37 ratings | 28 reviews | avg rating:4.78

William’s Year In Books

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William Altmann’s Followers (6)

William’s Bookshelves

to-read (26)
currently-reading (1)
read (46)
fiction (5)
history (6)
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William’s Friends (6)

Elizabeth Altmann

787 books | 2 friends

Conrad Altmann

355 books | 11 friends

Jim Shuma

88 books | 7 friends

Liv

208 books | 12 friends

Camilla

568 books | 118 friends

Liviu Daniel

69 books | 8 friends

William Altmann

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

https://altmann.haus/writer/william-altmann/

Genre

Fiction, Science Fiction, Nonfiction

Influences

Arthur C. Clarke, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Heinlein, Christina Dod ...more

Member Since

May 2020

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/william_altmann

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Hello, my name is Bill. I write under my full name, William Altmann. So far, I have 17 books completed and all up on Amazon and most on Apple. Most are available as large print paperbacks because that's what my mother can read. My son (kudos to him) has done all my cover designs.

I've had a forty-plus-year career as an electrical engineer, working for companies large and small, established and not out of the womb. It's been fun (at times), interesting (at times), and paid the bills (all the time, so far). It's also provided me with international travel (I will not brag on my country count...), which I love. Put me on a train going anywhere, and I'm happy.

I've semi-retired and moved to Austin, Texas from California. I enjoy bike riding (road, Hello, my name is Bill. I write under my full name, William Altmann. So far, I have 17 books completed and all up on Amazon and most on Apple. Most are available as large print paperbacks because that's what my mother can read. My son (kudos to him) has done all my cover designs.

I've had a forty-plus-year career as an electrical engineer, working for companies large and small, established and not out of the womb. It's been fun (at times), interesting (at times), and paid the bills (all the time, so far). It's also provided me with international travel (I will not brag on my country count...), which I love. Put me on a train going anywhere, and I'm happy.

I've semi-retired and moved to Austin, Texas from California. I enjoy bike riding (road, not trail), hiking (trail, not road), reading, collecting books and slide rules.

I had dreamed of writing a book for more than 20 years. I started a couple, and they're still in the "incomplete manuscript" stage. Then, in Spring of 2020, with not enough to do except stare at the keyboard and curse viruses (bio, not techno), I said to myself, "Why not now?" I cranked out a four-book series beginning with Emperor First and continuing through 3 more novels, about a few Presidents, one-after-the-other, with more or less success in their endeavors. In parallel, I wrote seven (so far) shorter 'novellas' as "cozy friction", The Mary Jane Gang, each set in a senior citizens' residence complex. This one was prompted by phone calls with my mother... Guess which character she is! Then, in the fall last year, my son and I dared each other to write a sci-fi novel each. I finished mine: In On a Comet. When my wife got tired of me rolling my eyes at the evening news in January, I wrote a satirical fiction novel: about a leader trying to escape justice. It has four alternate endings, all in one volume: Escape Pod. And, turning a news story into a short novel, I wrote The Blossomfield Affair, and set it near my home town.

Since 2022, I've added five novels in a sci-fi saga. They tell of an interstellar mission where things go wrong, not outside the spacecraft, not inside the spacecraft, but inside the head of one astronaut. See: Merimnae: Outbound, Merimnae: Inbound , Merimnae: Unbound , Merimnae: Rebound , and Merimnae: Homebound .

I've uploaded a set of short stories to my page on https://vocal.media/authors/william-a....

I have lots more ideas. And I'm having lots of fun. ...more

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William Altmann’s books

Average rating: 4.68 · 38 ratings · 16 reviews · 20 distinct works • Similar authors

	Merimnae: Outbound (1) by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) 4.58 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2021 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Emperor First 4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Merimnae: Inbound (2) by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rendezvous (Mary Jane Gang #1) by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heart of Gold (Mary Jane Gang #2) by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Merimnae: Outbound (1) by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Emperor Second by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Emperor Third by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Into the Woods (Mary Jane Gang, #3) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nicoleta (Mary Jane Gang #5) by William Altmann (Goodreads Author), Conrad Altmann (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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William Altmann's Blog: Between Dreams and Reality

3-Day Sci-Fi Sale

Come visit IndieOrbital for the 3-day sale (Sept. 6-9) of independent authors' science fiction works. I have two books there: the first two volumes in my series "Merimnae Saga": Merimnae: Outbound and Merimnae: Inbound. Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 03, 2024 23:27

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William is Currently Reading

William Altmann is currently reading

The Trauma Machine

by Brent Spalding

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Nov 30, 2025 02:27PM

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William Altmann rated a book it was amazing Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A very challenging read, covering years I lived through yet was blissfully unaware of. The author really makes me think about those times, in the Seventies, and compare them to the angst and chaos looming in our present-day system. I never realized h ...more
Nov 30, 2025 02:30PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
William Altmann is currently reading The Trauma Machine by Brent Spalding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 30, 2025 02:27PM · like
William Altmann rated a book it was amazing Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A very challenging read, covering years I lived through yet was blissfully unaware of. The author really makes me think about those times, in the Seventies, and compare them to the angst and chaos looming in our present-day system. I never realized h ...more
Nov 30, 2025 02:27PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
William Altmann wants to read The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 29, 2025 12:22PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
William Altmann rated a book it was amazing The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Loved it! Really made me think.
Nov 08, 2025 12:12PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
William Altmann is on page 107 of 608 of Days of Rage Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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William Altmann wants to read How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 17, 2025 09:34AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How Civil Wars Start by Barbara F. Walter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How Civil Wars Start by Barbara F. Walter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
William Altmann started reading The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 17, 2025 08:46AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
William Altmann rated a book it was amazing Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A very challenging read, covering years I lived through yet was blissfully unaware of. The author really makes me think about those times, in the Seventies, and compare them to the angst and chaos looming in our present-day system. I never realized h ...more
Oct 09, 2025 09:34AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Days of Rage by Bryan Burrough <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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message 1: by William

Dec 07, 2021 10:12PM

Join me, Saturday December 11 from 10:00-4:00 Central, at a neighborhood Christmas Faire where I will be selling - and autographing - all of my sixteen books. Under the Altmannhaus imprint, I will also be selling books by two other authors. The event is at the Community Center & Pool at Grey Rocks Ridge neighborhood in southwest Austin, Texas. I'm told there will be 20 artists and craftspeople there, all celebrating the holiday season with their creations. Look for my white banner, displaying all my titles!

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William’s Year In Books

William Altmann’s Followers (6)

William’s Bookshelves

William’s Friends (6)

William Altmann

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William Altmann's Blog: Between Dreams and Reality

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