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Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing
Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing is the first book devoted to The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James. An international group of academics, artists, and writers present a selection of essays, fragments, fictions, and other writings on the subject of enigmatic artist Ezra Maas and his controversial biography. In this mind-bending new collection, the authors explore topics as wide-ranging as metaphysical detectives, authorship and identity, post-truth narratives, intertextuality, the value of art, celebrity culture, and gender equality in the art world.
This volume includes contributions from Dr Daniel Barnes, PM Buchan, Matt Cook, Ted Curtis, Hanna ten Doornkaat, Dr Magdalena Harper, Maureen Hosay, Dr Helen Gorrill, Associate Professor Mike Jeffries, Amy Lord, Marc Nash, John Palmer, Meaghan Ralph, Nick Reeves, and Ian Roden. The collection features a new introduction by the editor of The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas.
This volume includes contributions from Dr Daniel Barnes, PM Buchan, Matt Cook, Ted Curtis, Hanna ten Doornkaat, Dr Magdalena Harper, Maureen Hosay, Dr Helen Gorrill, Associate Professor Mike Jeffries, Amy Lord, Marc Nash, John Palmer, Meaghan Ralph, Nick Reeves, and Ian Roden. The collection features a new introduction by the editor of The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas.
272 pages, Paperback
Published November 11, 2022
49 people want to read
About the author
Daniel James
2 books71 followersDaniel James is an author and journalist from Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. His debut novel, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas, was shortlisted for the Guardian's Not The Booker Prize in 2019. A journalist for daily newspapers and magazines for over a decade, James was a finalist for UK young news writer of the year and spent several years working overseas as a freelance writer, before becoming an author and publishing his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 8, 2022
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas is, in my view, one of the most important works of literature in the last decade. See the links for my reviews of the original 2019 edition and revised 2022 edition.
Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing is a brilliant companion volume to that book, "a selection of essays, fragments, fictions, and other writings on the subject of enigmatic artist Ezra Maas and his controversial biography" from a selection of artists, writers and academics, published (as with the original book) under the name Daniel James but compiled (as with the original book) by the Anonymous editor, the Brod to James's Kafka.
Early on in the Unauthorised Biography the reader iss warned of the interactive nature of the work:
“Every reader changes the story, bringing it to life and making it real, every reader plays their part just as I have played mine.”
And, I would add, the story changes the reader as well. I still remember the chilling moment when, while taking a break from its pages, I checked my Twitter notifications to find:
and still do this day, I'm unclear how they could have known I was reading the book. Indeed this was a book, and an experience, that for a time haunted my nightmares - as one of the contributors to Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing also recalls:
The dreams were chaos, completely implausible, screams and laughter indistinguishable from one another. When I woke from this sepulchral vision, Ezra's last breath of final choking words rung in my hears, over and over.
‘Ever have I effortlessly pulled your strings.'
(the deliberate typo 'hears' one of many clues planted in the books - see below).
But I am also proud to have played my part in bringing the story to life. And I was delighted to see that the Anonymous editor of this volume, when planning to tell of the Unauthorised Biography's troubled history chose to, rather than produce his own account, replicate mine from the 2022 review linked above.
Anonymous's Introduction is also subtitled "A Game of Doubles" and one of those doubles is my own identical twin, who also features in this book. His review can be found here, where he points out that Anonymous has essentially doxxed (if not maliciously) him - which is somewhat ironic given that much of Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing seems designed to conceal rather than reveal the identities of those involved.
As, while those contributing articles to this volume are ostensibly named, with brief bios, some of their accounts, and indeed their identities, are rather in doubt. One of the contributor's biographies includes the detail that she is “A known liar”, the Anonymous editor intervenes in a footnote of an article by another to note that it “has been suggested by several different sources that she is not - in fact - who she initially purported to be”, and a third piece is billed as a “post-modern translation”, which seems to mean (in a concept worthy of Borges) that all traces of the original work have been lost, and indeed may never have existed. I was particularly intrigued to see a work I don't remember writing - perhaps my twin did and generously co-credited me - listed just after Michel Foucault's Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason:
And this is turn is consistent with the overall story of the Unauthorised Biography, with several of the contributors commenting on the unclear relationship between Daniel James the author, Daniel James the journalist (not necessarily the same person), the Anonymous editor/narrator and Ezra Maas. The contributors have different views on whether the book was a novel, non-fiction or indeed (my view) a Cercasian novel-without-fiction, and whether Maas is real or fictional, an individual or a collective, or as one person puts it:
nothing but a collection of mask wearing weirdos and Eurotrash dilettantes using a hedge fund to PR up a fantasy that they run the world. Trust me, they're not the Illuminati, just a mediocre art project. Albeit an expensive one.
The contributions, particularly those from academics, are often replete with references but in some cases the original source proves as elusive as the identities of those involved. Dr Magdalena Harper's "Through the looking glass: Ezra Maas, the man in the mirror" draws on a key quote from Ruth Horowitz, and later interviews with her daughter Michelle Duncan-Horowitz, but the Maas Foundation appear to have erased all traces of either's existence on the web (and Harper herself is the aforementioned contributor accused of being "not - in fact - who she initially purported to be" - there does seem to be a possible candidate on Goodreads but I will leave the reader of this review to make the link).
Maureen Hosay's brilliant essay "Playing Detective: the metaphysical detective story in The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas" refers to a crucial interview with Mara Holloway, which has also been hidden/removed, as well as the re-booted Ezra Maas Wikipedia page, which has once again being taken down.
But Hosay does introduce a concept which best explains the power of The Unauthorised Biography, the rich "epitext" of the work:
Elements - such as interviews, publicity announcements, reviews by and addresses to critics, private letters and other authorial and editorial discussions - “outside” of the text in question.
These are not her words, but rather a summary of a concept by French literary theorist Gérard Genette by Graham Allen in his work Intertextuality, and in this case I was actually able to trace the quote back to its source.
Another penetrating concept comes from the artist Hanna ten Doornkaat, who studied her MA in Sculpture at the Wimbledon School of Art, local to my home. Referring to her own work, but as a model for the Daniel James/Ezra Maas duality, she comments:
I would like my work to be a silent contemplation that should be explored, returned to, with the viewer discovering another mark each time, maybe a slip of the pencil previously undetected.
And that relates to my comment above about the "hears" as both this volume and the 2022 edition of the Unauthorised Biography are replete with hints that more is going on than appears on the surface, often hidden in plain sight.
I include two on my Twitter timeline while reading this work here and here, the first of which hints there may be more to a Goodreads friend and Booktuber than I had realised, and the second of which seemed designed to attract the attention of only two people, myself and my "double."
And perhaps my favourite - in footnote 55, in a section which distracts the reader's attention by pointing out that a particular authority on Maas's paintings remained "largely unnoticed, due to her frequent racist stances", a line of unconnected text is included and simply left hanging at the bottom of the page:
reached the shore a complete wreck, yet still in one
Which summarises the experience of anyone who dares enter the world of Daniel James and Ezra Maas. Read the Unauthorised Biography and then read this - you won't leave the pages of the books as the same person who entered.
Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing is a brilliant companion volume to that book, "a selection of essays, fragments, fictions, and other writings on the subject of enigmatic artist Ezra Maas and his controversial biography" from a selection of artists, writers and academics, published (as with the original book) under the name Daniel James but compiled (as with the original book) by the Anonymous editor, the Brod to James's Kafka.
Early on in the Unauthorised Biography the reader iss warned of the interactive nature of the work:
“Every reader changes the story, bringing it to life and making it real, every reader plays their part just as I have played mine.”
And, I would add, the story changes the reader as well. I still remember the chilling moment when, while taking a break from its pages, I checked my Twitter notifications to find:
and still do this day, I'm unclear how they could have known I was reading the book. Indeed this was a book, and an experience, that for a time haunted my nightmares - as one of the contributors to Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing also recalls:
The dreams were chaos, completely implausible, screams and laughter indistinguishable from one another. When I woke from this sepulchral vision, Ezra's last breath of final choking words rung in my hears, over and over.
‘Ever have I effortlessly pulled your strings.'
(the deliberate typo 'hears' one of many clues planted in the books - see below).
But I am also proud to have played my part in bringing the story to life. And I was delighted to see that the Anonymous editor of this volume, when planning to tell of the Unauthorised Biography's troubled history chose to, rather than produce his own account, replicate mine from the 2022 review linked above.
Anonymous's Introduction is also subtitled "A Game of Doubles" and one of those doubles is my own identical twin, who also features in this book. His review can be found here, where he points out that Anonymous has essentially doxxed (if not maliciously) him - which is somewhat ironic given that much of Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing seems designed to conceal rather than reveal the identities of those involved.
As, while those contributing articles to this volume are ostensibly named, with brief bios, some of their accounts, and indeed their identities, are rather in doubt. One of the contributor's biographies includes the detail that she is “A known liar”, the Anonymous editor intervenes in a footnote of an article by another to note that it “has been suggested by several different sources that she is not - in fact - who she initially purported to be”, and a third piece is billed as a “post-modern translation”, which seems to mean (in a concept worthy of Borges) that all traces of the original work have been lost, and indeed may never have existed. I was particularly intrigued to see a work I don't remember writing - perhaps my twin did and generously co-credited me - listed just after Michel Foucault's Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason:
And this is turn is consistent with the overall story of the Unauthorised Biography, with several of the contributors commenting on the unclear relationship between Daniel James the author, Daniel James the journalist (not necessarily the same person), the Anonymous editor/narrator and Ezra Maas. The contributors have different views on whether the book was a novel, non-fiction or indeed (my view) a Cercasian novel-without-fiction, and whether Maas is real or fictional, an individual or a collective, or as one person puts it:
nothing but a collection of mask wearing weirdos and Eurotrash dilettantes using a hedge fund to PR up a fantasy that they run the world. Trust me, they're not the Illuminati, just a mediocre art project. Albeit an expensive one.
The contributions, particularly those from academics, are often replete with references but in some cases the original source proves as elusive as the identities of those involved. Dr Magdalena Harper's "Through the looking glass: Ezra Maas, the man in the mirror" draws on a key quote from Ruth Horowitz, and later interviews with her daughter Michelle Duncan-Horowitz, but the Maas Foundation appear to have erased all traces of either's existence on the web (and Harper herself is the aforementioned contributor accused of being "not - in fact - who she initially purported to be" - there does seem to be a possible candidate on Goodreads but I will leave the reader of this review to make the link).
Maureen Hosay's brilliant essay "Playing Detective: the metaphysical detective story in The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas" refers to a crucial interview with Mara Holloway, which has also been hidden/removed, as well as the re-booted Ezra Maas Wikipedia page, which has once again being taken down.
But Hosay does introduce a concept which best explains the power of The Unauthorised Biography, the rich "epitext" of the work:
Elements - such as interviews, publicity announcements, reviews by and addresses to critics, private letters and other authorial and editorial discussions - “outside” of the text in question.
These are not her words, but rather a summary of a concept by French literary theorist Gérard Genette by Graham Allen in his work Intertextuality, and in this case I was actually able to trace the quote back to its source.
Another penetrating concept comes from the artist Hanna ten Doornkaat, who studied her MA in Sculpture at the Wimbledon School of Art, local to my home. Referring to her own work, but as a model for the Daniel James/Ezra Maas duality, she comments:
I would like my work to be a silent contemplation that should be explored, returned to, with the viewer discovering another mark each time, maybe a slip of the pencil previously undetected.
And that relates to my comment above about the "hears" as both this volume and the 2022 edition of the Unauthorised Biography are replete with hints that more is going on than appears on the surface, often hidden in plain sight.
I include two on my Twitter timeline while reading this work here and here, the first of which hints there may be more to a Goodreads friend and Booktuber than I had realised, and the second of which seemed designed to attract the attention of only two people, myself and my "double."
And perhaps my favourite - in footnote 55, in a section which distracts the reader's attention by pointing out that a particular authority on Maas's paintings remained "largely unnoticed, due to her frequent racist stances", a line of unconnected text is included and simply left hanging at the bottom of the page:
reached the shore a complete wreck, yet still in one
Which summarises the experience of anyone who dares enter the world of Daniel James and Ezra Maas. Read the Unauthorised Biography and then read this - you won't leave the pages of the books as the same person who entered.
