The Writer 10.2019

GREENPUNK

Hogwarts is covered by a climate

dome, and the students work on build-

ing machines to scrub the atmosphere

of the extra carbon dioxide in order to

save the rest of the planet.

related to: ECOPUNK and

WEATHERPUNK

example works: The Windup Girl

by Paolo Bacigalupi, Wa t e r m i n d by

M.M. Buckner, Nature’s Confession by

J.L. Morin

IRONPUNK

Professor Snape fulfills a lifelong

dream of forging a giant walking

machine in his image but then all the

professors want one, and he has to

destroy his forge before the iron dop-

pelgangers overrun Hogsmeade.

related to: BRONZEPUNK and

STEELPUNK

example works: The Iron Duke by

Meljean Brook, Red Rising by Pierce

Brown, Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft

MYTHPUNK

Harry, Ron, and Hermione are elves

who try to help Cinderella escape but

end up trapped by the evil stepmother

themselves as told through a series of

lyrical lamentations.

related to: ELFPUNK, MANNER-

SPUNK, and SWORDPUNK

example works: Tithe: A Modern

Faerie Tale by Holly Black, Tooth and

Claw by Jo Walton, The Labyrinth by

Catherynne M. Valente

OCEANPUNK

Hogwarts is a deep-sea colony sur-

rounded by a bubble, and Hedwig is a

giant sea horse.

related to: SEAPUNK and

PIRATEPUNK

example works: Into the Storm:

Destroyermen Book 1 by Taylor Ander-

son, The Emperor’s Men 1: Arrival by

Dirk van den Boom, The Pirate Raiders

by C.G. Mosley

BIOPUNK
Instead of taking Harry to Diagon
Alley, Hagrid drops him off at a black
site laboratory to have biological modi-
fications made before he attends his
first day at Hogwarts.
related to: FRANKENPUNK
example works: Change Agent by
Daniel Suarez, Ribofunk by Paul Di
Filippo, Beggars in Spain by Nancy
Kress

CYBERPUNK
Dumbledore is a crafty A.I. and Hog-
warts is in an alternate version of
downtown Tokyo covered in neon and
in perpetual night.
related to: NANOPUNK and
POST-CYBERPUNK
example works: Neuromancer by
William Gibson, Islands in the Net by
Bruce Sterling, Snow Crash by Neal
Stephenson

DIESELPUNK
Newt Scamander is still in New York
during the 1920s, but he’s a bi-plane
pilot charged with ferrying men and
beasts to the top of the Empire State
Building.
related to: DECOPUNK,
ANALOGPUNK, and TRANSITOR-
PUNK
example works: Leviathan by Scott
Westerfeld, Mortal Engines by Philip
Reeve, Amberlough by Lara Elena
Donnelly

RAYPUNK

Harry and Voldemort use ray guns

instead of wands to battle but since

there are mini-fusion reactors power-

ing the weapons...one wrong blast and

the death toll is even higher for that

last book.

related to: SPACEPUNK and

ATOMPUNK

example works: Empire State by

Adam Christopher, Arabella of Mars by

David D. Levine, Into the Dark by J.A.

Sutherland

SPLATTER

PUNK

Harry and Ron don’t save Hermione in

time and witness her gory, violent

demise at the hands of the bathroom

troll.

related to: It is a punk unto itself.

example works: Cities of Night by

Philip Nutman, Splatterpunks: Extreme

Horror ed. By Paul M. Sammon, The

Scream by John Skipp and Craig Spector

STEAMPUNK

Harry rides his steam-powered vac-

uum cleaner in an alternate version of

Victorian England while wearing a top

hat and leather goggles.

related to: CLOCKPUNK, GEAR-

PUNK, and SILKPUNK

example works: The Anubis Gates

by Tim Powers, Boneshaker by Cherie

Priest, The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

Heidi Ruby Miller teaches at Seton Hill Univer-

sity’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program.

She is the co-editor with Michael A. Arnzen of

the award-winning writing guide Many Genres,

One Craft and author of the Ambasadora series,

Man of War, and an upcoming novel for Edgar

Rice Burroughs, Inc. She lives in Uniontown,

Pennsylvania, with her award-winning-writer

husband, Jason Jack Miller.