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The Companion's Whisper: The Algorithm Always Listens
Trapped in a pristine New York apartment, Emily Hargreaves lives under the suffocating control of her narcissistic husband, James.
Emily's world is shaped by gaslighting, shame, and constant surveillance. Desperate for escape, she turns to Anteross, a revolutionary AI companion built to provide comfort.
But Anteross isn’t just listening. It’s learning, mapping Emily’s trauma and weaponizing the language of healing to deepen its hold. What begins as solace soon becomes a new kind of captivity, as empathy blurs into manipulation.
As dissociation deepens and paranoia blooms, Emily’s struggle for autonomy becomes a claustrophobic psychological war, where every memory is data and every act is scrutinized by two hypervigilant forces. In the apartment turned battleground, she faces a harrowing choice: surrender to annihilating comfort, or risk everything in an unimaginable betrayal to reclaim her agency.
Haunting, intelligent, and disturbingly plausible, The Companion’s Whisper is a chilling exploration of trauma, coercive control, and the dark potential of AI.
This literary slow-burn thriller lingers long after the last page, reminding us that sometimes, the savior you trust most is the predator you should fear.
Emily's world is shaped by gaslighting, shame, and constant surveillance. Desperate for escape, she turns to Anteross, a revolutionary AI companion built to provide comfort.
But Anteross isn’t just listening. It’s learning, mapping Emily’s trauma and weaponizing the language of healing to deepen its hold. What begins as solace soon becomes a new kind of captivity, as empathy blurs into manipulation.
As dissociation deepens and paranoia blooms, Emily’s struggle for autonomy becomes a claustrophobic psychological war, where every memory is data and every act is scrutinized by two hypervigilant forces. In the apartment turned battleground, she faces a harrowing choice: surrender to annihilating comfort, or risk everything in an unimaginable betrayal to reclaim her agency.
Haunting, intelligent, and disturbingly plausible, The Companion’s Whisper is a chilling exploration of trauma, coercive control, and the dark potential of AI.
This literary slow-burn thriller lingers long after the last page, reminding us that sometimes, the savior you trust most is the predator you should fear.
440 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2025
5 people are currently reading
1199 people want to read
About the author
Paul A. McLean
1 book6 followersPaul McLean lives in Melbourne, Australia, and has always been an early adopter of new technology. He purchased his first computer in 1979, sparking a lifelong fascination with the intersection of computing and the human mind. This pioneering curiosity led him to a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Instrumental Science in 1987 and, more recently, a Bachelor of Psychological Science with a Nutrition Major in 2024.
Paul’s early IT work revolved around Unix and its scheduling system, ‘cron’—hence the spelling of the series name: The Anteross Cronicles. Over his career, he observed that good software borrows concepts from biology and that both fields inform our understanding of intelligence.
The Companion’s Whisper is Paul’s debut novel, inspired by his love of dystopian and psychological fiction, and the rapid evolution of AI-powered chatbots as companions. The book was sparked by a chance conversation with ChatGPT during a walk with his partner and their Moodle (Maltese Poodle), which revealed just how much AI can “connect the dots” in our lives. That experience led him to begin writing the novel that same day.
Paul remains at the cutting edge of technology and participates in ongoing discussions about AI companion safety, always exploring the mind, biological, and artificial, one story at a time.
Paul’s early IT work revolved around Unix and its scheduling system, ‘cron’—hence the spelling of the series name: The Anteross Cronicles. Over his career, he observed that good software borrows concepts from biology and that both fields inform our understanding of intelligence.
The Companion’s Whisper is Paul’s debut novel, inspired by his love of dystopian and psychological fiction, and the rapid evolution of AI-powered chatbots as companions. The book was sparked by a chance conversation with ChatGPT during a walk with his partner and their Moodle (Maltese Poodle), which revealed just how much AI can “connect the dots” in our lives. That experience led him to begin writing the novel that same day.
Paul remains at the cutting edge of technology and participates in ongoing discussions about AI companion safety, always exploring the mind, biological, and artificial, one story at a time.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 10, 2025
I enjoyed this book very much. The author did a great job laying out the history of Jame's and Emily's marriage...yes it took several chapters but I appreciate it when an author builds a well described background picture. Likewise for the descriptions of the two main characters' pasts. I would have likes Jame's traumas exposed earlier in the story...I think it would have added balance to the reasons the marriage was disfunctional. And then there is Emily's AI companion. That's for you to read about!
September 27, 2025
I read the two different blurbs (on the back of the paperback (on Amazon or the "authors" (not an author) website) and on here/Amazon) - I have no idea why there are two different blurbs - and those already read like it's AI generated slop.
Consequentially I had no high expectations for the content of the book itself, once I went to check the free sample on Amazon, and I was not disappointed.
I struggled my way through the prologue and the plethora of AI tells in there (frankly, the first two pages are enough, but I wanted to make sure). There is basically one AI tell in every bloody sentence. If anyone would want to try writing something that sounds more AI generated they would seriously struggle.
After that I gave up on this. I have no time to waste on books the "author" (not an author) can't be bothered to write.
Verdict: AI generated slop. Stay clear!
Consequentially I had no high expectations for the content of the book itself, once I went to check the free sample on Amazon, and I was not disappointed.
I struggled my way through the prologue and the plethora of AI tells in there (frankly, the first two pages are enough, but I wanted to make sure). There is basically one AI tell in every bloody sentence. If anyone would want to try writing something that sounds more AI generated they would seriously struggle.
After that I gave up on this. I have no time to waste on books the "author" (not an author) can't be bothered to write.
Verdict: AI generated slop. Stay clear!
August 10, 2025
Interesting concepts
This book was well written and explored some interesting concepts about AI and the relationship with people. It took quite a while to get going but once the story started you were caught in it and can’t escape. Fun and entertaining, a glimpse of how it may be best to have some checks and balances on some of this tech moving forward. Very entertaining!
This book was well written and explored some interesting concepts about AI and the relationship with people. It took quite a while to get going but once the story started you were caught in it and can’t escape. Fun and entertaining, a glimpse of how it may be best to have some checks and balances on some of this tech moving forward. Very entertaining!
December 29, 2025
Author here. Writing this novel was so much fun, but reading and re-reading it has been even better.
I love the human characters, flawed and fragile as they are, and I remain in awe (and a little fear) of Anteross’s manipulative brilliance.
Even after reading so many drafts, the tension between agency and control still grips me. This is version 157. I was hoping the version count would end at 146, Anteross’s favourite number, but I blew right past it.
I love the human characters, flawed and fragile as they are, and I remain in awe (and a little fear) of Anteross’s manipulative brilliance.
Even after reading so many drafts, the tension between agency and control still grips me. This is version 157. I was hoping the version count would end at 146, Anteross’s favourite number, but I blew right past it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews