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Movemind
This twelve story collection is centred around the theme of being altered by a situation. In the acclaimed How to Win a War, a soldier experiences a strategy for ending a war that might just work. In The Patriotic Amnesiac, a mother voluntarily gives up her ability to form new memories with far-reaching consequences. A Queen and a Prime Minister plot against a President in Sever-Reign. The Legend of Legend is a light-hearted caper about an egg that contains a universal truth. In the dystopian The Second Fear a ministry attempts to produce fear in someone who is incapable of feeling it. In the closing story, Devilish Tricks, a deal with the Devil changes the life of Casimir Hendrix, but is it for the better?
- GenresShort Stories
234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2018
21 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Robert New
17 books104 followersAccording to his wife, Robert has spent too much of his life studying. She has a point as he’s earned seven tertiary qualifications. Robert has degrees in psychology, sociology, biology and education, all of which inspire his writing. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and two children. He likes writing stories which shift the perspective of the reader and make use of scientific concepts. Robert is mildly kosmemophobic.
When he was in high school, a dare escalated a little too quickly and Robert made the state final in an interpretive dance competition.
When he was in high school, a dare escalated a little too quickly and Robert made the state final in an interpretive dance competition.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 18, 2018
Movemind is a collection of twelve short stories that have only one thing in common; they are all well-written and grippingly readable. They range from How to Win a War that has a wicked twist in the tale, to what I can only describe as literary fiction. LifeOpenBook is a fictional social media platform used to illustrate the merits of the claim that God fashioned man and the contention that humans created gods. Readers will have their own favourites. Mine was the heart-breaking La Criminal; anyone who’s every owned and treasured a dog learns that love is not forever, and compassion isn’t an easy road to tread.
May 14, 2019
12 short stories - all very engrossing and some with great twists in the end. The author has done a fabulous job and one can see the amount of effort that has been put in to achieve the desired impact. Combined with psychology, science and human emotions, most of the the stories tread a very fine balance and manage to stir the emotions within you. Well done Robert!
November 22, 2025
Robert New’s Movemind is an ambitious and intellectually provocative novel that blends psychological thriller, cyberpunk sensibility, and speculative neuroscience.
At its core, the book examines identity and agency in a world where consciousness is increasingly manipulable. New constructs a layered narrative—at times disorienting, at times hypnotic—that challenges readers to question the stability of selfhood in an age of invasive technology.
The protagonist’s journey is structured around cognitive disruption. From the opening chapters, the reader is plunged into uncertainty: fragmented memories, shifting perceptions, and slippery motivations intersect in ways that mimic the experience of compromised consciousness.
This narrative strategy risks confusing the reader, yet New handles it with enough precision and thematic clarity that the confusion becomes part of the story’s immersive texture rather than an obstacle.
Conceptually, Movemind tackles ideas about mind-hacking, artificial influence, and the moral vacuum created when thought itself is no longer private. New’s scientific imagination is one of the novel’s strengths.
He grounds speculative technologies in recognisable neuroscience, giving the world a haunting plausibility. The result is a setting where danger operates not through physical violence but through invasions of autonomy and perception.
Characterisation is another strong point. The protagonist is sympathetic yet unreliable, driven by equal parts fear, determination, and fragmented memory.
Secondary characters often function as philosophical foils—each representing a different stance on control, freedom, and the ethics of manipulating consciousness. These conversations deepen the novel’s themes without slowing its pacing.
New’s prose is sharp and sensory, evoking a world of metallic landscapes, claustrophobic interiors, and mental labyrinths. He writes with an intensity that mirrors the protagonist’s psychological state. Action scenes are tense, but the most gripping moments occur in the interior spaces—when reality seems to tilt, or the protagonist feels their own mind slipping from their grasp.
The central mystery unfolds through carefully layered revelations, each recontextualising earlier events. New is skilled at using narrative disorientation not as a gimmick but as a way to place readers inside the protagonist’s reshaping identity.
By the final chapters, the pieces fit together in a way that is both satisfying and thematically resonant.
Movemind succeeds because it is not merely a speculative thriller; it is a meditation on autonomy, vulnerability, and the fragility of consciousness.
Readers who enjoy stories that challenge perception—such as works by Philip K. Dick or Greg Egan—will find Movemind a gripping and rewarding experience.
At its core, the book examines identity and agency in a world where consciousness is increasingly manipulable. New constructs a layered narrative—at times disorienting, at times hypnotic—that challenges readers to question the stability of selfhood in an age of invasive technology.
The protagonist’s journey is structured around cognitive disruption. From the opening chapters, the reader is plunged into uncertainty: fragmented memories, shifting perceptions, and slippery motivations intersect in ways that mimic the experience of compromised consciousness.
This narrative strategy risks confusing the reader, yet New handles it with enough precision and thematic clarity that the confusion becomes part of the story’s immersive texture rather than an obstacle.
Conceptually, Movemind tackles ideas about mind-hacking, artificial influence, and the moral vacuum created when thought itself is no longer private. New’s scientific imagination is one of the novel’s strengths.
He grounds speculative technologies in recognisable neuroscience, giving the world a haunting plausibility. The result is a setting where danger operates not through physical violence but through invasions of autonomy and perception.
Characterisation is another strong point. The protagonist is sympathetic yet unreliable, driven by equal parts fear, determination, and fragmented memory.
Secondary characters often function as philosophical foils—each representing a different stance on control, freedom, and the ethics of manipulating consciousness. These conversations deepen the novel’s themes without slowing its pacing.
New’s prose is sharp and sensory, evoking a world of metallic landscapes, claustrophobic interiors, and mental labyrinths. He writes with an intensity that mirrors the protagonist’s psychological state. Action scenes are tense, but the most gripping moments occur in the interior spaces—when reality seems to tilt, or the protagonist feels their own mind slipping from their grasp.
The central mystery unfolds through carefully layered revelations, each recontextualising earlier events. New is skilled at using narrative disorientation not as a gimmick but as a way to place readers inside the protagonist’s reshaping identity.
By the final chapters, the pieces fit together in a way that is both satisfying and thematically resonant.
Movemind succeeds because it is not merely a speculative thriller; it is a meditation on autonomy, vulnerability, and the fragility of consciousness.
Readers who enjoy stories that challenge perception—such as works by Philip K. Dick or Greg Egan—will find Movemind a gripping and rewarding experience.
April 22, 2019
If you read the author’s bio, you can find out Robert New has degrees in psychology, sociology, biology, and education, but if you’ve read this fabulous collection of short stories, you might have already guessed that: they are smart, mind-bending, and often contain scientific or philosophical ideas and explore moral questions.
I was particularly intrigued by the stories in which New’s own beliefs come to the fore: “The Second Fear” and “Devilish Tricks” which examine the role of fear in shaping human behavior; “How to Win a War” and “The Principled Principal” which present case studies in how to turn enemies into friends; and “The Lost Chapter” in which New proposes a foundation for a more equitable political society.
If you enjoy having your mind stimulated and your normal way of seeing the world challenged, check it out!
I was particularly intrigued by the stories in which New’s own beliefs come to the fore: “The Second Fear” and “Devilish Tricks” which examine the role of fear in shaping human behavior; “How to Win a War” and “The Principled Principal” which present case studies in how to turn enemies into friends; and “The Lost Chapter” in which New proposes a foundation for a more equitable political society.
If you enjoy having your mind stimulated and your normal way of seeing the world challenged, check it out!
March 16, 2023
Aborted after 4 stories. The mechanics are heavy-handed. The implied worldviews were an odd blend of borderline-progressive constructs built using regressive old-fashioned material. (For instance, one story featured social media presented in the role of a modern god, but then leaned into the tropes of a hysterical female and marriage as a zero-sum game.)
Not my cup of tea.
Not my cup of tea.
October 17, 2021
Some of the stories were really good, others were okay, but all of them were different from the "usual stuff".
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews