Top 8+ Steampunk Books For 2025

Welcome, intrepid chrononauts and clock-gear dreamers, to our freshly wound-up guide to the top steampunk books. Whether your tastes run to brass-and-leather adventure, gas-lit mystery, or alt-Victorian social intrigue, the genre has never felt more alive—or more inventive—than it does right now. Over the past few years steampunk has expanded far beyond its retro-futurist roots, blending influences from non-Western histories, progressive science fiction, dieselpunk grit, even magical realism. The result? A library of stories that re-imagine technology, empire, and resistance in ways that feel startlingly relevant to our own hyper-connected, climate-anxious world.

This lineup isn’t anchored to any single era—nor is it a nostalgia tour of early steampunk favorites. Instead, we’ve assembled a timeless collection of modern steampunk novels, pairing fresh releases with recent standouts whose gears still gleam as brightly as the day they launched. Each novel here pushes the boundaries of what steampunk can be—whether through daring queer romances aboard aerial dreadnoughts, post-colonial uprisings powered by alchemical engines, or Holmesian detectives stalking clockwork conspiracies across smog-choked megacities.

In short, you’ll find an entry point no matter where you are on your steampunk voyage: newcomers can dip a toe into accessible, page-turning adventures, while seasoned veterans can sink their teeth into weightier explorations of society, science, and steam-driven rebellion. Fill your teacup, wind your pocket watch, and let’s set the gears in motion.

What Are the Top Steampunk Novels to Read?

The Atlas Agenda, by Peter Debik (2025)

This brand new steampunk novel invites readers into a smoke-veiled future where memory is currency and history can be edited like clockwork. Al-Khafi, a state “eraser,” spends his days deleting inconvenient facts, while Kommission operative Lira Varga clings to the scars those deletions have left behind. Their paths collide when they unearth a hidden archive—proof that entire generations have been fed a carefully engineered fiction.

What follows is a taut flight through scorched Marrakesh alleys, Alpine zeppelin docks, and the regimented avenues of a gear-whirring Berlin. Automatons patrol curfews, black-market memory maps change hands in shadowed bazaars, and each location reveals a new layer of the lie. Al-Khafi and Lira’s uneasy partnership lends the novel both tension and heart; every victory forces them to confront how much of their own past—and each other—they can truly trust.

Beneath the brass fittings, the author threads a clear philosophical current: if comfort depends on forgetting, is truth worth the upheaval it brings? The action never pauses long enough to sermonize, yet the question lingers after the final page, like steam settling over cooling gears. The Atlas Agenda balances urgent set pieces with a quietly disquieting idea—that the most dangerous machines aren’t the engines churning overhead, but the stories we allow to run unchallenged in our minds.

The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires Book 2), by Jim Butcher

Returning to the world of the Cinder Spires, The Olympian Affair picks up two years after the events of The Aeronaut’s Windlass. Captain Grimm and his crew are thrust into a high-stakes diplomatic mission to Spire Olympia, aiming to secure alliances amidst looming war. The narrative is rich with political intrigue, airship battles, and, notably, the ever-charming talking cats, which add both humor and depth to the story. ​

What captivated me was Butcher's ability to blend swashbuckling adventure with intricate world-building. The pacing, while deliberate at first, builds to a thrilling crescendo, making the latter half of the book particularly gripping. The duels and political maneuverings kept me on the edge of my seat, and the character development, especially of Grimm and his companions, added emotional weight to the tale.

Love Letters To The Postman, by David Hurley

At a first glance, this book seems a bit sophisticated. But once you go through the first couple of chapters, everything will make sense. The story follows Mark McLeod, whose future is not really certain. The world is not doing well and struggles to reclaim the light against the so called Power Wolves.

Mark rediscovers God in the attempt to regain his life balance. But as he starts over, he finds his new inner passion and meets love too. With time, he realizes he is more than just a random player in this game. In fact, he has a different calling that he has to follow.

Simply put, this book introduces the reader to dystopian fiction and a series of aspects with steampunk influences – from love and action to science fiction and internal battles. There is something for everyone in this relaxing book – you will crave for more.

The Last Uncharted Sky, by Curtis Craddock

There are more books in this series. Chances are you will get hooked in, so ideally, you should start with the first one. This one has been described as a mix between Jules Verne's stories and Alexandre Dumas' writing. You have magic, steampunk influences, intrigue, action and love in one place.

The story follows Isabelle and Jean-Claude, who take a space trip to recover a treasure for their kingdom. However, Isabelle is not well. She has some traumas from an attack in the past, so she experiences all kinds of hallucinations.

The ship is sabotaged and Jean-Claude disappears. At this point, the story is mostly focused on Isabelle, who has to find a way to overcome her fears and traumas, but also reunite with Jean-Claude and complete the mission.

