Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense, by Jack Dann is a collection of short stories by supposedly some of the best writers out there now in the realm of horror, suspense, and steampunk. I myself was not familiar with any of the authors and view this book as an excellent introduction to each.
Each story was written with the Victorian vernacular and feel to them. The voices were expertly done. They were so well done, in fact, it was easy to forget these were written in this oh so
modern era and not true Victorian pieces written during the Victorian period!
One very interesting and wonderful fact about this book is that not everything has gears and gizmos running on steam power, but bring in
all the elements of steampunk, including the adventure and
feel of the era.
Some of these stories ripped my heart out and others truly spooked me!
This was the perfect book (for me at least) to read through the holidays and in preparation for the holidays.
I am not a big fan of anthologies, but made an exception for this one and highly recommend it to anyone interested in steampunk, Victorian literature, and a good quiet scare. It was very difficult for me to put this book down, and, as always with a good book, I was sad to have it come to an end.