What is TALES OF TINFOIL?
It is a dark reimagining of every conspiracy theory that ever lived. It is the JFK assassination, Area 51, the moon landing, the surveillance state. It is a French spy posing as Abraham Lincoln, it is a video game designed by the CIA, it is "Suicide Mickey." It is Adolf Hitler and it is Elvis Presley.
In this short story collection, today's top fiction authors pull back the curtain on the biggest conspiracies of all time. Who really killed JFK? What happened in Roswell, New Mexico? Is Elvis still alive? With stories that run the gamut from touching to thrilling to utterly deranged, Tinfoil will take you on a tour of paranoia you won't soon forget.
Twelve short stories, twelve conspiracy theories, twelve twisted rabbit holes.
Hold on to your hats.
I received this book for free from Author Gifted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Tales of Tinfoil is a collection of stories that are all based on conspiracy theories. So honestly being the historian I am, there are some historical events that I am wary to believe at face level. I came in expecting, a little egoistically, that I knew all the major tales. I of course was wrong. So not only are these tales of conspiracy theories, but after the fictional story, the author writes on the actual conspiracy theory and how it relates to the fictional account.
There are 12 stories that are part of this anthology and they are all based on different theories, from JFKs murder to a weather station in Alaska that can actually change the weather. Probably one of the ones that I liked the most was the story about Elvis still being alive down in the Caribbean. Obviously the truth behind this story is that ever since Elvis Presley had a heart attack and died, there have been people who have sworn they have seen him. From his property to the streets of Las Vegas, there have been claims that he is still walking among the living. This story takes a young woman, and the girlfriend of her grandfathers on a trip to the Caribbean as there have been many stories of Elvis living on an island. The young lady does not believe it, but with her grandfathers push, she decided to go. What started as a wild goose chase, may have some truth to it, but due to the reluctance of the “Elvis” the woman will never truly know if the man that she listened to sing, was the son of the long lost Rock and Roll Star.
With 12 stories by 12 different authors, there is good writing and bad writing, but overall this is a strong anthology that taps into people’s fears that what we are being told is not the full story. Not only that, but there were a couple stories that I could honestly see has having had happen, or have the possibility to happen. Honestly, we know that the government uses games to recruit individuals, so the story about the game taking some people to the brink of sanity is not that far fetched.
My only issue with this anthology is that it is really long, and there are some stories that are dry, so it does take quite a long time to read. I think that if it had been split into two different anthologies it would be easier to read and individuals who may get bored with the full 12 story, may not so much. I say that because in the digital age we have now, larger books are thought of as cumbersome, and I know of people who look at the word length and then move on without even trying it. Shortened attention spans affect books as well.
About Chris Pourteau
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, Glen Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Jennifer Ellis, and John Scalzi among others. He's also a die-hard Star Trek fan and prefers gritty dramas like Jessica Jones, Hell on Wheels, Homeland, and The Walking Dead when he flips on the tube.
About Edward W. Robertson
Ed is the author of the post-apocalyptic Breakers series and the epic fantasy series The Cycle of Arawn. A former New Yorker and Idaho-guy, he currently lives in the LA area. His short fiction has appeared in a whole bunch of magazines and anthologies.
About Ernie Lindsey
Ernie Lindsey grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia, working on the family farm and reading, and has spent his life telling stories to anyone that will listen. He currently works as a freelance writer and is the author of five Mystery & Suspense novels and numerous short stories. When he's not writing, you can find him tackling the gigantic To Be Read list on his Kindle or the never-ending stack of books in his office.
Ernie and his family live in Oregon, along with a multi-fingered Hemingway cat named Luna.
About Forbes West
Forbes West was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and graduated with a Master's Degree in Political Science from California State University, Long Beach. He currently lives and works mostly in San Francisco, CA and owns a home in Ojima, Japan- a village five hours south of Tokyo by car that is in the foothills of Mt. Fuji.
About Jennifer Ellis
Jennifer lives in the mountains of Canada where she can be found writing, hiking, skiing, borrowing dogs, and evading bears. She also works occasionally as an environmental researcher.
Jennifer writes science fiction, romance and dystopian fiction for children and adults, including Apocalypse Weird: Reversal in Wonderment Media's Apocalypse Weird world and A Pair of Docks, which was a bestseller in children's time travel fiction. She has also contributed to several anthologies, most notably Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel, which hit #16 in the Kindle Store.
She may or may not have a Ph.D. and dabble in tarot card reading and cat sitting.
About Lucas Bale
Lucas Bale writes the sort of intense, gripping science-fiction thrillers that make you miss your train. Stories which dig into what makes us human and scrape at the darkness which hides inside every one of us.
His debut novel, The Heretic, is the gateway to the award-winning Beyond the Wall series, an epic hard science-fiction space opera about the future of humanity and the discovery of the truth of its past.
He wasn't always a writer. He was a criminal lawyer for fifteen years before he discovered crime doesn't pay and turned to something which actually pays even less. No one ever said he was smart, but at least he's happy. He blushes when people mention him in the same sentence as Banks, Heinlein or Martin. Bless him.
He gives away free books to those who can live with receiving emails from him
About Nick Cole
Nick Cole is a working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can often be found as a guard for King Phillip the Second of Spain in the Opera Don Carlo at Los Angeles Opera or some similar role. Nick Cole has been writing for most of his life and acting in Hollywood after serving in the U.S. Army.
About Wendy Paine Miller
Wendy is a native New Englander who feels most alive when she's laughing, reading, writing or taking risks. She's authored eleven novels and is currently writing what she hopes will be your future book club pick. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies and online sites. Wendy lives with her husband and their three girls in a home bursting with imagination and hilarity.
