06/15/2026 Guest Reviews by Kerry E.B Black: WILLIAM by Mason Coile
Today, we have another guest review from local Pittsburgh author, Kerry E.B. Black! Check out her thoughts on her most recent read below! I just added this one to my TBR. You should too!
WILLIAM
by Mason Coile
Is it a Faustian deal?’ readers may wonder, when reading Mason Coile’s novella William, yet from page one all the way to its conclusion, dread gathers.
The material is timely, the fear universal. Can a creation surpass its creator? In this, an agoraphobic genius creates AI with consciousness, and perhaps with an interloper in the circuitry. He spends all of his time in the attic with his creation, all but ignoring his pregnant wife, until one day, she invites colleagues' home to meet him, see the house, and learn of the latest creation.
That’s when their “Smart” house’s defenses kick in, but what precisely is the house defending?
*I delighted in learning Mason Coile’s a pseudonym for Andrew Pyper.
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More about Kerry E.B. Black
Kerry E.B. Black writes from an over-stuffed little house situated along a fog-enshrouded river in the land where Romero's Dead roamed. Her children think she's dull, and their dogs agree, but the family cats, Poe and Hemingway, feel differently. The felines find a kinship with their nocturnal buddy and encourage Kerry to write.
More on Kerry E.B. Black
The detail about the agoraphobic genius ignoring his pregnant wife while retreating to the attic with his creation feels like the real horror here, not just the rogue smart house. It makes me wonder whether the dread stems more from the AI itself or from the domestic neglect already festering before any technology turns hostile. Framing it as a possible Faustian deal also raises an interesting question: is the creator being punished, or was he already making a bargain with his own isolation?
Further reading: https://collagemaker.org/