Max Barry
Describe your latest project.
Company is a novel about a guy who goes to work for a big corporation and discovers that nobody is too sure what it actually does. It turns out to be a secret testbed, with employees studied to see how they react to different policies, the results being published as a hot "How To" management book.
Introduce one other author you think people should read, and
suggest a good book/place to start with.
Definitely Neal Stephenson: start with Snow Crash if you like sci-fi and Cryptonomicon if you don't, then roll up your sleeves and tackle the thousand-odd pages of The Baroque Cycle.
Writers are better liars than other people: true or false? Why or why not?
True. No, I'm lying; we're useless. It's because we're so gullible: we think anything is possible. At least, I hope that's a writerly trait. Maybe it's just me.
How did the last good book you read end up in your hands and why
did you read it?
Apathy and Other Small Victories [to be released May 2006], by Paul Neilan. The amazing part is, I got sent it for free, because they wanted to see if I'd provide a quote for the blurb. It's worth becoming an author just for the free books.
Fahrenheit, Celsius, or Kelvin?
I'm Australian, so Celsius. I used to be very superior about this, arguing that Celsius had the inherent logic of zero being the freezing point of water and 100 being boiling point, until someone said, "So?"
Talk about your vision of the ideal life.
I think I'm actually living it. I have a beautiful, hilarious wife, a gorgeous new baby girl, and my job is to make up stories. It doesn't get any better than that.
Dogs, cats, budgies, or turtles?
Cats, definitely. I like how they're so brazen about the fact that they view you with complete contempt. I like the French for the same reason.
In the For-All-Eternity category, what will be your final thought?
"Just five more minutes."
| 
Don't Miss
