Zack Parsons
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About Zack Parsons
Zack Parsons is a Chicago area writer known for his acerbic commentary and bleakly humorous science fiction. He has authored two non-fiction books, MY TANK IS FIGHT! and YOUR NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR IS A DRAGON. His works, including That Insidious Beast and CONEX: Convict Connections, have appeared online and in various published anthologies including A COMMONPLACE BOOK OF THE WEIRD: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF H.P. LOVECRAFT and OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS: DOOMSDAY SCENARIOS.
His debut novel, LIMINAL STATES, will be released in April of 2012.
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Author Updates
Titles By Zack Parsons
Liminal States
Oct 24, 2011
by
Zack Parsons
$9.49
“An awe-inspiring, helter-skelter journey through mind-blowing SF, western dime novel, noir mystery, and near-future dystopian horror” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
The debut novel from Zack Parsons, editor of the Something Awful website and author of My Tank Is Fight!, is a mind-bending journey through time and genres. Beginning in 1874, with a blood-soaked western story of revenge, Liminal States follows a trio of characters through a 1950s noir detective story and twenty-first-century sci-fi horror. Their paths are tragically intertwined—and their choices have far-reaching consequences for the course of American history.
It’s a remarkable mashup that “somehow manages to become a cohesive, thought-provoking whole . . . There’s no way a novel with this many moving parts should hold together, but it does, and even readers initially daunted by the jumble will soon be glad to go wherever Parsons takes them” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
“Parsons’s debut is a tour-de-force, a justifiably showy demonstration of the author’s chameleon-like ability to write in several genres all at once, and it emerges as one of the scariest and bleakest tales I can remember.” —Cory Doctorow
The debut novel from Zack Parsons, editor of the Something Awful website and author of My Tank Is Fight!, is a mind-bending journey through time and genres. Beginning in 1874, with a blood-soaked western story of revenge, Liminal States follows a trio of characters through a 1950s noir detective story and twenty-first-century sci-fi horror. Their paths are tragically intertwined—and their choices have far-reaching consequences for the course of American history.
It’s a remarkable mashup that “somehow manages to become a cohesive, thought-provoking whole . . . There’s no way a novel with this many moving parts should hold together, but it does, and even readers initially daunted by the jumble will soon be glad to go wherever Parsons takes them” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
“Parsons’s debut is a tour-de-force, a justifiably showy demonstration of the author’s chameleon-like ability to write in several genres all at once, and it emerges as one of the scariest and bleakest tales I can remember.” —Cory Doctorow
My Tank Is Fight!
Oct 1, 2006
by
Zack Parsons
$7.99
Soldiers that fly!
Tanks that fly!
Cruisers that . . . sink!
What Fight Have Been
My Tank Is Fight! contains a humorous and exciting examination of twenty real inventions from World War II that never saw the light of day. Each entry includes full technical details, a complete development history, in-depth analysis, and a riveting fictionalized account of the invention's success or failure on the battlefield. Lavish color artwork and technical illustrations are falling from the pages of this book like toenails from a trench foot.
Dive under the Atlantic in the turreted U-Cruiser, or rule its surface from an aircraft carrier made out of ice. Shred bomber formations in a high-performance flying wing fighter and then rocket to your untimely end from the cockpit of your very own suicide missile. We've got a pair of German armored land vehicles for you that are so large they had to be powered by naval engines!
My Tank Is Fight! delivers the thrilling action of the Second World War as it might have been with a touch of humor and a lack of class. Only the slow-witted are reading this anywhere other than in line at the cash register. Ask an adult to help you if you're still not sure you want to buy the book.
Tanks that fly!
Cruisers that . . . sink!
What Fight Have Been
My Tank Is Fight! contains a humorous and exciting examination of twenty real inventions from World War II that never saw the light of day. Each entry includes full technical details, a complete development history, in-depth analysis, and a riveting fictionalized account of the invention's success or failure on the battlefield. Lavish color artwork and technical illustrations are falling from the pages of this book like toenails from a trench foot.
