Can You Cite It? Crimson Skies

Despite this pandemic, I've mostly been trying to keep busy with university. Since I haven't done much blogging, I decided to talk about some stuff I've been reading recently. One of my third year modules is on genre fiction, and I decided to do a dieselpunk story based on an urban myth I stumbled across while researching something else. Hey, if you can cite it, then it's technically work, right?

Anyway, for some craft reading, I've been looking at a classic example of the dieselpunk genre; Crimson Skies. Initially conceived as a board game by Jordan Weissman and Dave McCoy, Crimson Skies takes place in an alternative history in which the United States fragmented in the 1920s over a combination of Prohibition (which failed to be ratified into the Constitution), a flu epidemic, and the Wall Street Crash. By 1937, the USA (and, by extension, Canada) has become 23 separate nations. With most roads and railways now crossing hostile borders, zeppelins, planes, and autogyros have become the primary modes of transportation. This has given rise to air piracy, prompting the establishment of new government air militias to battle these pirate gangs (and each other).

In 2000, the setting was adapted into an arcade-style flying game which follows the adventures The Fortune Hunters, a pirate gang led by self-proclaimed gentleman thief Nathan Zachary, as they pull off daring heists across the new American nations. They tangle with numerous air militias, pirate gangs, private security firms, and even a few non-American nations with interests in some regions. I haven't played the game (apparently it's hard to run on newer operating systems), but I've watched some Let's Play videos on YouTube. The Fortune Hunters have an endearing sense of camaraderie, along with a strict code which puts them a cut above the other pirates they encounter. All-in-all, the game has a campy Indiana Jones feel to it, reminiscent of the pulp magazines of the time.

There was a sequel, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, which was released on the original Xbox in 2003. I haven't played that one either, and have heard it takes a darker tone.

In addition to the board game, two video games, and a collectible miniatures game, there's also a series of books, known as "Spicy Air Tales". Many of these seem to be out of print and hard to find, but I found some digital versions available for free on a fan site, which have made some fun reads:

• Diamond Deception by Brannon Boren centres around Justine "Battle-axe" Perot, the leader of an all-female pirate gang known as The Medusas. After a battle with the Fortune Hunters in Hawaii (as depicted in the game's early missions), Justine attempts to steal a valuable diamond necklace from a Manhattan socialite in the Empire State (a nation encompassing New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). After a narrow escape, the socialite is later found murdered, and the stolen necklace is determined to be fake, catapulting the Medusas into a deadly intrigue.
• Paladin Blake and the Secret City by Eric Nylund follows Paladin Blake, the head of Blake Aviation Security which protects commercial transports from pirates. Basically combining two archetypal pulp heroes (the ace pilot and the hardboiled detective), Blake is forced to contact his brother (who's a notorious air pirate) after their sister apparently disappeared.
• The Manchurian Gambit by Mike Lee features The Red Skull Legion, a pirate gang from the Industrial States of America (whose capital is Chicago) led by Jonathan "Genghis" Khan. After a botched heist in The People's Collective (a Christian socialist nation in the Midwest), Khan meets an old acquaintance who hires him for an apparent rescue mission which becomes increasingly complicated.
• Stripped of Honor by Geoff Skellams focuses on Major Loyle "Showstopper" Crawford, a New York playboy who commands the elite Madison Venturer squadron of Empire State's Broadway Bombers militia. During a botched mission at a pirate base, Crawford begins to suspect that there's a traitor in his squadron, and is soon framed for piracy and disgraced. Escaping from prison, he goes on a quest to find the traitor and clear his name.

There are two other stories I have yet to read, which follow Charlotte "Charlie" Steele, an ace in the service of California's Hollywood Knights air militia.

The stories often combine aerial dogfights with film noir mystery and intrigue. While each chapter seems to remind you of who everyone is, I imagine that this was a deliberate move; it was common for a lot pulp fiction of the time period to be serialised in magazines, so I think these stories are trying to recreate that.

I think it's a shame that this franchise never really went anywhere since 2003 (although I have heard that Microsoft renewed the trademark for the video games in 2013). I suppose one issue is that one of the nations in this alternate world is akin to a new Confederacy, so I can understand why some people are uncomfortable with that.

Anyway, that's about it. I wanted to talk about a series which hasn't got a lot of attention, and has still been an influence on my work.

Happy writing.