Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Amadeus Net

by Mark A. Rayner (Goodreads Author)

4.45 of 5 stars 4.45 · rating details · 29 ratings · 14 reviews

Buy directly from ENC Press: $15.00 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is alive and in love, living in the world’s first sentient city, Ipolis. Lucky for both of them, nobody knows, but how long can it stay that way?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart walks into the sex change clinic, determined to have his “sprouter” snipped off. So begins The Amadeus Net, a satirical novel set in the year 2028...more

Trade Paperback, 238 pages

Published January 1st 2005 by ENC Press

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Some Are Sicker Than Others by Andrew Seaward

Best Dark Humor

108th out of 258 books — 568 voters

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Best Comedic Sci-Fi Books

194th out of 257 books — 445 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 232)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 18, 2010 Andrew Breslin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book because it was published by ENC press, which published my own book. It confirmed what I had already suspected: our publisher has very good taste.

It's been a few years since I read this, and some of the details have grown a bit fuzzy. But I do recall the beauty of the writing very clearly. If the comparison is not too cliched or obvious, given the protagonist--I suspect it is, but I don't care--the words flowed melodiously, like music.

It made me reflect on the position taken by...more

8 likes · like · see review

Dec 18, 2010 Kmurphy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The year is 2028 and what develops out of this novel is like a melody Mozart himself would compose.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, The Amadeus Net is a story about one man’s struggle for survival after the Shudder hits, leaving him to gather his wits in Ipolis, a utopian city-state in the South Pacific.

What became the most apparent while reading this novel was its brilliant sense of characterization. Instead of focusing specifically on Mozart and his struggles, Rayner weaves compelling stories...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 17, 2010 Calvin Chayce rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amadeus Rocked Me

I sensed there was something of The Odyssey lying beneath the surface of The Amadeus Net . Or maybe The Iliad – I’m not well versed in Homer, but the background of at least one or two characters seemed to suggest it. Regardless of whether I imagined that influence, Amadeus is a fantastic story, very well told. The time and labour Rayner put into creating the characters within the pages becomes apparent quickly, and their eclectic richness pays off handsomely as the reader become...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 24, 2009 KC rated it 4 of 5 stars

It is 2028 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, posing as Will Armstrong, is alive and composing. The immortal who has survived history's greatest challenges including its most recent, the asteroid strike called "the Shudder," now finds his identity at risk. But the science and arts utopia in which he resides, Ipolis or the sapient machine One, favors Mozart above all its citizens and goes to extreme measures to ensure his safety.

What unfolds is a comedic opera with an intricate plot. While Mozart pines...more

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2009 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Set in the year 2028, shortly after the destruction of half of the world’s population due to an asteroid-Earth collision (known as The Shudder), The Amadeus Net, by Mark Rayner, tells the story of love and survival in Ipolis, the man-made utopia dedicated to the preservation of art and to scientific exploration. While Ipolis itself may appear to be paradise, the world around it is certainly not. Divided still by wealth, the world is put in danger of destruction by the religious fanatics of the p...more Set in the year 2028, shortly after the destruction of half of the world’s population due to an asteroid-Earth collision (known as The Shudder), The Amadeus Net, by Mark Rayner, tells the story of love and survival in Ipolis, the man-made utopia dedicated to the preservation of art and to scientific exploration. While Ipolis itself may appear to be paradise, the world around it is certainly not. Divided still by wealth, the world is put in danger of destruction by the religious fanatics of the poverty-stricken South, who give the North an ultimatum: Distribute wealth and resources fairly, or suffer global annihilation.

Living among this global turmoil, in Ipolis, are: Bella, the sadistic artist struggling with her past as a warrior-like survivor of The Shudder; Les, the Canadian consulate desperately and obsessively in love with Helen Printo, a world famous reporter; Alex Burton, the power-driven egoist determined to rule Mars; and the beautiful Katerina, who is set on chasing after unattainable women, and yet is loved by a man.

Run by One, the mind of the Ipolis machine, the inhabitants of this futuristic civilization are under constant surveillance and surrounded by technology: their multifunctional data-pads, 3Vs (the future’s TV equivalent), robotic bartenders, etc. However, one citizen of Ipolis is monitored by One more closely than the rest: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, believed to have died in 1791. The 272-year-old composer, in love with Katerina, now goes by the name of Will Armstrong, yet continues to compose the music of Mozart. This does not become a problem until dedicated news reporter Helen Printo is set on discovering the truth, and One becomes intent on keeping the man safe.

The Amadeus Net is a compelling read from start to finish, containing engaging characters, an intricate plot, and powerful insight into what it means to be human in post, and possibly pre, apocalyptic Ipolis.

Most poignant to me was its examination of the nature of art, love, and sex: What drives an individual to love and to create? How important is the existence of art? It delves also into the mind of the computer as it controls its “children,” the people of Ipolis, and reworks their fates. I wonder too: How do the members of a technologically advanced society still maintain freedom, privacy, and a unique identity?
(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Jun 03, 2012 Laura Haggart rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t think I was a big fan of the science fiction genre, but Rayner may have just converted me.

The novel is elaborately planned out and detailed. The characters especially stand out as being intricate and meticulously created. Every single character in this novel held my interest and had me wanting more. You find yourself fully immersed in everyone’s back story. I’d love a full novel on Bella Gunn alone – a character unlike any I’ve read about before.

Rayner’s novel is dense, but enjoyably s...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 15, 2009 Brittany rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: satire

In the novel “The Amadeus Net, Mark A. Rayner has imagined a post-apocalyptic world in which machines have developed a conscious, Mozart is still alive in 2028 and the parts of the world that survived after the acpolayptic episode, the Shudder, are attempting to obliterate each other with nukes. (Oh, right. That last part doesn’t sound so much like fiction, does it?)
The reader is taken to Ipolis, a utopia in the southern hemisphere for those able to escape the devastated parts of the world. Fo...more In the novel “The Amadeus Net, Mark A. Rayner has imagined a post-apocalyptic world in which machines have developed a conscious, Mozart is still alive in 2028 and the parts of the world that survived after the acpolayptic episode, the Shudder, are attempting to obliterate each other with nukes. (Oh, right. That last part doesn’t sound so much like fiction, does it?)
The reader is taken to Ipolis, a utopia in the southern hemisphere for those able to escape the devastated parts of the world. For the most part, admittance is permitted only to artists of some kind with the exception of a few wealthy inhabitants who must turn their money over to Ipolis. It is a land that has abolished work for monetary gain and is made up of people all creating passionate art for art’s sake. It is also under the operation of ‘One’, the collective conscious identity of the computers that operate Ipolis.
The story is infused with sensational characters that feel realistic emotions and combat realistic internal issues. Mozart (or Will, as he is called in the 21st century) has found himself in quite a predicament. Blessed (or cursed) with eternal life, he is on the verge of being discovered and decides he must alter his appearance by switching genders. In the meantime, he falls in love with a lesbian who doesn’t feel the same. Bella was raised in the Canadian wilderness until she was a teen and her father was killed. It is a constant struggle for her to control her carnal desires that manifest themselves in dangerous ways, such as murder. Katerina is a nurse in Dr. So’s Sex Change clinic, where she assists others in making their decision whil she struggles with her own sexuality. Also among these are Helen Printo, a reporter on the prowl for Mozart and who also contributed to the worldwide nuclear crisis via her reporting and Burton, who is trying to find Mozart so he can sell him to scientists and fund his way to Mars.
“The Amadeus Net” touches on a variety of relevant social issues and raises questions on every page. How far away are we from computers controlling us? If it happens, do we even have a prayer of retaining power? And what about that nuke situation? For me, Mozart’s eternal life made me question what the world will be like in 200 years. If anything resembling Rayner’s imagination comes true, who knows what the state of the world will be.
(less)

7 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my first experience with Rayner, but I'm definitely on board. How could you not love a book that starts with the line: "Mozart walked into the sex-change clinic on a cold, snowy July morning, intending to have his sprouter snipped off." I mean, Mozart contemplates a sex-change operation in order to hide his immortality (literal and musical) in a dystopian-utopia (or utoptian-dystopia), and things get messy from there. The book is strange, imaginative, and suspenseful. It really pulled me...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 21, 2012 Sheila rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalyptic-or-dystopian

How on earth do I begin to describe this book. Hmm, let me see, have you ever had a really weird dream, one that just keeps going on and on, without making any sense? Imagine dreaming, with your mind flipping from strange scene to scene, random place to place, with things getting weirder and stranger by the minute, with random sex scenes thrown in, then random murder and violence thrown in, and strange thinking speaking computers, and when you wake up you go "wow, what in the heck was that all a...more

like · see review

Oct 20, 2011 Brendan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbtqi, sci-fi

Bizarre but intriguing, violent but titillating, crude but eloquent—Mark Rayner’s Amadeus Net is a novel of contradictions, which manages to both please and bewilder its reader. The premise is simple and at the same time convoluted (yet another paradox): Mozart is still alive and composing in secret, in a post-apocalyptic utopian society run entirely by a sentient computer. Aside from this, little else is different. The world continues to be fraught with conflict, wars are fought, Armageddon is...more Bizarre but intriguing, violent but titillating, crude but eloquent—Mark Rayner’s Amadeus Net is a novel of contradictions, which manages to both please and bewilder its reader. The premise is simple and at the same time convoluted (yet another paradox): Mozart is still alive and composing in secret, in a post-apocalyptic utopian society run entirely by a sentient computer. Aside from this, little else is different. The world continues to be fraught with conflict, wars are fought, Armageddon is threatened (for a second time), and beauty is discovered, destroyed, and recreated. This cycle of death and rebirth, of destruction and creation, parallels ancient religions as well as the style of Rayner’s novel itself. The reader is left with a sense of being content with discontentment, of being happy to live an impermanent life, with limitations, conflicts, and disappointments—as well as moments of sublime beauty.

