Tangent Online–one of the web’s premiere review venues for short SF–has reviewed IGMS #24, and with it “Under the Shield”. Some of the highlights from the review:

You never know what to expect, and that intrigues…

This story develops well as a mystery and I found myself intrigued by the plot, the clues and the protagonist. I liked it well enough to keep reading and not to skim – and that’s something…

What keeps the reader sidetracked and distracted in a clever way is the mix of futuristic science and the pre-world war history. Steampunk – I like it…

I enjoyed the steady tension in this tale. The author captured the fear and dread imposed on a society under a government’s heavy thumb that controls every aspect of daily life…

One thing I hadn’t expected was that the reviewer classifies the story as belonging to the steampunk sub-genre, something I hadn’t considered. When I think of steampunk, I think my mind is drawn primarily to the costumers I’ve encountered at various conventions–all gear-driven computers and goggles (which seem to me to be the de rigueur steampunk fashion accessory). But thinking about it, I suppose steampunk isn’t all brass nozzles and mechanical dragons. And though there are no corsets or steam-powered tophats to be found anywhere in my tale, I guess I can see how one might categorize “Under the Shield” as a part of this SF zeitgeist.

Huh. I wrote a steampunk story. Whodah thunk it?

The full review (by Sherry Decker) can be found on the Tangent site, but a word of caution: the full review contains SPOILERZ!

– S.