by QuanCorneliusJames

Steam engines, metallurgy, high fashion, and settings inspired by the Victorian (1837 – 1901) and Edwardian (1901 – 1914) Eras are commonly viewed as traits belonging to the steampunk subgenre. However, they are also part of steampunk's sister subgenre steampulp. The two subgenres are quite similar but differ in one crucial aspect: the punk element. Punk in literature means rebellion or resistance against social norms and ideals. Steampunk is defined primarily by its inclusion of the punk element. Steampulp however, is essentially steampunk without the punk. Steampulp does not focus on rebelling or resisting social trends and tend to be more story–driven than steampunk works.

For example, imagine a country where all manner of fantastic technologies exist, powered by steam. However, these technologies have led to great segregation between social classes as only the rich have these technologies. In a steampunk work, the protagonists will resist or rebel against the social norm (in this case, segregation). Maybe they are friends from different social classes or they plan to overthrow the government and make technology available to everyone (therefore eliminating the cause of segregation). A steampulp story might focus on wacky inventors, adventures using fancy technologies, or rebelling against the government due to living conditions (as opposed to the segregation/social norm).

History and classics

As steampulp is a fairly rare subgenre (and itself a derivative of steampunk), it is very difficult to determine exactly when it started. However, since steampunk was first formally introduced in the 1980s by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson, it's safe to say that any works from the 1980s onwards that lack a strong punk element but have otherwise very steampunk elements to it can be called steampulp. That being said, the two subgenres are closely related and a work that might count as steampunk to one person might be steampulp to someone else.

Steampulp classics can include the Wax and Wayne series by Brandon Sanderson (which tells the tales of two men, Wax and his best friend Wayne, as they investigate crimes, deal with political intrigue, and utilize metal-based magic in an industrial setting) and Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (about an eccentric scientist's encounter with a bird-like humanoid called a Garuda, resulting in a crazy adventure throughout the city as moth monsters get released). Outside of literature, the video game Final Fantasy 6 (about an amnesiac named Terra Branford who learns about her past, encounters a wide range of other characters, and uncovers a plot by a nihilist to destroy human life) by Squaresoft (Square Enix) is undeniably steampulp for its industrial setting, steam–powered technologies, and aesthetics.

Setting

The setting of steampulp tends to be similar to steampunk. Steampulp settings tend to feature vast cities with stunning architecture (often but not always derived from European locales). Metallurgy would be quite valued in a steampulp setting as Victorian/Edwardian times were before the advent of plastic (the first plastics were made in 1907 during the Edwardian Era but did not come into widespread use until after World War 1). Magic may or may not be included in steampulp stories (although steampulp fantasy will have it).

Gears and clockwork are also prominent motifs in steampulp settings. Men generally have trench coats, frock coats, top hats, bowler hats, vests, etc., anything derived from Victorian/Edwardian times. Women tend to wear frilly clothes such as dresses and blouses. And of course, all the fantastic technologies and mesmerizing cities are powered by rumbling, hissing steam engines.

All manner of fantastic technologies exist such as airships, steam trains, ocean liners, etc, exist in a steampulp setting. The more fantastic, the better as optimism flourished during Victorian and Edwardian times. That being said, they should plausibly exist in a steam–powered setting. You would not, for example, having something like a Dyson Sphere or antimatter drives powering steam engines as it is beyond implausible that you wouldn't transcend steam power with them. However, coal, natural gas, plant matter, nuclear fission, and even nuclear fusion are all fair game. It is recommended to avoid using plastics (as they tend to be formed from byproducts of oil drilling and would be more dieselpunk).

Themes

Steampulp really differs from steampunk when it comes to themes. Steampulp themes tend not to dwell upon social rebellion or resistance and tend to be highly varied. There really isn't a strict limit on just what kinds of themes exist in steampulp. Themes could include romanticism, friendship, the value of hard work, the joys of adventures, love, etc. Anything that doesn't dwell upon social rebellion or resistance can be valid themes.

One misconception about steampulp however is that it does not have any sort of rebellion and are very light–hearted. This is not true. You can make a steampulp setting as dark as you want. You can also have rebellion as well, just as long as you don't make resistance or rebellion against social norms the heart of your conflicts. For example, you can have protagonists overthrowing a tyrannical, dictatorial government under the theme of what makes a good government?

Characters

Characters also tend to be quite diverse in steampulp. The only restriction is that characters could plausibly exist in a Victorian/Edwardian setting. For instance, you wouldn't have an engineer designing Dyson Spheres or a people augmented by cybernetic enhancements (that is more cyberpunk). However, you can have orphaned heroes, airship operators, adventurers, imperialists, industrialists, corporate CEOs, engineers designing steam powered technologies, metallurgists, people with crude (and often clockwork-based) prosthetics, etc. Any character that might exist in a steam-driven setting is fair game for steampulp.

What I like about the subgenre

What I most enjoy about steampulp is its versatility. Steampunk writers have to keep in mind what social resistance and/or rebellion lies at the heart of their stories. Steampulp stories are much more open. You can have magic or stick with technology. You can have all manner of wacky adventures around the world. You can tell virtually any story as long as it is not overly focused on social rebellion/resistance and has a steam-driven setting.

I also greatly enjoy the settings present in steampulp, having had a fascination of the 1850s - 1945 (from the mid-Victorian Era through to World War II's end) since childhood. I found that my settings tend to gravitate towards steampulp or steampunk (or more rarely dieselpunk) as I love the aesthetics, the technologies, advances in science, culture, and city architecture found in such settings.

Example of Steampulp on Wattpad:
Forge of Verns by QuanCorneliusJames

Synopsis:

Slavery, oppression, and racial superiority dominate Thanassia, a continent in the midst of an industrial revolution dominated by steam engines and vernbinding, the art of manipulating life force. Lis Jaskolka is a skrull, a subhuman, who steals to survive and to aid her sickly sister. That changes when she meets Andre Majewski, a noble sent to hunt her down. The two soon find their paths intertwined not only with each other but also with that of a rebellion aiming to overthrow the seemingly insurmountable government.

Extract:

They were the Nocswehr, a group of rebels aiming to overthrow the government. Already at Pyrdyke, the coastal Market City, they had captured the parliamentary building and are in the midst of negotiations with the government to prevent arbitrary slaughter of skrull. Lis had read the article thrice, yet was ecstatic every time. The vision her grandfather had six long years ago of a world without oppression, one where anyone, even skrull, could live their lives in freedom might finally be realized.

She returned the article to the inner pocket of her coat and glanced through the ring of brass–framed glass that surrounded the face of the tower's clock. Beyond it, she could see swarms of airships in the skies, trailing plumes of smoke from their steam–driven hearts. They flew above a sea of dark–shingled roofs and through a forest of smoke plumes rising from the coal–burning generators that gifted the city its power. The vast cityscape, one which she longed to truly be a part of, might finally be a welcoming one for both her sister and herself.

Inspirations:

Setting

Source

Characters

Source

Source

Source

Music

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]