Initial Condition
by Ian Domowitz
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Pub Date Sep 16 2025 | Archive Date Mar 15 2026
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Description
“He condemned the living for the crime of existence.”
A twelfth century vision of artificial intelligence foreshadows a sixteenth century recipe to produce it. A nineteenth century prison nurtures it. A twenty-first century golem befriends it. And a boy without a century stands at the intersection of real and virtual, moments into the future. They call him The Mechanic.
A kidnapping leads Hanzi Boss to a sanctuary community where religious law forbids speech by the artificially intelligent. For beings like him, the penalty for existing is death and his true nature must remain secret. But the community has its own secrets. An ancient immigrant hides there, a monster made not born, a being who can know Hanzi for what he really is. When the price of life is death, who survives—infinite strength steeped in the silence of the past, or intelligence guided by lived experience?
This is a story of arcane knowledge, alchemy, and strange philosophies. It is the story of a being not created by God, who does not know what he is and searches for something more. Initial Condition is the third book in The Mechanic’s Diary series following Wake the Whirlwind and Neurojuggler.
Advance Praise
“A reality-bending mix of mysticism and alchemy…. Domowitz blends biblical lore with concepts of moral responsibility and accountability in this visceral exploration of humanity, free will, and spirituality…. Ultimately, Domowitz’s imaginative allegory explores the search for truth and identity alongside the value of arcane wisdom versus lived experience.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Domowitz’s prose is sharp and hypnotic, mixing the textures of dark fantasy with the pacing of a techno-thriller…. By the end, the kidnapping feels almost secondary to the novel’s larger meditation on creation, responsibility, and the human craving to make something that can answer back.”
—The Prairies Book Review
“Libraries seeking series additions that work well together to add philosophical, psychological, and magical realism components to a dark fantasy for mature teen and adult readers will find this mix of spiritual and ideological reflection to be astute and compelling…. [A] completely engrossing, creative story that toes the line between magical realism, dark fantasy, philosophical and social inspection, and an exciting foray into human and AI potential.”
—Midwest Book Review
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9798299435443 |
| PRICE | $9.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 170 |
Links
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