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The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny
UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny
In the early 20th century, a censured Catholic visionary predicted that humanity would soon encounter a new form of intelligence—one that would appear alien, but was something far stranger. By the mid-20th century, other Catholic mystics and science fiction visionaries like Arthur C. Clarke echoed similar prophecies, naming the 21st century as the critical threshold.
In The Others, acclaimed author and religious studies scholar D.W. Pasulka uncovers a hidden history of alleged contact between human and non-human intelligences—some framed as angels, others as UFOs/UAP—interwoven with the rise of artificial intelligence and the dream of immortality. Pasulka examines the science of life extension laboratories to the beliefs of UAP experiencers. She unveils a hidden architecture of belief and influence—one in which human consciousness is being reimagined and extended.
Drawing on first-person interviews, suppressed histories, and access to insiders in science and tech, The Others explores a startling new where the sacred meets the synthetic, and where the next phase of human evolution may already be underway.
In the early 20th century, a censured Catholic visionary predicted that humanity would soon encounter a new form of intelligence—one that would appear alien, but was something far stranger. By the mid-20th century, other Catholic mystics and science fiction visionaries like Arthur C. Clarke echoed similar prophecies, naming the 21st century as the critical threshold.
In The Others, acclaimed author and religious studies scholar D.W. Pasulka uncovers a hidden history of alleged contact between human and non-human intelligences—some framed as angels, others as UFOs/UAP—interwoven with the rise of artificial intelligence and the dream of immortality. Pasulka examines the science of life extension laboratories to the beliefs of UAP experiencers. She unveils a hidden architecture of belief and influence—one in which human consciousness is being reimagined and extended.
Drawing on first-person interviews, suppressed histories, and access to insiders in science and tech, The Others explores a startling new where the sacred meets the synthetic, and where the next phase of human evolution may already be underway.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published July 28, 2026
About the author
D.W. Pasulka
6 books247 followersDiana Walsh Pasulka is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and the author of Encounters, American Cosmic, and Heaven Can Wait. Her research bridges Catholic history, religious practice and emerging technologies, and emerging reports of UFOs and supraterrestrial intelligence.
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July 6, 2026Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review
★ 3 stars ★
Half of the time, this book felt like an interesting dive into the nature of reality itself...
the other half felt like this meme:
Pasulka strikes me as incredibly thoughtful and smart. This book will be incredibly enlightening and enjoyable for the right audience.
Unfortunately, that audience was not me. Additionally, I think this books marketing does it a disservice. The title, cover, and description all make this seem more like a science-oriented exploration of the topics listed in the subtitle.
It is absolutely not. This book is heavily existential, speculative, and theological. Again, this isn't a bad thing. Pasulka does it exceptionally well, even with the more out-there ideas. But it wasn't what I signed up for (and I worry many readers may make the same mistake) which decreased my enjoyment.
All in all, if you're looking for a very deep, heady, and intellectual (rather than empirical) exploration of these topics, you'll probably enjoy this.
If you're looking for empiricism, science, and history, like I was, this might not scratch that itch.
★ 3 stars ★
Half of the time, this book felt like an interesting dive into the nature of reality itself...
the other half felt like this meme:
Pasulka strikes me as incredibly thoughtful and smart. This book will be incredibly enlightening and enjoyable for the right audience.
Unfortunately, that audience was not me. Additionally, I think this books marketing does it a disservice. The title, cover, and description all make this seem more like a science-oriented exploration of the topics listed in the subtitle.
It is absolutely not. This book is heavily existential, speculative, and theological. Again, this isn't a bad thing. Pasulka does it exceptionally well, even with the more out-there ideas. But it wasn't what I signed up for (and I worry many readers may make the same mistake) which decreased my enjoyment.
All in all, if you're looking for a very deep, heady, and intellectual (rather than empirical) exploration of these topics, you'll probably enjoy this.
If you're looking for empiricism, science, and history, like I was, this might not scratch that itch.
August 5, 2026
“Visionaries and prophets are rarely the people we would choose as reliable guides. Yet, like Jonah, they carry messages that change history.”
“Each of these thinkers, in different ways, reveals an era that inaugurates a new evolutionary step for humanity—one that brings the current form of the human to an end.”
D.W. Pasulka is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, focusing on religion, technology, and culture. Though her bio doesn’t mention unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), of the four books she has published, three of them are about non-human intelligence and UAPs. Though this field seems unorthodox, Pasulka studies anomalous experiences as a new form of secular religion, among other reasons. As for me, the UAP chase holds no interest. But, this book is also about the implications of technology, and that is something with which most of us can relate. For that reason, it is an important read.
Pasulka first encountered a pattern of UAP images when researching the Vatican archives for her book about purgatory. She was a skeptic at the time but later revisited the data and presented her findings as an example of a religious ascent narrative. Aerospace scientists and researchers found her presentation on the internet and reached out to her. She will eventually come to their view that UAPs are real and, apparently, able to offer technology to humans as the book cover states. Those interested in this area can find plenty of information in this book.
In discussing the future of humanity, Pasulka leans heavily on the work of various men she says “produced insights that now appear unmistakably prophetic” and whose work describes the “emergence of a new human being, one inseparable from technology.” She describes such persons as heretics, which is likely how they would appear in their time. In hindsight, their research and viewpoints could seem prescient. Marshall McLulan, the father of media theory, is an example. He envisioned the internet decades before it was fully realized.
Knitting Pasulka’s interest in religion with a sci-fi element, she introduces Peter Thiel, “the epitome of a heretic.” Pasulka attended an invitation-only Hereticon themed “Apocalypse,” wherein Theil’s keynote was about the Antichrist. It will be a person, he said, who “is not generally described as an obvious tyrant, but a leader who promises comfort and safety.” In truth, this person would be “insidious, and would endeavor to build a civilization built not on coercion, but on a collective surrender.” While not intentional one assumes, Pasulka points Thiel back to himself when she states, “Thiel nonetheless exerts a subterranean, strategic influence, quietly setting the coordinates for the future others are still trying to predict.” Pasulka includes a discussion about Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 sci-fi novel Childhood’s End, which includes a peaceful alien invasion that leads to the end of human individuality and children evolving into a cosmic mind. The Overlords are in charge.
The book includes discussions of other heretics all of whom, “point to a time in which intelligence transcends the human, structures reality in ways that we dimly perceive, and suggests a form of propaganda or control.” This is accomplished through technology, and René Girard offers the foundation of understanding how this is accomplished. Equipped with Girhard’s arguments, Pasulka states that social media companies digitized, modeled, and predicted mimetic desire, then endlessly looped it “back into the system, ensuring that the most imitable and often the most polarizing content was rewarded with maximum visibility. This transformed a behavior pattern into a physical infrastructure. The result was a cultural engine in which the algorithms themselves became mimetic actors, learning from and intensifying the very conflicts they provoke. The worst of the platforms enact a kind of algorithmic violence.”
Is humanity skipping toward is own slaughter? The staggering potential of technology and a ready willingness to hand over the most private details of one’s life, finances, and even blueprint in exchange for “free” entertainment and convenience should give us all pause.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this e-galley.
“Each of these thinkers, in different ways, reveals an era that inaugurates a new evolutionary step for humanity—one that brings the current form of the human to an end.”
D.W. Pasulka is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, focusing on religion, technology, and culture. Though her bio doesn’t mention unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), of the four books she has published, three of them are about non-human intelligence and UAPs. Though this field seems unorthodox, Pasulka studies anomalous experiences as a new form of secular religion, among other reasons. As for me, the UAP chase holds no interest. But, this book is also about the implications of technology, and that is something with which most of us can relate. For that reason, it is an important read.
Pasulka first encountered a pattern of UAP images when researching the Vatican archives for her book about purgatory. She was a skeptic at the time but later revisited the data and presented her findings as an example of a religious ascent narrative. Aerospace scientists and researchers found her presentation on the internet and reached out to her. She will eventually come to their view that UAPs are real and, apparently, able to offer technology to humans as the book cover states. Those interested in this area can find plenty of information in this book.
In discussing the future of humanity, Pasulka leans heavily on the work of various men she says “produced insights that now appear unmistakably prophetic” and whose work describes the “emergence of a new human being, one inseparable from technology.” She describes such persons as heretics, which is likely how they would appear in their time. In hindsight, their research and viewpoints could seem prescient. Marshall McLulan, the father of media theory, is an example. He envisioned the internet decades before it was fully realized.
Knitting Pasulka’s interest in religion with a sci-fi element, she introduces Peter Thiel, “the epitome of a heretic.” Pasulka attended an invitation-only Hereticon themed “Apocalypse,” wherein Theil’s keynote was about the Antichrist. It will be a person, he said, who “is not generally described as an obvious tyrant, but a leader who promises comfort and safety.” In truth, this person would be “insidious, and would endeavor to build a civilization built not on coercion, but on a collective surrender.” While not intentional one assumes, Pasulka points Thiel back to himself when she states, “Thiel nonetheless exerts a subterranean, strategic influence, quietly setting the coordinates for the future others are still trying to predict.” Pasulka includes a discussion about Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 sci-fi novel Childhood’s End, which includes a peaceful alien invasion that leads to the end of human individuality and children evolving into a cosmic mind. The Overlords are in charge.
The book includes discussions of other heretics all of whom, “point to a time in which intelligence transcends the human, structures reality in ways that we dimly perceive, and suggests a form of propaganda or control.” This is accomplished through technology, and René Girard offers the foundation of understanding how this is accomplished. Equipped with Girhard’s arguments, Pasulka states that social media companies digitized, modeled, and predicted mimetic desire, then endlessly looped it “back into the system, ensuring that the most imitable and often the most polarizing content was rewarded with maximum visibility. This transformed a behavior pattern into a physical infrastructure. The result was a cultural engine in which the algorithms themselves became mimetic actors, learning from and intensifying the very conflicts they provoke. The worst of the platforms enact a kind of algorithmic violence.”
Is humanity skipping toward is own slaughter? The staggering potential of technology and a ready willingness to hand over the most private details of one’s life, finances, and even blueprint in exchange for “free” entertainment and convenience should give us all pause.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this e-galley.
August 4, 2026
[1.5/5] Non-scientific ramblings with strong lack of structure.
Topics are just thrown around and are mostly retellings (sometimes even thrice) of other authors' works, curious anecdotes and "he/she said". Plus obvious fallacies (like, "religion is prohibited in PRC"). Literary references are thin and echo-chambered, which means supplanting with "references" to YouTube and Wikipedia.
Topics are just thrown around and are mostly retellings (sometimes even thrice) of other authors' works, curious anecdotes and "he/she said". Plus obvious fallacies (like, "religion is prohibited in PRC"). Literary references are thin and echo-chambered, which means supplanting with "references" to YouTube and Wikipedia.
March 22, 2026
*MY STAR RATING OF THIS BOOK ONLY REFLECTS MY ENJOYMENT OF THE MATERIAL AND DOES NOT SHOW MY ENDORSEMENT OR BELIEF IN THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOK*
Okay, hear me out.
I had ulterior motives for requesting this book for Netgalley. I saw the title and thought “This is going to be pure and utter insanity. I must read it.”
I love this book. This book is amazingly well written and persuasive. I mean don’t get me wrong I don’t believe a single thing written in here but oh man is the author convincing. I can see how someone can read this and believe every word.
It is somehow deeply persuasive and incomprehensible at the same time and I have no idea how it pulled this off. I was deeply confused and fascinated by this at the same time and could not put it down. I at once don’t think anyone should to read this and also think everyone needs to see this with their own eyes. Call it Schrodinger’s book recommendation.
Am I glad I read this? Yes. Am I recommending to anyone else? No, not really.
Okay, hear me out.
I had ulterior motives for requesting this book for Netgalley. I saw the title and thought “This is going to be pure and utter insanity. I must read it.”
I love this book. This book is amazingly well written and persuasive. I mean don’t get me wrong I don’t believe a single thing written in here but oh man is the author convincing. I can see how someone can read this and believe every word.
It is somehow deeply persuasive and incomprehensible at the same time and I have no idea how it pulled this off. I was deeply confused and fascinated by this at the same time and could not put it down. I at once don’t think anyone should to read this and also think everyone needs to see this with their own eyes. Call it Schrodinger’s book recommendation.
Am I glad I read this? Yes. Am I recommending to anyone else? No, not really.
July 29, 2026
Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy; all thoughts are my own
📖 Book Review 📖 As a mom and a volunteer at our church, I spend a lot of my summer with kids. Sometimes our conversations take some interesting turns. One day while driving to our volunteer site, one of my middle school passengers shared that she just started watching The X-Files and the whole car had a conversation about UFO’s and aliens. While I wish I had read D.W. Pasulka’s book already, next summer I will be more prepared to talk about all of the ways our world works in so many mysterious and beautifully interconnected ways.
The Others: UFO, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destinies brings a fascinating fusion of Catholic teaching and realms of existence that push us to new ideological spaces in a digital world. These are not easy concepts to grasp but this book is easily digestible with some theological foundational knowledge and provides so much food for thought. Honestly, I think this one gave me more questions and a thirst for knowledge than resolve but sometimes that’s the best kind of book…
📖 Book Review 📖 As a mom and a volunteer at our church, I spend a lot of my summer with kids. Sometimes our conversations take some interesting turns. One day while driving to our volunteer site, one of my middle school passengers shared that she just started watching The X-Files and the whole car had a conversation about UFO’s and aliens. While I wish I had read D.W. Pasulka’s book already, next summer I will be more prepared to talk about all of the ways our world works in so many mysterious and beautifully interconnected ways.
The Others: UFO, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destinies brings a fascinating fusion of Catholic teaching and realms of existence that push us to new ideological spaces in a digital world. These are not easy concepts to grasp but this book is easily digestible with some theological foundational knowledge and provides so much food for thought. Honestly, I think this one gave me more questions and a thirst for knowledge than resolve but sometimes that’s the best kind of book…
Currently Reading
August 7, 2026Using Rene Girard and Teilhard de Chardin to fully state that the algorithm is the antichrist? Ok queen, go off
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book that deals with the possible future of the human race, one in which AI, artificial and alien intelligence might play a large role in our futures, the prophets from the past who warned us about what is coming, and what this might mean for all of us.
To believe in something is hard . Belief takes a lot of work, a lot of thinking, reading, learning, listening, even arguing. Does not matter what the belief might be, religious, esoteric, even Star Wars. One has to weed out the chaff, the background noise that surrounds many things, to get to the heart of understanding. This can lead to interesting places, interesting people, interesting times. Even challenges. Especially when one is looking at the future, in a time that is changing so fast, that even those bringing it seem amazed. The idea that something is coming, something might change the way we view humanity is not a new one, but the signs in many ways are more obvious than they have ever been. In this book the author attempts to be a tour guide, educator and even a predictor of a future, full of AI, alien presence, and other things we will be surprised by. The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny by D. W. Pasulka looks at the future, the forgotten past, and those who saw what might be coming, those ahead of their times, those ignored, and those helping to change the world.
After a brief introduction the book moves to a convention/conference/rave about the future, the coming apocalypse and a Peter Thiel speech about the Antichrist. These meeting is invitation only, there is a costume ball with apocalypse fashions. The crowd is made up of young tech people, confused by the presence of a religious scholar, though the main speech is about the Antichrist. From there the book travels, looking to the past, at those who saw the intersection of change in humans and technology. The meeting of religious and esoteric knowledge. Catholic thinkers who wondered about the path of violence that humans were one, and where it might be leading. All leading to a future where technology, mainly artifical, or alien intelligence are coming together.
For a big book there are a lot of ideas. Many ideas. Much of it is interesting, some is a little odd, but that is to be expected. The Peter Thiel love is odd, as well as mentions of being flashed at this convention by a woman. Another pass in editing might have helped fix some of this. Ideas are presented, that go off on tangents, before returning. While interesting it does slow down the narrative, and spend a lot of time looking at source notes.
Not a book for casual readers, and not for those who want a little bit of an X-Files rush. There is much to ponder on in this book, much to question, and much to learn. Though the work might be a little much for many readers. An interesting work, one to think about, and makes the future even more interesting, and scary at the same time.
To believe in something is hard . Belief takes a lot of work, a lot of thinking, reading, learning, listening, even arguing. Does not matter what the belief might be, religious, esoteric, even Star Wars. One has to weed out the chaff, the background noise that surrounds many things, to get to the heart of understanding. This can lead to interesting places, interesting people, interesting times. Even challenges. Especially when one is looking at the future, in a time that is changing so fast, that even those bringing it seem amazed. The idea that something is coming, something might change the way we view humanity is not a new one, but the signs in many ways are more obvious than they have ever been. In this book the author attempts to be a tour guide, educator and even a predictor of a future, full of AI, alien presence, and other things we will be surprised by. The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny by D. W. Pasulka looks at the future, the forgotten past, and those who saw what might be coming, those ahead of their times, those ignored, and those helping to change the world.
After a brief introduction the book moves to a convention/conference/rave about the future, the coming apocalypse and a Peter Thiel speech about the Antichrist. These meeting is invitation only, there is a costume ball with apocalypse fashions. The crowd is made up of young tech people, confused by the presence of a religious scholar, though the main speech is about the Antichrist. From there the book travels, looking to the past, at those who saw the intersection of change in humans and technology. The meeting of religious and esoteric knowledge. Catholic thinkers who wondered about the path of violence that humans were one, and where it might be leading. All leading to a future where technology, mainly artifical, or alien intelligence are coming together.
For a big book there are a lot of ideas. Many ideas. Much of it is interesting, some is a little odd, but that is to be expected. The Peter Thiel love is odd, as well as mentions of being flashed at this convention by a woman. Another pass in editing might have helped fix some of this. Ideas are presented, that go off on tangents, before returning. While interesting it does slow down the narrative, and spend a lot of time looking at source notes.
Not a book for casual readers, and not for those who want a little bit of an X-Files rush. There is much to ponder on in this book, much to question, and much to learn. Though the work might be a little much for many readers. An interesting work, one to think about, and makes the future even more interesting, and scary at the same time.
August 1, 2026
This book is easy to read and can be finished in one sitting. It covers a very diverse set of topics including UAP, religious practice, soul creation, AI, psi phenomena, alien intelligence, etc. As a teenager in the 1970s I read "Gods Of Aquarius--UFOs and the Transformation of Man" by Brad Steiger, which is very similar, as it also covered UAP, the noosphere, psi, apparitions, alien contact, etc.
The major issue with authoring a book like this is choosing which of the hundreds of possible threads to explore in the book. Pasulka chose to include some religious figures and scholars as well as unconventional scientists and conventional scientists studying unconventional things. I certainly recommend this book but for me it could have been a better book with different choices.
Re the noosphere or global psi field: Oliver Reiser, Aleksandr Dubrov, and Michael Persinger describe such a field functioning through the Earth's geomagnetic field and Schumann resonances. Ervin Laszlo and Lynne McTaggart describe a universal psi field operating through the quantum vacuum zero point field. The book would have profited from including them.
Re spiritual body development: many traditions describe this in addition to Christian. I knew the English translator of Henry Corbin's work. Corbin wrote of the Iranian concept, Islamic and pre-Islamic, of a subtle, spiritual body that develops within a person, distinct from the physical carcass, allowing a person to perceive celestial realities. Corbin coined the term imaginal to describe an objective, non-physical world of subtle realities and true images that exists between pure intellect and sensory matter. In "Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos" Steven Wasserstrom describes Corbin's participation at the Eranos conferences, which included Carl Jung and overlapped in time with the Macy conferences on cybernetics; Pasulka referenced cybernetics and Norbert Wiener in her book.
