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. MorinIRONPUNK
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 BancroftMYTHPUNK
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. ValenteOCEANPUNK
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. MosleyBIOPUNK
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.
SutherlandSPLATTER
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 SpectorSTEAMPUNK
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 LiuHeidi 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.