If you're a regular Geek's Guide to the Galaxy listener, please rate and review us on iTunes or using the podcast app on your phone.

And I want to give a special thank you to Lee Stepper, who just gave us this five-star review.

I discovered David Barkerly's podcast several years ago

and have been listening ever since. David has interesting and purposeful conversations

with the leading lights of science fiction and fantasy. I consistently learn a lot from the show, whether it's a roundtable

discussion of Shlaki 80's Dungeons and Dragons movies, or a conversation with a grand master of science

fiction. I particularly enjoy the balance between screen, print, and gaming content and welcome the exposure to great new material that has enriched my life.

So big thanks again to Lee Stepper for that great review.

All right, so now let's get to the Galaxy.

And here is your host, David Barr-Kirtley.

Hello, and welcome to episode 414 of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy.

Our guest today is Max Berry.

He's the author of several novels, including Jennifer Government, Company, Machine Man, and Lexicon, and it's also the developer

of the online nation simulation game Nation States.

And we'll be speaking with him today about his new science fiction book, Providence. And now here's our interview with Max Barry.

All right, so we're here with Max Barry. Welcome to the show.

Thank you very much. Okay, and so your new book is called Providence. So how did this book come about?

I actually have the very first note that I made for this book, which because I keep all the notes that I ever make on my writing so I have 130,000 words of

notes and stuff that got cut out of the book that never made it in and the

first thing I ever wrote for this thing was,

there's a war but the ship takes care of all the good stuff.

So there was the idea for me that it would be kind of interesting

...