iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The debate has flared up again over whether chatbots are conscious. Which brings to mind this section of dialogue in my most recent book, This Machine Kills Billionaires (2026):

Excerpt reads as follows:

“Sergey Bookman says that’s speciesist. He’s been telling everyone who’ll listen which is everyone—that you’re alive.”
“Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?”
“Hmm. Why?”
“Who benefits from insisting that the toaster is sentient, Izzy? Why, the man with the toaster factory.” Huldo gestured at the space around them, the vista. “Even if I were a new form of life, Sergey Bookman would not care for me. Bookman does not care for any form of life, including human. His concerns are all instrumental.”

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The end boss of correct opinions:

Nelson Mandela: "Be a life long student, read as many books as possible."

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Currently vying for first place on my TBR. Fuck I love books:

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This review of Aliens: Bishop, correctly mentions one of my most important contributions to the lore:

5 star review that states: "confirmation that vegemite exists in the Aliens universe."

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Early days, but the response to my latest work has been fantastic. This Machine Kills Billionaires is currently my highest rated book ever. Link in the next tweet.

Screen shot from Goodreads. Shows a 4.5 star average rating (after 50), plus the sick purple colour for my book.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I really love this recent review of Ghost of the Neon God (@titanbooks.bsky.social). In its own way, it sums up everything I tried to do in the novella.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Fantastic review for my latest book, 'This Machine Kills Billionaires', in Grimdark Magazine (@grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social). Link in the next tweet:

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Rereading The Return of the King, for the first time I looked through the appendices. There's a section that covers the fates of the Fellowship. The most poignant: After Sam's wife, Rose, passes away, Sam (at the age of 102) immediately leaves for Valinor to join Frodo.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I very rarely see my debut collection, Neon Leviathan, out in the wild. But somehow LarrySmith’s bookstore has a copy at WorldCon. Now signed. @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

My books (including my brand new release, This Machine Kills Billionaires) are available at Larry Smith’s Books, far back corn of the dealer’s room at WorldCon ( @laworldcon.bsky.social). Partake, I insist.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Bit bleary after 24 hours in transit and an early morning fire alarm, but I’m just about ready to jump into WorldCon tomorrow.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I'll be flying across the globe to attend WorldCon LA (27-31 August), and I'm really looking forward to it. Panel schedule below (is it just me or is there a theme here?) If you're there, and see me wandering the halls (or leaning against the bar), definitely say hello. @laworldcon.bsky.social

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Fantastic review for This Machine Kills Billionaires by Robin Duncan (British Fantasy Society): "Napper’s writing sits shoulder to shoulder with the greats of Cyberpunk while always having something fresh to say about the genre." Full review here: britishfantasysociety.org/review/this-...

Picture of my hand holding the book, behind it an open box with more copies. The cover is purple, with a giant AI face looming over the silhouette of a woman, and looks fucking sick.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Today (July 7) is publication day for my new book. I’m incredibly proud of This Machine Kills Billionaires. Available now in all formats, I can’t wait for you to read it. If you’re after dark, thoughtful, propulsive, but above all: deeply human science fiction, look no further.

Author holding copy of This Machine Kills Billionaires. I'm holding a piece of paper that says 'publication day' because I'd inevitably fuck up graphics if I tried to overlay them on the picture.

Box full of copies of This Machine Kills Billionaires. The cover has a giant purple face, with a small silhouette of a woman in the foreground. The art bangs.

Book opened up to start of novella (centrepiece of collection) called The Hidden God. The bloke who did the internals (Adrian M Gibson) did an amazing job.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

This Machine Kills Billionaires has an audiobook - and it's brilliant. Voiced by the talented Luke Arnold, I couldn't be happier with the final result. Link in the next tweet for all the places you can get your copy.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I just received my Ditmar Award trophy for Best Novella, and obviously feel compelled to show it off 'The Hidden God' has now won the Ditmar and Aurealis Awards, and is the centrepiece of my new collection, This Machine Kills Billionaires. 1/2

Author wearing Ghost in the Shell t-shirt and holding two trophies and one book ('this machine kills billionaires'). The trophy is glowing red. His hair is okay but could be better.

Picture of trophy, now glowing blue. There is a remote control in the short, showing all the colours the trophy can glow (which is all of them).

Picture of book on shelf with Ditmar and Aurealis Awards for Best Novella. The Ditmar trophy isn't glowing this time.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I've a surprise new release coming out, and I'm not mucking around: you can pre-order now, and own it in a couple of weeks (July 7) This Machine Kills Billionaires features the thrilling, multi-award-winning novella, 'The Hidden God', a triptych of bonus short stories, & more.

Cover of book and it looks fucking sick. Huge purple head (someone sort of cybergod), looming in the background over the silhouette of a woman. Also notes that the release date is July 7.

This Machine Kills Billionaires being unboxed.

Interior of book. The internals are excellent. Here is the opening page for The Hidden God, which has a quote from Camus: "For anyone who is alone, without god and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful. Hence one must choose a master, god being out of style."

Back cover with blurb:

Billionaires start dying in bizarre accidents, sending shockwaves through the markets and the media. But for philosopher Izanami (Izzy) Jones, it's just a vaguely amusing, if disturbing, item in the news.

Izzy is the reluctant employee of a Silicon Valley tsar. She’s been tasked by him to give moral instruction to the world's first Artificial General Intelligence, Huldo. Izzy knows it is merely a box-ticking exercise, required by government regulation before her boss is granted full control over the AGI.

But when Huldo reveals itself to be far more, and far less, than it appears, suddenly the abstractions of her work become very real. What moral constraints on a god? What righteous damnation for man? Izzy must make the impossible choice, before it is too late.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Awesome to see readers still discovering my collection, Neon Leviathan. An unknown author with an indie press (@grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social) - I don't think either of us expected it'd still be bubbling along in the punk underground, six years later.

Screen shot of Goodreads review. 5 Stars from Karen Wong. Reads: "Wildly underrated book and author. This was gritty and visceral and at-times unpleasant, but brilliantly well done with a character-centric view of the aftermaths of war and other atrocities. Every story is solid and filled with Easter eggs for the collection as a whole - will be worth a reread later to try and piece it together. Classic cyberpunk reimagined in a novel way."

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Post a non-religious picture you think of as holy

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

1/2 Ditmar Award nominations are open and I've two works I'm particularly proud of: The Hidden God (novella), and Déjà Vécu, (short story). If you're eligible to vote (and there's a good chance you are - criteria explained in the linked article), have at it. nappertime.com/ditmar-votin...

Author wearing Quark's short, holding a copy of Asimov's, and a copy of Austral 2025. He's in front of his bookshelf, showing off his awards in the background, but also accidentally showing off some half painted Dark Angels Terminators.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Just returned from a quick trip to Queensland, where I attended the Aurealis Awards ceremony. Absolutely elated to walk away with the win for Best Science Fiction Novella. Great night, spent with some great people. Congrats to all the nominees and winners.

Author wearing 'Quarks Bar' shirt, holding award. Water in background, as he's standing outside in Queensland. His hair's looking good.

Shot of giant screen on stage at awards, announcing The Hidden God as the winner.

Sitting in auditorium on red chairs (looks like a cinema), brandishing award while wearing a t-shirt of the move The Thing. Next to me is a tall bloke wearing boring black shirt.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Author copy mail is the best type of mail. Grimdark Magazine #45 turned up today. Their first physical edition genuinely looks excellent (and love the cover art for my short story). @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social

Author looking real fine (despite the messy hair) holding copy of magazine - cover art of a guy in a black suit, tubes coming out of it, surrounded by purple aura (also looks fine).

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Excellent review of my short story 'The Long Sleep' in Tangent. The tale appears in the latest issue of Grimdark #45 (a great magazine), which is also their first foray into print. Check it out here: www.grimdarkmagazine.com/product/grim... @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social

Excerpt from review reads: "But at what point are your own fears and vulnerabilities just as easily used against you, by the very mechanisms you are using to create these dreamscapes? No, of course not, this is what you do for a living. You know every trick, and you would know if you weren’t really awake this whole time… wouldn’t you? There’s more than one point being made here, and all of them are made with elegant and almost surgical precision."

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Took my eldest son (now 14) to a café today, and could not help but notice my mad parenting skills.

My son (only knee pictured) has a copy of the Hobbit, while I'm reading The Two Towers. I told him to bring a book to the café, and had no idea what he was going to bring.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

My nerdom knows no bounds. After a hiatus of several years, I picked up the brushes again and painted my Skaven team for the new edition of Blood Bowl. Listening to music, painting, is my zen.

Skaven gutter runner with fucking sick red and green paint scheme.

Full skaven team pictured, on book shelf (lot of Vonnegut behind them)

Skaven blitzer with green and red paint scheme, and a yellow eye.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Read 52 books this year, loved 10 of them (13, including rereads). My top ten is in the link below, along with a brief roundup of my writing year. Enjoy.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Canberra Times, 18 December, 2025:

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

SALE: a 2-for-1 eBook deal for my debut novel, 36 Streets, and novella, Ghost of the Neon God - between them winning 4 awards (Aurealis x2, Ditmar x2). My work, 'Gloriously upholds the cyberpunk legacy' according to Locus Mag. Link below.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

I spent November mentoring for an arts-based recovery program for military personnel and first responders suffering trauma and injury. A genuinely transformative program that proves the vital importance of creativity in the process of healing. Article in link below:

T R Napper wearing 'The Thing' t-shirt, teaching creative writing to room of military personnel and first responders

Round medal that says: "building resilience through creativity"

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

This is awesome. While I've had a few short stories translated, this is the first time for my of my novels (36 Streets). The Russian cover of my vehemently anti-imperialist book is excellent, and I love seeing this artist's interpretation of the protagonist, Lin Thi Vu. Link below.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Meridian Australis are a small publisher and writer's group based in Melbourne doing some great work. Their anthology is available here: meridianaustralis.au/product/aust...

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Look at the names on that cover. LOOK AT THEM. Available here: shorturl.at/U73pF

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Author copy mail is the best type of mail. Very pleased to be a part of the Austral Anthology and the year's best 'Robot and AI Stories' (about robot and AI, NOT written by)(@infinivoxsf.bsky.social). Links to each below.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Up until recently I was in a cyberpunk group on Facebook. On it, someone wrote a very long and very well received post on why AI in art is okay and fucking hell I'm just tired. The AI techbros are the real world manifestation of everything cyberpunk detests and warned against.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Tim Hickson just uploaded an excellent, thoughtful video on his channel HelloFutureMe, exploring the trope: 'When a Character is a Weapon'. I was immensely gratified to see he'd included Lin Thi Vu from 36 Streets & The Escher Man. Well worth a watch (Link below).

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

The Australian Ditmar Award ceremony was last night, and I was honoured to receive the nod for Best Novella. Ghost of the Neon God has now won the Australian double (Aurealis and Ditmar). Congrats to all the winners, and a huge thanks to all my readers.

author with trophy (wearing a 1984 t-short and standing in a cyberpunk hotel lobby)

Picture of novella (vivid orange cover), Aurealis trophy (looks kinda like a red glass nautilus), and Ditmar trophy (small gold rocket ship).

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Today (17 September) is the 1st anniversary of the publication of The Escher Man. Ten years in the writing (and trunking, and resurrecting). Big thanks to everyone who's read (and especially talked about, and reviewed). Cheers. @titanbooks.bsky.social

Picture of author holding book in bookstore. He's wearing a Ghost in the Shell t-shirt and looks FINE.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Now for the winner. To be eligible to vote in this round, you need to have been a member of any of the Natcons (Conflux, Continuum) over the past five years. Link to the form here: form.jotform.com/252351941469...

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Huge milestone for my current manuscript, a dark fantasy epic (Have I made a massive error, switching genres and taking on a story so ambitious? I mean: yeah, maybe. But that's true of every novel, that creative leap of faith, without a net).

Shows the wordcount on my current manuscript (200,000).

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Ah, here it is. 'Aren't AIs are people, too?" I engage with this claim in my Asimov's Novella, 'The Hidden God'. The protagonist (Izzy) is talking to an AGI (Huldo) about a tech baron (Bookman):

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

From my Asimov's Novella, 'The Hidden God'. The protagonist (Izzy) is talking to an AGI (Huldo) about a tech baron (Bookman):

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

A small milestone for my novella, Ghost of the Neon God. 300 ratings on Goodreads and still going strong. Thank you to all who've read, enjoyed, and rated.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

I'm not physically attending @seattlein2025.org, and the FOMO is crushing. My meagre compensation is the virtual panel. Times below are for Australian East Coast. But if you're in Seattle, why attend barcon when at 9pm and 1030pm Wednesday, you could be watching me?

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

1/2 Ditmar Award nominations are open and I've two works I'm particularly proud of: The Escher Man (novel), and Ghost of the Neon God, (novella). If you're eligible to vote (and there's a good chance you are - criteria explained in the linked article), have at it. nappertime.com/ditmar-award...

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

I'm back in the ring. Comic Con (@ozcomic-con.bsky.social), Canberra August 9&10, and Sydney September 20&21. I'll have all my books (including the new Aliens: Bishop paperback), and should be mostly coherent. So drop by the table and say hi. Link in comments.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Oh and we've just hit 350 on Goodreads. Our batting average is pretty good there, as well.

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T R Napper @trnapper.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

I wrote about what it meant to me to win the Aurealis (and all the places you can find the novella), linked here: nappertime.com/ghost-of-the... @titanbooks.bsky.social

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