Weird Tales #355: The Steampunk Spectacular Issue

This volume presents a curated selection of dark fantasy and steampunk fiction from Wildside Press. The collection opens with Kurt Kirchmeier's "Love, Must" and Jay Lake's "Hungry Ghosts." Lake is identified as an author within this specific anthology. Kater Cheek contributes "The Gingerbread House," while J. M. McDermott offers "Dedalus and the Labyrinth." Lisa Mantchev and James L. Grant collaborate on "As Recorded on Brass Cylinders: Adagio for Two Dancers." These stories form the core narrative content of the book. Beyond fiction, the issue includes feature articles that examine specific historical intersections with speculative elements. Cherie Priest analyzes the setting of a Civil War-era steampunk Seattle in her piece titled "Book of the Century." This section details the whys and wherefores of that particular urban landscape. The anthology also features an exclusive excerpt from Boilerplate, described as the biography of a nineteenth-century robot soldier. Creators Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett provide information about this mechanical figure who rode with Teddy Roosevelt. Molly Crabapple supplies the cover art for this edition. Readers interested in late nineteenth-century technology blended with supernatural horror will find this compilation relevant. The text draws on American history and gothic traditions. Those seeking modern contemporary realism or non-steampunk genres may not find this volume suitable. The book remains a specific artifact of 2012 speculative fiction publishing. It preserves the aesthetic of airships and brass cylinders for collectors of the Weird Tales lineage.