Since I am a skeptic of strong AI, I was not as interested in discussions of machine intelligence. I believe the major impact of our current massive investment in generative AI will most likely be a major financial bubble collapse and massive job losses. While I am very interested in Marshall McLuhan's ideas and believe he is underappreciated, I did not see him as particularly relevant to the topics in this book; it seems a bit of a stretch. I remember reading about his son Eric McLuhan's experiments with "pyramid power" in the mid-1970s. The discussion about McLuhan could have been replaced with some of the other people I mentioned.
The major issue with authoring a book like this is choosing which of the hundreds of possible threads to explore in the book. Pasulka chose to include some religious figures and scholars as well as unconventional scientists and conventional scientists studying unconventional things. I certainly recommend this book but for me it could have been a better book with different choices.
Re the noosphere or global psi field: Oliver Reiser, Aleksandr Dubrov, and Michael Persinger describe such a field functioning through the Earth's geomagnetic field and Schumann resonances. Ervin Laszlo and Lynne McTaggart describe a universal psi field operating through the quantum vacuum zero point field. The book would have profited from including them.
Re spiritual body development: many traditions describe this in addition to Christian. I knew the English translator of Henry Corbin's work. Corbin wrote of the Iranian concept, Islamic and pre-Islamic, of a subtle, spiritual body that develops within a person, distinct from the physical carcass, allowing a person to perceive celestial realities. Corbin coined the term imaginal to describe an objective, non-physical world of subtle realities and true images that exists between pure intellect and sensory matter. In "Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos" Steven Wasserstrom describes Corbin's participation at the Eranos conferences, which included Carl Jung and overlapped in time with the Macy conferences on cybernetics; Pasulka referenced cybernetics and Norbert Wiener in her book.
Since I am a skeptic of strong AI, I was not as interested in discussions of machine intelligence. I believe the major impact of our current massive investment in generative AI will most likely be a major financial bubble collapse and massive job losses. While I am very interested in Marshall McLuhan's ideas and believe he is underappreciated, I did not see him as particularly relevant to the topics in this book; it seems a bit of a stretch. I remember reading about his son Eric McLuhan's experiments with "pyramid power" in the mid-1970s. The discussion about McLuhan could have been replaced with some of the other people I mentioned.
March 1, 2026
ARC from St. Martin’s Press of The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny by D.W. Pasulka.
This is a great companion to Dr. Pasulka’s portfolio of work as it pertains to UFO/UAP and its relationship with historic religious practices.
In Dr. Pasulka’s prior two works regarding UFO/UAP, titled American Cosmic and Encounters, the author sets up the groundwork for the type of theoretical work that is asked of the reader by the author in The Others. I highly suggest for those who may struggle with the thinking introduced in this work to first read Dr. Pasulka’s prior two books cited above.
The only reason I recommend the prior works of Dr. Pasulka first is because this current book, the Others, dives even deeper into the capabilities of extraterrestrial life as it relates to consciousness and inter dimensional phenomena. A normal reader is not always ready to jump straight into consciousness and dimensions, when they do not have a fundamental base of the history and understanding of UFO/UAP, globally.
Often, while reading the Others, Dr. Pasulka would begin her many theoretical ideas and I would internally start to discount what she was saying before even finishing the thought! However, each and every time, by the end of each idea I truly had a different understanding of the possible capabilities that nonbiological/extraterrestrial organisms can have on the human mind and body by using modern technology not as a crutch, but as a communication tool.
It is not often I am surprised by new theories in our day and age, however, Dr. Pasulka truly introduces new ways of thinking. Specifically, about how technology has ALREADY impacted the world around us and how higher life forms might have been in conjunction with the evolution of technology the entire time humans have been evolving along side it.
I also think this writing will provide a very interesting look into how the elites, specifically those who have been in circles with many tech-nazis such as Theil and Epstein, and how the top 1% may attempt to moralize their over-obsession with immortality and “transhumanism”. Interestingly enough, transhumanism comes up multiple times in the Epstein files.
This is a great companion to Dr. Pasulka’s portfolio of work as it pertains to UFO/UAP and its relationship with historic religious practices.
In Dr. Pasulka’s prior two works regarding UFO/UAP, titled American Cosmic and Encounters, the author sets up the groundwork for the type of theoretical work that is asked of the reader by the author in The Others. I highly suggest for those who may struggle with the thinking introduced in this work to first read Dr. Pasulka’s prior two books cited above.
The only reason I recommend the prior works of Dr. Pasulka first is because this current book, the Others, dives even deeper into the capabilities of extraterrestrial life as it relates to consciousness and inter dimensional phenomena. A normal reader is not always ready to jump straight into consciousness and dimensions, when they do not have a fundamental base of the history and understanding of UFO/UAP, globally.
Often, while reading the Others, Dr. Pasulka would begin her many theoretical ideas and I would internally start to discount what she was saying before even finishing the thought! However, each and every time, by the end of each idea I truly had a different understanding of the possible capabilities that nonbiological/extraterrestrial organisms can have on the human mind and body by using modern technology not as a crutch, but as a communication tool.
It is not often I am surprised by new theories in our day and age, however, Dr. Pasulka truly introduces new ways of thinking. Specifically, about how technology has ALREADY impacted the world around us and how higher life forms might have been in conjunction with the evolution of technology the entire time humans have been evolving along side it.
I also think this writing will provide a very interesting look into how the elites, specifically those who have been in circles with many tech-nazis such as Theil and Epstein, and how the top 1% may attempt to moralize their over-obsession with immortality and “transhumanism”. Interestingly enough, transhumanism comes up multiple times in the Epstein files.
August 7, 2026
This book is heavily AI-generated, hich is unbelievably ironic and tragic considering that the subject matter inside warns us repeatedly not to lose the things that make us most human to advancing technologies.
Like - an academic in the humanities outsourcing their writing (of all things) to AI, for example? We should all not do that? Noted.
If nothing else, the poor writing in this book was all the evidence needed to support one of the book's leading arguments (against the reckless rush to world-altering technological adoption at the expense of our humanity).
If you read American Cosmic and/or Encounters, you will find the change in voice glaring and grating to the point of distraction. It was nearly impossible to focus on the arguments she was trying to make when every third line was the stereotypical "not x, but y" AI construct (or a similar obvious tell). How did no one on her editing team or any of the brilliant people she had write positive blurbs for the jacket catch any of this?
Pasulka is typically most noteworthy for her unique ideas and novel takes, in my opinion. For the first time, though, I'm reconsidering whether she deserves that recognition - if you're willing to outsource your writing, your unique voice, I now wonder how many of the ideas contained therein were actually original (or were they AI-generated as well?).
I'm so disappointed. I'm so tired of the hypocrisy of people using their platforms to rail against AI and technology (capitalizing on the current cultural moment) while 'secretly' using it to get an easy paycheck from those who haven't learned to identify it well yet.
Also for those of you expecting a book like American Cosmic or Encounters, this subject matter is only loosely related. I'm fine with that because the topics she set out to discuss here are even more inline with my interests than those books were anyways, but many of you may be left disappointed.
And many more of you will be left disappointed that intellectuals are now outsourcing their creative (potentially intellectual) output to the AI-slop machine.
(*After crafting a draft of this review, I happened upon a recent podcast that Pasulka participated in to market this book; in it, she very quickly referenced that she uses AI "as a tool", but that she would never let it do her work/thinking for her like most of her "young" students do. I could not believe what I was hearing. Never meet your heroes and whatnot...)
(**The author is now bragging on social media about how well this book is doing...Still no regret nor thanks given to her AI co-author, however.)
Like - an academic in the humanities outsourcing their writing (of all things) to AI, for example? We should all not do that? Noted.
If nothing else, the poor writing in this book was all the evidence needed to support one of the book's leading arguments (against the reckless rush to world-altering technological adoption at the expense of our humanity).
If you read American Cosmic and/or Encounters, you will find the change in voice glaring and grating to the point of distraction. It was nearly impossible to focus on the arguments she was trying to make when every third line was the stereotypical "not x, but y" AI construct (or a similar obvious tell). How did no one on her editing team or any of the brilliant people she had write positive blurbs for the jacket catch any of this?
Pasulka is typically most noteworthy for her unique ideas and novel takes, in my opinion. For the first time, though, I'm reconsidering whether she deserves that recognition - if you're willing to outsource your writing, your unique voice, I now wonder how many of the ideas contained therein were actually original (or were they AI-generated as well?).
I'm so disappointed. I'm so tired of the hypocrisy of people using their platforms to rail against AI and technology (capitalizing on the current cultural moment) while 'secretly' using it to get an easy paycheck from those who haven't learned to identify it well yet.
Also for those of you expecting a book like American Cosmic or Encounters, this subject matter is only loosely related. I'm fine with that because the topics she set out to discuss here are even more inline with my interests than those books were anyways, but many of you may be left disappointed.
And many more of you will be left disappointed that intellectuals are now outsourcing their creative (potentially intellectual) output to the AI-slop machine.
(*After crafting a draft of this review, I happened upon a recent podcast that Pasulka participated in to market this book; in it, she very quickly referenced that she uses AI "as a tool", but that she would never let it do her work/thinking for her like most of her "young" students do. I could not believe what I was hearing. Never meet your heroes and whatnot...)
(**The author is now bragging on social media about how well this book is doing...Still no regret nor thanks given to her AI co-author, however.)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC—my honest thoughts, as always, are my own. Now let’s descend into the shadows…
Some truths don’t feel like fiction… they feel like something we were never meant to fully understand.
The Others isn’t just a book—it’s an experience. One that blurs the line between science, belief, and something far more unsettling. D. W. Pasulka explores UFO phenomena, artificial intelligence, and the possibility that unseen forces may be shaping human destiny in ways we can’t quite comprehend—and that’s where this book truly gets under your skin.
I’ve always been drawn to the unknown—the things that exist just beyond explanation—and this book thrives in that space. It doesn’t try to give you all the answers. Instead, it leaves you sitting in that eerie in-between, where curiosity and unease coexist. The deeper you go, the more it feels like you’re brushing up against something vast… something watching… something "other".
There’s a quiet, creeping realization woven throughout these pages: what if we’re not as alone—or as in control—as we think we are? And once that thought takes hold, it’s nearly impossible to shake.
This isn’t horror in the traditional sense—but it lingers like one. Subtle. Expansive. Just unsettling enough to make you look at the world a little differently when you’re done.
**Content Warning:** Existential themes, discussions of UFO phenomena, AI, and concepts that may feel unsettling or reality-shifting.
If you’re fascinated by the unknown, the unexplained, and the possibility that something is quietly shaping the course of humanity… this is a journey you won’t forget.
🕸️ I’m that weird girl who seeks the shadows—and you’ll follow willingly. 🕸️
Some truths don’t feel like fiction… they feel like something we were never meant to fully understand.
The Others isn’t just a book—it’s an experience. One that blurs the line between science, belief, and something far more unsettling. D. W. Pasulka explores UFO phenomena, artificial intelligence, and the possibility that unseen forces may be shaping human destiny in ways we can’t quite comprehend—and that’s where this book truly gets under your skin.
I’ve always been drawn to the unknown—the things that exist just beyond explanation—and this book thrives in that space. It doesn’t try to give you all the answers. Instead, it leaves you sitting in that eerie in-between, where curiosity and unease coexist. The deeper you go, the more it feels like you’re brushing up against something vast… something watching… something "other".
There’s a quiet, creeping realization woven throughout these pages: what if we’re not as alone—or as in control—as we think we are? And once that thought takes hold, it’s nearly impossible to shake.
This isn’t horror in the traditional sense—but it lingers like one. Subtle. Expansive. Just unsettling enough to make you look at the world a little differently when you’re done.
**Content Warning:** Existential themes, discussions of UFO phenomena, AI, and concepts that may feel unsettling or reality-shifting.
If you’re fascinated by the unknown, the unexplained, and the possibility that something is quietly shaping the course of humanity… this is a journey you won’t forget.
🕸️ I’m that weird girl who seeks the shadows—and you’ll follow willingly. 🕸️
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fascinating read! I A religious studies scholar attempts, persuasively I might add, to show “a hidden history of alleged contacts between human and nonhuman intelligences.”
The book begins with the author discussing a censored Catholic visionary who in the early 20th C predicted a new form of intelligence would appear - this “would appear alien but be far stranger.” By the mid-20th C other mystics and even science fiction writers like Arthur C. Clarke were saying the same thing. The book goes on to explore how UFO phenomena intersect with the rise of AI. The author links the UFO phenomena to “angelic encounters” and argues it’s becoming a new form of spirituality as well as positing that AI and scientific attempts to advance life with the age—old quest for immortality. In doing all of this, the author applies an historical lens and complex reasoning in her assertions on how we believe but never says this is the literal truth - just a “maybe.”
In order to read this book, one has to keep an open mind. A “what if” is not the same as saying “it is.” While a lot of what is written seems like pure conjecture, the research and logic behind it is compelling. If you keep an open mind, this is a fun read.
I’m not supporting any of the speculations or conclusions in the book, I’m only commenting on my experience reading this most unique book. My enjoyment in reading comes from experiences like reading something so uniquely different that it challenges or educates me. If you enjoy books like that, you may find this one is for you.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this ARC.
The book begins with the author discussing a censored Catholic visionary who in the early 20th C predicted a new form of intelligence would appear - this “would appear alien but be far stranger.” By the mid-20th C other mystics and even science fiction writers like Arthur C. Clarke were saying the same thing. The book goes on to explore how UFO phenomena intersect with the rise of AI. The author links the UFO phenomena to “angelic encounters” and argues it’s becoming a new form of spirituality as well as positing that AI and scientific attempts to advance life with the age—old quest for immortality. In doing all of this, the author applies an historical lens and complex reasoning in her assertions on how we believe but never says this is the literal truth - just a “maybe.”
In order to read this book, one has to keep an open mind. A “what if” is not the same as saying “it is.” While a lot of what is written seems like pure conjecture, the research and logic behind it is compelling. If you keep an open mind, this is a fun read.
I’m not supporting any of the speculations or conclusions in the book, I’m only commenting on my experience reading this most unique book. My enjoyment in reading comes from experiences like reading something so uniquely different that it challenges or educates me. If you enjoy books like that, you may find this one is for you.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Others; UFOs AI and the secret force is guiding human destiny by DW pasulka, I usually enjoy the author‘s books on UFOs I find them to be well researched told in depth but this book was just too academic heavy for me everything was a quote from a speech or a book in although the research is really awe inspiring it’s dizzying to have to read it’s hard to keep track because she goes from one to another to another there’s some really good chapters in the book but not enough that I would recommend this to anyone it’s just too dependent on other sources I mean I get some books quote other books or speeches essays etc but they have a whole book based on other authors books and the like to me was just too much. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Recieved this as a free Arc..
Wish I could have said I enjoyed it more, but I want to be honest, I didn't... it was a very dry, repetitive, and boring read. The theory the author was trying to prove could have been easily explained in a much shorter format. It felt like when reading it , the same concept was explained over and over, just in different ways by different sources. The theory was not new in any way. It just didn't work for me. I have not read any other books by this author, so I couldn't compare if it was this one book I didn't enjoy or just the authors books in general. However, at this point, I don't have any interest in exploring any more of her books at this point.
Wish I could have said I enjoyed it more, but I want to be honest, I didn't... it was a very dry, repetitive, and boring read. The theory the author was trying to prove could have been easily explained in a much shorter format. It felt like when reading it , the same concept was explained over and over, just in different ways by different sources. The theory was not new in any way. It just didn't work for me. I have not read any other books by this author, so I couldn't compare if it was this one book I didn't enjoy or just the authors books in general. However, at this point, I don't have any interest in exploring any more of her books at this point.
August 5, 2026
A thoughtful and unusual exploration of UFOs, spiritualism, and human evolution.
The author weaves together Bible verses, spiritual texts, and references to works like Childhood’s End to build a broad, speculative picture of humanity’s development. At times the writing can be challenging to follow, but there are genuinely interesting ideas throughout, and several points made me stop and think. Readers who enjoy spiritually focused interpretations of UFO phenomena will likely find this book worthwhile. I recommend it for anyone interested in the intersection of spirituality and human evolution.
The author weaves together Bible verses, spiritual texts, and references to works like Childhood’s End to build a broad, speculative picture of humanity’s development. At times the writing can be challenging to follow, but there are genuinely interesting ideas throughout, and several points made me stop and think. Readers who enjoy spiritually focused interpretations of UFO phenomena will likely find this book worthwhile. I recommend it for anyone interested in the intersection of spirituality and human evolution.
June 24, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
This is my 3rd Pasulka book, and like her first two in her ‘UFO’ series this is riveting. So much to think about, and I don’t necessarily agree with her on everything. However, do find the marriage of religious history and high strangeness very interesting.
If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, or enjoy the work of Jacques Vallee or John Keel this is a great read.
This isn’t going to please everyone, in fact I could see it pissing a lot of folks off! But that’s ok, not every book is for everyone.
This is my 3rd Pasulka book, and like her first two in her ‘UFO’ series this is riveting. So much to think about, and I don’t necessarily agree with her on everything. However, do find the marriage of religious history and high strangeness very interesting.
If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, or enjoy the work of Jacques Vallee or John Keel this is a great read.
This isn’t going to please everyone, in fact I could see it pissing a lot of folks off! But that’s ok, not every book is for everyone.
July 28, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC.
The concept of this book was more interesting than in its execution. I did like the references to different literature throughout time that both intentionally and unintentionally predict elements of the future with the advancements of science and technology, especially with AI. I wasn’t expecting such a theological focused approach in the narrative, especially focusing on harmful religious sects. A majority of this felt like the book was quoting others and breaking the ideas down rather than creating unknown connections.
The concept of this book was more interesting than in its execution. I did like the references to different literature throughout time that both intentionally and unintentionally predict elements of the future with the advancements of science and technology, especially with AI. I wasn’t expecting such a theological focused approach in the narrative, especially focusing on harmful religious sects. A majority of this felt like the book was quoting others and breaking the ideas down rather than creating unknown connections.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I was really not expecting this book to be so theologically driven. Even after reading the brief summary on the back, I still felt the title did not effectivrly convey the purpose the author was working towards in the actual book. It has some fair arguments, but most of which I don't fully agree with and feel are a bit of a stretch. Though I think the ideas on technical advancement leading towards humanity being at a disadvantage holds some ground.
August 3, 2026
This book about UFOs, AI and the founded and minds studying these are so fascinating. This book was so well researched I could not stop reading. This has been a fascination of mine for a very long time and this gave me even more to think about. Is there something out there? Who knows but it is a neat area of research.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Essentials for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Essentials for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.
August 4, 2026
I wanted to be curious so I looked at what this author had to say, since one of my friends was a religious studies major for her undergraduate degree, after all. What I found was a description of this professor's experience in the current day. I thought it was OK. After all, anything can be an "unidentified flying object," right? It's not necessarily an alien, whatever was there had been just unknown right then. Maybe a bird.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received a free copy of, The Others, by D.W. Pasulka, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a really interesting read. UFOs, The black hole, AI, and more plus Catholicism mixed in.
August 4, 2026
Some good ideas in here but this one really could have used an editor.
August 4, 2026
All I can say, folks, is don't judge a book by the cover.
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