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'August Seebeck is in his twenties, a man of average looks, intellect, and outlook. Then comes the claim of his great-aunt Tansy that she has been finding corpses each Saturday night in her bath which vanish by morning. August dismisses this tale as elderly fantasy until he stumbles upon a corpse being shoved into the second-floor bathroom of his aunt's house. Even that wouldn't faze him, but then someone steps out of the bathroom mirror.'
'August suddenly discovers he is a Player in the multiuniverse Contest of Worlds. He plumbs the secrets of a cosmos revealed as ultimately computational, learns of the bitter enmity between Vorpal Players and the vicious K-Machines, meets the Good Machine that killed everyone on one world, and brings himself back from the dead.'
(Source: Publisher's blurb.)
Notes
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Dedication: To the memory of Peter Mac and to Mariann McNamara with thanks for encouragement and kindnesses over the years.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Fiction of the Future : Australian Science Fiction
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 128-140) 'According to Russell Blackford 'commercial science fiction is the most international of literary forms.' He observes that 'Australian SF continues to flourish, even if it trails heroic fantasy in mass-market appeal.' Australian SF writers although published internationally, with a dedicated fan followings in USA, UK and Europe, were overlooked for a very long time by Australian multinational publishers. The international editions had to be imported and were then distributed in Australia (Congreve and Marquardt 8). Blackford in his chapter throws light on the history of Australian SF and observes how Australian SF writers, with their concern for the future, achieved a powerful synthesis in form and content. The progress of Australian SF, maturity of style in the work of younger writers, and massive worldwide sales make Blackford optimistic as he asserts that 'the best Australian writers in the genre will be prominent players on the world stage.' (Editor's foreword xii-xiii)
-
The Fiction of the Future : Australian Science Fiction
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 128-140) 'According to Russell Blackford 'commercial science fiction is the most international of literary forms.' He observes that 'Australian SF continues to flourish, even if it trails heroic fantasy in mass-market appeal.' Australian SF writers although published internationally, with a dedicated fan followings in USA, UK and Europe, were overlooked for a very long time by Australian multinational publishers. The international editions had to be imported and were then distributed in Australia (Congreve and Marquardt 8). Blackford in his chapter throws light on the history of Australian SF and observes how Australian SF writers, with their concern for the future, achieved a powerful synthesis in form and content. The progress of Australian SF, maturity of style in the work of younger writers, and massive worldwide sales make Blackford optimistic as he asserts that 'the best Australian writers in the genre will be prominent players on the world stage.' (Editor's foreword xii-xiii)
Awards
- 2006 finalist Locus Awards — SF Novel