maxbarry.com
Mon 13
Jun
2022

Madison in Paperback

The 22 Murders of Madison May I went to Canberra the other week to win an Aurealis Award for Best Sci-Fi Novel. It didn’t work. They read out some other book’s name instead. Still, don’t let that dissuade you from picking it up, as today it comes out in convenient, affordable paperback:

The 22 Murders of Madison May

By the way, I can’t believe how much multiverse talk there is. I actually put a line in the book about how people are sick of multiverse theory. Now every time I turn around, there’s a new multiverse book or show. Is that good? I don’t know. It’s probably good, because I became convinced that we do actually live in a multiverse, so people should accept it. Also I no longer believe in free will, but that’s a whole other thing.

Unrelatedly, did you see that thing about the Google engineer who got fired for telling people his AI had become sentient? The AI is totally not sentient, of course, but humans are so terrible at perception, we’ll believe anything has feelings if you draw eyes on it. Just imagine what kind of things people are going to do in the future because they’re fooled by increasingly lifelike AI. Wild stuff, man.

Comments

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Nate Cochrane (#4688)

Location: Brisbane
Quote: "That which we are, we are"
Posted: 653 days ago

Phillistines! Judges obviously don't know what they're doing. 22MoMM is Aussie SF at its peak.

It was actually my gateway to Audible. I consumed the whole audiobook in a couple of sittings.

Can't wait for your next yarn to smash out on to the interwebs.

kgy121 (#4702)

Location: Klameth Falls
Posted: 653 days ago

Speaking of multiverse books about free will, I recommend 'The Gay Gatsby' that came out the day the original went into public domain.

Paul Miller (#5027)

Location: Adelaide
Quote: "Love may be blind but that's no excuse for it being stupid as well!"
Posted: 653 days ago

Only just now in paperback? Wow, it feels like ages since I read it. Totes soz to hear about the award but you've already had one from them so... mustn't be greedy I suppose.

I pretty much grew up on Michael Moorcock's multiverse (did he call it that? I think he did). Although I don't remember too much about characters hopping between universes rather the idea of people fulfilling equivalent roles in parallel realities. I tried re-reading a couple recently but it seems I no longer have the stamina I had as a kid - 'turgid' probably isn't a very good word for how I find Moorcock's early prose now, but I'll run with it until a better one comes along.

I'm a big fan of "Resonance" by Chris Dolley in which the protagonist accidentally slips between the realities - often only noticing because the cracks in the pavement he walks to the train station are in the 'wrong' place. The book has this cool idea that if enough iterations of a character do the same thing then it creates a momentum that will lead to that action pretty much happening everywhere. Neal Stephenson takes a similar approach in his "D.O.D.O" novel when it comes to changing the past, but, as much as I love most of Stephenson's work, this wasn't anywhere near his best.

"Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" has certainly been my favourite movie of the year. It's rare to have a movie that can combine such batshit crazy imagination with so much heart and it deserves to be cherished - so I'll do my bit and cherish it.

Winnie 💜 (#8353)

Location: United States
Quote: "Shit. "
Posted: 653 days ago

So.. Don't be mad but I have a few more to catch up on,as I am currently finishing up Lexicon... So far I've read Syrup, Machine Man, and while I was away during the war I only had Jennifer Government.. Ironically. Because of this, I read JG probably 7 times because there was nothing else to do. I took a break from reading, but Lexicon had been sitting on my shelf since it came out and I finally picked it up last week.. (It's brilliant btw!) I plan on reading Providence after this, but since I can't seem to get enough of your books I will eventually get to Miss Madison May. It's mind boggling to me that your books are not all number 1 with a bullet.. Whatever that means! 💜 Thanks for writing things that keep me sane! I'm enjoying my time in your universes.. Lol

Captain Awesomepants (#5009)

Location: South of the River
Quote: "If I didn't flush OR wipe, do I still have to wash my hands?"
Posted: 653 days ago

I fkn love you, dude. When I tell Wifeage about your books, your take on things, your sardonic attitude on modern culture, and your overall writing style, and how much I want to simultaneously hug you for losing awards and drink beer with you for my own enjoyment, she calls me a narcissist.

Anyway, I gotta go. I've only recently noticed how much my hair is thinning and I'm taking it all off to establish dominance over it. Like punching the first guy I see on my first day in prison.

Machine Man subscriber Max

Location: Melbourne, Australia
Quote: "I'm my number one fan!"
Posted: 652 days ago

WOW you guys are nice. I should come here more often.

Radiatia (#6360)

Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted: 652 days ago

Well I for one am very happy for the alternative universe version of Max Barry who did win the award.

On a related note, I'm also happy for the version of Max who picked up a Pulitzer Prize and very angry at the version of Max who committed unspeakable atrocities.

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