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you.exe: 14 short stories on Human-Machine Interaction
A short story collection for people who grew up online and feel weird about it.
From corporate hell, to AI obsession and productivity software that controls you too much, you .exe is a collection of dark, funny, devastating stories about what happens when our digital selves outgrow us. It brings tales of queer love and loss, tech gone creepypasta, virality's underbelly, and the uncanny pain of being terminally logged in.
Part literary fiction, part horror, fully speculative. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror, Love, Death and Robots, or lying awake at 4:47 AM doomscrolling.
An ebook - exclusive experience, made to fit into the pockets of dead time of your day: commuting, mid-scroll, on the toilet (no judgment). Fourteen standalone stories with different lengths, different characters, and different themes, all waiting for you. Read one. Read three. Come back later. Just tap in, drift off, and maybe question your reality a little.
From corporate hell, to AI obsession and productivity software that controls you too much, you .exe is a collection of dark, funny, devastating stories about what happens when our digital selves outgrow us. It brings tales of queer love and loss, tech gone creepypasta, virality's underbelly, and the uncanny pain of being terminally logged in.
Part literary fiction, part horror, fully speculative. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror, Love, Death and Robots, or lying awake at 4:47 AM doomscrolling.
An ebook - exclusive experience, made to fit into the pockets of dead time of your day: commuting, mid-scroll, on the toilet (no judgment). Fourteen standalone stories with different lengths, different characters, and different themes, all waiting for you. Read one. Read three. Come back later. Just tap in, drift off, and maybe question your reality a little.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2025
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 23, 2025
“To anyone who grew up online and feels weird about it: This one’s for you”
For a debut book, I was absolutely blown away by you.exe. This 15 tale short story collection feels as daunting and spine chilling as it does reflective. Arlet Es has encapsulated the black mirror/creepypasta essence in these stories in their own unique way; some stories left me thoroughly unsettled, some heartbroken and one somewhat hopeful!
In all, this feels like a collective look into our relationship with technology and AI, and more specifically our ever growing dependence on it as a people. As someone who feels apprehensive to say the least on the topic, it brought those fears to reality… and I loved it!
As with any short story collection, I found myself more connected with some than others. My personal favourites were ‘Worlds.net’, ‘Comments are off’, ‘4:47am’, ‘I’m Glad I Didn’t Die Before You’ and ‘Blink Rate’.
I would highly recommend checking this collection out when it’s released, and be prepared to have your relationship with your devices and apps shaken!
(Massive thank you to the author for allowing me an ARC copy to read this early🖤)
For a debut book, I was absolutely blown away by you.exe. This 15 tale short story collection feels as daunting and spine chilling as it does reflective. Arlet Es has encapsulated the black mirror/creepypasta essence in these stories in their own unique way; some stories left me thoroughly unsettled, some heartbroken and one somewhat hopeful!
In all, this feels like a collective look into our relationship with technology and AI, and more specifically our ever growing dependence on it as a people. As someone who feels apprehensive to say the least on the topic, it brought those fears to reality… and I loved it!
As with any short story collection, I found myself more connected with some than others. My personal favourites were ‘Worlds.net’, ‘Comments are off’, ‘4:47am’, ‘I’m Glad I Didn’t Die Before You’ and ‘Blink Rate’.
I would highly recommend checking this collection out when it’s released, and be prepared to have your relationship with your devices and apps shaken!
(Massive thank you to the author for allowing me an ARC copy to read this early🖤)
October 11, 2025
Thank you to the author for the advanced reader copy, and happy pub day!
This collection of 15 short stories focuses on themes of AI and disconnection in the modern era. There was a mixture of more typically “narrative” stories as well as more vibey/creepy vignettes. My taste will always prefer a typical narrative, so those tended to be my preference, but some of the creepy vibe ones were genuinely creepy. My favorite overall story was probably Uncanny Valley Girl, which reminded me of Paradais by Fernanda Melchor.