Dive under the Atlantic in the turreted U-Cruiser, or rule its surface from an aircraft carrier made out of ice. Shred bomber formations in a high-performance flying wing fighter and then rocket to your untimely end from the cockpit of your very own suicide missile. We've got a pair of German armored land vehicles for you that are so large they had to be powered by naval engines!
My Tank Is Fight! delivers the thrilling action of the Second World War as it might have been with a touch of humor and a lack of class. Only the slow-witted are reading this anywhere other than in line at the cash register. Ask an adult to help you if you're still not sure you want to buy the book.
$4.99
Upon his untimely death, H.P. Lovecraft, the early twentieth-century master of “weird fiction,” left behind descriptions of 221 unwritten stories. Some were only a few ambiguous words long, others were complete plot outlines, and all of them died with their author.
Now, 70 years later, writers from all over the country have come together to bring these untold stories to life. The only requirement for the writers—to create a piece that fulfilled every part of Lovecraft’s original vision. The results are as varied as the artists behind them. Inside this book waits horror, science fiction, comedy, memoir, experimental text art, and one extremely short novel.
Some of these stories will take away your worries. Others will take away your sleep. And a few will take you to another world, a world where weird fiction still lives, and the way home may prove difficult to find indeed…
Now, 70 years later, writers from all over the country have come together to bring these untold stories to life. The only requirement for the writers—to create a piece that fulfilled every part of Lovecraft’s original vision. The results are as varied as the artists behind them. Inside this book waits horror, science fiction, comedy, memoir, experimental text art, and one extremely short novel.
Some of these stories will take away your worries. Others will take away your sleep. And a few will take you to another world, a world where weird fiction still lives, and the way home may prove difficult to find indeed…
Phrasebook (Outer Echelon 1)
May 23, 2014
by
Zack Parsons
$2.99
China has triumphed in a long war that has devastated much of the world and left the United States weakened and isolated. Chinese space forces maintain a cordon around the earth and patrol an uneasy peace throughout the solar system. A peace that is about to be broken by a sudden act of war.
Bumbling Chinese pilot Liu Hong is ambushed and shot from orbit during an American sneak attack. He narrowly survives a landing in a vast London garbage dump. He must rely on an English phrasebook to convince a group of urchins to help him navigate the criminal underworld and reach safety. He has twelve hours. It should be easy.
The American liberation force raining down on the city might complicate things for him.
Phrasebook is the first novelette in Outer Echelon, a series of loosely-related, satirical military science fiction from Zack Parsons, author of Liminal States, My Tank is Fight! and contributor to Welcome to Night Vale.
Bumbling Chinese pilot Liu Hong is ambushed and shot from orbit during an American sneak attack. He narrowly survives a landing in a vast London garbage dump. He must rely on an English phrasebook to convince a group of urchins to help him navigate the criminal underworld and reach safety. He has twelve hours. It should be easy.
The American liberation force raining down on the city might complicate things for him.
Phrasebook is the first novelette in Outer Echelon, a series of loosely-related, satirical military science fiction from Zack Parsons, author of Liminal States, My Tank is Fight! and contributor to Welcome to Night Vale.
Your Next-Door Neighbor Is a Dragon:
Jul 28, 2009
by
Zack Parsons
$5.99
Finally, a book about the Internet that takes place outside the Internet!
Your Next-Door Neighbor is a Dragon leaves the bleeps and bloops behind for a series of surreal interviews and adventures with the people behind the computer screen.
Something Awful's Zack Parsons risks life and sanity by meeting with people who believe they are real dragons and elves, attending a furry convention in costume, paying a visit to a white power group in Texas, talking shop with people who want to be swallowed whole, and witnessing the launching of the Ron Paul Blimp.
More than a year in the making, this epic adventure is full to bursting with the jokes about wieners and poopy that made Something Awful a true Internet sensation. Have you added the book to your cart yet or do you just hate yourself that much?