In fact, the bizarre nature of the novel’s style and content perfectly serves this purpose: it puts the sublime on display, as best as that can be done, and illustrates the impermanence of beauty, love, and life. Told over the course of a few days, Amadeus Net shifts from third-person omniscient to first-person memoir format, with each major character breaking the fourth wall to improve his or her reputation in the eyes of the reader. Even the city itself—known as Ipolis—has a number of monologues, waxing philosophic on the essence and failings of humanity. Rayner’s often schizophrenic style follows a certain logic, pursuing a linear chronology and managing to instill in the reader an appreciation for how fleeting and amorphous each person’s life is. Every character perceives him or herself differently, projecting a certain sense of the world and of life; even Ipolis, the sentient city, holds onto illusions of objectivity while favoring particular citizens over others, secretly disregarding some lives while elevating a chosen few.

The plot itself is reflective of this: a world torn by natural disaster and war, a city benevolently and silently dictating the directions of each individual citizen, and a composer suffering in quiet agony, over his immortality, his art, and his love for a woman who can never (he believes) reciprocate. Mozart’s inability to die cripples him, blinding him from the beauty which others, much closer to death, are free to see. We have Bella Gunn, an 18-year-old survivalist from North America with burgeoning artistic talents and a compulsive tendency toward rabid sadism in bed; Helen Printo, an egotistical and cold reporter recklessly pursuing any and every lead, regardless of consequences, even if she may set off the second apocalypse; and Alexander Burton, a psychotic with dictatorial ambitions and an appetite for violence, willing to sacrifice the world for his own greed. These characters, and their Nietzschean passions, are unfathomable to the inhuman and totally logical Ipolis, and enviable to the lost and bereft Mozart, whose only purpose for centuries has been to survive and hide. With the world close to ending all over again, Mozart finally rediscovers his passion, his raison d’être—and, perhaps, the peace of death.

Mark Rayner has created a world which will enthrall any reader with an imagination. His characters are vivid and beautiful, if often grotesque and horrifying in both action and thought, and his style, while sometimes verging on the didactic in expressing certain political opinions, still avoids intrusion from the author itself. The novel progresses as if by power of fate, with characters coming together through inexplicable chance, world events transpiring with shocking and explosive spontaneity, and love, beauty, life, all ebbing and flowing in the heart of the story. It is written as if not by Rayner’s own will, but by an impersonal third party, a third hand, and it is all the more engrossing for this fact. Readers of any political stripe, any religion, any class, gender, race, or sexuality, will find this an electrifying and compelling novel—the only requirement is an imagination, and an appreciation for the fragility of life.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 15, 2010 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-my-library

It took me a long time to read this, but it is no reflection on the quality. (Things in my life have been complicated and children take up a lot of time.) It was another great read from the mind of Mark A. Rayner.

Here is a description from the author's web site:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart walks into the sex change clinic, determined to have his “sprouter” snipped off. So begins The Amadeus Net, a satirical novel that explores art, love, and identity at the end of the world.

The year is 2028. For more...more It took me a long time to read this, but it is no reflection on the quality. (Things in my life have been complicated and children take up a lot of time.) It was another great read from the mind of Mark A. Rayner.

Here is a description from the author's web site:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart walks into the sex change clinic, determined to have his “sprouter” snipped off. So begins The Amadeus Net, a satirical novel that explores art, love, and identity at the end of the world.

The year is 2028. For more than two centuries, the one-time wunderkind has kept his existence secret while he tried to understand his immortality. Living in style through funds raised by selling “lost” Mozart works, he has also helped to create Ipolis, a utopian city-state, after the cataclysmic Shudder, a global disaster caused by an asteroid strike in 2015.

But a few complications mar Mozart’s perfect world. The woman he loves is a lesbian, which, paradoxically, makes him forget about his sex-change plans. The world’s greatest reporter knows he’s still alive and will stop at nothing to expose him. The stakes are higher than he knows, because if the reporter finds him, so will the spy planning to sell Mozart’s DNA to the highest bidder. Oh, and, by the way, the world might end in seven days.

Mozart's only allies are a psychotic American artist, a bland Canadian diplomat, and the city itself: a sapient, thinking machine that is screwing up as only a sapient, thinking machine can.

One thing that I thought would get in the way of reading this book was the famed movie, "Amadeus", because of Tom Hulce's performance. But Rayner gave him a new voice. It was a smooth transition and a very enjoyable character. He's confused and hurting from the years of living, and not living, and it made for probably one of the most interesting historical characters in fiction.

This book, in my mind, is different from the author's other novel ("Marvellous Hairy"). Though still satire, I found it had a more serious tone about it. The characters didn't make me laugh out loud, but were not less interesting. They made me cringe at times, which is good. They were driven by different issues. There was a nature of the book that had a very mature, experienced writing about it. Sometimes it's tough for me to read a book by an author, and then go back and read a book written earlier in their career. You can see the difference in the writing and at times seems like a step back. Other then one item, I didn't get that feeling with this book.

That item was how the reader was let into the minds of it's characters. Every few chapters we would get one that was in first person, changing between the different characters. It was a great idea to expand the depth of the characters, but it was done almost like they were asked to talk about themselves without an explanation why. The story, and writing, though carried it so that it didn't seem awkward. It made me scratch my head at first, but the delivery added much to the story.

Now having read both of Mr. Rayner's books, and enjoying both, he has become a must read for me. I just hope we don't have to wait long for his next novel.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mark Rayner did a great job on this book but I have to ask you this.
Have you ever wondered what happened to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
Well he is alive and well sitting in a sex change clinic getting ready to change his life for ever some time in the year 2028.

But while sitting there his life changes but not in the way his is planning.

I found this a real page turner and I was pleased as to the way it flowed together
please keep on writing more books

1 like · like · see review

May 06, 2009 Mark Rayner rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Shelves: humor

A recent review (not mine):

“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, charac...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jun 16, 2011 Darlene rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Distopian/Utopians

Recommended to Darlene by: Free Smashbook

Shelves: kindle, lgbt, sci-fi

What if Mozart wasn't in that mass paupers' grave? What if he had managed to live not only to the current age but centuries beyond, even after the world had been hit by a huge meteor. That is the main plot. But there are many subplots. A sentient city, Amadeus and the sex-change, Amadeus and the lesbian nurse, wars and rumors of all kinds. The story was very good. But I think the copy I got for my Kindle wasn't cleaned up enough. For one the author repeats himself, then the Title or Author's nam...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 21, 2013 Penni marked it as to-read

May 08, 2013 Legato Darksummers added it

Shelves: daddy-dark-s-baby-warrior-list

Apr 17, 2013 April marked it as to-read

Apr 16, 2013 Pete marked it as to-read

Apr 09, 2013 Heather marked it as to-read-do-not-own

Apr 09, 2013 Mike Specchia marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Apr 01, 2013 Myriame marked it as to-read

Mar 14, 2013 Doug Reed added it

Feb 21, 2013 Porche marked it as to-read

Feb 02, 2013 ~Sara~ marked it as to-read

Jan 25, 2013 Lee Herman marked it as to-read

Jan 10, 2013 Dasha marked it as to-read

Dec 29, 2012 Paddy O'callaghan marked it as to-read

Dec 25, 2012 Ellie Jvd rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dec 04, 2012 Mario marked it as to-read

Shelves: humor-wacky, zombie-dystopian-post-apocalypse

Dec 02, 2012 Charles marked it as to-read

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Apocalypse Whenever: (closed, WINNERS!) July Giveaway #2! The Amadeus Net, by Mark A. Rayner, 2 (signed) copies!	13	44	Aug 01, 2012 02:11pm

combine
Other Editions (1)

Genres

Science Fiction

3 users

Glbt

2 users

See top shelves...

About Mark A. Rayner

Mark acquired his super-powers on the day he was bitten by a radioactive baboon.

His grandfather had taken him to a petting zoo near Mark's home town of London (the other one, in Canada) and the ten-year old had been delighted to discover that there were monkeys. The only thing that would have made him happier was the presence of pirates, but the pirate petting zoo had been forced out of business...more

More about Mark A. Rayner...

Books by Mark A. Rayner

The Meanderings of the Emily Chesley Reading Circle

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Amadeus Net

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Amadeus Net
avg rating	preview: The Amadeus Net Goodreads rating: 4.45 (29 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6328348-the-amadeus-net?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1236798801l/6328348.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6328348-the-amadeus-net?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Amadeus Net by Mark A. Rayner[/url]

The Amadeus Net

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (1)

Genres

About Mark A. Rayner

Books by Mark A. Rayner

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The Amadeus Net

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)