I like the genre of Steampunk – which fuses the historical setting of 19th century Europe with advanced technological visions. Think steam-powered spaceships or Sherlock Holmes stories with mechanical computers thrown in. Elements of it crop up in comic books – the 2000AD series Nemesis was set for a while in a alien society that modelled itself on Victorian Britain and in Star Wars: Dark Empire II there’s a cool steam-powered spaceship – and also in movies like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (based on the comic series), Wild Wild West and Steamboy. Primarily it’s located in books though – Philip Reeve’s Hungry City Chronicles is an example of it for young adult/adult readers, while Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age mixes nanotechnology, AI and neo-Victorianism.
Basically, think airships, goggles, steam-powered computers, clockwork robots and difference engines.
Wired has a nice selection of pictures of contemporary steampunk inspired projects with current technologies – I love the steampunk laptop.
See Steam-Driven Dreams: The Wondrously Whimsical World of Steampunk.
Of course, Wikipedia has an extensive section on Steampunk. I tried Britannica Online, but alas, no information there.
Lindsay Cullen
Ah Nemesis! You’ve got to love anything featuring Torquemada! If you’re ever over this side of the pond we can get together over a couple of beers for a 2000AD appreciation night…
BTW, good luck with the job search.