He could hear the voices in his headset now. Boney and Plavitz and Shorty and Wen, Everett and Garrett and Martin and Francis. Everybody check in.
Gyros—uncaged.
Fuel shutoff switches—open.
Gear switch—neutral.
“Wheels up,” the old man whispered.
He felt the cockpit tremble as the Fata Morgana began to pick up speed. Slowly at first, then in a rush. The daylight brightening to a blinding white as the world he knew all dropped away.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The experience, shared resources, and painstaking research of a huge number of historians, archivists, hobbyists, Youtubers, and forum members was invaluable during the writing of Fata Morgana. Listing all of them would amount to a lengthy bibliography; we can only offer our deep gratitude and appreciation for their work and their generosity in sharing it.
We’d also like to thank the following people and organizations:
The Collings Foundation (collingsfoundation.org), who maintain and operate the B-17G Flying Fortress Nine-O-Nine;
The creators of the website at vintagetin.net/B-17Nine-O-Nine/G/, for its amazing and invaluable panoramics of every location on the Nine-O-Nine;
The Experimental Aircraft Association (eaa.org), and the crew and volunteers of the B-17G Aluminum Overcast, for their hands-on approach and invaluable information;
Greg Kuster, Paul Hammond, and the March Field Air Museum (www.marchfield.org) for the generous loan of their beautiful B-17G Flying Fortress Starduster for our author photo;
Craig Good and Sean Bautista, for technical information related to piloting and large aircraft, and for catching manuscript errors large and small;
Jurgen Gross, Dave Williams, and David J. Schow, for answering questions as well as providing valuable input and unstinting support;
Adrian Smith and Lynn Bey, for their comments on an early draft.
If there is any level of detail and authority in this book, it’s because of the people and organizations listed above. Anything we got wrong is most definitely our fault and not theirs.
Special thanks go to:
Richard Curtis, our agent, for his instincts, enthusiasm, and tough love;
Michael Carr, editor extraordinaire, for his diplomacy, acumen, and attention to detail;
Gigi Grace and Beth Weilenman Mitchroney, for unwavering support, patience, and faith.
Praise for Fata Morgana
“With Fata Morgana, Steven Boyett and Ken Mitchroney have created a work that defies categorization, unless that category is “engrossing, brilliant story-telling.” They breathe life into the past and the future, in a book that manages to be both thought-provoking and thrilling. I loved it!”
“Action, adventure, cool speculative events, well-drawn characters, and an ending that sticks the landing: Fata Morgana pushes all my happy buttons.”
“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!”
“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.”
“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.”
“Fata Morgana is genre-bending, epic, and wholly originaclass="underline" an unexpected, fascinating page-turner.”
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Boyett and Ken Mitchroney
E-book published in 2017 by Blackstone Publishing
Cover design by Kathryn Galloway English
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Library e-book ISBN: 978-1-4708-5264-1
Trade e-book ISBN: 978-1-4708-5265-8
CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress
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