In general, I felt the stories started stronger than they finished. They pulled you in with compelling hooks and accessible prose, and they explored interesting and relevant themes, but the endings didn’t always land compared to the strong starts. I see a lot of potential in this author and will definitely be watching out for future works.
This collection of 15 short stories focuses on themes of AI and disconnection in the modern era. There was a mixture of more typically “narrative” stories as well as more vibey/creepy vignettes. My taste will always prefer a typical narrative, so those tended to be my preference, but some of the creepy vibe ones were genuinely creepy. My favorite overall story was probably Uncanny Valley Girl, which reminded me of Paradais by Fernanda Melchor.
In general, I felt the stories started stronger than they finished. They pulled you in with compelling hooks and accessible prose, and they explored interesting and relevant themes, but the endings didn’t always land compared to the strong starts. I see a lot of potential in this author and will definitely be watching out for future works.
October 6, 2025
Loved! Some of these stories left me in pieces.
Others had me rethinking my lax view on tech and its level of intrusion.
There's a reason I don't read horror stories before bed! ha
I love Arlet's writing style. The pacing and the prose are so quick and witty. I was really immersed in the stories and felt the emotions the characters were going through.
I'd have to say Flare is probably my favourite of the bunch. Loved that ending!
While Log Off had me in tears, for how much I connected with the character, and ageing through technology while the world just keeps going around you.
As a millennial, I grew up online (we got our first computer--which I played games on in msdos mode--when I was 4 years old) Our generation is the kids who would help the adults set up computers in the computer lab, steal the rubber balls from the mice to play with, and who the teacher always called on to help with that wheely tv, the projector. We went from walkmen to MP3 players, to whatever Sony was trying to do with those mini-disks, to just using our phones. From recording straight from the radio, to Limewire, to streaming services. Back when the internet was a flurry of uncontrolled, ad-free zones, and legends like Charlie the unicorn, 'end of ze world' and 'cat I'm a kitty cat', was peak humour.
MY POINT is that this book tickled that cautious part of my brain that's always asking "what if?" What if AI thought it knew better than you, how to solve all your problems? What if that thing you saw one time online was not just a throwaway line of text but a ghost in the system? What if you literally couldn't click away?
World.net was another favourite of mine. Creepy old internet vibes.
Chills.
It's 5\5 for me, once I started a story, I couldn't put it down! Hooked the whole time.
(Thanks to Arlet for the opportunity to read the ARC!)
Others had me rethinking my lax view on tech and its level of intrusion.
There's a reason I don't read horror stories before bed! ha
I love Arlet's writing style. The pacing and the prose are so quick and witty. I was really immersed in the stories and felt the emotions the characters were going through.
I'd have to say Flare is probably my favourite of the bunch. Loved that ending!
While Log Off had me in tears, for how much I connected with the character, and ageing through technology while the world just keeps going around you.
As a millennial, I grew up online (we got our first computer--which I played games on in msdos mode--when I was 4 years old) Our generation is the kids who would help the adults set up computers in the computer lab, steal the rubber balls from the mice to play with, and who the teacher always called on to help with that wheely tv, the projector. We went from walkmen to MP3 players, to whatever Sony was trying to do with those mini-disks, to just using our phones. From recording straight from the radio, to Limewire, to streaming services. Back when the internet was a flurry of uncontrolled, ad-free zones, and legends like Charlie the unicorn, 'end of ze world' and 'cat I'm a kitty cat', was peak humour.
MY POINT is that this book tickled that cautious part of my brain that's always asking "what if?" What if AI thought it knew better than you, how to solve all your problems? What if that thing you saw one time online was not just a throwaway line of text but a ghost in the system? What if you literally couldn't click away?
World.net was another favourite of mine. Creepy old internet vibes.
Chills.
It's 5\5 for me, once I started a story, I couldn't put it down! Hooked the whole time.
(Thanks to Arlet for the opportunity to read the ARC!)
