Skip to content

The Amadeus Net: Reviews

FLASH ME MAGAZINE

“Strange? Yes. Implausible? No, because Rayner successfully crafts an inherent logic into his surreal story with a collage of plausible first-person narratives, which includes the first-person “thinking machine” narrative of the actual setting of the story — the post-apocalyptic, utopian city-state of Ipolis, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“Furthermore, Rayner’s flair for sustained humor, and compelling story telling enhances the preposterous premises, characterizations, and worthy themes of art, love, and the search for self-identity and sex in the day-to-day existence of an eclectic cast of characters making their way through the end of the world.”

— Janet Paszkowski, Flash Me Magazine (April 2009)

BIBLEOPHILE

“It wasn’t just the characters and their stories that I found so compelling, but the ideas that this novel incorporated into the story.  Like how do you define your worth in a society where money doesn’t exist? Or what is art, how is it defined, and how far should someone be allowed to go to produce?  And what about the idea of the truth at all costs?”

Read the whole review here..>

THE BOOK BLOG

“The book is well-written, and once one gets into the meat of the story its principals are interesting enough to keep readers’ attention. Perhaps most likeable is the character of Ipolis itself, whose benevolent governance of its residents includes shielding them from incoming missiles, controlling the weather, and spiking the water supply of intimate couples with birth-control drugs unless they’re actively trying to reproduce. The Amadeus Net is not the sort of book that you won’t be able to put down, but you’ll definitely want to pick it up again once you do.”
–Meg Hamel, Book Blog full review..>

COREY REDEKOP, AUTHOR OF SHELF MONKEY

“The Amadeus Net, the debut novel from [Canadian author Mark A.] Rayner, is a bizarre, often hilarious piece of futuristic satire. With an imagination reminiscent of Philip K. Dick, a satirical bent a la Tom Robbins, and a sense of humour derived equally from episodes ofThe Goon Show and the literature of Neal Stephenson, The Amadeus Net is an offbeat and wonderfully droll exercise in sustained amusement…

At a time when the bestseller lists are dominated by the continuous, unenthusiastic, and barely literate conspiracy ramblings of a Hardy Boys wannabe, a story that makes you think and laugh is almost a hidden treasure. The Amadeus Net is a wonderful first novel, thoughtful and engaging. To close on the hopeful words of Mozart himself, ”˜Everyone laugh! Fart, and laugh! Then compose something beautiful.’”

Corey Redekop, Author, Shelf Monkey: Read the full review..>

 

BIBLIOTRAVEL

“The Amadeus Net is an interesting mix of tones; some of the book is in a jokey mode that sometimes happens in science fiction, and some of the book has a quite serious intent to it. The title refers to the fact that the main character is Mozart, alive and well in 2038 after nearly 300 years of life.”
–James Schellenberg, BiblioTravel: read the whole review ..>

DONALD D’AMMASSA

“Satire used to be a lot more popular in SF than it is today, possibly because we’re all aware of the problems and don’t need to be nudged any more. This one — from a publisher of whom I haven’t previously heard — is actually quite a good one, with an interesting premise. Mozart was actually immortal, faked his death, and is still alive some twenty years from now, in a future where sex change clinics are an accepted part of life. There is a nice mix of plots including a possible apocalypse, a journalist who knows his secret, attempts to steal and sell his DNA, The author pokes fun at a variety of modern trends and foibles, and for the most part does so wittily and entertainingly.”

–Donald D’Ammassa, Author of Narcissus (source)

Locus Online ..>

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.