Henry and Lily are a wealthy married couple living in a high tech smart home. Henry, a robotics expert, has become agoraphobic, which has caused a huge strain in his relationship with his pregnant wife. He spends most of his time in his attic laboratory, where he has developed an artificially intelligent robot he has named William. When Lily invites some old friends over for brunch, Henry thinks this would be a good time to unveil William. Bad idea (cue evil laughter).

When I began to read this book, I was immediately drawn in by the suspense and creepy sense of dread. However, I became slightly annoyed enough with certain things (some of the dialogue, some aspects of the characters, stylistic choices, etc) that I decided to skim through the last half. But, here’s my twist: when I reached the end, I immediately had to re-read the book, and this time I didn’t skim. I read every word in one sitting. Most of the things that had confused me made sense. Even though I knew the ending, this book scared the heck out of me during the second reading. I was afraid of going downstairs in our house in the dark when I got up this morning.

So I think readers would be wise to know going in that even if you are feeling confused in the first half, it will all make sense in the end.

So…definitely a strong four star book and with some slight tweaks it would be five stars for me. I still thought some of the writing was slightly confusing and I didn’t buy a certain character’s reaction to certain horrific events, which commonly happens in horror, so it’s forgivable, but it could have been even better with just a tad more realism in a few spots.

Highly recommended to fans of sci-fi and/or horror! And kudos to the cover designer: wow.

If you are a fan of an AI robot gone rogue like I am, this one is not to be missed. William is creepy with just the right of humor thrown in. This is a quick, fun and creative read. The story is suspenseful and hard to put down with well written dialogue. William would make a great movie. I plan to get an audio copy when it’s released.

Thank you to @netgalley the publisher and author for an early digital copy of William.

When I picked up this book, I wasn't quite expecting the level of gruesome horror. The technological horror novel follows the story of robotics engineer, Henry, and his wife, Lily, who is a software engineer.

Henry has finally achieved the invention of a lifetime, his lifelike AI, William. Despite the fact that he has put his marriage in danger spending all of his time dedicated to William, Henry is incredibly proud of his invention. However, we quickly learn that something isn't quite right with him. When Lily invites two friends for dinner, agoraphobic Henry is correctly convinced that his wife is romantically involved with one of the friends.

Between both Henry and William, their guests won't make it out alive. Picture anything that you could imagine going wrong with an AI controlled smart home combined with a jealous husband and that's this book.

I felt that the book was rushed and left no time for character development other than Henry and William. The novel did have a completely unexpected twist ending, but it just missed the mark for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to the ARC.

Agoraphobic robotics engineer Henry has made several impressive "toys" but his greatest creation is William, an almost finished human-like AI. But William isn't right inside. He's acerbic, deceitful and toys with Henry. When his pregnant wife Lilly invites two coworkers over for dinner, though he's not fond of the friends or how they treat him, Henry decides to show William to them. But this mistake becomes all too clear when William takes over the house AI, putting all the humans in danger.
Mason Coile gives new meaning to the term "the ghost in the machine." While there are numerous stories involving smart houses and psychotic robots and AI, none tell their tale the way this one was spun. The book just clips along at an exhilarating pace, the dread and horror mounting more and more as incidents cascade to pose bigger dangers right to the end. And that ending....

4.5 stars! This was a quick and enthralling read. Do yourself a favor and read this on a rainy day, in the dark, alone. William was built for companionship but can a robot develop a mind of his own and how diabolical can his intentions be? William really makes the reader contemplate the possible ramifications of advanced AI.
This was a great horror book with plenty of action, character development, and a shocking twist at the end. I would not be surprised if I saw William turned into a movie in the near future. The only thing that kept it from a 5 star read for me was that parts of it seemed a little rushed.
Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and Mason Coile for this ARC of W1ll1am!!

I began this book expecting a scary mystery/thriller that was going to keep me on the edge of my seat; it did, sort of. The scary parts were definitely there with the technology going out of control. Some of that was extremely gruesome.

