The Steampunk Trilogy, by Paul Di Filippo
Compounded in the story “Victoria” is the notion that intelligence and invention don’t solve the problems of the world — they create them. Morally bankrupt protagonist Cosmo Cowperthwait is a master of patching over his self-manufactured wrongdoings and maintaining the horrific status quo of 19th century London. When witnessing teams of homeless urchins dredging garbage and bodies from the River Thames, he remarks how a steam engine could get the work done with ten times the efficiency rather than suggest ways to prevent the pollution at its inception. A touching read, as hilarious as it is morally ambiguous.