Good Reads Challenge ARC Review: William
Hello to you, and welcome back to the blog.
QUOTE
“So many books, so little time.”
Beautiful people, how are you? I hope you are well, getting plenty of rest, staying hydrated, eating clean, focusing on your mental health, and giving yourself grace.
Friends, I’m trying to get through these ARC titles and my Good Reads for September as quickly as possible. What helps this is audible and NetGalley’s “read aloud” feature on the app. The voice sounds like a robot, but you can modify it. It’s not always ideal because it mispronounces words, but for now, it’s just what I need.
I do have three titles to review (always behind) but only two more to read on my list for September, and just one more ARC so I’m making excellent progress.
Today, I’m sharing my quick review of Mason Coile’s William. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Platinum for this advanced copy.
Book Details
Title | William
Author(s) | Mason Coile
Format | Kindle, E-book
Pages/Hours | 224 Pages
Published | September 10, 2024
Publisher | Penguin Group Platinum
Genre | Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
GR Rating | 3.81
Purchase | Amazon
Storyline
Psychological horror meets cyber noir in this delicious one-sitting read — a haunted house story in which the haunting is by AI.
Henry is a brilliant engineer who, after untold hours spent in his home lab, has achieved the breakthrough of his career — he’s created an artificially intelligent consciousness. He calls the half-formed robot William.
5.0 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Characters/Players
🧬 Henry (robotics engineer/husband [?])
🧬 Lily (Tech Giant / Henry wife [?])
🧬 David (friend of Lily’s, co-worker)
🧬 Paige (friend of Lily’s, co-worker)
My first thought is that the story starts simply enough, but I get this feeling of tension between the main characters, Henry and Lily. There’s also an ominous feeling as even the air feels oppressive.
It takes place on Halloween (I love that time of year). And it romanticizes the crisp air and the fall colors as people adorn their houses with festive decor.
Henry and Lily are estranged, and even though they live together, they sleep in separate bedrooms. This is complicated by the fact that Lily is pregnant. I don’t remember how far along Lily was, but since the nursery was ready, one can assume she was close.
Story in Brief
🧪 Lily is a tech millionaire who sold her business to afford to stay home and concentrate on her new family.
🧪 Henry is a robotics engineer, and he creates toys. Not just any toys but creepy-ass AI technology that moves and thinks independently. (HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING …MEGAN)
🧪 His lab is in the home attic, where he does most of his main work.
🧪 He’s been working on a big project, but thus far, he’s created a dog that would look life-like without his patchy mane and rotating head and eyes.
🧪 And a little magician toy on a motion-sensor bike moves through the home without rhyme or reason.
🧪 Henry is also having this reoccurring nightmare about a locked door with chains and trying to keep something (or someone out)
🧪 Henry is agoraphobic and gets physically ill if he tries to go outside. His whole world is inside the house.
Everything would be turned on its ear when Lily invites her former co-workers Paige and Davis for brunch. Henry, feeling the need to prove himself, decides to show everyone the BIG project he’s been working on, and that’s when they meet William.
[A human-sized AI robot built only from the torso up. It has independent thought and speech and is learning at an alarming rate. William calls Henry …brother. I would know why this is towards the end of the story.]
🧠 This would be the first time Lily (his wife?) sees his project, after which it (or instead, its arm that’s not attached to its body) grabs Lily, and things from that point would be set into motion. You see, William can control the other AI tech that Henry created. Paige, Lily, and Davis leave the house (leaving Henry at the door) to tend to her wound.
🧠 Now that the cat’s out of the bag, the party returns to confront Henry, after which the house goes into lockdown. Metal shutters on the windows lock, doors lock, and the house goes dark.
🧠 I’ll also mention that while the façade of the house is Victorian, everything on the inside has been upgraded and modernized. Everything from heat to climate control to the taps is controlled by a mainframe, and guess who has control of this, locking the party inside …William.
MY OBSERVATIONS
🥼 Why do most scientists have this “god” complex? Because they possess the ability to create artificial life and can take it away without remorse, all in the name of science
🥼 What are Lily and Davis hiding? Are they having an affair?
🥼 What I thought was a supernatural element is sci-fi.
🥼 During a conversation between Lily and Henry. As she speaks to him, she looks past him and notices the toy magician rolling into the room, but Henry states that he never turned this on and how it got here.
Most of the story is about Lily, Paige, and Davis trying to escape the house. By this point, they can’t count on Henry because he can’t leave, and one by one, they go missing. Henry thinks that if he removes Williams’s battery, everything will return to normal. But guess what … they don’t, and William shows up as some phantom throughout the house. Doors are opening and closing independently, faucets are simultaneously turning on and off, and there is no cell or tower service.
Conclusion
What we thought was a demon or something supernatural was just AI, and OMG, this is so on point, as AI tech has partially taken over almost every aspect of our daily lives.
Okay, I’m geeking out because this title is on my top Horror reads list for 2024 because it’s scary, disturbing, and creepy. I only have good things to say about William, and I HIGHLY recommend this if you’re looking for that October Halloween-scary-sci-fi read. This is it!
Good Reads Challenge Progress
Where I’ve posted a link, I’ve created a podcast on that review, which is a little more detailed than the written review and, of course…commentary. All my other reviews can be found ➠➠➠ here.
What Moves the Dead (read)
Leslie F*cking Jones (read)
The Cousins (read)
September House (read)
The Echo Wife (ARC: read)
Her Lost Soul (ARC: read)
The Black Girl Survives This One (ARC: read)
The Bad Ones (ARC: read)
The Eleven (ARC: read)
The Sundown Motel (read)
We Lie Here (read)
The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar (read)
Kill The Boy Band (read)
I Need You to Read This (ARC: read)
The Wishing Game (read)
Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide (read)
The Kind Worth Killing (read)
Home is Where the Bodies Are (read)
My Heart is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones (read)
Mary: An Awakening of Terror, Nat Cassidy (read)
Houses of the Unholy (ARC: read)
Suck-U-Bus (ARC read)
Antenora (ARC read)
Sadie (read NOT REVIEWED)
The Night She Disappeared (read)
Sleep Tight (ARC: read)
Wasp in the Ice Cream (read)
William (ARC: read)
The Afterparty (read)
The Hitchcock Hotel (ARC: read)
Good Read Challenge (Currently Reading)
The Book of Witching, C. J. Cooke
Middle of the Night, Riley Sager
For my partial Good Reads Challenge list, check out this ➠➠➠ post. For all the other posted reviews, check out my page. For the review podcast, check out my Spotify.
Thanks so much for visiting the blog today. Don’t forget to follow and subscribe, as I appreciate the support. — Peace