Your Next-Door Neighbor is a Dragon leaves the bleeps and bloops behind for a series of surreal interviews and adventures with the people behind the computer screen.
Something Awful's Zack Parsons risks life and sanity by meeting with people who believe they are real dragons and elves, attending a furry convention in costume, paying a visit to a white power group in Texas, talking shop with people who want to be swallowed whole, and witnessing the launching of the Ron Paul Blimp.
More than a year in the making, this epic adventure is full to bursting with the jokes about wieners and poopy that made Something Awful a true Internet sensation. Have you added the book to your cart yet or do you just hate yourself that much?
Other Formats:
Paperback
Rakshasa (Outer Echelon Book 2)
Jun 25, 2014
by
Zack Parsons
$2.99
The army will make you into a man. The fleet will make you into a sailor. The doctors will make you into a rakshasa.
Alamvusha was once a boy living in an overcrowded apartment in one of India's overcrowded cities. Now he towers over buildings and smashes tanks beneath his feet. Few weapons can hope to harm him. With the help of a faceless rakshasa named Ravana and a whispering horror of snakes called Taraka, Alamvusha has massacred an entire planet in service to his country. In exchange for his service, his country left him to die.
Instead of perishing, Alamvusha has awakened from a long slumber to find new colonists arriving on the desolate planet. Tortured by the knowledge of his atrocities, he must decide whether he wishes to cling to his fading humanity or seek revenge on those who betrayed him once he served their purpose.
Rakshasa is the second novelette in Outer Echelon, a series of loosely-related, satirical military science fiction from Zack Parsons, author of Liminal States, My Tank is Fight! and contributor to Welcome to Night Vale. The first novelette, Phrasebook, is available now.
Alamvusha was once a boy living in an overcrowded apartment in one of India's overcrowded cities. Now he towers over buildings and smashes tanks beneath his feet. Few weapons can hope to harm him. With the help of a faceless rakshasa named Ravana and a whispering horror of snakes called Taraka, Alamvusha has massacred an entire planet in service to his country. In exchange for his service, his country left him to die.
Instead of perishing, Alamvusha has awakened from a long slumber to find new colonists arriving on the desolate planet. Tortured by the knowledge of his atrocities, he must decide whether he wishes to cling to his fading humanity or seek revenge on those who betrayed him once he served their purpose.
Rakshasa is the second novelette in Outer Echelon, a series of loosely-related, satirical military science fiction from Zack Parsons, author of Liminal States, My Tank is Fight! and contributor to Welcome to Night Vale. The first novelette, Phrasebook, is available now.
Severance (Outer Echelon Book 3)
Aug 24, 2014
by
Zack Parsons
$2.99
Specialist Martel is one of the most fearsome warriors of the Carolingian Pact, the Christian empire that now dominates most of Western Europe. Martel's experience as a killer is so valued by his commanders that they ignore his insubordination and, when he falls in battle, he always finds a new body waiting for him back home.
When distant colony worlds begin to go silent, a military and diplomatic expedition is assembled to investigate the cause. Martel is convinced to join with the promise that he might finally be allowed to die. For ambitious fleet intelligence officer Karizma Nox, a maniac like Martel is just the man she needs to ensure diplomacy fails.
Severance is the third novelette in Outer Echelon, a series of loosely-related, satirical military science fiction from Zack Parsons, author of Liminal States, My Tank is Fight! and contributor to Welcome to Night Vale.
When distant colony worlds begin to go silent, a military and diplomatic expedition is assembled to investigate the cause. Martel is convinced to join with the promise that he might finally be allowed to die. For ambitious fleet intelligence officer Karizma Nox, a maniac like Martel is just the man she needs to ensure diplomacy fails.
Severance is the third novelette in Outer Echelon, a series of loosely-related, satirical military science fiction from Zack Parsons, author of Liminal States, My Tank is Fight! and contributor to Welcome to Night Vale.