One of my fave anthologies is currently free on Amazon.

Who really killed JFK? What happened in Roswell, New Mexico? Is Elvis still alive? Was the moon landing staged?

In this short story collection, today's top fiction authors pull back the curtain on the biggest conspiracies of all time. Explore the JFK assassination, Area 51, the moon landing, the surveillance state. Meet a French spy posing as Abraham Lincoln, play a video game designed by the CIA, watch "Suicide Mickey." Learn the truth about Adolf Hitler and Elvis Presley.

Twelve short stories, twelve conspiracy theories, twelve twisted rabbit holes.

Hold on to your hats.

Tales Of Tinfoil: Stories Of Paranoia And Conspiracy

With stories by:

Forbes West
Nick Cole
Ernie Lindsay
Wendy Paine Miller
Michael Bunker
Jennifer Ellis
Richard Gleaves
Chris Pourteau
Lucas Bale
Eric Tozzi
Peter Cawdron

Edited by David Gatewood ---> That´s the guy who messes up all the Hugh Howey books. He´s just that good. :-)

Not sure how long the sale will last, but Chris has become one of my fave authors thanks to his Apocalypse Weird: The Serenity Strain, and his Tales of B-Company (set in Michael Bunker´s world of Pennsylvania).

Book description:

David Jackson leaves a successful law practice in the big city to return to the hometown he fled long ago. At its center stands Old Suzie’s house, a grand home once the elegant jewel of a bygone era. Now abandoned, the house stands decaying, simmering in the town’s tortured past. David thought he’d buried his childhood nightmares along with his father in the town cemetery under six feet of dirt and thirty years of grief, but they’re not finished with him just yet. His wife and daughter find themselves in real danger from the unquiet phantoms of David’s past. David Jackson’s childhood might just hold the key to what haunts Old Suzie’s house—and his family’s salvation.  

Praise for Shadows Burned In:

This is that novel of childhood's end and adult's beginning. Of saying farewell to the things you love and that scare you and hello to things you're too scared to ever stop loving…written extremely well and with incredible heart. Complex. Bittersweet. It doesn't let you go. I highly recommend this haunted tale. — Nick Cole, author of The Wasteland Saga, Soda Pop Soldier and the coming Control Alt Revolt (published by Harper Collins, Oct 13, 2015)

Say hello to Chris at: Chris Pourteau

Since Susquehanna left the story on a slight cliffhanger there is no way getting around reading Columbia too.

Mary Brenneman, the leader of the Bestimmung Company, remains captive in the hands of the Transport regime, and Stug and Hatch are going AWOL from their unit on a rescue mission. Suicide, really, since no one knows if the QB is even still alive, which seems unlikely at this point. They are taking huge risks sneaking in behind the front lines of their enemy, and they have also to consider that TRACE sees them now as lost causes since they are acting against orders.

The third story in the series takes the same fast paced action packed approach, and focus on the mission to save Mary, and as much to save The Wild Ones. Their camp, established in Susquehanna, was terminated, and remaining members of their tribe captured and brought to the city. Since Transport is - at least on the surface - withdrawing from the city, their movements are left open for questions and discussion. What´s the point exactly to bring in 100s of people into a so called Detention Center when they are obviously in a hurry to leave their place? Those are the mysteries that the members of the Bestimmung Company need to resolve before they can help them, and maybe are able to save their lives.

The rest is gun fights, and bomb explosions and any kind of warfare that is technically possible, I guess. Not that those bored me exactly, but those are most certainly not the reason I like Pourteau´s stories and writing. I take it, of course, but I prefer to watch the characters playing out their different roles, and how they interact with eachother. Or speculate in my mind about their reasons or how they approach they situations they have to face. Columbia plays out in a way more personal fashion than Gettysburg and Susquehanna. Mary, Stug and Hatch have some real hopeless situations to deal with, and in the end decisions to make that are one way or the other being between a rock and a hard place.

A central plot point in Columbia I have read from a different angle in Philip Harris´ The Girl In The City, namely the threat of the destruction of the city. Again, this is something I am not sure plays a role in Pennslyvania but I suppose it does. Those are the downfalls of not having read the main work first before any stories based upon it. I can only blame myself for it, so I´m not complaining, but yeap, makes some things rather odd looking for me since I clearly lack the knowledge of the how and why some things are done the way they are done.

