This book tries to be so much - suspense, adventure, multiverse - and I loved the overall idea, but I just couldn't stay hooked. I didn't love the MC and couldn't really follow the action. This is probably a fantastic 5-star book for a different reader, it just wasn't *my* thing.

My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review. Unfortunately, I did not get around to finishing it on time

This started off feeling like it was trying to be the next Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but the humour never quite got there. But around the 50% the style changes somewhat and becomes more serious, taking on a philosophical tone instead, this is where the story really fell into its own and excelled. I feel like the author is trying really hard to replicate the humour of famous sci-fi writers when his ideas and exploration of life and consciousness is where his true strengths lie.

This book was honestly a little hard to follow, but it was funny in parts. I did not really connect with it, to be honest, and I usually love multiverse stuff. That said, it was very inventive and imaginative, and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by this author!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I would like to thank the author and NetGalley for kindly providing a copy of this book to review.

I really enjoyed this book, it was witty and funny and the multiverse aspect was really interesting for me as someone who loves the Arrowverse. The characters could have used a bit more depth and the plot was a bit confusing which meant I didn't fully understand everything that was going on in this book but I overall did enjoy my experience while reading this book.

A spaceship arrives at Max's house and a duplicate of himself, although fatter and British, arrives to inform Max that he is needed, along with other duplicates of himself from other universes, to save the multiverse. I wasn't sure at first that I would like this one, but it ended up being really good. I will probably check out more of this author's work. 4 stars.

Max Tundra is a professor of ideologies. He likes to pace around his classroom barefoot (he thinks it makes him interesting). He’s an odd character, but a thoughtful person – someone who contemplates moral philosophy, the purpose of existence, and the like. He’s always been a bit of a loner after the death of his parents, but he’s largely content in that life.

Until a very suggestively-shaped spacecraft appears above his city, and an alternate version of himself – this one British and gay – appears, demanding his help in saving the multiverse.

What proceeds from there is a manic piece of wildly inventive storytelling, as Max finds himself careening through parallel timelines of his own life, ranging from relatively small differences (what if his parents didn’t take that car ride) to massively different worlds (ones destroyed by nuclear war, or ones where WWI never happened and instead humanity became spacefarers, and so on). Rayner brings his usual light comic touch to all of it, never letting himself or his characters bog down taking everything too seriously, and finding a lot of fun in the adventure along the way. Yes, there are moments where the comic sensibility tries a bit too hard – a very late book mini-thread about earworms is more distracting than engaging, for instance – but on the whole, it works, as Rayner takes his premise seriously while always having fun with it.

All of which makes it all the more pleasantly surprising when Alpha Max starts going to some really complex, heady places – ones that contemplate the nature of existence, our place and purpose in the universe, the philosophical underpinnings of consciousness, and more. Rayner manages the transition into all of this smoothly, making sure it doesn’t jar with some of the weirder, lighter sections of the book, and it ends up adding a richness to the book that I didn’t expect. Add that to some areas where Max’s arc slows down enough for him to contemplate what it all means, and to find some peace and solace in all of the adventure, and it combines to make a story that doesn’t just give you a fun, weird explosion of alternate worlds, but grapples with ideas and concepts that allow the book to think about Very Big Ideas in a satisfying way.

That being said, the headier Alpha Max, the harder it gets to follow at times; by the time we’re on our third reversal about “what’s really going on,” I really started to struggle some of what was going on in the macro view of the story. Add that to points where the book also keeps going into areas that are, by definition, hard for a human mind to comprehend, and Rayner’s story often gets a bit murky and confusing. I could always follow the scene-to-scene action along the way, but if you asked me to parse out some of why it was happening…well, I’d struggle a bit.

Still, I don’t want to penalize Rayner for going ambitious, especially given that the book largely satisfies on that front. It’s a dazzlingly imaginative story, and one that moves along nicely, having a lot of fun while always keeping an eye on bigger goals. The comic tone sometimes tries a little hard, and sometimes its reach exceeds its grasp, but when you think about how generally fun and enjoyable the book is, I still recommend it as a great piece of science fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Monkeyjoy Press and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Forthe digital ARC in return for my honest review.

So, now that I’m ready to read this book, it’s not on my NetGalley shelf? I know I downloaded it. So, it’s too bad I didn’t get a chance to read it.

I’m only giving it 2 ⭐️ because I didn’t read it. My apologies.

Wow, my brain cells were throbbing after I finished this book! I was still processing everything I had read for a whole day.

It was fun, it was not fun, it was deep then not deep and so silly. However I did enjoy reading about the different Maxes! The main Max went through some self discovery/growth and by the end he had changed so much and it was so sweet!

It was fun while it lasted. It hurt my brain while it lasted. It made me laugh too! I gave it 4 stars because even though it may not be for everyone, this author did great at writing something so mind blowing (almost literally) and that’s awesome!

Thanks NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book starts out with an interesting voice and an even more interesting premise. But as time goes on the jokes become flat and it sort of feels like the same things keep happening chapter after chapter. By chapter 10 I was tapped out, but kept reading with the hope the characters would become more more fleshed out. They don’t. Parts of the story that I was interested in are told to us, meanwhile parts of the story that happen over and over again we have to sit through the dialogue. (Naming process. It was humorous the first time but after that I was just over it.) I made it to the end and things went down without much of a surprise or twist. It was a story with some cool parts but overly long and not enough character development.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

This book's tagline of "An Existential Romp through an Absurd Multiverse" was so spot on, it should be considered a spoiler.

Meet the numerous Max Tundras (MTs) of numerous universes. We set on the crash course to find the Alpha of all the Maxes and save the multiverse. Evading cannibals, prehistoric-esque camping, and cavorting on all the Earths in between, Max attempts to figure out exactly what the Xanta (alien manic pixies) are up to and set the Trimurti on the right path to save homo sapiens. From the scrotal shaped spacecraft to the wide cast of personalities found in the MTs (which sounds absolutely bonkers when I try to explain it) Mark A. Rayner somehow perfectly crafted an epic collision of sci-fi and humor.

Armored in Hawaiian shirts and ripped up jeans, the Maxes of the multiverses offer up cleverly hidden knowledge nuggets, quick and quirky humor, doses of adventure, and just the right amount of absurdity.

‘But it’s like this – every time we make a choice, that creates new universes.’

If you have read some of Mr Rayner’s earlier novels, then you will be acquainted with Maximilian Tundra. Well, one or two aspects of him anyway. But in this book, there’s so much more to Max. So, there he is, in his living room when the impossible happens: a physical duplicate of Max appears, wearing that most flattering of outfits, a tight-fitting silver lamé unitard. Imagine. Max knows that something bad is going to happen.

‘Is it possible we’re between realities?’

Max is, it appears, the only person who can prevent the end of the world. Not just on planet Earth: in the multiverse there are an infinite number of Earths. And they will all be destroyed if Max doesn’t save them. Gulp.

‘The clock ticks for all of us, whether we see time as a cycle or a river. Our lives will end. We know this intellectually.’

Perhaps the most important existential question is: how? Max does have assistance. Sort of. There are aliens and there are also (seemingly countless) versions of Max himself. Hmm.

‘Exactly. Consciousness and time are connected. You humans will never be able to let go of your egotistic idea that you exist.’

Once you get into it (and that tight-fitting silver lamé unitard is hard to unsee) this is a ridiculously funny story where a superhero emerges (sort of) as saviour. A unique blend of dark humour, satire, and science fiction. Think about it.

Thank you, Mr Rayner, for the laughs.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley, the author and Monkeyjoy Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this book, but the first few pages lured me in with their sarcastic, irreverent humour, which made me think of Terry Pratchett.

The tale itself is a fun romp through space and time in a very real sense- our main character, Max, finds himself duplicated and explores various different alternate realities of himself.

It was fun, light, and enjoyable. However, I was a little put off by the writing in parts. Not only did we have a German character who felt like an outdated cliche of a stereotype (shouty, logical, doesn't get any jokes, makes weird and irregular errors in English but can also describe detailed Physics terms in perfect English), but almost every other character felt like 2D props for the story, without any real depth. The barrage of jokes started to chip away at my enjoyment of the story too- it felt like I was constantly being teed up for the next joke in a way that did not always land.

On a perhaps more pedantic note, there were various bits of German in the book, spoken by the one German character that felt like they had been submitted through Google Translate word by word without any proofing or checking, making the book just feel a bit rushed in parts.

That said, I think this book is an enjoyable romp, and it will appeal to many- it just left me a little cold in parts.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the author and publisher for making this ARC available.

I'm afraid it wasn't for me, though. There were some amusing bits, and with some editing it might prove a readable book, but I thought it over-long and a bit drawn out. I've seen the humour likened to that of Christopher Moore or Terry Pratchett - it definitely isn't. I don't think I could, in good conscience, recommend it to readers.

Perhaps condensing the material would help the flow of the plot, but I won't be rushing to check out the author's back catalogue.

A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I would like to like this book, it started out slow and did not get to keep the hype up. It was supposed to be funny but I just got really disappointed with it as of now. I'd love to try re-reading it again in the future and maybe like it more given the different circumstances.

I was given the opportunity to read this book, thanks to the author, in advance of its release for an honest review. Now, my review may not come as a surprise. I loved the five previous books that Mr. Rayner published. With these and what he has posted online, his brand of humor and speculative fiction connects with me. "Alpha Max" continues the streak.

Dr. Maximilian Tundra has made appearances in previous novels, but here we get to see him in his full glory. Well, many of them. But like the choices we make that shape us, the choices they made have put them in other universes making these other versions of Max very different people. So it's not just Max talking to himself, essentially. And with each character come endearing traits that makes it all the more fun to follow the gang.

There are many strings that were brought together throughout the story. After the opening chapter, the next few had me wondering if I had the wrong impression of the book's description. But it didn't take long for them to come into focus, and it was very enjoyable to see the skills of an experienced writer on display.

Even better is that this book isn't just filled with laughs. Sure, there are indeed doses of Rayner's signature humor, which include absurdity, dark comedy, and satire. But there is a great story here that brought along their blossoming kinship. The highlight was bringing these together with sections of metaphysical thoughts of multiple universes and the idea of consciousness at various levels. At times I'm laughing, and at others I have to pause to think about what I just read. Entertaining and thought provoking. What could be better?

So, yeah, I might be a fanboy, but I'm also just passionate about great books. In my opinion, Mr. Rayner has delivered another great book.

I don't think my humour was the target market for this one. Amongst the fat jokes and the general clownery, what could have been an engaging plot felt quite weak. I think it may have been overshadowed by the attempt at humour, which felt stilted and forced.

There didn't seem to be any dynamics in the story line, with every interaction feeling like a snapshot instead of flowing.

Thank you Mark A. Rayner, Monkeyjoy Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

According to the description, this is supposed to be funny, yet it isn't. It was boring, so I didn't finish it.