January 16, 2023
We live in a world of sequels, extended universes and follow ups and I’ll be brutally honest: I don’t mind them too much. The thing is, what happens if one creates a follow up to a novel that is original in scope and stands on it’s own?
Nothing is more Real than Nothing is not actually a sequel to Daniel James brilliant The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas but rather a companion piece. Here we are presented with a series of essays which feature Ezra Maas or various topics which involve him. Some of the essay writers are academics, some are authors and others, could be made up. Don’t forget this is Ezra Maas we are talking about so reality and fiction will blur.
The book starts off rather conventionally, after an interesting introduction which namechecks some people I interact with on Goodreads, with a discussion of some polaroids of Ezra Maas which might of existed, the next essay puts forward the theory that Ezra Maas is a cover up for a female artist, which then how the actual book has elements of a meta mystery and there follow essays debating on Maas’ existence, how he has managed to remain an enigma. Throughout this section some strong themes start to occur. The one which struck me is the idea of the doppelganger or even twins, as Maas had a deceased twin brother, which creates more speculation to his identity (weirdly I’m credited twice in the acknowledgments hmmmm). One other theme I touched upon in my review was the question of authorship in The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Mass – I still think that the book functions as Daniel James’ autobiography and there’s one essay which both supports and dispels the theory ( you notice I’m not mentioning any names – I think it’s part of the fun when you discover who wrote these pieces)
By the end of the book the essays take on a more surrealistic quality and start to become messier in execution. It’s almost like the book is disintegrating and that the boundaries between our world and the Ezra Mass one are fusing ( think of the multiverse time travelling sequence in Raimi’s Dr Strange sequel – incidentally a film about doppelgangers as well).
By the end of the book, do we learn more about Ezra Maas? – the answer is no but then again is that point? What we do know is that we live in a world which is fuzzy and has moments of surreality. We all know that a duplicate version of ourselves is out there, some more obvious (in the case of identical twins) than others. These essays play upon that notion.
As with it’s predecessor, Nothing is more Real than Nothing is an excellent follow up and, if you are immersed into this Maasiverse then one might as well read this.
Nothing is more Real than Nothing is not actually a sequel to Daniel James brilliant The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas but rather a companion piece. Here we are presented with a series of essays which feature Ezra Maas or various topics which involve him. Some of the essay writers are academics, some are authors and others, could be made up. Don’t forget this is Ezra Maas we are talking about so reality and fiction will blur.
The book starts off rather conventionally, after an interesting introduction which namechecks some people I interact with on Goodreads, with a discussion of some polaroids of Ezra Maas which might of existed, the next essay puts forward the theory that Ezra Maas is a cover up for a female artist, which then how the actual book has elements of a meta mystery and there follow essays debating on Maas’ existence, how he has managed to remain an enigma. Throughout this section some strong themes start to occur. The one which struck me is the idea of the doppelganger or even twins, as Maas had a deceased twin brother, which creates more speculation to his identity (weirdly I’m credited twice in the acknowledgments hmmmm). One other theme I touched upon in my review was the question of authorship in The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Mass – I still think that the book functions as Daniel James’ autobiography and there’s one essay which both supports and dispels the theory ( you notice I’m not mentioning any names – I think it’s part of the fun when you discover who wrote these pieces)
By the end of the book the essays take on a more surrealistic quality and start to become messier in execution. It’s almost like the book is disintegrating and that the boundaries between our world and the Ezra Mass one are fusing ( think of the multiverse time travelling sequence in Raimi’s Dr Strange sequel – incidentally a film about doppelgangers as well).
By the end of the book, do we learn more about Ezra Maas? – the answer is no but then again is that point? What we do know is that we live in a world which is fuzzy and has moments of surreality. We all know that a duplicate version of ourselves is out there, some more obvious (in the case of identical twins) than others. These essays play upon that notion.
As with it’s predecessor, Nothing is more Real than Nothing is an excellent follow up and, if you are immersed into this Maasiverse then one might as well read this.
December 9, 2022
Daniel James’ “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” was one of the very best books I have read over the last 5 years – a book that is far more than just a normal read but, for the willing reader, an immersive experience: just as one example anyone reading or reviewing the book on Twitter is likely to find themselves followed and even targeted by the shadowy Maas Foundation whose aim is to discredit the book and those who support it.
Some of the distinctive features of “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” include: its heavy concentration on doubles/twins; its extensive use of footnotes to perhaps tell an even more important story than the main text; a feature of those who wish to conceal their true identity behind a pseudonym; its often lengthy description of pieces of artwork (from paintings to conceptual artpieces to books) whose authorship not to mention even existence is shrouded in disputed.
In 2022 it was re-published by Valley Press in a much enhanced version, achieving a deservedly greater recognition than in its first publication.
This book is something of an academic companion volume (also by Valley Press) to “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”: a series of “essays, fictions, fragments and artefacts” by a variety of “scholars, artists and authors” which reflect on and explore the book, Ezra Maas and Daniel James and the interactions between all three often in a wider artistic context.
Examples include explorations of: the value-paradigm of modern art; fiction and non-fiction in a post-truth world; metaphysical detective stories; the role of gender and gender switching in art; reflection and doppelgangers (including some reflection on Maas and his relationship to my favourite book from University (*) – Douglas Hofstadter’s “Gödel, Escher, Bach”); a Soviet era spy story which brings a new dimension to the Maas phenomenon.
And I should say up front that even read as conventional academic pieces or fictional concepts they are excellent – but as with its predecessor there is so much more here.
(*) I should state here as it will become pertinent at the end of my review that I studied mathematics at Cambridge alongside my own twin brother
Early on in “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” the anonymous editor of that book (who also bookends this volume) says:
The part that I played in ““The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”: I was I believe something of an initial champion of the book; I described it in my review (the top ranked on Goodreads) as “A multi-layered examination of identity and myth and a magnificent hybrid of multiple literary forms that is never less than enthralling”; I was heavily involved (both in suggesting its nomination and then in BTL debates) on in its controversial non-winning of the Guardian’s “Not The Booker Award” (an award I had judged the year before when I had unsuccessfully backed Marc Nash’s brilliant ��Three Dreams In the Key of G” (Marc subsequently first drawing me into the mysterious world of Maas).
Now bearing in mind my comments on the distinctive features of “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” one can imagine my surprise to find while reading this brilliant volume that:
- The 11th, 12th and 17th footnotes feature my twin brother
- Pages 21- 25 contain a reproduction of Paul’s Goodreads review of the latest edition of “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”
- Despite my attempts to maintain my anonymity (or at least slightly shield my identity) on my book related social media (Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram) (**) the 16th and 18th footnotes explicitly identify me by my real name
- The 16th footnote features my own reflections on the Guardian NTB controversy
- Page 26 has the same extract from my own review of the first edition of that book as I have reproduced above
(**) to the surprise of the authors of my Golden Reviewer Books of both 2021 and 2022 – Natasha Brown and Maddie Mortimer both of whom I had the pleasure to meet this year and both who knew my reviews of their books …….. and perhaps to you as a follower of my reviews ………. I am not in fact a Golden Retriever.
- The very detailed bibliography at the back of the book lists a book “Twin Psychologies and Fatal Symmetries” purportedly written by my twin brother and I but with one clear and I think deliberately signalled error – the book is claimed to be published by Oxford University Press.
Now the latter is simply inconceivable – in my maths undergraduate days if a lecturer unadvisedly listed a book by OUP in the recommended reading materials for the course, Paul and I would join in (if not lead) the justifiable jeering.
I therefore followed this up via Twitter with what at least purports to be the account of Daniel James (considerable doubt has been placed on the reliability of this account by the Maas foundation but they are of course the masters of disinformation), the listed author of the first book and one of two main subjects of this book - to which he replied
I did suspect [the Maas Foundation] had interfered with the typeset….. and that they were also responsible for some of the strange anomalies on the Maas Wikipedia page... I warned Valley Press they had to be mindful who had access to the files during the printing process, but VP have a tendency to underestimate the Foundation's reach........
Overall hugely recommended.
I can only urge you to read this book and its predecessor and prepare to play your own part.
Some of the distinctive features of “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” include: its heavy concentration on doubles/twins; its extensive use of footnotes to perhaps tell an even more important story than the main text; a feature of those who wish to conceal their true identity behind a pseudonym; its often lengthy description of pieces of artwork (from paintings to conceptual artpieces to books) whose authorship not to mention even existence is shrouded in disputed.
In 2022 it was re-published by Valley Press in a much enhanced version, achieving a deservedly greater recognition than in its first publication.
This book is something of an academic companion volume (also by Valley Press) to “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”: a series of “essays, fictions, fragments and artefacts” by a variety of “scholars, artists and authors” which reflect on and explore the book, Ezra Maas and Daniel James and the interactions between all three often in a wider artistic context.
Examples include explorations of: the value-paradigm of modern art; fiction and non-fiction in a post-truth world; metaphysical detective stories; the role of gender and gender switching in art; reflection and doppelgangers (including some reflection on Maas and his relationship to my favourite book from University (*) – Douglas Hofstadter’s “Gödel, Escher, Bach”); a Soviet era spy story which brings a new dimension to the Maas phenomenon.
And I should say up front that even read as conventional academic pieces or fictional concepts they are excellent – but as with its predecessor there is so much more here.
(*) I should state here as it will become pertinent at the end of my review that I studied mathematics at Cambridge alongside my own twin brother
Early on in “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” the anonymous editor of that book (who also bookends this volume) says:
Every reader changes the story, bringing it to life and making it real, every reader plays their part, just as I have played mine.
The part that I played in ““The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”: I was I believe something of an initial champion of the book; I described it in my review (the top ranked on Goodreads) as “A multi-layered examination of identity and myth and a magnificent hybrid of multiple literary forms that is never less than enthralling”; I was heavily involved (both in suggesting its nomination and then in BTL debates) on in its controversial non-winning of the Guardian’s “Not The Booker Award” (an award I had judged the year before when I had unsuccessfully backed Marc Nash’s brilliant ��Three Dreams In the Key of G” (Marc subsequently first drawing me into the mysterious world of Maas).
Now bearing in mind my comments on the distinctive features of “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” one can imagine my surprise to find while reading this brilliant volume that:
- The 11th, 12th and 17th footnotes feature my twin brother
- Pages 21- 25 contain a reproduction of Paul’s Goodreads review of the latest edition of “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”
- Despite my attempts to maintain my anonymity (or at least slightly shield my identity) on my book related social media (Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram) (**) the 16th and 18th footnotes explicitly identify me by my real name
- The 16th footnote features my own reflections on the Guardian NTB controversy
- Page 26 has the same extract from my own review of the first edition of that book as I have reproduced above
(**) to the surprise of the authors of my Golden Reviewer Books of both 2021 and 2022 – Natasha Brown and Maddie Mortimer both of whom I had the pleasure to meet this year and both who knew my reviews of their books …….. and perhaps to you as a follower of my reviews ………. I am not in fact a Golden Retriever.
- The very detailed bibliography at the back of the book lists a book “Twin Psychologies and Fatal Symmetries” purportedly written by my twin brother and I but with one clear and I think deliberately signalled error – the book is claimed to be published by Oxford University Press.
Now the latter is simply inconceivable – in my maths undergraduate days if a lecturer unadvisedly listed a book by OUP in the recommended reading materials for the course, Paul and I would join in (if not lead) the justifiable jeering.
I therefore followed this up via Twitter with what at least purports to be the account of Daniel James (considerable doubt has been placed on the reliability of this account by the Maas foundation but they are of course the masters of disinformation), the listed author of the first book and one of two main subjects of this book - to which he replied
I did suspect [the Maas Foundation] had interfered with the typeset….. and that they were also responsible for some of the strange anomalies on the Maas Wikipedia page... I warned Valley Press they had to be mindful who had access to the files during the printing process, but VP have a tendency to underestimate the Foundation's reach........
Overall hugely recommended.
I can only urge you to read this book and its predecessor and prepare to play your own part.
January 26, 2023
Nothing is More Real Than Nothing is an astounding metafictional exploration of The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas. If you haven’t heard of The Unauthorised Biography, I highly recommend reading it. Daniel James’s first novel is one of the most intricately woven and rewarding pieces of literature I’ve ever read. I even wrote an essay about it that was featured in this collection, but I’m not here to review my own work, I’m here to review the work of the other contributors and the book as a whole.
