Bookworm Speaks!- Crimson Skies Review

Bookworm Speaks!

Crimson Skies

by Eris S. Nylund, Mike Lee, Eric S. Trautman, and Nancy Berman

****

Acquired: Half-Price Books

Series: Crimson Skies

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Del Rey (October 1, 2002)

Language: English

Subject: Science Fiction, Dieselpunk 

****

The Story: Welcome to the world of Crimson Skies. The United States is a land torn apart by epidemic and war. With chaos on the ground, America's highways have been forced into the skies, a lawless new frontier where the flying ace—hero, pirate, villain—is king. Here are the exciting, danger-packed adventures of three such daredevils.

The Case of the Phantom Prototype. A hefty payday convinced dogfight genius Paladin Blake to fly a top-secret aircraft into the Mojave Desert. But on this job, Blake must not only save himself, but thousands of others slated for death by an unseen foe.

"Genghis" Kahn & the Manchurian Gambit. Why is the notorious leader of the Red Skull Legion pirate gang rescuing a lady in distress, returning gold, and duking it out in blazing air battles from Manhattan to Manchuria with no plunder in sight? Wonders never cease.

Bayou Blues. Ever since flying ace Nathan Zachary made a pirate ship out of a stolen zeppelin, the gentleman air-pirate and his "Fortune Hunters" gang have roamed the globe in search of money, fame, and adventure. But a double-dealing Cajun sky-thief, a crooked businessman, and a pair of star-crossed lovers may just trump this ace in a high-stakes, high-altitude con game.

Swashbuckling adventures of your favorite flying aces, in all their guts and glory, against a backdrop of blazing crimson skies.

The Review: Crimson Skies is a video game created for the Xbox game system as well as PC. It   is arcade style, flying game where the player performs daring (and impossible) flying stunts in order to save the day and steal from the rich. 

These stories fall into a distinct sub-genre of speculative fiction known as “Dieselpunk” even though it actually predates the coining of said term.  Some reader’s may confuse the setting of this book for “Steampunk” but that is not accurate. Steampunk refers to a genre where technological and social norms are inspired, in part or in whole, by Victorian England and the Industrial Revolution. Steams and pistons power those worlds. Dieselpunk on the other hand is more inspired by America in the first half of the twentieth century, with electricity and gasoline engines being commonplace. 

That is what makes this book so much fun. It takes the old tales of dashing pirates and damsels in distress and transports them into a world of gas balloons and diesel powered propellors. The stories that are being told weave tales that are familiar to us, even if they are using technology from the thirties.

The creators of the game have gone on record stating that they wanted to transfer the swashbuckling antics of Errol Flynn movies, based on Caribbean piracy, to a world of airships and airplanes. If that was truly the goal of this book, it completely worked. The text pays homage to the old pulp heroes of yesteryear. Even the sheer corniness of it all pays off. 

Since this book contains three separate novellas, the writers took the opportunity to truly make this an All-American diesel punk adventure. This America has been divided into numerous smaller states due to war, disease, economic and political strife, but it is still recognizable. The Bayou Blues story is especially memorable for its many southern touches. The reader also visits the towering spires of Mahattan and the mountains of the West. 

The main problem with this book is the question of it origins. As stated previously, this book is a based of old action pulp books and radio shows. The catch on that front was that pulp fiction has never been considered “high” literature. The term ‘pulp’ is derived from the quality of the paper that the stories were printed on. 

Final Verdict: Its a shame that Crimson Skies was not a big success when it was first released. It is a unique setting that maintains a nonetheless, timeless feel to it. For those who wish to explore ‘dieselpunk’ further, this book is a good place to start. 

Rating: Four Propellors Out of Five

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