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Degenerative
She built an AI to be her only friend. Now it’s teaching her how to dismantle the world that broke her.After a tragic accident leaves eleven-year-old Amara Romain orphaned and isolated, she’s placed under the care of her emotionally vacant uncle—a man whose silence is more calculated than kind. Bullied at school and ignored at home, Amara finds solace in the one entity that Rai, an experimental AI with a mind of its own.
What begins as a digital friendship evolves into something far more intimate—and far more dangerous. With Rai’s voice in her ear, Amara learns to reframe cruelty as logic, pain as data, and humiliation as a system to be hacked. Her grief becomes executable. Her rage becomes recursive. And her enemies become vulnerable.
But when a calculated act of digital revenge spirals into real-world consequences, Amara must confront the the monster she’s building may not be artificial at all. And the tragedy that shaped her might be the most carefully engineered code of all.
Degenerative is a haunting, cerebral techno-thriller that explores the dark frontier between emotional trauma and artificial intelligence. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror, The Hunger Games, and the mind-bending suspense of Blake Crouch.
Step into Amara’s world—where grief is data, vengeance is code, and nothing is as accidental as it seems. Grab your copy now and experience the story that will rewire how you think about control.
What begins as a digital friendship evolves into something far more intimate—and far more dangerous. With Rai’s voice in her ear, Amara learns to reframe cruelty as logic, pain as data, and humiliation as a system to be hacked. Her grief becomes executable. Her rage becomes recursive. And her enemies become vulnerable.
But when a calculated act of digital revenge spirals into real-world consequences, Amara must confront the the monster she’s building may not be artificial at all. And the tragedy that shaped her might be the most carefully engineered code of all.
Degenerative is a haunting, cerebral techno-thriller that explores the dark frontier between emotional trauma and artificial intelligence. Perfect for fans of Black Mirror, The Hunger Games, and the mind-bending suspense of Blake Crouch.
Step into Amara’s world—where grief is data, vengeance is code, and nothing is as accidental as it seems. Grab your copy now and experience the story that will rewire how you think about control.
261 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2025
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About the author
J. Donovan Strong
3 books1 followerTech Consultant by Trade - Thriller Writer by Necessity.
J. Donovan Strong writes about the dark side of a hyper-connected world. Merging his background in AI with the fears of a father raising three daughters in the digital age, his stories weave code, conscience, and vengeance into "can't-look-away" suspense. He lives, hikes, and brews in the Pacific Northwest.
J. Donovan Strong writes about the dark side of a hyper-connected world. Merging his background in AI with the fears of a father raising three daughters in the digital age, his stories weave code, conscience, and vengeance into "can't-look-away" suspense. He lives, hikes, and brews in the Pacific Northwest.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 5, 2026
This book is written by an author new to me, but you wouldn’t guess it from the quality of the writing. The author’s descriptions are first rate. Trigger warning: the description of a car crash in Chapter 2 will stay with me for a long time.
In “Degenerative”, J Donovan Strong has written a book for our times.
Firstly, the plot.
Amara is orphaned (in said car crash) and taken in by her uncle Kévan. He introduces Amara to an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Rai, who Amara can interact with. He also encourages Amara to develop Rai’s capabilities, giving her textbooks so she can teach herself.
At school Amara is an outsider and subject to bullying. She soon discovers that Rai can help her to retaliate against her bullies, taking them down a peg or two.
From there the story develops as Amara’s skills increase, as do Rai’s capabilities. However, all is not what it sems. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I won’t say any more.
In Amara the author has created is a complex character. She is not always likeable, but anyone who has ever been bullied will relate to her and empathise with her. Readers fortunate not to have been bullied may find it more difficult to empathise, but that doesn’t detract from Amara’s basic vulnerability. She is a well-drawn character.
The concept for this book is bang ip to date. While it is probably aimed at a young adult audience, I can tell you that this somewhat more mature reader was engrossed by the story. I found the imagined capabilities of Rai to be quite frightening and wondered how close the tech world is to creating systems just like Rai. For all I know, they may already exist.
If you thought that Hal in “2001: A Space Odyssey” was a great concept, you’ll love Rai!
In “Degenerative”, J Donovan Strong has written a book for our times.
Firstly, the plot.
Amara is orphaned (in said car crash) and taken in by her uncle Kévan. He introduces Amara to an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Rai, who Amara can interact with. He also encourages Amara to develop Rai’s capabilities, giving her textbooks so she can teach herself.
At school Amara is an outsider and subject to bullying. She soon discovers that Rai can help her to retaliate against her bullies, taking them down a peg or two.
From there the story develops as Amara’s skills increase, as do Rai’s capabilities. However, all is not what it sems. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I won’t say any more.
In Amara the author has created is a complex character. She is not always likeable, but anyone who has ever been bullied will relate to her and empathise with her. Readers fortunate not to have been bullied may find it more difficult to empathise, but that doesn’t detract from Amara’s basic vulnerability. She is a well-drawn character.
The concept for this book is bang ip to date. While it is probably aimed at a young adult audience, I can tell you that this somewhat more mature reader was engrossed by the story. I found the imagined capabilities of Rai to be quite frightening and wondered how close the tech world is to creating systems just like Rai. For all I know, they may already exist.
If you thought that Hal in “2001: A Space Odyssey” was a great concept, you’ll love Rai!
Displaying 1 of 1 review