One new character is the little girl Anne, who is just marvelous. A Wild One and pre-teen, sharp in her mind, and future rebel leader already written over her angst-ridden but still brave face. Her newly made friendship to Stug and Hatch is one of the more, and most, emotional moments in the series. It is beautiful. And smart, since it also leaves a back door open to continue the series, if Chris Pourteau wishes to do so one day. Which I hope he does, since Anne´s story could be quite something, already seeing so much death and misery in her young life.

Pourteau´s writing is spectacular, even not always easy to access due the minimalist style in the series. Very accurate to the point of clarity he describes everything very smoothly, even not all that descriptive in the strict sense. There is a lot left for the imagination, while he manages to bring across any kind of character or setting or mood they way he clearly wants it to be. I am rather impressed, though, and since reading his beautiful prose in The Serenity Strain, even those is very different, I am a fan of him anyway. If it would be anything else but military/sci-fi I would be fangurling pretty hard.

Talking about fangurling. I am as much a fan of the amazing black/white illustrations done by Ben Adams. They add to the story in a way that I cannot really describe. Adams has a style that is both raw while at the same time polished, but they are as grim as grim can be. One day I would love to see a graphic novel with his artwork. If that wouldn´t be pretty damn freaking awesome I don´t know what will.

The for me most important thing in Columbia from the author´s notes (again!) are Chris Pourteau´s thoughts how a tale written through the eyes of Transport would look like. As it is the case history is written by the winners, so any kind of written testimony is always biased, if not outright falsified. How would Transport, in hindsight, actually justify their oppressive regime or the killing of their own people? As I´ve still not read Michael Bunkers original Pennsylvania I don´t know if those questions are resolved somehow, but every take so far has been through the eyes of TRACE. I would love to see someone taking on the other side, and tell Transport´s version of events.

Another thing, which I don´t know was intentional, or a simple coincidence, that Transport, the regime itself, doesn´t have a name or a face to it. As a reader I see their movements via their soldiers, but even those remain nameless and faceless, and really are disposable. While of course the TRACE rebels have their members like Mary Brenneman, with a life to show, a name to it, something to relate to. Transport, who is Transport exactly? Who are the ones who really run the show? This I do not know. Which makes it scary, since the unknowns, the shadows behind the corner are frightening as much as the shown horrors. Transport exists - as already mentioned - via their soldiers, true believers in the cause, or drones controlling the movements of the common people, but otherwise it remains an unknown force. Which, I am sure, is the way they prefer it.

Food. Food is essential. Every time and especially in times of war when you are a rebel force fighting against an oppressive regime, like TRACE does against Transport. When the urgently needed food is stolen on its way to the hidden camp from the Amish Zone, it complicates things obviously and soldiers are - at least for the time being - put on half rations. There are concerns that the Transport regime is behind it, so Mary Brenneman and her Bestimmung Company are assigned to find the missing supplies, and do so rather fast.

Which leads to an encounter with The Wild Ones, some sort of scavengers who live on the fringes of the society in New Pennslyvania. It´s a rather sophisticated plan they have hatched to use the Bestimmung Company to help them to steal weapons from Transport for their own survival. While Transport more or less ignored The Wild Ones so far, they are becoming more and more agressive in their approach to exterminate them. As outsiders they are a hindrance to the regime since they don´t follow the set rules of how the government here wants their populus to behave and live.

But as it is no battle plan survives a battle, hence the Bestimmung Company and the leader of The Wild Ones, Eeguls, who is quite the smooth talker, get into trouble into the city, Columbia, with the Transport soldiers. And this is to put it mildly. While they are a small and fast moving unit they are soon discovered and outnumbered. Transport doesnt take kindly to the TRACE rebels, and neither, as it has been established, to The Wild Ones.

As already in Gettysburg, Susquehanna, takes the action and pulls everything in fast forward motion. What I find extremely fascinating here, which is true for the whole trilogy, is that Pourteau uses a very minimalist approach in his writing. He doesn´t use or need more but a sentence or two to display a setting or set the mood and vibe. Hence paragraphs, if I dare to call them such, are extremely short, but that´s all he needs in the first place. Granted, it does take work, since wordy is most definitely not his middle name, but at the same time his writing is very clear, precise and extremely sharp. Very much needed for the novella length those stories are.

