Our friend Larry Amyett has a great article in the latest edition of SteamPunk Magazine about the different flavors of dieselpunk. He argues that the term “flavors” gets it exactly right: “Just as a recipe includes a variety of flavors from many ingredients,” he writes, “most dieselpunks mix the different flavors to suit their personal tastes.”
An excellent point. The “Ottensian” and “Piecraftian dieselpunk” — phrases that were coined at the blog The Flying Fortress in June 2008 — are not set in stone, nor are they black and white. Dieselpunk art and fiction can have elements of both.
Indeed, mixing them up can give you very interesting results!
Larry goes on to describe the “Ottensian” and “Piecraftian” in full, including their subdivisions into respectively hopeful and dark and dystopian and post-apocalyptic and he ties them expertly together in his conclusion.
He also touches on what I think is one of the biggest differences between dieselpunk and steampunk. The former, he argues, reminds us “that while the world is far from perfect, there are many positive aspects to our current times and that we need to avoid romanticizing the past. That there never were any ‘good old days’.”
Download the latest edition of SteamPunk Magazine here. Also read the provocative essay on steampunk politics by James H. Carrott and a good fashion feature by Miriam Roček with alternatives to fascist costume.
1 Comment
Add YoursThanks for the positive review! To paraphrase Issac Newton, I was helped by standing on the shoulders of giants such as yours.and Mr. Piecraft.