From the rather abrupt beginning, the book felt more like a short story than a fully executed novel and the writing didn’t flow smoothly. Added to that were characters that were not well developed and, therefore, I really didn’t care about why the horrible things were happening to them.

This book had potential but didn’t deliver until close to the end.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it turned out to be a fantastic little horror/thriller about the power of AI and the silly notion we humans have about being able to control it. A husband, master of robotics who is having issues with his pregnant wife, creates an AI robot named William who turns out to have abilities its own creator never saw coming. He traps the duo and her two friends (one who may be having an affair with the wife) in their house and frightening chaos results. Just when I knew where the story was going, I didn't, and the ending was a real surprise. A dark and disturbing tale that I enjoyed from beginning to end. 4.5 stars. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A new book from the author of THE DEMONOLOGIST centers around Henry, an agoraphobic engineer who has achieved the work of his lifetime, an AI robot called William. He keeps William in the attic and he’s a complete secret from everyone, including his pregnant, engineer wife Lily.

One day Lily invites two co-workers over for brunch and to finally meet Henry. Henry wants to show off their fabulous smart house. Then he decides to introduce them to William.

At first this seems like the typical AI-takes-over-smart-house novel. Then it becomes something darker, “I think something came along and decided to take up space inside him.” And then….well, you just have to read it for yourself, but it’s an interesting ride. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

I was given this arc through NetGalley and the publisher of the book. Big thanks to them for letting me have the opportunity to read, nonetheless here is my honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐
I love this book. I read a lot of horror and never have I seen technological horror done so well. The story was fast paced and I read it all in one day as everytime I set it down I worried about what would happen next. This honestly rarely happens to me anymore.

The characters were human and odd and I was confused for some parts about them but it payed off so well. I had a love hate relationship with Henry, I won't lie. But towards the end I simple wanted to give him a hug. All the characters played their role in such a convincing way that the ending had me complete shambles as it was executed so well. I literally gasped and had to reread it.

As someone who works with technology this story brought up a lot of ethical points that I was glad was explored. And as someone who has to deal with these things I think it was done in a simple and effective way, and made me ponder these ideas more which was surprising as I thought I had a good stance on them already. It gave me slight Frankenstein vibes which I loved as it is one of my favorite classics and parallels with technology and this topic.

Some critics are that I wish I knew more about the characters so I could get a sense of why they were like that, as sometimes I felt confused and had to fill in my own idea which probably were wrong. And that the setup was frustrating because of the characters, but it really did play out amazingly so that is barely a critic and more of a note for other readers.

Overall for a debut this is beyond amazing, it reminded me a lot of Christopher Pike who is one my all time favorite authors, so I will no doubt be checking out anything else Mason crates. This book really had such an impact on me. If I am lucky to see it in my area I will definitely be picking it up too I feel it's something fun and critical for people to red. Especially as we inch closer to a world with AI.

I would recommend this to anyone who seems even slightly interesting the themes of creation and ethics surrounding are important but it was a fun, edge of my seat horror, and played out like a movie.

Thank you Netgalley for this e-arc of William!

Gah, where do I begin here. Let’s start with the horror elements overall. It isn’t easy to spook me, this, did. I felt immersed almost immediately and couldn’t break free of its grip til the very end. Now, I don’t do spoilers in my reviews so I try to just be honest with how the work overall makes me feel. This made me feel as if I had to look over my shoulder. Just for good measure.

Lastly, I am seeing a recurring theme in a bunch of upcoming releases. That is AI. Kinda makes me wonder what’s in store for us.

William (stylized as W1LL1AM on the cover) is a fast paced technologically psychological horror following an agoraphobic robotics engineer Henry. We're quickly introduced to his software engineer wife Lily and come to find out that there are several marital problems in the household. Henry blames the majority of these on his passion project, William. William is a humanoid AI that has become too smart & aware for it's own good, causing Henry to struggle to figure out what to do with the contraption.

Enter Davis & Paige (who by the way is one of the worst characters I've ever encountered, I'm not sure if we were meant to hate her but I sure did.) two of Lily's friends from the company she recently sold who are visiting for brunch. Lily has told them about William and the pair are eager to see him in action. Henry, rightfully so, is wary of this but takes them to his attic laboratory for a small demonstration. This is where things begin to go. Well incredibly wrong.

In the spirit of not spoiling the entire book, picture everything you'd expect to go wrong with an evil AI robot who lives in a modern-day version of Smart House from Disney Channel and then multiply it by 100. This book was insane in the best way and there is a twist that hit me out of left field I had to sit and stare for a few minutes to process it all. I cannot recommend this enough to horror fans looking for something sharp and eerily attainable with the way humanity has begun to interact with technology.

W1LL1AM. Think Blumhouse-esque horror featuring creepy technology, strained relationships, sharp dialogue, and the unknown future that AI presents to mankind. This very real and nonfiction fear is embodied in the form of a robot named William, and was built by our main character Henry. This creation is similar to human beings in form and mannerism–a true uncanny valley example. In likeness with developing cyberkinetics and other humanoids of the future, William seems to have been created with an infinite capacity for knowledge, but is seemingly souless and without heart. The AI robot contains a consciousness that has surpassed its man-made design and has eclipsed into something much darker and malignant. Its presence has infiltrated the high-tech mansion setting of this novel and its visitors with a singular, unnerving truth: evil that is in contempt of humanity, not in spite of it.
Now, there is much I wish I could say about the inner workings of this story and how much I loved particular scenes and tension build-ups, but no spoilers here! Henry was my absolute favorite character, and William and his true nature highly intrigued me. There were moments of major tension that had me on edge, and scenes that sent true jolts of fear through me. Oh, and the final twist at the end had my jaw on the floor. As for the 4 Star rating, I would have liked to know more about the individual characters, and I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt, although shocking. But all in all, W1LL1AM was an extremely solid and highly entertaining horror novel and I couldn't turn its pages fast enough. I'm so SO very fascinated with AI technology and its impact on our modern world, and this story (particularly the ending) touched on several things that I too have pondered in regards to its potential development. Just how far are we willing to go? Where do the lines between true and programmed emotion blur, and what happens if they begin to overlap? And finally, how can any machine without inherent morals resist crossing the line between good and evil?

Even some humans cannot.

My God. I'm a very fast reader, but I flew through this book in just a few hours- I had no other choice, it had that much of a hold on me. Reading horror is tough for me- it's so difficult to find that balance of suspense and reveal without falling into repetitive tropes and predictable twists. William has no such problem. A ruined love, a beautiful old house turned into a parody of a smart home, the consequences of creation and playing God. This is an elevated horror that I expect will be turned into an AMAZING movie within the next few years (if a studio is smart enough to get their hands on it). The plot itself is extremely relevant, but somehow feels so fresh and new, not overly done. AI horror has absolutely been done- but not like William. This isn't the typical dystopian thriller. The pace is almost that of a novella with the length of a novel, and I could feel my stomach drop to the floor from the moment we first meet our title character, William. The characters are well-developed, the setting is beautiful and terrifying, the dialogue is incredibly real (and again, would translate amazingly to a screenplay). I don't often recommend horror to EVERYONE, but I absolutely recommend this even to the most casual reader. What a pleasant surprise that I know will stick with me for quite some time. I was lucky enough to request and receive an advance copy of this from NetGalley, and I can't wait for the world to meet William.

I could not put this book down! I'm not usually a one sitting reader but this one had my swiping my kindle as fast as my eyes could go, It's a terrifying look at what we're allowing ourselves to become slaves to and, also, the lengths we'll go to protect the ones we love. Henry is incredibly flawed but, at his core, a very good man and I was on the edge of my seat with him. A huge thanks to the publisher for this ARC. I'll be buying a physical copy when it comes out to share with my friend,