Retold Tales, Reflected Realities, and Dreams of What-Ifs - A Review of The Sea is Ours

The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia by Jaymee Goh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Steampunk is one of those genres that I think is amazingly fun and interesting, but at the same time, it can be quite frustrating. Most writers playing in the steampunk sandbox are quite happy to celebrate all the technological advances of the aforementioned time periods by filling their stories with as many steam-powered contraptions and tight corsets as they possibly can, but at the same time, they are reluctant to discuss the darker side of all that innovation. Many of them “politely” ignore, or outright refuse to tackle the fact that all the great Western powers (the United States included) were involved in brutal colonial campaigns abroad - and where they could not colonise (such as in China and Japan), they manipulated and undermined local power in order to get the concessions and privileges they wanted.

Fortunately, there are some writers who are trying to work against the tide. Authors like Sam Starbuck (The Dead Isle) and Elizabeth Bear (Karen Memory) are starting to show that steampunk not only can, but should be used to address such pressing issues as racism, classism, and of course, colonialism and imperialism - in fact, their works prove that steampunk as a genre is especially qualified for such questioning. While writers can certainly do the same with sweeping sci-fi space operas or grand epic fantasies, there is still something to be said about using alternate history to tackle such themes.

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