Contaminant Six, by Joseph R. Lallo

Contaminant Six is part of a longer series covering steampunk adventures. While not always related, it does pay off starting with the first one. All in all, the book follows the story of the Wind Breaker crew, which is now targeted by the dangerous poisons affecting the world.

Captain Mack's crew has done a wonderful job at escaping dangers and finding fine solutions to far. But everyone knew they would reach to an end eventually. A powerful toxin covers the world now and it seems to affect the crew as well.

The crew has to split up in order to work against it. Some of them must get in touch with old rivals, while others have to sacrifice themselves for the world. All in all, the adventure will certainly hook you in after a chapter or two.

Defy Or Defend, by Gail Carriger

This book has a bit of everything – everything under a steampunk blanket. You have Gothic influences, a bit of love, some action, an interesting story of espionage, and lots of intrigue. Chances are you will find yourself clueless until you finish the book.

Honey Bee is one of the most appreciated fixers. She is beautiful and sweet, but she can be extremely efficient and dangerous in the right circumstances. On the other hand, you have Sir Crispin Bontwee, who is retired, but he keeps working in the military.

The two make an exquisite team when they end up fighting a vampire hive. On the same note, the story also follows Dimity, whose enthusiasm in this battle is likely to get him killed by a vampire.

The Fugitive And The Vanishing Man, by Rod Duncan

The book follows Elizabeth and Edwin Barnabus in their last performance – the impressive illusion of a vanishing person. Elizabeth is not the ideal character – she is a murderer and a criminal. Everyone in Liverpool is dying to see her executed, but they need to catch her first.

She ends up across America in the attempt to find her family – just a bunch of rumors, but she decides to follow them. Over there, she discovers the unexpected – a crazy king who wants to take the world over, an army and a weapon that could literally change everything.

In a world where prophecies go hand in hand with politics, the adventure brings in lots of intrigue and the type of action that no one would expect.

Death Wind, by Tara Grayce

Death Wind brings readers to a unique world – a world of fantasy and magic. Essie is part of this world and she plans for retirement and a beautiful life ever after. There are no wars and elves and humans are now allied, rather than enemies.

But things go wrong when trolls from the north invade the area and the two groups must work together to combat the invasion. However, alliances can be tricky and things can easily go in the wrong direction, especially when Essie's husband – and the best warrior among elves – is captured by the trolls, circumstances change to 180 degrees.

Essie will not give up and will try her best to make the alliance work – but more importantly, to recover her lost husband.

The Empress Of The Clouds, by Desiree Ultican

This adventure is one of the best steampunk books of 2020 – a mix between classic fairy tales, crime stories and action adventures. It goes back to 1896 and tells the story of Evvy. Her husband was murdered, but before that, he left her with an incredible debt as he was trying to build a futuristic airship.

Now that he is gone, no one knows where his project is – or if it actually exists. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin decides to steps in, as he claims the original plans were stolen by Evvy's husband from him. More fanatics join the frenzy race to find the battleship, but does it actually exist?

Things go from one direction to another. There is lots of action involved and a few amazing plot twists that will change everything.

First Gear, by Eve Langlais

Author Eve Langlais has written one of the best steampunk books of 2020. If you are into dystopian adventure and world ending stories, this is the ideal book for you. When a random explorer discovers a lost temple, what is inside will most likely affect the history.

Everyone knows the planet is about to die, but there is a rumor that there might be a way to save it. The secret is in a deadly mountain that no one wants to explore, but Jool feels like this is the only option out there, so he goes for it.

The explorer goes for the adventure in the attempt to find the truth and eventually save the planet. But as he finds a lost temple, everything changes. It is no longer a matter of saving the planet, but a matter of guiding the people through the future.

Brightblade, by Jez Cajiao

Brightblade is a mix of steampunk adventure and LitRPG fiction. The world has managed to maintain its balance and keep safe, but a dark revolution is about to change this perception and bring chaos all over the planet.

Jax is an average guy with a decent job and a girl he likes. He tends to fight creatures in his sleep, ending up with bad scars as he wakes up. One day, his brother disappears. Five years later, he ends up kidnapped too.

In order to get back, he must enter an arena and fight 11 other competitors. There is lots of violence involved, bad language and sexual references. After all, what do you expect when a bunch of creatures are ready to tear your body apart?

Final Thoughts

From soot-smudged alleyways to sky-piercing airship spires, each novel in this line-up shows how versatile—and subversive—steampunk can be. Some stories ignite the boilers with breakneck action, others pause to ask uneasy questions about power, memory, and progress, but every one of them revives that unmistakable hiss of steam and spark of brass that first drew readers to the genre. So lace your boots, adjust your goggles, and lose yourself in worlds where gears turn possibility itself—then carry a bit of that audacious imagination back into everyday life.