Another series worth rereading – The Fortune Chronicles

So, Seven Sisters’ is drawing to a close. The Kickstarter is finished. The books, totes, stickers and bookmarks ordered, soon to be packaged and sent off to those wonderful backers who took a chance on my illustrated collection of fairytales. It is at times like these that I find myself wanting to delve into something I have read before. Something I can immerse myself in, where I know how it turns out, like comfort food for the brain. Kathleen McClure and Kelley Mckinnon‘s Fortune Chronicles is just such a series.

Now, I am a sucker for richly realized worlds and characters with personalities that pop off the page, and this series has that in spades. There are actually two storylines that intertwine with each other. The first follows Gideon Quinn, an ex-soldier with a past and an axe to grind. The second follows John Pitte and the motley crew of the airship, Errant.

First, let me tell you some about the world. Fortune, the planet the stories take place on, was colonized generations before by peoples from Earth, and the culture reflects the fears and concerns of those people. It also reflects the influences they might have brought with them. Historical and pop culture references are sprinkled heavily throughout their world. Familiar names used in an unfamiliar way can take a moment to get used to. However, I soon found myself looking at our own world and seeing echoes of our distant past. (I wonder what the ancient Greeks would think about us naming a line of shoes after their goddess of victory?) Once you start looking, you can’t help but find tons of references from the ancient world that have made their way into our modern one. This series takes that and propels it hundreds of years forward, giving us a look into how the names of today may be used in a far-off future.

It is an intriguing world, one that has just come out of a war and has the scars to prove it.

But as interesting as the world is, characters are almost always the thing that gets me invested, and so it proves with this series. All of them are unique, with their own pasts and idiosyncrasies. And each one adds richness to the story. Even the secondary and tertiary characters are fully fleshed out, which I love.

I particularly enjoy how the characters interweave between the two narratives. But, I have always enjoyed seeing the same scene or character from a different POV. Like the two episodes of the show, Leverage titled The Girls’ Night Out Job and The Boys’ Night Out Job where you see the same night from two different perspectives.

Soldier of Fortune is the first entry of The Fortune Chronicles, a future steampunk/ecopunk series set on the engineered planet Fortune, where dracos soar alongside airships and dodgers slip through the rain-slicked streets in search of their next mark. If you like low-tech science fiction, found families, and roller-coaster adventure for ages 13 to 99, you’ll love Soldier of Fortune.

The first book, Solider of Fortune, had a slightly gritty, noir feel to it. An ex-soldier, wrongly accused of committing treason, set on discovering what happened and settling scores; a street kid who sees an opportunity to possibly improve her lot; an idealistic medical student bent on helping those who have no one looking out for them; a hardened cop; a down-on-their-luck airship crew… there is even a femme fatale pulling strings in the background. All set in a low-tech future on a planet far from the one we are on.

Outrageous Fortune is the second book of The Fortune Chronicles, a PG-13 future steampunk/ecopunk series set on the engineered planet Fortune, where dracos soar alongside airships and dodgers slip through the rain-slicked streets in search of their next mark. If you like low-tech science fiction, tarnished heroes and snappy dialogue, you’ll love Outrageous Fortune!

The second storyline starts in the second book (imagine that). To me, Outrageous Fortune was much more of a steampuck/ecopunk adventure. John Pitte, captain of the airship Errant, and the aforementioned down-on-their-luck airship crew are the stars of this one. It is its own story, where colorful characters abound. But it touches a lot on the first book giving more insight into the happenings there and the overall backstory. Plus, it’s fun to see how some of the characters you meet in Soldier of Fortune are viewed through a different set of eyes. One person’s dubious ally is another’s pain in the airship.

If any of the above sounds like your cup of tea, then I would highly recommend you pick up The Fortune Chronicles (click here) Or, you can follow the Outrageous Crew on Ream like I do, and not only read all the books but also read upcoming works as they are being written.