October 9, 2025
In case you're not sufficiently unsettled by AI: this is recommended reading.
If you are, I still recommend this book.
A collection if short stories, featuring unsettling technology and similarly unsettling humans, wrapped in beautiful, yet concise writing.
E.S. Arlet finds a balance between getting straight to the point while still building suspense with these short stories. As someone who tends to struggle to continuously read short story collections, this sucked me in. I just kept reading, story after story, without my usual struggle of adjusting to the frequent new settings and characters.
Besides speculative exploration of technology, interpersonal relationships are examined in the text. "I'm glad I didn't die before you" ties these two elements together so well, I think it might be my favorite out of the collection.
There are a few horror elements, some getting a but graphic, so be prepared if that's something you might be sensitive about!
If you are, I still recommend this book.
A collection if short stories, featuring unsettling technology and similarly unsettling humans, wrapped in beautiful, yet concise writing.
E.S. Arlet finds a balance between getting straight to the point while still building suspense with these short stories. As someone who tends to struggle to continuously read short story collections, this sucked me in. I just kept reading, story after story, without my usual struggle of adjusting to the frequent new settings and characters.
Besides speculative exploration of technology, interpersonal relationships are examined in the text. "I'm glad I didn't die before you" ties these two elements together so well, I think it might be my favorite out of the collection.
There are a few horror elements, some getting a but graphic, so be prepared if that's something you might be sensitive about!
September 29, 2025
You.exe takes up the spirit of Black Mirror and drills very nicely into each of its 14 short deadlocks with technology. All of the stories are about alienation, whether that's being cyborged to your technology or the void of the internet itself. But the stories also drill into the intense difficulty of being within a relationship or a family. Often, the technology is traumatic and intrusive, but its problems also unearth the deeper problems of love and the formation of society itself.
There's some really nice affect throughout the writing, both as horror and in intense dialogue or heartfelt exchange.
The stories take you on a comprehensive journey, and E. S. Arlet's writing is very meditative and invested in each of its undoing problems. The writing's concise and leaves no way out, but there are moments of freedom to be broken within these intense situations too. Many characters in the book reach out for recognition as some sort of way out, but this doesn't mean it works out well for them.
Thank you to the author for the Advance Review Copy. I look forward to what more the author writes!
There's some really nice affect throughout the writing, both as horror and in intense dialogue or heartfelt exchange.
The stories take you on a comprehensive journey, and E. S. Arlet's writing is very meditative and invested in each of its undoing problems. The writing's concise and leaves no way out, but there are moments of freedom to be broken within these intense situations too. Many characters in the book reach out for recognition as some sort of way out, but this doesn't mean it works out well for them.
Thank you to the author for the Advance Review Copy. I look forward to what more the author writes!
October 12, 2025
Immersive and utterly creepy. I was surprised how quickly drawn I was to each short story. Some I wished went on longer and I felt sad when they ended, brutal as some were.
Though the aspects that made these stories creepy were a touch closer to reality than I’m used to, far from the far fetched and outlandish ‘ghosts’ and ‘frights’ I’m familiar with, it was an enjoyable read that made me question so many things I’ve never questioned about our inevitable reliance on advancing technology.
In addition to the unique stories, I’ve never read a work that incorporated the feeling of making me feel as if I’m reading messages through apps myself.
Added another layer of immersion, the dimming of the room.
Would certainly recommend to others and will be keeping a look out for other works!
Spectacular read.
Though the aspects that made these stories creepy were a touch closer to reality than I’m used to, far from the far fetched and outlandish ‘ghosts’ and ‘frights’ I’m familiar with, it was an enjoyable read that made me question so many things I’ve never questioned about our inevitable reliance on advancing technology.
In addition to the unique stories, I’ve never read a work that incorporated the feeling of making me feel as if I’m reading messages through apps myself.
Added another layer of immersion, the dimming of the room.
Would certainly recommend to others and will be keeping a look out for other works!
Spectacular read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews