William by Mason Coile: REVIEW

Synopsis

Henry has a brilliant mind, a smart house, a pregnant semi-estranged wife, severe agoraphobia, and a secret AI robot in the attic. And now he has decided to introduce his robot, William, to his wife and her friends. What could possibly go wrong?

My Review

This is one of those horror novels that you read for the vibes rather than the quality. To be honest, this book has some major problems. It almost feels like the author had some great ideas about AI to explore and a mind full of spooky visuals to describe, and he threw them all together a little too loosely. The end result is choppy and at times completely implausible. And yet I loved it.

The great ideas

Does AI have a soul? If it does, can that soul be corrupted? These are two of the questions that Coile explores in this novel, and they feel very relevant in today’s AI-obsessed world. However, rather than diving deep into the philosophy of it all, Coile opts to use these questions as the basis for a sort of horror-movie-of-the-week plot. And I’m actually fine with that! The questions are, as far as this story requires, answered. It’s the aftermath of the questions, rather than the questions themselves, that’s the focus here.

The vibes

As with any good horror-movie-of-the-week, the spooky vibes are all that matters, and on that front, Coile really delivers. The chapters are short and punchy, and most of them end on creepy cliffhangers, so this would be an easy one-sitting read if you’re in the mood for it. Sure, there isn’t a lot of cohesion between scenes, and the dialogue can feel wooden sometimes. But as long as the hairs on the back of your neck go up whenever William makes his presence known, you can forgive anything. (And if you’ve ever wondered what a hacker with ill intent could do with a smart house, those hairs will go up!)

The ending

I can’t say much about the ending without spoiling it, but I was ready to give this 3 stars until the ending bumped it up to 4. It’s one of those endings that can completely change the way you feel about everything you’ve just read. It’s definitely worth reading the whole book for!

In summary: If you love AI and/or monster horror and don’t mind a few flaws, this is well worth a read!

You can purchase William here on Bookshop.org*
*As an affiliate, I will receive a small commission from any purchase made through this link