William

Praise

A Reader’s Digest Best Horror Book of All Time
One of Screen Rant’s Biggest Horror & Thriller Books

“From its first page all the way to its jaw-dropping ending, William had me hooked. I mainlined this book in one sitting, loving the tragically endearing protagonist Coile had created while marveling at the whip-smart plotting.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Troop and The Deep

“William is the perfect blend of sci-fi and horror. Coile locks you in the smart home of your nightmares, and inside is a gauntlet of thrills and surprises that’ll have you looking over your shoulder till the very end. If reading with one hand over your mouth is your thing, this is the book for you.” –Gus Moreno, author of This Thing Between Us

“A gripping page-turner that makes you think, William gets you by the throat and doesn’t let go until it has spun you through some of your darkest fears. Mason Coile has written a modern-day Frankenstein for our digital age that grapples with the notion of consciousness and what makes a human.” — Araminta Hall, author of One of The Good Guys

“Moments of this cinematic tale truly terrify… Coile maximizes his premise’s inherent tension using nightmare imagery and an uneasy third-person-present narration shot through with powerlessness, paranoia, and dread. Gleefully lurid fun.” –Kirkus Reviews

“A wickedly fast cyber-thriller. Much of the action consists of William’s prisoners either dying horribly or testing their confines, a scenario that hearkens back to the trope where technology grows smarter and therefore more sinister. A late-act reveal helps this story stand out among other technology-going-bad tales, and those who like the trope, or enjoy a good techno-thriller, will want to watch William play with his human toys.” –Library Journal

“A deliciously terrifying book about creation and its false promise of control, William exposes the harrowing consequences of playing god. Coile demolishes the idea that our homes and identities are safe in a fully automated world. I dare you to read this in more than one sitting.” —Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty

“Dark, clever, and terrifying, I devoured Coile’s novel. If you’re not afraid of AI now, you will be after William.“ —Robyn Harding, author of The Drowning Woman

“Mason Coile’s William is twisted, timely, scarily intelligent, and menacing even before it reveals its greatest, darkest secrets.” —Johnny Compton, author of The Spite House

“I read and enjoyed William in a single sitting, as if it were a story from a classic horror comic…. Impressive horror as entertainment…with insights into male identity and original speculations on the consequences of playing God with tech.” —Adam Nevill, author of The Ritual

“A smart home turns into a house of horrors in this suspenseful outing from Coile… Coile expertly imagines the sort of ghoulish snares a cybernetic environment could spring upon its unprepared captives and throws in a late-inning explanation for the source of William’s apparent sociopathy that is as believable as it is chilling. It’s a frightening Frankenstein fable for the age of AI.” –Publishers Weekly

“A book that probes at the fears for our future and provokes the terrors of our pasts – William asks if the things we make reflect us, what does that say about what we are? Also - it’s f***ing terrifying.” — Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

“I’m a sucker for the quiet, noir-ish terror of Black Mirror. If you’re a fan of slow-burn horror books too, William is for you…For fans of I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and the Black Mirror Netflix horror series.” — Reader’s Digest

“This new AI horror story is a book you won’t be able to put down.” — Book Riot

“William couldn’t arrive at a more relevant time, as the book tackles the subject of AI using a haunted house narrative… William offers yet another unique twist on a haunted house story in September, and its themes make it ideal for a modern-day audience.” —Screen Rant