In Michael Bunker's Pennsylvania Omnibus, Jedidiah Troyer becomes the hero of TRACE's fight against the Transport Authority. But even before Jed's adventure begins, the Second War for Pennsylvanian Independence has raged for a generation. Originally published as separate stories, Tales of B-Company: The Complete Collection captures the struggle, tragedy, and heroism of a company of TRACE commandos as they wage war for the freedom of New Pennsylvania. In this collection, fans of Bunker's novel will discover cameos by some of his most-beloved characters, as well as a new appreciation for the struggle of TRACE against Transport. "Gelassenheit" tells the origin story of a fan-favorite character in the B-Company tales, recalling the conflict established in The Pennsylvania Omnibus as an Amish family tries to maintain its cultural identity under a despotic Transport Authority. In "Gettysburg," the commandos of B-Company fight to secure much-needed okcillium-the miracle mineral and power source of Transport's dominion over its citizens-to even the odds in their rebellion against the Authority. "Susquehanna" finds our heroes desperate to secure TRACE's vital food supply from the Amish Zone, and circumstances force them to make an uncomfortable alliance with The Wild Ones, the salvager-homesteaders of New Pennsylvania. And in "Columbia," an unsanctioned raid to free the captured QB, B-Company's beloved captain, becomes a race against time when Transport sets a ticking time-bomb to destroy the City. In Tales of B-Company, heroes fight and heroes fall. Loyalties are tested and friendships forged. And TRACE wages bloody battle to win freedom for an entire planet. ________________________ "Chris has populated the now more tactile and detailed Pennsylvania world with unforgettable characters who live and breathe and leap from the page-characters for whom I began to care more deeply the more I read about them... what Chris has produced here ... is on par with or better than my original Pennsylvania story. And it should be read as an expression of Chris Pourteau's own original and fantastic art-a piece of literature in its own right. I think it's that good, and I bet you will too. -Michael Bunker, author of The Pennsylvania Omnibus and Brother, Frankenstein "Pourteau handles Military SciFi with a deft literary gift for both the regular and the heroic that reminds the reader of Bernard Cornwell. Brilliant in scope, nuanced in execution. Read this and enjoy." -Nick Cole, author of The Wasteland Saga, Soda Pop Soldier, and Apocalypse Weird: The Red King "Chris Pourteau just gets better and better writing in this world. Crisp and engaging, his words bring you into the action and tension of the Pennsylvania universe with immediacy and drama. The B -Company stories are great military tales, but are also stories of humanity and relationships torn in the midst of the ongoing conflict between the Transport Authority, TRACE and the rest of the population of New Pennsylvania." -AnneHope, Amazon reviewer (5-star review of Columbia: A Third Tale of Bestimmung Company)
Author Biography:
Currently residing in College Station, Texas, Chris Pourteau has made a living at one time or another as a teacher, a lab technician helping to recover one of Christopher Columbus's ships, and a technical writer and editor. Pourteau cites writers both modern and classical as influences, notable among them Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Toni Morrison, Edgar Allan Poe, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Mark Twain. Other major influences include fellow Texan and singer-songwriter James McMurtry, Groucho Marx, and a little-known comedy troupe from England you've probably never heard of named Monty Python. (Python is always happy to have someone shill their name as long as they don't have to pay for it and might get a chance to sell you something, so there you go, guys. Regards from Texas.) As far as reading interests go, Pourteau prefers fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction, which you could probably guess from his list of influences. Occasionally, he likes taking random chances on new writers--new to him, anyway--and has recently become enamored of the works of Roberto Calas, Nick Cole, Suzanne Collins, Tess Gerritsen, Manel Loureiro, and John Scalzi among others. He's also a die-hard Star Trek fan and prefers gritty dramas like Breaking Bad, Hell on Wheels, Homeland, and The Killing when he flips on the tube. If you'd like to say howdy, feel free to email him at c.pourteau.author@gmail.com or visit him at chrispourteau.thirdscribe.com.
