Over at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds plugged Substrate Wars today — thanks to whoever suggested it, it wasn’t my idea!

READER BOOK PLUG: Reader Jeb Kinnison’s Substrate Wars series. Three books on Kindle; the first book is only 99 cents. It offers a great escape from today’s reality: “A science fiction thriller set in the US of a not-too-distant future, when the Bill of Rights is ignored and the US is run by the Unity Party, combining the worst of Democrats and Republicans.” Enjoy this unrealistic, but interesting, setting, and be glad that couldn’t happen in real life! . . .

I’ve had several readers make the same comment — how is that any different from the situation today? It’s not, really. But in an entertainment we want all readers, even those not paying enough attention to realize the US is already increasingly corporatist, where both parties are part of the Party of Government. Most partisans are absolutely sure their guys are the only people stopping the hordes from the other party who want to make the government over to control everyone’s lives. The joke, of course, is on the partisans, since both parties have gradually cooperated in controlling more and more of everyone’s lives while putting on a big show of opposing each other.

So it’s set in a near future after a terrorist event that enables even more emphasis on security over freedom, and even more control over business and personal lives invested in bureaucracies and security agencies. Those who don’t realize this is just a slight elaboration on what we see today will accept the story as fiction. “Good thing this isn’t really going to happen!” — Well, it already did, but your local sphere is still free enough so that you haven’t taken notice.

The Kindle versions of Substrate Wars books are cheap — $0.99 for Red Queen, $2.99 for Nemo’s World, and $2.99 for the latest, Shrivers. And all a FREE to read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription, which you can try out here: Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial