Larry Nolen of the OF Blog has a great post entitled “Steampunk and Retro-Futurism: Three Anthologies and Three Approaches” where he discusses three anthologies — Steampunk Revolution, and the Portugese language anthologies Solarpunk and Lisboa no Ano 2000 (Lisbon in the Year 2000) — in the context of the “revolutionary potential” of steampunk as an alternative template. It’s a great read, and also notable for Rocket Kapre readers because he talks about how my story in Steampunk Revolution — “On Wooden Wings”, set in the same universe as “High Society” — fits into that context of reimagination.
Chikiamco’s story stands out because the reader immediately is forced to picture a Jolo of the southwestern Philippines that is the center of a trade rather than a “faraway outpost.” This shift in perspective opens up possibilities for stories such as “On Wooden Wings” to challenge readers, because the underlying socio-political assumptions that such settings and people are “exotic” or “faraway” have been dismissed with prejudice and the reader is forced to accept a world different from what she may have imagined.
Check out the post, especially if you’re a fan of steampunk or post-colonialism — you won’t be sorry.