I received this book from NetGalley and have to admit that the reason I requested it was because of the genre it was listed as. 

That Genre is Horror. 

AUTOMATED DAYDREAMING starts off slowly but immediately the reader realizes that they are not in Kansas anymore. If you enjoy your horror with Sci-Fi elements, you will probably enjoy this book. 

The author may be a bit twisted, but it is exactly those bizarre elements that work for him, and that suck the reader into his stories. 

William Pauley III has a terrific grasp on human motivation and a true talent for creating three dimensional characters.  

All in all, I enjoyed this trip into the fantastical world of AUTOMATED DAYDREAMING, but I definitely think you need to be in the correct frame of mind to delve into the truly bizarre when you read this book. 

I rate it as 3 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I really like this author, but this story let me confused, we had lots of dives into what happened that I actually got lost in the story. Actually to really enjoy a story by William Pauley III you need to be in the right space of your mind,like the same story in a different spirit may sound completely different. I still enjoyed the ride even if I got a bit lost. 

 But that being said, I loved that It was Connor Brannigan reading it, I’ve said it before and I will said it again, this man is really a one man band, he alone makes you believe several others are reading with him, and it really shows how he is enjoying his work reading it. 

I am sorry that I took so long in giving a review for this tittle, but it kind of got lost in my netgalley app (I swear I feel so old when trying to understand how a new app works). 

Thank you NetGalley and Doom Fiction Audio for the free AAC and this is my honest opinion.

Trigger warnings; violent SA, extended scenes of SA, medical torture, surgical scenes, blood/gore, violence, death/murder, death of a child

At the start of this book we meet out main character, who everyone thinks is dead because he is basically a jar of various organs. That is until the police get a letter from the doctor who is wanted for the man’s murder. The doctor is quite insistent that said jar of various organs is indeed alive and just has to be hooked up to a computer to prove it. Once that is done the thoughts of the MC will be able to be read off of it. Our MC is now hooked up to the multiverse and as he is now immortal, it is impossible for the doctor to have killed him. Is our MC (who is in fact alive) really hooked up to this, able to watch and live the lives of multiple people, or is it the fever dream of the massively tortured.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. Many sections were very well written. The various lives that we dipped our toes into were for the most part fascinating. I absolutely flew through this in a day because I was so engrossed in the story. No one in this story is having a good life though. Almost everyone is at least depressed. Many of them either have terrible things done to them, do terrible things to other people, or both.

This is very much not for the faint of heart. Each of the lives dips into seriously troubling/traumatizing subject matters. Each of the people that you follow are functionally immortal but they don’t want to be. All of them talk in depth about how they want to die and how they want to kill themselves but they can’t. Also immortal doesn’t also mean invulnerable. Many of the people you follow suffer from some kind of serious illness or trauma. And I do mean suffer. For example, they can’t die but that means the cancer can’t kill them.

There are many scenes of extreme violence of some kind. They really didn’t bother me much even though many of the scenes are over the top brutal violent. What did bother me was the graphic descriptions of SA. There were two scenes that were directly described (the first one goes by quick (but is still upsetting) but the second one goes into traumatizing detail. The woman is literally SAed to death. It is deeply unpleasant to read and I really wish it wasn’t included. It was 100% not plot relevant and cutting it wouldn’t have taken away from the plot at all. SA is deeply woven into the plot of the book for other reasons also and I severely recommend staying away from this if that’s a trigger for you.

I really struggled to come up with a star rating for this. I was honestly leaning to a two star review but I decided that the parts that I liked made it lean more to a three.

I can’t emphasize enough how hard this book can be to read at points. If any of them trigger warnings bother you, do not read this book. I think I recommend for readers that can handle the trigger warnings however.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book is interesting, displaying interconnected lives. While the writing is good, it was not to my taste.

A twisted Vonnegutian tale of an individual unstuck in identities and time. ‘Automated Daydreaming’ feels like a bizarre cross of ‘Citizen Cane’, ‘City of Lost Children’, and ‘12 Monkeys’. Seemingly disjointed stories writhe and overlap with echoes of Pauley’s other works throughout but ultimately come full circle and leave one wanting to dive into the stories one more time. Full of quotable quotes and perfectly delivered by the narrator. Worth a listen, but not for the faint of heart. Strap in for a wild, fantastical ride.

The concept is nice and something relatively common in the sci-fi literature. The consciousness of a person being downloaded and transferred from one place to the other, one generation to another. But I found the delivery quite boring. I did not get excited about this book so I left it half-way through.

I did enjoy this but found some of it a little overwritten. I think because it was an audiobook I sometimes found myself losing track of the plot. But there were some really visceral, dramatic scenes that have stuck in my head, and as always, William Pauley III is so creative and weird (in a good way!)

Audiobooks are always fun to listen episodically divided and narrated. If you're looking for an audio book to lsiten to which is both interesting and nice while travelling or bored out, this is the best book for you

Automated Daydreaming is a haunting novel about the dark side of immortality. There are several VERY uncomfortable sections and the general feeling of the book shifts halfway through. The addition of the gratuitous rape scenes that start at this point are the reasons why. I ended up speeding up during those sections because they added nothing to the experience for me. 
     The concept was very fascinating but the execution was just off for me. I spread through because it is written well and I wanted to know how it was going to all wrap-up but, but I found myself caring very little about the middle and then let down by the ending. There is one section that is FANTASTIC and after that everything fell flat.
     Connor Brannigan also does a fantastic job of narrating this novel. He captures the vibe of this book perfectly and channels both the format of the narrative and also the emotion of the characters which saved the experience for me.
     Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free ARC copy of the audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Confusing execution of a bizarre concept. 
The narrator is great however it made my head hurt. 
Not my cup of coffee, but I sense that some other people would enjoy it.

A horrific experiment. An individual - a cyborg, really - living simultaneous lives. The megalomanic behind it all. As a scifi fan, the premise of "Automated Daydreaming" drew me in. It's unfortunate, then, that the book did not live up to its promise.

I'll begin with the positive: having listened to the audiobook version, I found the performance to be absolutely stellar.

As for the content: Feeling like a mix between Kafka's subversive tales and the most violent parts of Ghost in the Shell, this book did indeed require a content warning. Even that may not have prepared me for the brutality of the narrative - especially the dream sequences. But I can put aside any personal distaste I may have for descriptions of violence if it serves either the narrative or to subvert established power structures in our real lives. It could be argued that art does not bear that burden - but I do not agree. 

Unlike Kafka, there is no deeper meaning here. There is no subversion - no truth spoken to power. The narrative - with its overblown language that still someone places the reader at a distance from the story - serves only to re-establish the power structures within which we live. I see here nothing of value: I read into it only self-indulgence, as if these are entries in a journal of nightmares rather than daydreams.

This is my first time reading anything by William Pauley III, and it was incredible. This novel was incredibly surreal and immersive, and left me feeling extremely uncomfortable in a very good way.

Bricker being forced to experience these five different lives in a state of automated daydreaming is harrowing, creepy, and deeply unsettling. It was so vivid and detailed, but also confusing.

The way these different stories that Bricker is living through intertwine together was really different than most novels that I've been reading, and listening to it through audiobook made it all the more compelling and creepy. 

This book truly shines in showing the dark and seedy side of immortality, and the moral gray areas that arise from chasing it.

Much like nutmeg in a recipe, rape scenes are a heavy spice to put into a story. If sprinkled in delicately, they can add nuance to a story that builds to a satisfying resolution. Unfortunately, William Pauley III must've had a loose spice lid while writing 'Automated Daydreaming', because the gratuitous rape scene more than halfway into the story left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the novel.

I enjoyed the concept enough. Upon finding the 'remains' of a man named Bricker Cablejuice, we are treated to him living lives in the multiverse, each of which he is unable to die. His immortality is horrifying in each one, with many of his lives resulting in a barely-living husk of a human wanting for death.

The audiobook performance is phenomenal, and I would recommend seeking that out if you want to read this book. Small sound effects are added at parts, which makes the story feel like a radio drama. Connor Brannigan has a great vocal talent and makes each persona lived by Bricker, as well as Gordon, sound distinct. I'll definitely seek out more of his audiobook reading in the future.

Again, it's not a terrible book, but the rape scene in question spoils the whole thing for me. It adds nothing to the story--hell, it's a dream sequence--and it just snowballs into the gross gender-targeted sexual horror that simply isn't what I want when I read horror. And, maybe this is just the leftist millennial in me, but I find it hard to believe that in a future where humans can modify their minds and bodies with computers, the only way to have a child is through a cisgender woman. Gordon should've just Brave New World-ed it.

I was given a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The following thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I enjoyed the story. The concept is really interesting. It's a well written weird book. BUT (yes there is a but) I did not enjoy this narrator. I did not enjoy the listening experience and couldn't wait for the book to be over. I think I would have enjoyed this so much more if I had of read it myself.

I have a very hard time reviewing bizarro/weird genres even though I enjoy reading them. I myself write surrealism, and the similarities sometimes make it hard for me to grasp the differences. Because this writing was so cyclical, the dissonance and disconnection in certain moments was distracting to me. But overall I enjoyed this book.

Immortality has been glamorized for ages. William Pauley III explores the dark side of immortality in his ambitious novel Automated Daydreaming: The Five Lives of Bricker Cablejuice.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review. 

As always, the narration on this book by Connor Brannigan was fantastic! He can put on so many characters voices, you’d believe there were 6 different people talking! The story itself is true horror in its purest form. This author is an automatic read for me! I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys creepy stories and doesn’t have too many triggers.

I have been becoming very familiar with William Pauley III's work over the last few months and he is becoming a name that I won’t forget. He has such a way of writing that really hits you. Unfortunately of his work that I have experienced this is my least favorite. 

This was originally a few short stories that were put together to be this novel. It works together but at times I did feel it to be a little disjointed and I got lost. The plot as a whole worked but didn’t grab me like his work on the Bedlam Bible. 

I always hate following what people say and agreeing but I think it needs to be said. The mermaid segment is definitely the strongest segment and will hit the hardest. 

Personally I think I would have enjoyed these stories broken up into short stories but it’s still an enjoyable book.

Interesting book. I never read the other book but I should. It had a cool plot that kept me listening to it.