Clockwork Fagin by Cory Doctorow is a free steampunk story that provides a preview for the anthology, Steampunk, of which it’s part.

What a fabulous marketing concept. You try the story — love it, as I did — and of course you’ll go on to buy the anthology. It’s a marketing strategy that relies on author/editor/publisher belief in the quality of their work.

I’ll be buying Steampunk: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories.

The story is wonderfully written. It has the elegance of an English classic tale from the nineteenth century, but with modern vibrancy. There is joy in the word choices, and in the characters. I most definitely don’t want to spoil your experience of it by talking too much and inadvertently spilling the beans. The story is just lovely…and I’m going to re-read it.