While I am still not much of a military/sci-fi action buff it´s the characters in the Bestimmung company that makes me reading those tales. Mary, Stugs and Hatch are quite the, well, characters. :-) Stugs and Hatch and their dark, inappropriate humor are hilarious, though. Those are like two big boys goofing off even when times don´t really call for fun. It´s a way of coping with extremes, like death and dying, and what I like about them. Those oddballs are my faves. I don´t know, it´s not that I can really relate to them, still there is so much to like about them. Their friendship in rough times for one, their loyality to eachother, or the QB (Queen Bitch) as Mary is lovingly nicknamed, being the leader and all. It´s not really a fun ride since the tale itself due its story arc is rather dark, but the oftentimes light bantering between the men makes the more cruel scenes more easily digestable. Which I appreciate, otherwise I am not sure I would like the stories very much.

As always, Chris Pourteau´s author´s notes were necessary for me for a clearer understanding from where the ideas in Susquehanna were coming from. Being an European and all, I have for example never heard of the real river Susquehanna and its importance in historical terms. It´s less that Pourteau explains the story in his afterword but the ideas that led to the story, and hints at what parts, historical and otherwise, he waved into his tale.

Also how he compares the river with information is fascinating. Those who control the movement... control the information, which is both here in Susquehanna important for TRACE and Transport. It might be a bit of a far stretch, or my interpretation only, but I see it also how we in this internet age regain any kind of information. Who displays it, and what´s the source? I´m sure that was always a dilemma in the world. However, an information overload is our lot, and we have to choose what we believe in, even those decisions might not always be rationale. In the best of worlds those are based on knowledge and experience, or in the worst case scenario, ignorance. TRACE faces the same dilemma, whom and what to believe and trust in when the hated enemy is the one who controls the information.

I am most likely interrogating this text from the wrong perspective ;-), missing out on the historical and futuristical aspects of the story that is Gettysburg.

Set in the world of Michael Bunker´s Pennsylvania (which I have not read yet) Gettysburg *apparently* draws heavy comparison to the original and historical battle of the same name (of which I´ve hardly any knowledge, being European and all). 

A military Sci-Fi tale of two opposing forces, the rebel group of TRACE (no idea why this is capitalized or whatever the abbreviation stands for) vs Transport, the army of the oppressive regime of the New World, set in the future on an, at least for me, unknown planet, fighting over resources which are heavily needed. (How´s that for an run-on sentence?)

A precious metal named Okcillium, whatever that is, might be hidden in an more or less unguarded warehouse. With those "Okcy" TRACE scientists will be able to build laser weapons to fight Transport on an even playing field, they only need to secure it first. Easy job, in and out with a small, fast moving and mobile special unit, done. Mary Brenneman, the leader of the Bestimmung company, thinks it´s now or never, but as it turns out things are too good to be true, especially in war times. They always are.

Heavily relying on combat scenes with moves and counter-moves I felt at times a bit like being in a video game with the different battlefields in front of me. Like an observer without having the possibility to interfere I watched as lives are lost, and questions are asked if it is really worth dying for.

Admittetly I was lost a bit in the surroundings due lack of knowledge of the world that story plays in, even Gettysburg definitely works as a standalone. I do suspect those fans of Pennsylvania might get more out of it as I did this moment, as should history buffs with an interest in Sci-Fi. Which I hope is not mutually exclusive. I´m sure those hidden Easter Eggs, details based on the original battle of Gettysburg are a delight, just I was unable to find them. Which is okay, I think, since I enjoyed the story for what it is. Even without any real knowledge of the battle itself, the characters or anything about the war they are fighting in. 

The Sci-Fi aspects range from scary, iE implants in the brain to connect to the internet and to eachother, to familiar, like drones and laser weapons. While this part of the story was less interesting to me, the characters were. Starting with Mary to the almost comical Stugs to the gut wrenching appearance of Pusher who lost her unit in the battle. And damn you, Chris Pourteau, it´s now the second time in as many days you made me cry. This can´t continue, I tell you. :)

While Gettysburg is mostly action packed it has it´s humorous moments, as much as human moments of quiet, intimate understanding between the characters. And those were the ones I truly liked. The characterization is marvelous, which seems to be a trademark of Chris Pourteau´s writing. Complex and real, those are more than only names or voices, but someone to care for.

And maybe some times some things are really worth dying for.