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas was the first book I read that I would classify as a truly post-truth novel. I’ve read others since, but The Unauthorised Biography is by far the most well-executed. And now, Nothing is More Real Than Nothing has, in my mind, solidified the creation of Ezra Maas as a stroke of genius.
Whether you believe Ezra Maas is real or not, this collection has something for you. If you’re an academic or a casual reader, or something in between, you’ll find this to be an engrossing read because the collection builds upon the mythos in an intriguing way.
Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing harnesses the power of the post-truth narrative by giving the reader multiple, conflicting narratives, to then decide for themself what they believe the truth is. This book is not trying to sell you a particular belief but instead asks the reader to find their own truth from the often cryptic and complex segments of the collection. All of which attempt to either prove or disprove the existence of Ezra Maas. Ultimately, the final decision is up to the reader. Is Ezra Maas real? I think I know the truth, but do you?
Amongst the lost photographs, the literary analyses, and the personal accounts, the truth is hidden for all to see. Whether Maas was a real person or not, he now lives on in our minds and has become a part of our collective consciousness.
I was pleasantly surprised by the humour in Nothing is More Real Than Nothing. I knew this was never going to fit the mould of a stereotypical collection of essays and writings, but I didn’t expect to find myself chuckling like I was at the scathing tone of Dr. Magdalena Harper’s piece, or at the tweets presented by Amy Lord. There are pieces full of intellectual reasoning (Matt Cook), evidence-based pieces (Associate Professor Michael J. Jeffries), emotionally driven personal accounts (P M Buchan), and pieces full of curiosity and tension (translated by Ian Roden).
Overall, this collection houses a wide array of genres, styles, and literary techniques from a multitude of excellent writers. However, due to the resounding contradictions presented, not everything in this collection can be true. It is up to you, the reader, to take the information presented and decide for yourself, once and for all, what you believe the truth about Ezra Maas to be.
This review was originally published by cultfiction.co.uk
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas was the first book I read that I would classify as a truly post-truth novel. I’ve read others since, but The Unauthorised Biography is by far the most well-executed. And now, Nothing is More Real Than Nothing has, in my mind, solidified the creation of Ezra Maas as a stroke of genius.
Whether you believe Ezra Maas is real or not, this collection has something for you. If you’re an academic or a casual reader, or something in between, you’ll find this to be an engrossing read because the collection builds upon the mythos in an intriguing way.
Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing harnesses the power of the post-truth narrative by giving the reader multiple, conflicting narratives, to then decide for themself what they believe the truth is. This book is not trying to sell you a particular belief but instead asks the reader to find their own truth from the often cryptic and complex segments of the collection. All of which attempt to either prove or disprove the existence of Ezra Maas. Ultimately, the final decision is up to the reader. Is Ezra Maas real? I think I know the truth, but do you?
Amongst the lost photographs, the literary analyses, and the personal accounts, the truth is hidden for all to see. Whether Maas was a real person or not, he now lives on in our minds and has become a part of our collective consciousness.
I was pleasantly surprised by the humour in Nothing is More Real Than Nothing. I knew this was never going to fit the mould of a stereotypical collection of essays and writings, but I didn’t expect to find myself chuckling like I was at the scathing tone of Dr. Magdalena Harper’s piece, or at the tweets presented by Amy Lord. There are pieces full of intellectual reasoning (Matt Cook), evidence-based pieces (Associate Professor Michael J. Jeffries), emotionally driven personal accounts (P M Buchan), and pieces full of curiosity and tension (translated by Ian Roden).
Overall, this collection houses a wide array of genres, styles, and literary techniques from a multitude of excellent writers. However, due to the resounding contradictions presented, not everything in this collection can be true. It is up to you, the reader, to take the information presented and decide for yourself, once and for all, what you believe the truth about Ezra Maas to be.
This review was originally published by cultfiction.co.uk
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January 24, 2023The mystery of Maas deepens... I also have a chapter in this sister book to the man's Biography from last year x
April 10, 2023
When I read The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas in 2019 and then the new special edition in 2022 I thought I had picked up on a lot of the conspiracies and clues, but what this collection has shown me is that I was way off and the Maas Foundation's grip on the world goes far deeper than I could ever imagine. Has there been a book in the last 10 years that has been investigated as much as this biography? The Da Vinci Code is probably the last book I can think of that has captured the imagination and Ezra Maas goes way beyond what that book managed. So many readers find themselves involved beyond the last page and what this collection shows is just how inspirational Daniel James' book is...it all feels a bit cultish!
