Hal Colebatch, Counterstrike (Acashic, 2011), 245 pages, $23.99 The title of Hal Colebatch’s contemporary novel has two meanings. It is the story of a group of war-gamers and yachtsmen, “ordinary people doing extraordinary things”, who must thwart a high-level conspiracy that aims to poison the Anglosphere in a time of international turmoil. It is also an indictment of today’s so-called “counter knowledge”, the “conspiracy theories” that promote misinformation. Hal Colebatch sounds the call to defend genuine historical knowledge and truth. The setting of Counterstrike is a lightly fictionalised Western Australia. While there may be no deserted archipelago far to the…