Michael Bunker

Amish science fiction. Who woulda thunk it? Brother, Frankenstein isn’t my first dip into this unique spin on the genre (I’ve read Bunker’s Pennsylvania Omnibus and Chris Pourteau’s B-Company Tales, which also take place in Bunker’s world), and it certainly won’t be my last if he continues to put out stories of this caliber. If you haven’t tried Amish scifi yourself, you need to download and start reading, because these stories are different and refreshing.

While Brother, show more Frankenstein most certainly has parallels with Mary Shelley’s classic, this is far from being a modern day rehash. When a doctor and technological genius combines the heart and brain of an autistic Amish boy (Frank) with the most sophisticated and powerful robot ever built, the powers that be decide it needs to be destroyed. The deranged leader believes that no price is too heavy to pay to kill the robot.

The doctor and Frank go on the run, seeking refuge where they can, but the government is right on their heels. Thrilling and heart-breaking, Bunker fills the novel with human emotions that make the characters come to life. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself reading this well past your bedtime. Highly recommended. show less

This has been called Amish scifi, with good reason, as it contains plenty of background via its main protagonists about how the Amish (known as Plain People) live and think, combined with a look at a future on Earth that has been devastated by great wars “caused by the collapse of national banks.”

Jedediah (“Jed”) Troyer is 18, and about to emigrate to the Plain colony in “New Pennsylvania” to live. He has been told that he will be in suspended animation for nine years during the show more journey to this new planet outside the galaxy, during which time he will not age.

When he arrives, however, nothing is as he expected, and he finds he is a central player in a power struggle about which he has no understanding (and apparently not much curiosity either).

Discussion: There are lots of acronyms, lots of scientific-seeming “explanations” that are inconsistent, lots of info-dumping about the Amish way, and a bizarre case of InstaLove. The characters are wooden, and the writing is not very sophisticated.

Evaluation: I read this because Hugh Howey endorsed it as “a brilliant tale of extra-planetary colonization.” Really? Hugh, I applaud your generous support of fellow self-publishing authors.

Note: This is just the beginning of a series. It could, however, be read as a standalone, which will certainly be the case for me, since I have no desire to read any more of this author. show less

Young Amishman Jedidiah Troyer is now a traveler. He's signed up for an emigration program that is colonizing the planet of New Pennsylvania. He just wants to start a farm and homestead on affordable land in a new Amish community. Space pioneering isn't as easy as it sounds when you're "plain." Jedidiah and his new friend Dawn arrive on New Pennsylvania in the middle of a rebel uprising, and TRACE, the resistance group that is rising up against TRANSPORT, has taken on the mission of getting show more Jed from the City to the Amish Zone. Being a stranger in the old world doesn't even compare to being a stranger in a new world... a world that is at war and where nothing is what it seems.

Jedidiah Troyer is an eighteen year old who lives in the Amish Country of Pennsylvania on Earth. Promised cheap land and the prospect of starting a life on his own, he travels to New Pennsylvania, far outside our galaxy, in search of new opportunities, much like the settlers of old. Leaving behind everything and everyone he knows, he will hibernate for nine years until he reaches his new home planet. From there, he will then travel to the Amish Zone to begin his new life.

If only it could be that easy.

However, once he lands and comes out of hibernation, his life is put in immediate danger! Helped by mysterious allies, he learns that there is something sinister going on here as he is drawn into a conflict between opposing forces and is in way over his head in more ways than one.

For reasons unknown to Jed, and to the reader, the resistance is putting everything on the line to help him reach The Amish Zone. On the run from the Transport Authority, he realizes several things on the road to reaching The Amish Zone that forces him to question everything he thought he knew about this journey he has embarked on.

As the story progresses, we begin to understand why Jed is viewed as important to both the Transport Authority and to TRACE, the resistance. We discover along with Jed how the fight for freedom is being fought on multiple fronts, both literal and figurative, as well as the role he will play in the entire conflict, whether he wants to or not.

This story drew me into its mysteries very quickly & deeply, fleshing out this world with interesting sci-fi concepts and intriguing technology. The Amish Zone & its culture play a significant part of the larger stage this entire story plays out on, making for a unique tale contrasting technology with the simpler lifestyle of the Amish. This culture gives Jed a rich heritage and personality that makes him no ordinary protagonist and an intriguing character as well. With his non-violent Amish beliefs, he stands as an island of idealistic calm amidst a turbulent conflict, illustrating how he truly is a stranger in a strange land.

This story has plenty of rich ingredients in it, as it's full of suspense, features innovative uses of technology, fascinating surprises and unpredictable twists & turns. The mystery of where and when Jed is adds another layer to the mystery, as concepts of time and space also factor into the conflict. All of this and more are deftly incorporated into an engaging and engrossing story of a not-so-simple farmer who adapts to his circumstances while remaining true to himself.

By the end, many battles have been fought, we get answers to most of our questions, but also leaves room for the next tale in this tantalizing saga. This is the first part of a three part epic chronicle in the making, leaving room for the second in a planned three part trilogy, to be titled “Oklahoma”. I'm eager to see how the author expands upon the ideas that he established here in the next adventure!

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About the Author

Michael Bunker is a USA Today Bestselling author, off-gridder, husband, and father of four children. He lives with his family in a "plain" community in Central Texas, where he reads and writes books...and occasionally tilts at windmills. In November of 2015, Variety Magazine announced that Michael had sold a film/tv option for his bestselling novel Pennsylvania to Jorgensen Pictures. JP is currently developing Pennsylvania for production into a feature film or Television series. Michael is writing the first draft of the screenplay.

Michael's latest (and best rated) novel is Brother, Frankenstein which was released in late April of 2015.

Michael has been called the "father" of the Amish/Scifi genre but that isn't all that he writes. He is the author of several popular and acclaimed works of dystopian sci-fi, including the Amazon top 20 bestselling Amish Sci-fi thriller the Pennsylvania Omnibus, the groundbreaking dystopian vision Hugh Howey called "a brilliant tale of extra-planetary colonization." He also has written the epic post-apocalyptic WICK series, The Silo Archipelago (set in Hugh Howey's World of WOOL,) as well as many nonfiction works, including the non-fiction Amazon overall top 30 bestseller Surviving Off Off-Grid. Michael was commissioned by Amazon.com through their Kindle Worlds and Kindle Serials programs to write the first ever commissioned novel set in the World of Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. That book is entitled Osage Two Diamonds, and it debuted on Dec. 17, 2013.

In late April of 2015, Michael released his novel Brother, Frankenstein to fantastic reviews.

Michael has been featured on NPR, HuffPost Live, and Ozy.com and was recently interviewed in a Medium.com article that will give you more background and insight into his life and works... http://bit.ly/17YbE63.

On November 21st, 2014 Tales From Pennsylvania, a fanfic short story anthology featuring 10 top speculative fiction authors writing fanfic short stories in the world of Michael Bunker's Pennsylvania, was released in paperback and e-book format. More than twenty authors have been (or will be) writing fanfic in the world of MB's Pennsylvania.

Readers who subscribe to Michael's newsletter get free copies of his books, usually before they're published: http://michaelbunker.com/newsletter

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This novella takes place in the Silo world that Hugh Howey authored. He has encouraged others to write about that world, which has given rise to a number of side stories. I like that idea.

This story focuses on rising rebellion of the masses stemming to some extent from the censoring of what materials can be written or read. A number of classic works were somehow smuggled in when the silo first was occupied, and there is a sub-culture of people who work at manually copying these works as show more well as some that have been written by their contemporaries. The authorities seek out and punish people for this activity, but because it is so infiltrated throughout the silo it can't ever be eliminated.

I did like the attention on books and the suppression of ideas. The Silo world is one of oppression, and inevitably there are uprisings over time. However, I would have liked more character development as the main characters seemed flat to me. It seemed like they existed only for the purpose of talking about the issues at hand. It also seemed unlikely to me that the entire silo was rebelling so suddenly as they hadn't even distributed all their books and yet people were rioting. It seemed like the riots must have been triggered by something else that was building up, but that wasn't clear.

I'll check out any sequel to this as the silo world is an interesting one, but I do hope the characters will be a bit more developed. show less