard, a gregarious coworker with social connections, for a night on the town after their late shift. Richard leads them deep into the city’s underworld to a brothel of sorts specializing in the illegal art of mutilation where willing victims are skinned, broken, and mangled without lasting damage due to a special drug that returns them to their original state. Horrified, Anthony wants to leave at once—but that's when Constables raid the establishment. 

While attempting to flee the scene, Anthony encounters a giant monstrosity of a man who infects him with an unknown substance. Anthony is instantly disfigured, and when the authorities capture him, he is unable to identify himself, let alone speak. What follows is a mind-bending adventure of mistaken identity, multiple realities, and paranoia as he fights to reclaim a simple life he never truly appreciated but now wants more than anything. When he discovers the shocking truth of his world and Madame Antic's disturbing role in it, nothing will ever be the same again. 

And here are a few super-early reviews – based on the original release: 

"A twisting labyrinth of shifting realities, a fast-moving adventure merging the ideas of Philip K. Dick and David Cronenberg. Highly Recommended." – Deborah Walker, author of Future Tales 2100 

"This brilliant genre mashup brings the gore and mystery in equal measure. Just when you’ve figured it out, Fowler dashes your reality with a new twist." – Anthony J. Rapino, author of Soundtrack to the End of the World

"Steampunk / horror / Matrixy. Insane in all the right ways. I will be looking forward to new titles arriving in the Interdimensionals series." – Kris Diebold, book reviewer

"In a genre where the sky is literally the limit, Fowler excels in reaching new heights." – Jennifer Tooker, book reviewer

Book Review: The Book of Elsewhere

One of my goals this year is to keep track of what I read. Whether I enjoy the book or not, I'll post a blurb and brief review. Most will be speculative fiction in some form—genres I gravitate toward in my own writing. Today, it's the collaborative effort of Keanu Reeves (who had the idea) and China Mieville (who did all the writing), The Book of Elsewhere:

There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.” And he wants to be able to die. In the present day, a U.S. black-ops group has promised him they can help with that. And all he needs to do is help them in return. But when an all-too-mortal soldier comes back to life, the impossible event ultimately points toward a force even more mysterious than B himself. One at least as strong. And one with a plan all its own.

I've read every novel that China Mieville has written. This one is unique. Equally experimental, but with a lot more pulp. Which is to be expected, since it's based on the BRZRKR comics developed by Keanu Reeves. 80,000-year-old killing machine / anti-hero + top-secret military group + vengeful babirusa + time jumps, narrative shifts & chaotic violence = better than I thought it would be, based on all the negative reviews I've seen. Yet I still found it lacking, even though there's really too much story here for one book. 

Unfortunately, the overarching present-day plot is not nearly as engrossing (or as well-written) as the flashbacks (the opposite problem Bannerless had), and some of the backstory could have been fleshed out in a series of novels with characters as riveting as Unute and the pig. I did appreciate the ending and the inventiveness, as well as Mieville's ability to make a ridiculous story serious. (Otherwise, it might've been confused with the Chronicles of AGROTHARN.) 3 out of 5 stars.

March Reading Deals

Check out these multi-author book promotions. You're sure to find something you like:

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And peruse these multi-author book giveaways. Download as many as you like:

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Cover Reveal - Take Two

Some of you may remember when my novel Madame Antic's Hotel Grotesque first greeted the world, way back when. At the time, I was pleased that it had finally found a publisher after a long, harrowing search. But I was never impressed with the cover art, among other things, and some experiences are best left in the rearview mirror. 

Fast-forward to 2025: The rights have reverted to me, and I'll be republishing it myself in a couple months. Here's the new cover, in all its brooding glory. Nothing fancy, but it does the job. And it doesn't make me cringe every time I look at it. That's an improvement.

But wait, there's more: I'm planning to rapid-release both sequels this summer as well. So stay tuned for cover reveals and blurbs galore!

Friday Freebie

The kids they call him "Roadkill" on account of how them Horrors sucked him up into the sky to have their way with him, then dropped him in the middle of a street full of traffic. Must've gotten run over five or six times before them cars and trucks stopped to see what they'd hit. But Joe he just stood up without a bone broke in his entire body and not a drop of blood leaking out. His back's hurt him something fierce ever since, but otherwise, he's right as rain. 

That's not to say life's been a bed of roses—unless all we're talking about is the thorns.

Download Your Copy

Book Review: Bannerless

One of my goals this year is to keep track of what I read. Whether I enjoy the book or not, I'll post a blurb and brief review. Most will be speculative fiction in some form—genres I gravitate toward in my own writing. Today, it's the PKD-award-winning post-apocalyptic crime novel Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn. Here's the description:

Decades after economic and environmental collapse destroys much of civilization in the United States, the Coast Road region is building something new on the ruins of what came before. A culture of population control has developed in which people, organized into households, must earn the children they bear by proving they can take care of them and are awarded symbolic banners to demonstrate this privilege. Enid of Haven is a young Investigator, called on to mediate disputes and examine transgressions against the community. A suspicious death requires her attention: The victim was an outcast, but might someone have taken dislike a step further and murdered him? 

I really wanted to like this one. I've always been a fan of post-apocalyptic stories where rugged pioneer-types have to struggle to survive and bring some semblance of civilization back from the ashes. Unfortunately, Bannerless is not that. No marauders, no real sense of danger other than humankind falling into the perilous patterns of the past. Overall, the stakes just didn't seem very high. And unlike Investigator Sera Chen in my Dome City Investigations series, Enid doesn't have any real foibles to endear her to the reader. She, as with most of the other characters, is bland as broth. 

The premise is excellent, the world-building realistic, and there was one supporting character I cared about (who dies). But it's The Village minus much in the way of intrigue—besides your standard whodunit. And the incessant flashbacks were quite the slog. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Halfway Point

Passed the 45K mark in my latest work-in-progress: Angels & Androids (Dome City Investigations, Book 3). I'm feeling pretty good about where the story's going; I just wish I had more writing stamina these days. And time. That's it for excuses. I'm averaging a few hundred words a day when I can BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard). A far cry from the 1K/day regimen I had going for a while, but any movement in the right direction is progress. So I'm celebrating this minor victory.

When will the first draft / sloppy copy be done? No idea. End of the school year would be ideal—then I could spend the summer on revisedits and formatting with an autumn release in mind. At the end of Book 2, I gave myself an easy out and said the third installment wouldn't be available until Spring 2026. Maybe I'll aim for something in between. Split the difference. 

Right now it's all about BICHOK: the discipline to shut out a myriad of distractions and give this novel the attention (I think) it deserves. Having plenty of fun along the way, of course.

Friday Freebie

Alienated collects 5 dark tales:

"Insight" - A sculptor is able to see beyond our reality, but can she control her insatiable desires?

"In His Eyes" - On a farm in the distant future, an unwelcome visitor appears in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"Reverie" - Speech is the first sign of rebellion in a hive of highly evolved telepaths.

"Mo's" - The only racism that exists in this alternate history is between Humans and Greys.

"Doppelgänger Mine" - A man is stalked by his horrifying double. In the end, only one of them can survive.

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