Yayyy!! Here it is, the first Gang Roundup for the new year!
I want to make it a bit different and make it all about Dieselpunk this time. I think that – being a dieselpunk author (though of a very mild kind of Dieselpunk) – I don’t speak enough of my genre, which is possibly one of the most obscure in the speculative spectrum. I mean, probably only Atompunk is more obscure. Which is a pity, because Dieselpunk is a lot of fun!
And even more fun is that we dieselpunks love everything connected to the ‘diesel era’ as we call it, that is from the late 1910s to the early 1950s. You can probably see where my blog stands in this line. We love everything from real history to alternate history, to fantasy and SF shows set in the era to shows set in the era that don’t have anything fantastical about them. Yes, we are a diverse bunch!

So, let’s have a look at some fun stuff!

Dieselpunk?

This is a very easy, look at the most popular punk genres. It is widely incomplete and just gleams over the surface, but it’s just to get our bearing in this strange punk world.

This Is Dieselpunk

And this is a more in-depth reflection on Dieselpunk and what it means. It touches on what for me is one of the main characteristics of Dieselpunk: its subversive nature. Dieselpunk and diselpunk stories do tend to reject any form of ‘conformity’. Freedom of expression is at the core of most dieselpunk stories.

International Dieselpunk Day 2015

And in case you’re wondering, this is my own interpretation.

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Iron Sky

From their (very spartan) website, Iron Sky looks more of a project than just a film. And judging by their trailer, it’s a lot of fun too. 
Nazies are a very favourite subject for dieselpunk authors (and no surprise, considering the historical period we’re interested in), which apparently has also attracted criticism from outside, especially in the realm of cosplay. 
Dieselpunk stories treat Nazies in all kind of ways – yes, even pocking a lot of fun at them, like in this case. 

Towards the end of World War II the Nazi scientists made a significant breakthrough in anti-gravity. From a secret base built in the Antarctic, the first Nazi spaceships were launched in late ’45 to found the military base Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun) on the dark side of the Moon. This base was to build a powerful invasion fleet and return to take over the Earth once the time was right.

Now it’s 2018, and it’s the time for the first American Moon landing since the 70′s. Meanwhile the Nazi invasion, that has been over 70 years in the making, is on its way, and the world is goose-stepping towards its doom. The three main characters of the story are Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), Klaus Adler (Götz Otto), and James Washington (Christopher Kirby).

Perry Mason

This is a review of the new show – and let me tell you that when I discover there’s a new show about Masom, I was kind of shocked. I practically grew up with Perry Meson played by Raymond Burr, first the 1950s series, when I was a kid and then the ‘new’ 1980s series when I was older. It’s so strange to think at Mason with a different look, but it will also be so interesting.
I like this review. It hints at a lot of new ideas that sound interesting and different. I’m very curious now.

Ma Rainy’s Black Bottom

This is another review of a show by Netflix this time.
Larry Amyett is one of the most influential dieselpunks out there, who has been in the community longer. He’s a ‘lifestyler’, as he likes to define himself, and his interests go far beyond just Dieselpunk.
This is more than a review of the show. it is a look into the life of one of the most influential blueswomen of all times.

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The Fractured Empire by Robin D. Mahle

Clark and Adelaide think their lives can’t get any worse. Until they meet each other.

Adelaide — heiress to the wealthiest man in the Ceithren Empire — has felt a void since her sister’s death. Just as she’s resigned herself to the empty life her father chose for her, a relic from a world that shouldn’t exist plunges her into chaos.

Clark — son of the greatest terrorist the empire has ever known — is still reeling from his father’s death. Since then, his life has boiled down to two things: his brothers and his next mission. When his mission to bring back a mystical artifact goes awry, he’s forced to choose between getting the job done and saving the life of a spoiled socialite.

But Clark isn’t the only one after the artifact.

He and Adelaide must work together to survive… if only they can manage to avoid killing each other before their enemies have the chance.

The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett

The year is 1919.

The McNaughton Corporation is the pinnacle of American industry. They built the guns that won the Great War before it even began. They built the airships that tie the world together. And, above all, they built Evesden-a shining metropolis, the best that the world has to offer.

But something is rotten at the heart of the city. Deep underground, a trolley car pulls into a station with eleven dead bodies inside. Four minutes before, the victims were seen boarding at the previous station. Eleven men butchered by hand in the blink of an eye. All are dead. And all are union.

Now, one man, Cyril Hayes, must fix this. There is a dark secret behind the inventions of McNaughton and with a war brewing between the executives and the workers, the truth must be discovered before the whole city burns. Caught between the union and the company, between the police and the victims, Hayes must uncover the mystery before it kills him.

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