Max Barry Books

When Scat comes up with the idea for the hottest new soda ever, he's sure he'll retire the next rich, savvy marketing success story. But in the treacherous waters of corporate America there are no sure things--and suddenly Scat has to save not only his idea but his yet-to-be-realized career. With the help of the scarily beautiful and brainy 6, he sets out on a mission to reclaim the fame and fortune that, time and again, eludes him. This brilliantly scathing debut is a hilarious send-up of celebrity, sexual politics, corporate America, and the fleeting status that comes with getting to the table first--before the other guy has you for lunch.

Words are weapons, and one man is immune, in this dazzlingly original thriller from the author of Jennifer Government. Sticks and stones break bones. Words kill. They recruited Emily from the streets. They said it was because she's good with words. They'll live to regret it. Will survived something he shouldn't have. But he doesn't remember it. Now they're after him and he doesn't know why. There's a word, they say. It shouldn't have got out. But it did. And they want it back... Find out why in one of the most mind-bending, page-turning, thrilling novels you'll ever read.

It was built to kill our enemies. But now it's got its own plans. In the future, the war against aliens from the dark reaches of space has taken a critical turn. Once we approached the salamanders in peace... and they annihilated us. Now mankind has developed the ultimate killing machine, the Providence class of spaceship. With the ships' frightening speed, frightening intelligence and frightening weaponry, it's now the salamander's turn to be annihilated... in their millions. The mismatched quartet of Talia, Gilly, Jolene and Anders are the crew on one of these destroyers. But with the ship's computers designed to outperform human decision-making in practically all areas, they are virtual prisoners of the ship's AI. IT will take them to where the enemy are, it will dictate the strategy in any battle, it will direct the guns.... The crew's only role is to publicize their glorious war to a skeptical Earth. Social media and video clips are THEIR weapons in an endless charm offensive. THEIR chief enemies are not the space reptiles but each other, and boredom. But then everything changes. A message comes from base: the Providence is going into the VZ, the Violet Zone, where there are no beacons and no communications with Earth. It is the heart of the enemy empire - and now the crew are left to wonder whether this is a mission of ultimate destruction or, more sinisterly, of ultimate self-destruction...

When is physical violence an appropriate response to management policy? Why is that one reserved parking space always empty? And when does helping yourself to an extra doughnut at morning tea become a criminal act? At Zephyr Holdings, no one has ever seen the CEO. The floors are numbered in reverse, the Mission Statement could mean almost anything, and the beautiful receptionist is paid twice as much as anybody else, but appears to do no work. One of the sales reps uses relationship books as sales manuals, and another is on the warpath because somebody stole his doughnut. In other words, it's a typical big company. Or at least, that's what everyone thinks, until fresh-faced employee Jones – too new to understand you just don't ask some questions – starts investigating. Soon Jones uncovers the company's secret: the answer to everything, what Zephyr Holdings really does, and why every manager carries a copy of the Omega Management System. It plunges him into a maelstrom of love, loyalty, management, and corporate immorality – and whether he can get out again. Now that's a good question. In the tradition of William Gibson, Joseph Heller, and Douglas Coupland, Company is a biting, incisive, and delightful satire of corporate culture.

From the author of Lexicon and Providence comes a thrilling speculative psychological suspense about a serial killer pursuing his victim across time and space

A brilliant satire on globalization and marketing hype. In the future, the world will be run by giant American corporations. Everybody will be so happy, tax-free and rich that they will loyally change their name to that of their company. Which is where Hack Nike comes in. Hack s career is going nowhere fast. In the future, this is not a good thing. So when John Nike and John Nike offer Hack Nike a job marketing a new line of really, really expensive trainers he is understandably thrilled. Until, that is, he discovers his duties include establishing street cred for these shoes by shooting teenagers... Described by Naomi Klein as brilliant and hilarious , Jennifer Government is a wickedly funny thriller for the No Logo generation; a funny, fast-paced and ferocious satire on globalization and capitalism.

Der neue Roman des Autors des Kultbestsellers „Logoland“ beginnt mit einem Arbeitsunfall, bei dem Wissenschaftler Charlie Neumann ein Bein verliert. Statt dies als Tragödie zu sehen, erkennt er die Chance zur Verbesserung seines Körpers durch eine hochkomplexe Prothese. Dies bleibt nicht bei einem Bein; bald folgt das zweite und dann eine Hand. Charlie entwickelt sich auf dem Weg zur Maschine, und die Frage nach der Grenze der körperlichen Perfektion wird zentral. Dr. Charlie Neumann arbeitet als Ingenieur bei Better Future. Schon als Kind wollte er nicht Zugführer sein, sondern selbst der Zug, und fühlt sich in der Gesellschaft komplexer Algorithmen wohler als unter Menschen, insbesondere Frauen. Nach dem Unfall und der biomechanischen Prothese, die mehr kann als sein altes Gelenk, findet er Gefallen an der Idee, seinen Körper weiter zu „verbessern“. Unterstützung erhält er von der Prothesenexpertin Lola Shanks, die ihm wie eine Seelenverwandte erscheint. Doch die Idylle wird durch seinen ehemaligen Arbeitgeber gestört, der von Charlies Experimenten profitiert und ihn für seine eigenen Zwecke nutzen will. Max Barrys schwarze Komödie beleuchtet auf unterhaltsame Weise die Gefahren des ungebremsten wissenschaftlichen Fortschritts in einer Welt, die moralische Bedenken und körperliche Grenzen ignoriert.

Válka s mloky v éře vesmírných lodí Lidstvo bojuje s nebezpečnými vesmírnými vetřelci – mloky. Na jejich území vyšle nejmodernější lodě třídy Providence, které mají jejich civilizaci zcela vyhladit. Úkol čtyřčlenné posádky na jedné z nich je ale překvapivě snadný: udržovat prostřednictvím videí na sociálních sítích zdání, že mají misi pod kontrolou. Soběstačná loď totiž lidskou přítomnost nepotřebuje. Ale i umělá inteligence může selhat a vystavit svou posádku smrtelnému nebezpečí…