Fata Morgana - Softcover

Steven R. Boyett; Ken Mitchroney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1538507536 ISBN 13: 9781538507537

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc., 2018

Synopsis

An epic novel of love and duty at war across the reach of time.

At the height of the air war in Europe, Captain Joe Farley and the baseball-loving, wisecracking crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress Fata Morgana are in the middle of a harrowing bombing mission over East Germany when everything goes sideways. The bombs are still falling and flak is still exploding all around the 20-ton bomber as it is knocked like a bathtub duck into another world.

Suddenly stranded with the final outcasts of a desolated world, Captain Farley navigates a maze of treachery and wonder -- and finds a love seemingly decreed by fate -- as his bomber becomes a pawn in a centuries-old conflict between remnants of advanced but decaying civilizations. Caught among these bitter enemies, a vast power that has brought them here for its own purposes, and a terrifying living weapon bent on their destruction, the crew must use every bit of their formidable inventiveness and courage to survive.

About this title

About the Author

Steven R. Boyett's (steveboy.com) novels include the fantasy classic Ariel, The Architect of Sleep, Elegy Beach, and Mortality Bridge. He wrote a draft of Toy Story 2 for Pixar/Disney, and created the groundbreaking online music series Podrunner and Groovelectric. He has been a professional martial arts instructor, paper marbler, advertising copywriter, proofreader, writing teacher, website designer & editor, chapbook publisher, and DJ who has played in major cities and Burning Man. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Review

''Action, adventure, cool speculative events, well-drawn characters, and an ending that sticks the landing: Fata Morgana pushes all my happy buttons.'' --John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author (Old Man's War)

''So gripping and real it felt as if it were logged just minutes after landing. Fata Morgana is squarely in the ranks of the most classic and ingenious science fiction -- a masterwork of purest cinema, relentlessly charming and inventive to the end.'' --Chris Sanders, director of Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon

''A rip-roaring adventure full of heart, duty, and sacrifice, Fata Morgana is a perfect combination of historical-novel authenticity and space-opera splendor. I couldn't put it down, and the ending made me cry.'' --Brooke Johnson, author of the Chroniker City series

''Amazingly true to history, incredibly human, and expertly told.'' --Joe Zieja, author of Mechanical Failure

''Writer Boyett and film director Mitchroney team up for this fast-paced alternate-world tale that opens at the height of WWII...The prose is energetic, combining some of the gentler wit of Catch-22 with riffs on dystopian-fiction clichés. Boyett and Mitchroney elevate the pulpy vibe with unusual and fully developed protagonists...Fans of fun SF will enjoy this tale in the tradition of Forstchen and Morrison's Crystal Warriors books and Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen series.'' --Publishers Weekly

''Authors Boyett and Mitchroney deliver a well-grounded, gripping action thriller, with a fast-moving plot and inviting, evocative characters...The authors deliver equal parts suspense, romance, danger, aerial combat, and science fiction. All of this makes Fata Morgana an exhilarating, haunting, and memorable read.'' --New York Journal of Books

''An epic and original science fiction novel of love and duty at war across the reach of time, Fata Morgana is an extraordinarily entertaining read from cover to cover and unreservedly recommended.'' --Midwest Book Review

''Amid harrowing yet realistic descriptions...readers are treated to a loving character study of the crew of the Fata Morgana, a B-17 bomber about to face its first combat mission...During a run over Zennhausen, the bomber passes through a strange portal in the air. Germany is gone; World War II is gone; the world as they know it is gone...Boyett and Mitchroney have the sense to forgo Hollywood predictability, so the ending's perfect. A worthy adventure.'' -New York Times Book Review

''This is a good mashup. The tech is advanced but not so far ahead that it is magic. The people in the future are used to living within strict limits, but they have lost the innovative spirit. The crew of the Fata Morgana has that spirit, and their influence will improve the survivor s lives. Time is a fluid thing, but time spent reading Fata Morgana isn't wasted.'' --SFRevu.com

''The twists, turns, and adrenaline never stop flowing in Fata Morgana. You will be transported to another world in more ways than one. Easily one of the hardest-hitting science fiction books of 2017!'' --Nicholas Sansbury Smith, USA Today bestselling author of Hell Divers

''Gripping adventure stuff: A perfect updating of a classic mode of science fictional storytelling, modernized without losing any of the charm of those old, glorious war novels.'' --Cory Doctorow, NY Times bestselling author of Walkaway

About this edition

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1538507536
• ISBN 13: 9781538507537
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400