James "Sydeian" Brown who writes under the pen name

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

 "James Richardson-Brown", is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, best known as the creator of The Sydeian Coalition steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...

/science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 series, books, 3-D artworks and RPG. The Sydeian series has gernered a cult following around the world with fans from the UK, America, South Africa, India, etc. He is also known for his promotion of steampunk in the UK and for coining the term Steamgoth a movement that is fast growing in popularity

The Sydeian Coalition books

The Sydeian Coalition books garnered a cult following on the web following Brown's decision along with his co-author Paul Taylor to make the first few chapters freely available to readers a tactic repeated with The Shattered Cog. The completed novel was published in early 2009 by YouWriteOn and Lightning Press. The book met with a warm reception from readers but was noted to have suffered due to a lack of proof-reading, editing and mistakes in listing by the publishers (to this day the book is found under the wrong title and author name in many places). The books are set in an alternative history where in 1866 the British had mastered space exploration indadvertantly sparking an interplanetary conflict between previously unknown inhabitants of the solar system. The story follows the lives of Captain Sydeian, a disgraced army veteran and William Percival as they try to figure out how to defeat this new enemy.

The Sydeian Coalition is also the name of the fan club for the book.

Work as a 3-D artist

Using a mixture of found, hand crafted and raw materials, Brown creates objects that heavily draw on and in turn influence steampunk, science fiction, dieselpunk, alternative history and neo-Victorian styles. These works include devices, weapons, tools and ornamentation featured in his publications and working examples of modern technology such as mobiles phones, USB sticks, speakers and DVD players re-imagined in the steampunk aesthetic. Many of these works are released under the 'Sydeian Creations' collection with some of the darker work which more closely adheres to the steamgoth aesthetic released as part of the 'Black Laboratory'. His work has appeared in Museum of the History of Science, Oxford

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford

The Museum of the History of Science, located in Broad Street, Oxford, is home to an unrivalled collection of scientific instruments from medieval times to the 17th century. Its collection of 18th and 19th-century instruments is also substantial...

, the Hartford Artspace

Artspace

Artspace is a contemporary art gallery and non-profit organization located in downtown New Haven, in Connecticut. Artspace’s mission is to connect artists, audiences, and resources; catalyze artistic activity, and redefine art spaces. Since its founding in 1987, Artspace has helped nearly 3,000...

 gallery, Chepstow castle

Chepstow Castle

Chepstow Castle , located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire in Wales, on top of cliffs overlooking the River Wye, is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain...

, the British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

, as film props and within articles on steampunk both on and off the internet.

Promotion of steampunk in the UK

Brown did much to promote steampunk in its early days as a subculture in the UK. He has written articles about the steampunk subculture, given demonstrations of steampunk fashion and sculpture to wider audiences and has given interviews regarding the definition of steampunk and the growing steampunk movement. In 2007 he hosted the UK's first steampunk meet-up, held in a large tearoom during the Whitby Goth Weekend. A tradition that is still ongoing.

Publications

1. The Sydeian Coalition - A Steampunk Adventure (2009)
2. The Shattered Cog (2010)

Articles

• "Steampunk, An Introduction", The Chap
  The Chap
  The Chap is a British magazine published six times a year and related books edited by Gustav Temple, proposing a return to a dandified way of life, involving tweed, pipe smoking, brogues and finely pressed trousers. The magazine has featured such noted Chaps and Chapettes as Stephen Fry, Leslie...
  
   2009
• "Steampunk, What's that all about?" Chronicles Magazine 2008
• "Steampunk" by Amaranth, featuring an interview with Brown Unscene Magazine 2008

External links

• Official Website
• Official site of The Sydeian Coalition books