On many occasions this collection has blown my mind, as various other readers share their ideas, the biggest one was the gender of Ezra, not once did this cross my mind on both readings, I think my focus was distracted into trying to figure out the identity and I think that shows just how involved I became as I forgot to question the simple things. I loved how the conspiracy theories in the main book continue into this collection...who the hell is Amy Lord? Reproducing tweets that I was involved in where we discussed The Maas Foundation watching us, She must be working for the foundation right? Does Daniel James realise that his inner circle has been infiltrated? Do I need to start keeping an eye out for the black vans again? Will this ever end? In keeping with the original book a number of pieces has the story overflowing into footnotes and there are warnings everywhere.
I have really enjoyed reading this great addition to the Ezra Maas myth, made up of reviews, papers, theories and background research which all enhances that original read. You really must read the biography, let the dust settle and then pick up this book to have it all come rushing back like a good old dose of PTSD. I don't think the story is over yet, it feels like there is more to come, Ezra Maas still has unfinished business.
Blog review with links: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...
On many occasions this collection has blown my mind, as various other readers share their ideas, the biggest one was the gender of Ezra, not once did this cross my mind on both readings, I think my focus was distracted into trying to figure out the identity and I think that shows just how involved I became as I forgot to question the simple things. I loved how the conspiracy theories in the main book continue into this collection...who the hell is Amy Lord? Reproducing tweets that I was involved in where we discussed The Maas Foundation watching us, She must be working for the foundation right? Does Daniel James realise that his inner circle has been infiltrated? Do I need to start keeping an eye out for the black vans again? Will this ever end? In keeping with the original book a number of pieces has the story overflowing into footnotes and there are warnings everywhere.
I have really enjoyed reading this great addition to the Ezra Maas myth, made up of reviews, papers, theories and background research which all enhances that original read. You really must read the biography, let the dust settle and then pick up this book to have it all come rushing back like a good old dose of PTSD. I don't think the story is over yet, it feels like there is more to come, Ezra Maas still has unfinished business.
Blog review with links: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...
May 23, 2024
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas is a fun and interesting book, this is marketed as a follow-up to it. It's a mix of essays and stories, some of which are attributed to real persons, others to presumably fictional characters, most of which have a loose connection with the novel, some of which are written in turgid academic journalese, some with the odd whiff of juvenilia, it rarely reaches the heights reached by the source novel. It's not terrible but it's not great, a lot of it is patience-testing over-egging of the entertaining conceit of the original book. I'm hoping there's a follow up book in the works which might expand on some of the unfinished threads of the source material but I think I'll be kept waiting. If you enjoyed the original book, this is a passably entertaining "sequel" but don't come looking for a continuation of the original or you'll be disappointed.
Typos on p.55 "Action" is printed instead of "Acton", p.104 the typesetter messed up the footnote, p.107 "to" is printed instead of "the", p.120 misspells "Anonymous" at line 19 !!! and the last line of p.216 is missing the word "to".
3/5
Typos on p.55 "Action" is printed instead of "Acton", p.104 the typesetter messed up the footnote, p.107 "to" is printed instead of "the", p.120 misspells "Anonymous" at line 19 !!! and the last line of p.216 is missing the word "to".
3/5
July 3, 2023
I really want to read this, but suspect I never will. Still, lost chances are as much a part of life as chances taken.
Update: I was absolutely convinced this was not a real book- I was wrong! It is available from Valley Press.
Update #2: Now read! A fun companion piece to Ezra Maas with lots of fresh clues (or dead ends), real life intersections and an intriguing conclusion. Well worth the read for fans of the novel who want to spend a little more time in the rabbit hole.
Update: I was absolutely convinced this was not a real book- I was wrong! It is available from Valley Press.
Update #2: Now read! A fun companion piece to Ezra Maas with lots of fresh clues (or dead ends), real life intersections and an intriguing conclusion. Well worth the read for fans of the novel who want to spend a little more time in the rabbit hole.
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