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Nicholas
Nicholas: A Novel
“A tender and intelligent novel about found family, fragile systems, and the stubborn grace of repair.” — Literary Titan “Eerily dystopian, compelling and compassionate…” — BlueInk Review
For anyone who has ever felt pushed aside, left behind, or passed over, this story is for you.
Nicholas Leonardo is a former government engineer who once worked on legacy systems others have since replaced. Now he lives quietly on a small Maryland farm, tending a greenhouse built from salvaged parts and caring for PHIL—an experimental analog AI shaped as much by memory and patience as by code.
When PHIL intercepts a faint long-wave distress signal from a remote village in Alaska, Nicholas is drawn back into a world he thought had moved on without him. What begins as a simple attempt to help becomes a journey north through winter—across scrapyards, tribal lands, and communities that survive through cooperation, memory, and a quiet refusal to disappear.
As an Arctic storm isolates the village and automated safeguards refuse to restart, Nicholas must rely on the very qualities the modern world has deemed obsolete: repair over replacement, listening over control, and the stubborn belief that staying present matters.
But when a national security system misclassifies the signal and locks onto its source, the mission to restore power becomes something far larger than Nicholas ever intended.
Nicholas is a character-driven techno-thriller about found family, quiet resilience, and the courage to remain when the world suggests you are no longer necessary.
Perfect for readers of Station Eleven, this novel blends high-stakes technology with warmth, memory, and the enduring power of belonging.
“A tender and intelligent novel about found family, fragile systems, and the stubborn grace of repair.” — Literary Titan “Eerily dystopian, compelling and compassionate…” — BlueInk Review
For anyone who has ever felt pushed aside, left behind, or passed over, this story is for you.
Nicholas Leonardo is a former government engineer who once worked on legacy systems others have since replaced. Now he lives quietly on a small Maryland farm, tending a greenhouse built from salvaged parts and caring for PHIL—an experimental analog AI shaped as much by memory and patience as by code.
When PHIL intercepts a faint long-wave distress signal from a remote village in Alaska, Nicholas is drawn back into a world he thought had moved on without him. What begins as a simple attempt to help becomes a journey north through winter—across scrapyards, tribal lands, and communities that survive through cooperation, memory, and a quiet refusal to disappear.
As an Arctic storm isolates the village and automated safeguards refuse to restart, Nicholas must rely on the very qualities the modern world has deemed obsolete: repair over replacement, listening over control, and the stubborn belief that staying present matters.
But when a national security system misclassifies the signal and locks onto its source, the mission to restore power becomes something far larger than Nicholas ever intended.
Nicholas is a character-driven techno-thriller about found family, quiet resilience, and the courage to remain when the world suggests you are no longer necessary.
Perfect for readers of Station Eleven, this novel blends high-stakes technology with warmth, memory, and the enduring power of belonging.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published December 24, 2025
1 person want to read
About the author
Michael Patrick Shaffrey
3 books1 followerMike Shaffrey is an actor and writer living in Hollywood, California. Fight on!
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