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Max’s Year In Books

Max’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Max’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Max Malterer

Goodreads Author

Born

in Munich, Germany

Website

https://www.maxmalterer.com

Genre

Science Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction

Influences

Kim S. Robinson, Matt Haig, Ling Ma, Cixin Liun, Octavia E. Butle ...more

Member Since

March 2024

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I write near-future novels that feel close enough to touch—stories where intimate lives collide with plausible technologies and the hardest choices are human.

My debut, The Human Relief Project, explores a society being “freed” from work and the people deciding what remains of purpose and dignity when jobs fall away.

Before turning to fiction, I spent years building systems in non-profit, tech, and strategy roles. That work taught me how incentives, policies, and good intentions ripple through everyday lives—lessons that now shape my storytelling.

I call my approach Speculative Realism: character-first fiction where big ideas are carried by lived moments rather than explanation, and realistic what-ifs quietly reshape how we see familiar choice ...more

28 posts
Max Malterer's Blog

Birthright is here!

Hi everyone!

The big day has arrived: Birthright is officially out 🎉

After more than two years of writing, rewriting, doubting, refining, and letting it go — it’s finally in the world.

You can now read or listen to Birthright as an ebook, paperback, hardcover on Amazon, and as an audiobook on Spotify and other platforms.

Read on Amazon

Listen on Spotify

As mentioned in my last newsletter, i

Combine Editions
Max Malterer’s books

Average rating: 4.45 · 53 ratings · 33 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Human Relief Project: When The World Stops Working (A Novel) 4.26 avg rating — 39 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
	Birthright: A Near-Future Novel it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 14 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

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Max Malterer finished reading The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (Goodreads Author)	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
9 hours, 20 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer is currently reading The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (Goodreads Author)	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
Feb 03, 2026 04:40AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer has read How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu (Goodreads Author)	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
Feb 03, 2026 04:40AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer has read I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman	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
Jan 05, 2026 11:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer has read Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief by Rodney Stark	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
Jan 05, 2026 11:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Discovering God by Rodney Stark. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Discovering God by Rodney Stark <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer rated a book it was amazing Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler (Goodreads Author)	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
Jan 05, 2026 11:05PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer finished reading On Writing by Ernest Hemingway	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 09, 2025 12:34AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of On Writing by Ernest Hemingway. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — On Writing by Ernest Hemingway <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer is currently reading Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler (Goodreads Author)	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 09, 2025 12:34AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer rated a book really liked it In Ascension by Martin MacInnes (Goodreads Author)	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 09, 2025 12:33AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of In Ascension by Martin MacInnes. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — In Ascension by Martin MacInnes <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Max Malterer rated a book really liked it Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang (Goodreads Author)	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 09, 2025 12:33AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Breakneck by Dan Wang. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Breakneck by Dan Wang <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">