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Yankee Republic #1
Pirates of the Electromagnetic Waves
A young radio engineer travels across an alt-history America, encountering primeval gods, mythical beasts, and tall tales come to life, in a quest to build a radio transmitter that can reach the stars.
It all starts in the mountain town of Porterville. Twelve-year-old Philo starts a pirate radio station with his friends, and learns that the world is a stranger place than he ever imagined. The Ancient Marauder, the Bright and Terrible Birds, the Mishipeshu, and other creatures of myth and legend populate this enchanting mixture of science and fantasy.
YANKEE REPUBLIC is an old-school adventure series with traditional values and down-to-earth heroes. Escape from the pessimism and propaganda of modern fiction, and take a journey through a mythic America that might have been.
It all starts in the mountain town of Porterville. Twelve-year-old Philo starts a pirate radio station with his friends, and learns that the world is a stranger place than he ever imagined. The Ancient Marauder, the Bright and Terrible Birds, the Mishipeshu, and other creatures of myth and legend populate this enchanting mixture of science and fantasy.
YANKEE REPUBLIC is an old-school adventure series with traditional values and down-to-earth heroes. Escape from the pessimism and propaganda of modern fiction, and take a journey through a mythic America that might have been.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
122 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2018
27 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 25, 2020
Pirates of the Electromagnetic Waves is a sweet, nostalgic book about a world that never was. And radios. There is some impressively nerdy stuff about electronics here.
Much like the non-existent European setting of Kiki’s Delivery Service, the Yankee Republic almost seems more real than the world we live in. Maybe it is something like an archetype, a humbler America in a kinder world that avoided the worst parts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
There is a principle of alternative history that you should change one event, and then try to see what follows from that. Fenton Wood cheerfully didn’t follow that advice, and we have a world that skipped the War Between the States, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Norman Conquest of 1099. I found the last the boldest move, insofar as the Yankee Republic clearly draws on British sources even in its own world, and I think it is an interesting thought exercise to see what a comprehensively Anglo-Saxon England would have turned into less the Frenchified Vikings who inserted themselves at the top of the social order.
The residents of Porterville, home to Philo Hergenschmidt, strike me as Scots-Irish in their folkways. I don’t have a compelling reason to think that the culture of the borderlands would have been greatly altered absent the Normans. Also, I’m not here to police the borders of alt-history, which the Scots-Irish wouldn’t respect anyway.
Philo and his people are mountain folk, self-reliant and thrifty. They do have commerce with the wider world, but they are also content with what they have. In the high-trust environment of Porterville, kids can spend lots of time outdoors, doing what they like. Which means that unusual kids like Philo can develop unusual hobbies, like building everything in 101 Radio Projects for Boys, by Forrest C. Felix.
I don’t know that this is certainly the reference, but I immediately thought of Forrest M. Mim III’s Getting Started in Electronics. I had a copy of this book as a boy, so Philo’s efforts often reminded me of my own childhood. A more modern example would be Make: Electronics by Charles Platt, or the many projects you can find on Hackaday.
The world of Philo, and especially of Russell, his co-conspirator and raconteur extraordinaire, is also subtly magical. Or maybe a better word is numinous, since the hand of providence can be dimly seen. Randall tells tall tales with the best of them, and I am pretty sure I detected a bit of Tim Powers in the story about the White Clown. But the most arresting sequence in the book is the Bright Birds, which was so evocative that I almost could swear I could hear the song that no one could record.
Reading this book just made me happy. It is a paean to innocence and adventure and a love of the place you find yourself in. It is also reasonably priced, albeit of novella length. Highly recommended.
Much like the non-existent European setting of Kiki’s Delivery Service, the Yankee Republic almost seems more real than the world we live in. Maybe it is something like an archetype, a humbler America in a kinder world that avoided the worst parts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
There is a principle of alternative history that you should change one event, and then try to see what follows from that. Fenton Wood cheerfully didn’t follow that advice, and we have a world that skipped the War Between the States, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Norman Conquest of 1099. I found the last the boldest move, insofar as the Yankee Republic clearly draws on British sources even in its own world, and I think it is an interesting thought exercise to see what a comprehensively Anglo-Saxon England would have turned into less the Frenchified Vikings who inserted themselves at the top of the social order.
The residents of Porterville, home to Philo Hergenschmidt, strike me as Scots-Irish in their folkways. I don’t have a compelling reason to think that the culture of the borderlands would have been greatly altered absent the Normans. Also, I’m not here to police the borders of alt-history, which the Scots-Irish wouldn’t respect anyway.
Philo and his people are mountain folk, self-reliant and thrifty. They do have commerce with the wider world, but they are also content with what they have. In the high-trust environment of Porterville, kids can spend lots of time outdoors, doing what they like. Which means that unusual kids like Philo can develop unusual hobbies, like building everything in 101 Radio Projects for Boys, by Forrest C. Felix.
I don’t know that this is certainly the reference, but I immediately thought of Forrest M. Mim III’s Getting Started in Electronics. I had a copy of this book as a boy, so Philo’s efforts often reminded me of my own childhood. A more modern example would be Make: Electronics by Charles Platt, or the many projects you can find on Hackaday.
The world of Philo, and especially of Russell, his co-conspirator and raconteur extraordinaire, is also subtly magical. Or maybe a better word is numinous, since the hand of providence can be dimly seen. Randall tells tall tales with the best of them, and I am pretty sure I detected a bit of Tim Powers in the story about the White Clown. But the most arresting sequence in the book is the Bright Birds, which was so evocative that I almost could swear I could hear the song that no one could record.
Reading this book just made me happy. It is a paean to innocence and adventure and a love of the place you find yourself in. It is also reasonably priced, albeit of novella length. Highly recommended.
January 11, 2019
An absolutely enthralling read
This book made me homesick for a place that never existed. Wood's description of his work is engrossing, with bright, fun characters throughout. Truly a wonderful book I would recommend without hesitation.
This book made me homesick for a place that never existed. Wood's description of his work is engrossing, with bright, fun characters throughout. Truly a wonderful book I would recommend without hesitation.
October 27, 2018
Fun Read - YA Alt World
What an interesting world the author created!
With a republic created with the 2nd civil war that ousted a war monger, that was tall, thin, bearded, and no nose. You see his picture on a Penny...
Fun, light hearted read about a bunch of teenagers creating a pirate radio station, with a lot of fun stuff added.
Great read!
What an interesting world the author created!
With a republic created with the 2nd civil war that ousted a war monger, that was tall, thin, bearded, and no nose. You see his picture on a Penny...
Fun, light hearted read about a bunch of teenagers creating a pirate radio station, with a lot of fun stuff added.
Great read!
November 11, 2018
I'm not sure if this is alt history, or dystopian future, but it's the story of some isolated mountain-dwelling boys who set up a pirate radio station. The boys create radio transmitters with used parts and find a secret location to set it up and transmit. The ensuing activity in their small town is rewarding and entertaining, and then the Feds come to town...
It's both refreshing and nostalgic to read about kids who are interested in the science of things, understand math (ok, I never did, but I appreciate those who do), and love adventure in the outside world. I'm sure I'll read book 2.
It's both refreshing and nostalgic to read about kids who are interested in the science of things, understand math (ok, I never did, but I appreciate those who do), and love adventure in the outside world. I'm sure I'll read book 2.
December 4, 2022
Tom Swift + Robert Heinlein + Peter Pan
You could add Tom Sawyer to that list as well. This book seems aimed at 5th-7th grade boys (or girls). I'm not a child at 62, but I truly enjoyed reading it and will be going on to the sequel!
I would rate this G. No language, no violence, no sex. Just pure unadulterated adventure that reminds me of my own childhood.
(Read with Kindle Unlimited Subscription.)
You could add Tom Sawyer to that list as well. This book seems aimed at 5th-7th grade boys (or girls). I'm not a child at 62, but I truly enjoyed reading it and will be going on to the sequel!
I would rate this G. No language, no violence, no sex. Just pure unadulterated adventure that reminds me of my own childhood.
(Read with Kindle Unlimited Subscription.)
March 26, 2025
An amusing little Hardy Boys-esque romp sometimes derailed by barely having an overarching plot. The worldbuilding of the Yankee Republic was intriguing enough when it did actually happen that I'm actually interested in seeing if further entries in the series do more with it (the cliffhanger ending did seem to hint at as much). Definitely a book geared towards children, one I wouldn't mind giving most 12 year olds.
December 4, 2018
Jr High level mountain boys pirate radio
An alternative history of the world with a look into a libertarian perspective. Mountain valley pirate radio goes legitimate. A revived society finds a way. It's all about freedom and liberty!
An alternative history of the world with a look into a libertarian perspective. Mountain valley pirate radio goes legitimate. A revived society finds a way. It's all about freedom and liberty!
May 1, 2020
A heck of a lot fun.
Mix Neal Stephenson with Neil Gaiman, and throw in a hefty dash of Boys’ Own adventure. Fenton Wood manages to capture the wonder and possibility of books like The American Boy’s Handy Book in a really compelling way. Imminently readable and fascinating.
Mix Neal Stephenson with Neil Gaiman, and throw in a hefty dash of Boys’ Own adventure. Fenton Wood manages to capture the wonder and possibility of books like The American Boy’s Handy Book in a really compelling way. Imminently readable and fascinating.
December 22, 2020
Fun book to inspire boys
I enjoyed this alternate history story written with boys in mind. It should inspire them to action to experiment with some projects that are a little out of the ordinary.
I enjoyed this alternate history story written with boys in mind. It should inspire them to action to experiment with some projects that are a little out of the ordinary.
September 3, 2019
Interesting alternate history
Will read next book in series to see how things go along. Science seems to be ok. Takes me back to my youth some
Will read next book in series to see how things go along. Science seems to be ok. Takes me back to my youth some
September 28, 2025
Tom Sawyer with Radios
Also mountains and alternate history, but nevertheless it remains, Tom Sawyer with radios. Incredibly fun. Buy it for your boys and read it yourself.
Also mountains and alternate history, but nevertheless it remains, Tom Sawyer with radios. Incredibly fun. Buy it for your boys and read it yourself.
March 30, 2019
Makes you think.
This is a wonderfully adventurous story set in an alternate timeline where our past, as well as a little of our future, intermingles in the present day. The author leads you down a trail of bread crumbs that makes the reader consider what our world might look like today if our history didn't happen exactly as it had. What if "We The People" had actually exercised our rightful power over the State at crucial points in our nation's history? And what would a young boy growing up a hundred years from now, whose existence was permeated with true Liberty, think upon discovering that his world actually looked liked our world does today?
This has been an exciting introduction to a series that I am looking forward to following. The unbridled thrill of scientific discovery that our young hero experiences is absolutely contagious and inspiring. Perhaps he will find another 'unpublished" book in the "101 . . . " projects series in his next adventure.
This is a wonderfully adventurous story set in an alternate timeline where our past, as well as a little of our future, intermingles in the present day. The author leads you down a trail of bread crumbs that makes the reader consider what our world might look like today if our history didn't happen exactly as it had. What if "We The People" had actually exercised our rightful power over the State at crucial points in our nation's history? And what would a young boy growing up a hundred years from now, whose existence was permeated with true Liberty, think upon discovering that his world actually looked liked our world does today?
This has been an exciting introduction to a series that I am looking forward to following. The unbridled thrill of scientific discovery that our young hero experiences is absolutely contagious and inspiring. Perhaps he will find another 'unpublished" book in the "101 . . . " projects series in his next adventure.
November 8, 2024
Still a 3-star book but a good 3 stars, now I want to read the rest of the series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews