Science Fiction

The Lit Nerd’s Rant on ‘1984’

original

1984.

A novel by George Orwell chronicling life under the watchful eye of Big Brother. A chilling look at a far off future when the book was penned in 1949, it is now a text that reveals a frightening future, 30 years past. The story, about a totalitarian society that feigns peace through terror and war and the man who questions it all, changed the way people look at politics and government while revolutionizing the science fiction genre.

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Steampunk: It’s a Way of Life

Pretty much.

I liked steampunk before I even knew what steampunk was. I know that sounds incredibly hipsterish, but if you like steampunk the same is probably true of you. If you read H.G. Wells or Jules Verne when you were growing up, congratulations, you read the core literature of steampunk.

Steampunk is so much more than literature, however. It has branched out into almost every aspect of the entertainment world and become a subculture in its own right.

So what is steampunk? Well, essentially it began as a kind of science-fiction that used steam-powered technology to power robots, airships…pretty much anything people can dream up. Nowadays we have steampunk-inspired clothes, music, television/film, books, anime, etc. There’s even SteamCon, a convention devoted to all things steampunk (incidentally, if anyone wants to sponsor my way to this year’s con, I won’t object).

So if you’re new to the world of steampunk, here’s a few must-sees and should-haves:

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