Machine Man Audiobook By Max Barry cover art

Machine Man

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Machine Man

By: Max Barry
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Scientist Charles Neumann loses a leg in an industrial accident. It's not a tragedy. It's an opportunity. Charlie always thought his body could be better. He begins to explore a few ideas. To build parts. Better parts.

Prosthetist Lola Shanks loves a good artificial limb. In Charlie, she sees a man on his way to becoming artificial everything. But others see a madman. Or a product. Or a weapon.

A story for the age of pervasive technology, Machine Man is a gruesomely funny unraveling of one man's quest for ultimate self-improvement.

©2011 Max Barry (P)2011 Random House Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Hard Science Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller Thriller & Suspense Technology Funny Witty
Engaging Characters • Original Concept • Provocative Questions • Darkly Humorous • Compelling Storyline
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or how self-improvement can go bad.
it is funny, emotional, sometimes gory story and the performance of actorie is very good.

another Max Berry crazy idea

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This writer is just brilliant. I am on my second book from Max Barry and I feel that the characters have so much life in an almost believable world. The time taken to cultivate completely different protagonist in both books is a real art. I’m carried to events and feel for these people as if they are real. It’s remarkable and well worth the read.

Sci-Fi That Came To Life

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It's a witty and entertaining book that was originally an online serialized novel (check out M. Barry's website). It revolves around Charles Neumann, a reticent engineer, who loses his limb and decides to improve his body by building a new leg. The funny thing that happens is that the less 'organic' Charles becomes, the more human he feels.
The book IS cynical and entertaining, but it also raises philosophical and ethical questions. What is it to be human? Would you download and upload your mind into a much better equipped robot body? Having been subjected to augmentation, can we still remain human?
Thinking about the quote from Michio Kaku's Physics of the Impossible "...immortality (in the form of DNA-enhanced or silicon bodies) may be the ultimate future of humanity," the question is, what if the essence of humanity could be lost as a result of biotechnological improvement?
On the plus side, there are revolutionary ways of transforming human capabilities, such as pacemakers and tissue grafts that prolong life; e-broidery and smart prosthetics. So in order to survive and 'upgrade' our biological adaptability we need some nanotechnological enhancement. Or do we?
At the same time, a cyborgian reality can widen the gap between 'organic' and 'augmented' people, those who can afford to buy a better body and the havenots, those who become supersoldiers and ordinary people, unable to defend themselves...
And it's the book that gave me food for thought.
As I read about Charles looking everywhere for his lost phone in Chapter 1, I thought about the way technology infiltrates our life. We are overdependent on it. As Naomi Goldenberg put it, "We are engaged in a process of making one another disappear by living more and more of our lives apart from other humans, in the company of machines..." Even now, while typing this, I desperately rely on my iPad.

A better cyborgian future?

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the only book I've come across that deals with nerves learning to deal with new parts rather than keeping old replacement prosthetics. the humor and logic is written by and for engineers

engineering minded

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Machine Man is a very interesting read, and very original, as are all of Berry's novels. The story and characters are engaging as always, but Machine Man has a darker tone as the plot has to do with accidental dismemberment and an anti-social protagonist. The darker tone however makes the occasional humourous spots stand out even more, as they are often of the cringing variety, and contrast well with some very serious scenes. A worthy read.

Max Berry quirkiness with a darker side.

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gosh, this is a good idea, but so much of the book is discussion and angst and feelings. I preferred the parts where folks got moving and did stuff.

The start is actually pretty funny (in an aha way, rather than in an LOL way), and I think most of us will see ourselves in the slightly neurotic actions of the protagonist. And action comes along reasonably soon. But the pace is slow from the very start and only slows down more as you near the middle of the book.

Honestly, I read this book as a form of research. I am considering prostheses in my artistic pursuits and a previous book helped me think about them in a new way (FYI: I enjoyed Cinder by Marissa Meyer much better and was intrigued by its perspective on prostheses.) This book did, I suppose, give me something to consider in relation to prostheses, but the story itself was too slow and the main character too focused on himself for the book to be truly enjoyable.

The book is clearly a parable and while listening one feels a bit like the parable of the story is all that one can see. It ain't subtle, is what I'm saying. Read it if it sounds interesting, but here is the one and only time I can remember recommended an abridged version if available.

little less conversation; little more action. pls

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This will give me nightmares. It started off as dark comedy but boy did it take off and boy was it a ride. I enjoyed how weird it made me feel.

Weirdly beautiful

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I really enjoyed this story of a genius mechanical engineer who knew no limits because he poorly understood norms. Fascinating concept. Very good writing. Narrator was good, though I wish there were at least two, for easier suspension of disbelief.

Fun. Eccentric. Imagination Unbridled.

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Darker than what I usually like. Fans of Black Mirror will love this.
Evil corporations. Engineers inventing without asking if they should. The dark side of biohacking. Romance, explosions, action.
The author clearly looked up various science/engineering terms to add without always using them. Not everything makes sense.
But still, an entertaining story.

Dark but entertaining

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Charlie, the narrator and protagonist of Machine Man, is the quintessential, one might almost say stereotypical, brilliant engineer with all the social skills of a turnip. He works for a stereotypical Big, Bad Corporation run by soulless Managers who only care about the bottom line and running the world. Charlie invents New Parts for human bodies for entirely selfish reasons, and finds himself at odds with the different selfish motives of the Managers. Along the way he meets Lola, the story’s (not quite stereotypical) Love Interest, a woman who has not only her own portion of compassion and caring for others, but apparently also got all the leftovers that Charlie never received. Max Barry manages to build a funny (I laughed out loud a lot), disturbing, and compelling story around all of these superficial clichés. Underneath the entertaining tale is a set of provocative questions about the nature of embodiment, intelligence, and identity. Four stars only because the story is a bit too predictable in too many places, and the stereotypes are a bit overdone, but it would make a fun book to argue about with others who have read it. Performance is solid and captures the tone and personality of the major characters very well.

Better living through engineering?

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