Arcanum-esque literature?

Hello everyone, I'm new here and I just signed up to ask if there are any books with similar themes as Arcanum.

I'm captivated by the story and lore in the game and have loved it ever since I first played it, in particular the steampunk theme with the old ways of magic conflicting with the new ways of technology. I was wondering if there are any books you guys have heard of that have that underlying theme?
If there are any id love to hear, thanks in advance.

 

There`s a book that was co-written by William Gibson, famous sci-fi writer, and another writer. I forget the book but just google william gibson and steam-punk.

 

I suggest that you might want to watch the 'Steamboy' anime. It's not fantasy themed but it has a really heavy Victorian Steampunk thema. My only two sources of lore for Steampunk genre are Arcanum and Steamboy (and you can also watch Will Smith's Wild Wild west if you want to).

I know they're not books, but they're good steampunk related stuff imho.

 

ok wait a second, there is absolutely no excuse for watching a will smith movie.

 

You don't need excuses. The fact that he's in the movie oftentimes makes it worth watching.

Anyway, another good steampunk anime is "Last Exile". Check it out. As for books... I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever read a steampunk-fantasy book.

 

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

Homunculus by James Baylock

Morlock Night and Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter

You may also want to check out Neuromancer and other works by William Gibson. While not really Steampunk, his stories are a mix of cyberpunk and fantasy, similar to how Arcanum mixes Victorian steampunk with medieval fantasy.

 

Really? You don't like any movies he's been in at all? You think Men in Black, Independence Day, The Pursuit of Happyness, and I Am Legend were all horrible movies? Granted, Wild Wild West wasn't one of his best, but I don't see how you could think each and every one was bad because he was in them.

 

Lets not forget 'I, Robot' and 'Hancock'!

 

Well, no, it wasn't a complete list. I liked I, Robot, but it's hard to forgive the producers from fucking up what should have been based on Asimov, even though their interpretation was still interesting.

 

The only steampunk books I've read in English are China Mieville's books: Perdido Street Station, The Scar and The Iron Council. Didn't include any 'old ways of magic' per se, but plenty of weird fantasy culture stuff, and some kind of chaos infestation that had turned a whole continent into a land of nightmares. Plenty of cool descriptions, though I personally get tired of reading a page or five that primarily describes a scene or a series of views. All in all the second book was the best, and it doesn't contain too many spoilers about the first book, and focuses on completely different characters. So if you're only going to read one of those books, The Scar is the one I recommend.

For those who can read Swedish I'd recommend Mörkrets Furste by Sam J. Lundwall. No magic, just a steampunk story, complete with a super villain and his doomsday device. ISBN 91 7228 052 2 - I found it while we were weeding out old books from a local library, so it may be difficult to get hold of.

For those who are willing to listen to podcasts (mp3-files), they've got a couple of steampunk stories over at Variant Frequencies. The Destruction of Sennacherib is about time travel, and Saint Darwin’s Spirituals is about ghosthunting. They've also done an awesome cyberpunk story called The Failed Cities Monologues, which is the best I've ever listened to.

Also, check out my signature.

 

It's hard to find stuff with a combination of steampunk and fantasy. Give me some time - I'm working on it.