[black campbell]

Excellent review, Than. As one of the writers of Victoriana , the over-the-top socialism was a concern for me, as well. This might simply be because I was the sole yank in a house of Euros, but I thought a bit more even-handedness was in order.

I'm finishing my doctorate in history for this period. One of the points I tried to get through was that if the "dark satanic mills" were so awful...why did people keep coming from the farm (which we're often told in current political theory and Roddenberry-esque nostalgia was near idyllic)? I pointed out that social strictures, while quaint or restrictive to us now, were actually more fluid than protrayed in the setting.

That said, they are a great bunch of guys to work with, and the new management over at Heresy is pressing to get more stuff out for the setting soon. Anyone interested in the material might want to balance off the game book with other steampunk rules sets/setting like Castle Falkenstein -- which is more continental in flavor and deals with the upper class more favorably.