Somebody with too much time on their hands went through the effort of creating this image.  I too, having too much time on my hands, shall analyze said image:

• The Book of Faces– Facebook
• XML Engines – Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form, used in modern programming and leveraged heavily in web development.
• Machine Code – What people used to call the code of a program after it was compiled.
• Piston ++ – C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language.  C# (pronounced “sea sharp”) is better.
• The Web that Encompassed the Earth – World Wide Web, or WWW, which is the early name for the Internet.  Sounds like a 1950’s horror movie.
• The Internet – Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Internet is.  They must be shown.
• Steam for Dummies – I Googled “Steampunk for Dummies” and Omega7Red was listed #1.  What??
• B3TA Manuel – Probably a reference to the B3TA newsletter, which does have some funny stuff.
• Victorian Twitterings – Twitter 

Escapement, by Jay Lake.  3 Omegas out of 5.  A novel set in a SteamPunk universe where the world is hollow and filled with gears, and a giant Wall dividing the world is guarded by mechanical Brass Men.  This is the sequel to Mainspring (maybe, it’s hard to tell if it’s actually a sequel).  The story follows a young girl from a tiny fishing village who wants to see more of the world, and as fate would have it, is compelled to do just that.  Soon into her journey, she learns of the great mechanical prowess of the British and sets out for England.  However, her skills in constructing the rare Gleam attract the attention of evil-doers, and her magnificent adventure ensues.

The book is a little slow to start, but by the end of the first chapter, I was into it.  The quality of the writing is slightly above average, and probably worth reading for the SteamPunk enthusiast.  However, compared to other respected works, such as those by Arthur C. Clarke, James Rollins, C.S. Lewis, or Anne Rice, it’s just not as good.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, and I wanted the story to continue; but for the non-SteamPunk’r, this book is a solid “maybe”.  It made me want to read Mainspring.  In defense of Jay Lake, this is my first SteamPunk book; I’ve read thousands of books, and somehow missed this genre until Dr. Warthan handed it to me.