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Genrenauts #0.5
There Will Always Be a Max
A hero is missing. The post-apocalyptic wasteland is awash with violence and injustice. The Genrenauts’ own Angstrom King has to step into legendary role to defend the innocent and finish a story gone awry.
A stand-alone short story in the Genrenauts series.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A stand-alone short story in the Genrenauts series.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
28 pages, ebook
First published April 6, 2016
About the author
Michael R. Underwood
35 books263 followersSupport Mike's writing at https://www.patreon.com/michaelrunder...
Mike's books include:
Genrenauts - a r/Fantasy Stabby Award-finalist science fiction adventure series in novellas. A group of storytellers travel between dimensions to the worlds where genres live to fix broken stories. Starts with The Shootout Solution. Collections available: Genrenauts - The Complete Season One
The Ree Reyes urban fantasy series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Hexomancy) about magicians who channel the power of popular culture. Starts with Geekomancy.
Born to the Blade, a political action fantasy about duelist diplomats vying for their nation's interests in a world on the brink of war. Co-written with Marie Brennan, Malka Older, and Cassandra Khaw for Serial Box Publishing. Collections available: Born to the Blade Season One.
Shield and Crocus, a superheroes-meets-epic fantasy novel where an aging revolutionary makes a deal with his most deadly foe to turn the tide of a fifty-year-long fight to free his city.
The Younger Gods, a supernatural thriller starring the white-sheep member of a family of demon-worshippers as he tries to stop his big sister from ending the world.
Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful games with acronyms. As a teenager, the friendly local game store was his home away from home, and the site of his apprenticeship in geekdom.
Mike earned a B.A. in Creative Mythology and in East Asian Studies from Indiana University, and a M.A. in Folklore Studies from the University of Oregon. Basically, destined to be a novelist. He is also a graduate of the 2007 Clarion West Writers Workshop.
Properly equipped with lots of ways to develop story ideas, Mike has been a barista, a bear builder, a sales representative, and the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.
Mike lives with his wife and their dog in Baltimore, MD.
Mike's books include:
Genrenauts - a r/Fantasy Stabby Award-finalist science fiction adventure series in novellas. A group of storytellers travel between dimensions to the worlds where genres live to fix broken stories. Starts with The Shootout Solution. Collections available: Genrenauts - The Complete Season One
The Ree Reyes urban fantasy series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Hexomancy) about magicians who channel the power of popular culture. Starts with Geekomancy.
Born to the Blade, a political action fantasy about duelist diplomats vying for their nation's interests in a world on the brink of war. Co-written with Marie Brennan, Malka Older, and Cassandra Khaw for Serial Box Publishing. Collections available: Born to the Blade Season One.
Shield and Crocus, a superheroes-meets-epic fantasy novel where an aging revolutionary makes a deal with his most deadly foe to turn the tide of a fifty-year-long fight to free his city.
The Younger Gods, a supernatural thriller starring the white-sheep member of a family of demon-worshippers as he tries to stop his big sister from ending the world.
Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful games with acronyms. As a teenager, the friendly local game store was his home away from home, and the site of his apprenticeship in geekdom.
Mike earned a B.A. in Creative Mythology and in East Asian Studies from Indiana University, and a M.A. in Folklore Studies from the University of Oregon. Basically, destined to be a novelist. He is also a graduate of the 2007 Clarion West Writers Workshop.
Properly equipped with lots of ways to develop story ideas, Mike has been a barista, a bear builder, a sales representative, and the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.
Mike lives with his wife and their dog in Baltimore, MD.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 31, 2016
What I love most about the Genrenauts series is the elasticity the central premise allows for each subsequent entry. If you're not familiar with Michael R. Underwood's latest series, Genrenauts is a literary-focused spin on Quantum Leap with a side of Star Trek. Earth Prime - our Earth - is the center of a multiverse where any number of story genres exist. The Genrenauts, led by Angstrom King, travel from one story world to the next, setting right whatever has gone wrong.
So far, his team has helped fix a broken story in the Western world, and another in the Science Fiction realm. Now, Underwood turns his attention, ever so briefly, to the post-apocalyptic wasteland that movie buffs are sure to recognize in this Tor.com Original short story, There Will Always Be a Max.
Angstrom King rides solo through a desert wasteland, one so desperate for a lone, renegade hero in a region that "ached for stories like it ached for water." King has taken on the identity of Max, a weary traveler with a souped up car, a shotgun, and a worn leather jacket. His mission is to help a small group of weary travelers make it across the stretch of irradiated land and get a water filtration unit back to their people. That is, if they can survive being chased and attacked by the gang of marauders known as the Skull Boys.
Yep - this is a Genrenauts story that is full-on Mad Max, and boy is it a fun one. It's a quick read, and while Underwood plays with some familiar tropes and a bit of in-world literary analysis, this is basically a twenty-page chase scene actioneer. As far as the story goes, it's a one-and-done, short and sweet, but I'm hopeful that the Genrenauts, either as the usual team defined in the previous two novellas, or on another solo mission, find themselves in another post-apocalypse landscape soon.
If you haven't read any of the prior Genrenauts exploits, no worries - you can start off here just as easily as with Episode One, The Shootout Solution.
So far, his team has helped fix a broken story in the Western world, and another in the Science Fiction realm. Now, Underwood turns his attention, ever so briefly, to the post-apocalyptic wasteland that movie buffs are sure to recognize in this Tor.com Original short story, There Will Always Be a Max.
Angstrom King rides solo through a desert wasteland, one so desperate for a lone, renegade hero in a region that "ached for stories like it ached for water." King has taken on the identity of Max, a weary traveler with a souped up car, a shotgun, and a worn leather jacket. His mission is to help a small group of weary travelers make it across the stretch of irradiated land and get a water filtration unit back to their people. That is, if they can survive being chased and attacked by the gang of marauders known as the Skull Boys.
Yep - this is a Genrenauts story that is full-on Mad Max, and boy is it a fun one. It's a quick read, and while Underwood plays with some familiar tropes and a bit of in-world literary analysis, this is basically a twenty-page chase scene actioneer. As far as the story goes, it's a one-and-done, short and sweet, but I'm hopeful that the Genrenauts, either as the usual team defined in the previous two novellas, or on another solo mission, find themselves in another post-apocalypse landscape soon.
If you haven't read any of the prior Genrenauts exploits, no worries - you can start off here just as easily as with Episode One, The Shootout Solution.
March 10, 2016
A Genrenauts short story starring Team Lead Angstrom King.
October 1, 2021
I read a bunch of Genrenauts stories and enjoyed them. A fun idea entertainingly executed. So, when I found this prequel story on library’s website, I figured I’ll check it out. After all, it’s so short and it’ll be another visit to a familiar universe. Alas, it wasn’t a great visit, albeit it was too brief to really mind. The plot is essentially one prolonged action driven Mad Max style scene and I’m not that much of a fan of reading action for action’s sake. There isn’t any of the cleverness of Genrenauts in here. Books with 0.5 past the title so often serve as series introductions to new readers and this one makes a lamentable one of that. You really shouldn’t judge the series by this story and there’s not real reason to read this story, unless you’re hugely into Mad Max or action. I am a completist by nature, but this was just unnecessary.
December 2, 2016
My first foray into Underwood's Genrenauts universe, but probably not my last. Unsurprisingly, based on the cover, the title and a loose understanding of the series, this story takes place in a desert wasteland through which roam savage hordes in dune buggies with too many spikes and bits of sheet metal welded to them; and there's a hero, of course, and his name (of course) is Max.
April 14, 2016
“In a world running on fumes, hope is priceless.”
A fun fragment of a Genrenauts story.
“But Maxes weren’t just guardians; they were inspiration. They called people to their better natures.”
Probably won’t make sense to those unfamiliar with Underwood’s story-mending series. Start with The Shootout Solution.
A fun fragment of a Genrenauts story.
“But Maxes weren’t just guardians; they were inspiration. They called people to their better natures.”
Probably won’t make sense to those unfamiliar with Underwood’s story-mending series. Start with The Shootout Solution.
Read
June 17, 2016Yet another subgenre reaches the point of apparent exhaustion; I couldn't even be doing with Jasper Fforde, and this travels-within-fiction effort about riding the story and the archetypes with which you find yourself feels like him minus the strained humour, or perhaps Philip Purser-Hallard's Devices books minus, well, everything.
April 19, 2016
Enjoyable short story. Convinced me to give the series proper a try
July 10, 2019
Estamos diante de uma narrativa que faz parte de uma série chamada Genrenauts em que guerreiros dimensionais atravessam diferentes mundos para ajudar e inspirar pessoas. A premissa não é nova, mas ela ainda consegue gerar histórias boas e interessantes. Porém, quando alguém coloca um universo literário em uma história curta, esta precisa ser interessante por si só, caso contrário ela é apenas mais uma narrativa. E esse foi o caso aqui.
Aqui temos um homem chamado King que ocupa a função (ou cargo ou papel... sei lá) de Max. Ele é uma espécie de defensor de realidades paralelas. Ele tenta resolver os problemas de pessoas em diferentes mundos. Além de ser um ícone de inspiração para que surjam heróis nestes lugares. King se encontra em uma espécie de mundo desértico pós-apocalíptico onde a água é escassa (vibes de Mad Max). Ele segue com o seu carro pelo deserto quando encontra um grupo de pessoas sendo atacado por uma gangue de motoqueiros chamados Skull Boys. Ele consegue impedir o ataque e agora precisa escoltar essas pessoas até um lugar seguro.
Quando eu disse vibes totais de Mad Max, eu não fui totalmente claro. É muito inspirado na série de filmes. Tirando o aspecto multidimensional da coisa, tem tantos elementos em comum que me incomodou. Das histórias curtas publicada pela Tor.com, este foi disparado o mais fraco com uma narrativa que não te ajuda a compreender o que se passa no universo, por que o protagonista é como é e qual o objetivo de ajudar as pessoas em universos paralelos (porque sim não é resposta). Ou seja, ou a história curta é realmente ruim ou ela depende tanto da série principal que ela não funciona por si só. A minha tendência é acreditar no segundo caso e aí também significa uma falha do autor ao não conseguir descolar sua narrativa de sua série principal. Prejudicou a fruição do leitor que ou pega a série ou ignora as histórias do autor.
Se tem algo positivo na história são as sequências de ação. O autor tem uma ótima mão em criar uma cena dinâmica e orgânica. Parece realmente que eu estou acompanhando o filme com explosões acontecendo, coisas voando e tudo muito tenso. Nada parece confuso. E isso é de fato uma dificuldade para alguns autores: montar uma sequência completa que seja verossímil (dentro da física do mundo criado pelo autor) e emocionante ao mesmo tempo. Tem duas grandes sequências de ação: uma no começo e uma no clímax. Isso faz com que a história pareça uma longa cena de perseguição e combate.
There Will Always Be a Max é uma história que eu não recomendo. Mesmo o autor tendo uma boa mão para cenas de ação e explosões, a história é muito fraca e tem elementos demais em comum com Mad Max. Não me estimulou a ler a série. Pelo contrário: me afastou.
Aqui temos um homem chamado King que ocupa a função (ou cargo ou papel... sei lá) de Max. Ele é uma espécie de defensor de realidades paralelas. Ele tenta resolver os problemas de pessoas em diferentes mundos. Além de ser um ícone de inspiração para que surjam heróis nestes lugares. King se encontra em uma espécie de mundo desértico pós-apocalíptico onde a água é escassa (vibes de Mad Max). Ele segue com o seu carro pelo deserto quando encontra um grupo de pessoas sendo atacado por uma gangue de motoqueiros chamados Skull Boys. Ele consegue impedir o ataque e agora precisa escoltar essas pessoas até um lugar seguro.
Quando eu disse vibes totais de Mad Max, eu não fui totalmente claro. É muito inspirado na série de filmes. Tirando o aspecto multidimensional da coisa, tem tantos elementos em comum que me incomodou. Das histórias curtas publicada pela Tor.com, este foi disparado o mais fraco com uma narrativa que não te ajuda a compreender o que se passa no universo, por que o protagonista é como é e qual o objetivo de ajudar as pessoas em universos paralelos (porque sim não é resposta). Ou seja, ou a história curta é realmente ruim ou ela depende tanto da série principal que ela não funciona por si só. A minha tendência é acreditar no segundo caso e aí também significa uma falha do autor ao não conseguir descolar sua narrativa de sua série principal. Prejudicou a fruição do leitor que ou pega a série ou ignora as histórias do autor.
Se tem algo positivo na história são as sequências de ação. O autor tem uma ótima mão em criar uma cena dinâmica e orgânica. Parece realmente que eu estou acompanhando o filme com explosões acontecendo, coisas voando e tudo muito tenso. Nada parece confuso. E isso é de fato uma dificuldade para alguns autores: montar uma sequência completa que seja verossímil (dentro da física do mundo criado pelo autor) e emocionante ao mesmo tempo. Tem duas grandes sequências de ação: uma no começo e uma no clímax. Isso faz com que a história pareça uma longa cena de perseguição e combate.
There Will Always Be a Max é uma história que eu não recomendo. Mesmo o autor tendo uma boa mão para cenas de ação e explosões, a história é muito fraca e tem elementos demais em comum com Mad Max. Não me estimulou a ler a série. Pelo contrário: me afastou.
June 19, 2021
So, yeah, Max.
Mad Max.
One of my all-time favorite movies as a youth of the 80's, and now pretty much a franchise with sequels and video games, it's the post-apocalyptic road warrior of legend. Now, Max has become a persona that can be worn and exchanged, cloak-like, to continue the story.
This was fun. I should look into Genrenauts, the series upon which this is based.
Mad Max.
One of my all-time favorite movies as a youth of the 80's, and now pretty much a franchise with sequels and video games, it's the post-apocalyptic road warrior of legend. Now, Max has become a persona that can be worn and exchanged, cloak-like, to continue the story.
This was fun. I should look into Genrenauts, the series upon which this is based.
September 19, 2017
I've heard of the Genrenauts Series so this was a good way to get a feel for the author's writing style before jumping in. This story takes place in a Mad Max universe and though the author plays well within the genre it didn't stand out as spectacular to me.
November 28, 2018
This was underwhelming.
It felt too short, too abrupt. It's also very flat and not particularly engaging.
This also brought to light and reaffirmed several things.
1) Apocalyptic wastelands are not my thing. The world is bleak enough without additional fuel by fiction.
2) Genrenauts may be an interesting concept, but it's also full of holes and inspires too much scepticism to allow full immersion.
Not sure if there is a point in continuing with the series.
It felt too short, too abrupt. It's also very flat and not particularly engaging.
This also brought to light and reaffirmed several things.
1) Apocalyptic wastelands are not my thing. The world is bleak enough without additional fuel by fiction.
2) Genrenauts may be an interesting concept, but it's also full of holes and inspires too much scepticism to allow full immersion.
Not sure if there is a point in continuing with the series.
November 10, 2016
A fun little short, this doesn't really expand the Genrenauts series much. It offers a couple of insights into two series characters, but is mostly just a divertissement. Worth a look, but not essential, and probably not great as a standalone.
November 18, 2017
finished 11/18/17. this is probably closer to 3.5, but i'm not usually a fan of this kind of adventure drama. Good characters, good plot line, nice change up at the end. All in all it was a complete short story. if only I liked Max.
July 16, 2021
Cute little riff on the Mad Max universe, and while I know nothing about the Genrenauts, there was enough laid out that I think I caught the gist of what was going on.
April 30, 2016
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
It's not often that I do prep work before reading something -- especially a 26 page story. But I wanted to fully appreciate this, so in the weeks leading up to the release (and one week after -- hence the late review), I watched the Mad Max films -- I'm not sure why, but they never appealed to me back in the 80s, and while I was curious about Fury Road, I hadn't gotten around to it yet. While I'm very underwhelmed by the first two, the third was okay, and I really liked the latest. So finally, I felt ready to read this story.
So, so glad that I watched the movies first -- I'd have been okay without it, but there were nuances, etc. that you pick up with the right background.
So we're in a post-apocalyptic area, very much out of the Mad Max movies. Angstrom King is the only Genrenaut involved here -- for reasons well explained -- but Roman overshadows everything. I really appreciated this approach. I've been curious about the hints that Underwood dropped in The Absconded Ambassador about Roman and am glad we got more here -- tho' I'm still looking forward to getting the whole story eventually. It was good to see King doing more than commanding a mission, it was good for the character to get in the thick of things.
Underwood's treatment of "The Max" idea/character is well done. The story, while brief, is full and exciting. Not much more to ask from 26 pages, really.
---
It's not often that I do prep work before reading something -- especially a 26 page story. But I wanted to fully appreciate this, so in the weeks leading up to the release (and one week after -- hence the late review), I watched the Mad Max films -- I'm not sure why, but they never appealed to me back in the 80s, and while I was curious about Fury Road, I hadn't gotten around to it yet. While I'm very underwhelmed by the first two, the third was okay, and I really liked the latest. So finally, I felt ready to read this story.
So, so glad that I watched the movies first -- I'd have been okay without it, but there were nuances, etc. that you pick up with the right background.
So we're in a post-apocalyptic area, very much out of the Mad Max movies. Angstrom King is the only Genrenaut involved here -- for reasons well explained -- but Roman overshadows everything. I really appreciated this approach. I've been curious about the hints that Underwood dropped in The Absconded Ambassador about Roman and am glad we got more here -- tho' I'm still looking forward to getting the whole story eventually. It was good to see King doing more than commanding a mission, it was good for the character to get in the thick of things.
Underwood's treatment of "The Max" idea/character is well done. The story, while brief, is full and exciting. Not much more to ask from 26 pages, really.
April 23, 2016
Enjoyed this short story. Could easily fit right in to the legend of Mad Max too. No need for too much of a back story as we get stuck in with a high octane car chase with 'Max' as soon as he picks up his passengers.
If you love the post apocalyptic world of Mad Max, you definitely get a kick out of this short story.
If you love the post apocalyptic world of Mad Max, you definitely get a kick out of this short story.
October 25, 2016
Standalone short story in the 'Genrenauts' universe, and a right-paced wild ride from start to finish. Kinda fun to learn more about King (and Roman by implication); I read it between picking up books one and two, and it cheated a smdige of a spoiler in the second book. Not a complaint. In fact, it helped flesh out both of these two heroes while I was breezing through "Absconded."
November 24, 2016
I was not aware that this short story was part of a series, set in the "Genrenauts universe". This have in all likelihood impacted my ability of fully appreciate it: there are many references to some characters and backstories I did not know.
This said, I still enjoyed this short mad-max story, where the main character makes himself a Max, a bringer of hope at a time of despair.
This said, I still enjoyed this short mad-max story, where the main character makes himself a Max, a bringer of hope at a time of despair.
January 29, 2017
Seriously underwhelmed by this. I'm not really a fan of Mad Max or post-apocalyptic stories to begin with and this did nothing to change my mind. I can't really say that it encouraged me to try the Genrenauts series either.
April 17, 2016
A tremendous little tale, with a great central conceit
April 19, 2016
I have loved all the genrenaut stories so far but this is very slight. Without the overarching reference to the genrenaut universe, the story does not stand up on its own.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews