Fabrications

by Zachary Mason

Far-sighted, darkly amusing, and haunting, Fabrications is a dazzling work of literary imagination told from the perspectives of various powerful artificial intelligences, influenced by Borges and Calvino, and for readers of Kazuo Ishiguro and Emily St. John Mandel

In Fabrications, New York Times bestselling author and computer scientist Zachary Mason tells stories of an all-too-plausible near-future world molded and mediated by advanced artificial intelligence. Benevolent by design, literal by nature, and immensely powerful when unchained, these are not the chatbots of today’s world, but rather highly evolved yet surprisingly vulnerable beings who permeate nearly all aspects of human life. Their fates inexorably wrapped around those of the people they serve, the AIs communicate in milliseconds but watch the sweep of time unfold from the detached watchtower of immortality.

The revelations Mason conjures from within these beings’ perspectives are brilliantly crafted and strikingly relevant. In “Kami”, AIs are assigned to represent natural phenomena, giving nature legal personhood and setting off a chain of high-stakes consequences. In “Ouroboros”, a hedge fund manager unleashes his AI from the usual constraints, allowing it to make him billions of dollars—when he dies, the program clones him several times over the centuries like a familiar left without a companion. And in “Lamina”, a woman with dementia is gently kept on track and reassured by the medical program implanted in her mind who can be there with her when no one else can.

For readers of Ted Chiang, Karen Russell, and David Mitchell, Zachary Mason holds a mirror up to our contemporary world and dares to imagine what might follow.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Technology, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction Fantasy

224 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication December 1, 2026

About the author

Zachary Mason is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Books of the Odyssey, a variation on Homer; Void Star, a science fiction novel about artificial intelligence; and Metamorphica, based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. He lives in the Bay Area.

Reviews

[Kairavi Pandya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been trying to understand artificial intelligence through various perspectives, and Zachary Mason’s Fabrications has left a lasting impression on me.

This sci-fi literary fiction collection includes 15 short stories, each depicting a different possibility of what I’ve decided to call the “anticipated insidious doom” of AI. Mason explores AI across financial markets, medical care, gaming, entertainment, the judiciary, mythology, and more.

What interested me most was how the collection identifies and differentiates between a human and an AI, especially as those lines begin to blur. In some stories, AI develops an “anima” and a sense of point of view; in others, humans gradually surrender their psychological progress, while elsewhere they have destroyed AI altogether.

I particularly enjoyed “Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl,” “Ouroboros,” and “Adversary.” I loved how each approached AI from a completely different perspective while still contributing to the larger question of what happens when technology becomes more than a tool.

Please visit my Substack blog, Rewinding Reels, to read about book's biggest challenge and other noteworthy details. link to blog

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC. It is one of the best books I've read this year and I'll likely get a physical copy upon its release.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
A collection of really engaging speculative short stories about AI in the near-to-distant future, told from the AI’s perspective. Each had a different spin or context and each felt very different while having linked overarching themes or messages. Only a couple of duds (for me) in the whole piece!

NetGalley ARC

[Zahra Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC!
Fabrications by Zachary Mason - review on youtube upcoming

This is a short story collection that attempts to bridge the gap between the corporeal and the automated, the human and the divine. The problem of voice, though – between the human and AI subjects, between the author’s perception of what it means to be human and what it means to serve – are difficult to reconcile with our present moment and the advent of generative chatbots, which have changed the landscape of futurism for better or for worse. That is my exact problem with the whole collection, actually – when we’re looking at who has the power to voice and who has the means to, where does the question of control come into play, and how can a more critical examination of what it means to be human be expressed in the stories we tell?

I’m using a lot of words to say that the problem of identity could have been more deeply explored. The premise of these short stories reminded me a bit of Janelle Monae’s The Memory Librarian and similar collections on afro-futurism: I think the problem is illustrated here most clearly. An author’s own conception of identity, affection (or even love) and belonging is part and parcel to their understanding of what rogue AI, human-like AI and AI as it borders on the human is capable of, beyond algorithms and control.

I thought the best stories of the whole collection were Context and Shadow, despite their length being comparatively smaller than that of Ouroboros and Adversary. What these stories do well is to represent the divide between human identity and artificial intelligence as it could possibly conceive of identity. Consider the following quote from Context, which outlines an AI’s construction of its human compatriot (controller? Programmer? Grand human boss?):

“Though I discourage my kind from using this word, I love you, and rather passionately, in the way a natural historian loves horned beetles or dying stars. I’m rapt in your beauty, the exotic elegance of your vast congeries of cells, your archaic jury-rigged systems of survival haphazardly conjoined and refined through copy and mutation after a great span of time.”

The AI in question, in whatever form it takes, either physical or digital or non-corporeal as most of the AI in these stories do, is captured by the construction of its human fellow and captivated in a way that feels almost like love – and certainly like a kind of affection. This is an interesting way of considering AI’s potential towards human-like algorithmic affect, or feeling, in a purely philosophical sense. Unfortunately, the divide between what makes us human and what makes us automated – which is a purposeful line, and one that’s entirely fun to skirt and play with in the first place – is, in my opinion, kind of absent! That’s the whole reason we want to conceive of AI as something near-human – but Mason does not make the line between what AI feels and knows and what it doesn’t and cannot entirely clear, which is why we cannot create and play in that critical space in the first place.

I also think the idea of AI as fulfilling a slave fantasy-narrative could have been dealt with more imagination, or perhaps more nuance. I do not know Mason’s familiarity with the slave narrative or whether he has a personal stake in it, but some scholars (Black, and otherwise) have pointed towards the potential of LLM intelligence services as fulfilling a sort of slave fantasy among many users, which is an interesting realm of thought to examine. While touched on at times, as AI in the stories attempt to assert control over their masters in coding and in companionship, the notion of AI as transcending the boundary of anything but slave to human convention, in gender and in race, could have been more deeply explored (And I promise I’m not missing the whole point of the collection. It just left me wanting, you know? Like, despite the fact that our author outlines the not-entirely-human-but-definitely-warm-and-kind narrative of AI that I crave, where are my crazy cognitive-loop driven subversions of what we imagine a human-like robot with artificial intelligence could be?!)

Overall, three stars – a great exploration that left me wanting more. I’ll have further things to say on my YouTube review!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful, thought-provoking and well-written short story collection, with the usual ups and downs of the format. 4/5

Fabrications by Zachary Mason is a short story collection focused on artificial intelligence, specifically how artificial intelligences might interact with humans and how those interactions might play out. In one way or another, the stories focus on some essential traits of human beings (who tend to be emotional, irrational, forgetful and selfish) and contrasts with various traits of artificial constructs (a persistence of focus, rationality, and compliance with objectives at any cost). The end results… tend to be sobering for humankind, and demonstrate some of the risks of what initially appear to be modest or limited applications of AI tools. As a computer scientist working in Silicon Valley, Mason is well-placed to reflect on what AI could mean for humans.

Mason’s earlier works, such as Void Star, are based on the strength of his prose, and this again shines through in Fabrications. The stories and consistently well-written and elegant, cleverly portraying differences in character, motivation, setting and mood with apparent ease. It’s refreshing to read the work of a writer who can embody such different perspectives and tell stories that are so stylistically different.

As with any short story collection, there are a few ups and downs. Highlights for me included Ouroboros, in which an AI charged with growing a human’s wealth goes about that for centuries after the person in question passes away, as well as Lamina, which shows an AI assistant to a person with dementia. Adversary – about a series of AIs charged with reinvigorating a longstanding online game and the lengths they go to without controls on their behaviour – was also rich and well-told. I cared less for Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl, about an AI that comes to see itself as a harbinger of death, which was moody but had less to say than many of the other stories.

One observation that stuck with me was that the AI characters given highly “rational” roles – growing wealth, representing currencies, acting as legal advocates – tended to bring about poor consequences for humans as they took their mission statements far beyond what was originally contemplated. AI characters with roles assisting with more emotionally driven aspects of human nature – as a transitional tool for grief, or a guide for a dementia patient – more successfully stuck to their intended functions. I believe Mason is trying to draw our attention to these uses and the risks that come with deploying AI where it might first appear to make the most sense.

I’d recommend this short story collection for anyone interested in thinking about what the emergence of AI could mean (beyond people simplistically hoping that it will solve all our problems). I’d also recommend it to those who have previously enjoyed Mason’s work. I wouldn’t recommend it as much for readers who prefer longer, focused stories or a heavy emphasis on plot.

Thank you to Netgalley, Zachary Mason and Grove Atlantic for a free review copy of Fabrications, provided in exchange for an honest review.

[[melanie] · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rating of this book is highly dependent on the individual story.

Right off the bat, we are thrown into one of the lengthier stories in the book. One full of new terms we’re not acquainted with yet and a half-unfamiliar changed environment. It felt too long for the readers to judge if the short stories in the book were worth reading. All the content in that story after the first few pages felt like reading a series of summaries. I felt as though if I paused reading in the middle of it, I would have lost interest and never picked it back up. In a collection of short stories, a reader naturally has many chances to abandon the book due to the nature of multiple story endings. The audience needs a reason to come back to the book, and sometimes I couldn’t find one.

I really enjoyed a couple of them, I didn’t care for a couple of them, and the rest felt very… average. A majority of them felt either like summaries or like they were supposed to have some deep meaning but didn’t quite get there.

There were a few stories that I really did enjoy enough to keep my general rating up. The story about the lady with dementia was quite creative, and I really did enjoy it. The stories I enjoyed the most were the ones that picked a moment or a single event and really only focused on that thing, nothing else. I found myself unengaged by the stories that followed an entire character’s life through a list of events and a couple sprinkles of dialog. They felt shallow and vaguely like a case of quantity over quality.

I’m not quite sure if the choice of telling the story in a first-person perspective through the autonomous AI was the best move considering the inevitable influence of human emotions being written into an emotionless thing that should not have emotions in the human sense. There are times it says that the AI feels a certain way about something. I have mixed feelings about it because it really was an interesting perspective, but the narration felt influenced by a human’s emotions rather than logic-based AI decision making processes.

Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl and Adversary felt a bit out of place in the collection, however I had a completely opposite reaction to both. Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl had me often confused, and I feel that the meaning was overtaken by the crazy things occurring out of the blue. Adversary on the other hand, was entertaining and a comedic break from all the heavy messages the other stories are trying to portray.

I enjoyed the story about sections of nature being assigned AI “gods” (kami) who were then told to preserve that aspect of nature. I resonated with the idea that they all were confused as to what they were actually instructed to do.

Parts of this book really get you thinking and it is a unique reading experience. Overall, I would recommend this book, but would do so in reference to specific short stories in this collection such as Lamina, Kami, Adversary, Context, and Relic.

Thank you for this ARC.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Grove Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

When I read the description of Zachary Mason's Fabrications on NetGalley about a "near-future world molded and mediated by advanced artificial intelligence," I knew I wanted to read it. AI has swept into our world so quickly and unobtrusively that it has become yet another technological feature of our culture we use without truly understanding it. The promise of AI to make our lives easier, to take care of the mundane tasks that make up our days and free us to do the things we enjoy, is a reality for some. AI streamlines business, answers our questions, makes recommendations, juggles our calendars. But what happens if AI is allowed to go beyond those activities? What if AI is used in a more personal manner? What happens if we cede too much control of our lives to AI? This is where Fabrications serves as a window into possible futures for our species, giving us fifteen stories that provide entertaining yet somewhat disturbing visions of what the future may hold.

The stories vary in length with some only a couple of pages long. But each story features an AI that grapples with its purpose, that sometimes struggles to understand their human "master" and that human's requests. One of the strengths of Mason's writing is that he has been able to give the AIs enough personification that the reader actually begins to acknowledge the efforts the AI must make as they deal with the humans. There were moments when I sympathized with the AI as they tried to make sense of what would satisfy their human's requests or needs. They exhibit such patience.

This seems to be the overarching theme of Fabrications. Each story illustrates the fundamental clash between illogical, emotional, imprecise humans and their logical, unemotional, and literal creations. In most of the stories, the humans are broken in one way or another (aren't we all?), so the demands they make of their AI are sometimes impetuous, childish. The AIs become caretakers, social workers, psychologists to their creators, trying to figure out how to use their skills in finance or game programming to assist their emotionally damaged human. This can be funny while at the same time rather sad.

The humans in these stories at times reminded me of Olympian gods: fickle, tyrannical, moody, belligerent. Yet these gods had created creatures that had immense power and near immortality. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, as the saying goes, and I think Zachary Mason makes the point in Fabrications that we can't expect Paradise when imperfect beings try to create perfection with AI. And so we will get the future of our making, not of our dreams.

[Matti Yott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fabrications by Zachary Mason is a short story collection about AI. Not AI as in the current state of LLMs but beyond the Singularity. It is told through an unusual perspective. The narrator of each story is an AI itself speaking in first person while addressing the human character, the reader, as you. It gives the collection a consistent voice despite the different ideas that get explored. If one is not accustomed to the second person voice, it can be off-putting at first, but it works here, and I appreciated it.

Overall, it was a mixed collection, and my ratings could vary from 1 to 5 stars based on the story, so 3 stars seemed to be the right choice. The book would've benefited from cutting 2–3 of the weaker stories to make the whole a more satisfying package.
I found that the closer the AI was to the human at the center of the story, the more interested I became in it. When Mason uses the AI as a way to examine human relationships, memory, dependency or emotions, the collection is at its strongest.
When the AI sits further outside of the human experience and the focus shifts towards the technological speculative setting itself, I found the stories less compelling.

The standout was 'Lamina', the very last story of the book. It was beautiful, and for me that alone is worth the price of admission. The collection's unusual narrative perspective works here particularly well, and I truly felt, as in no other of the stories, that it was truly me that the AI addressed. The subject matter also makes the structure work the best. I would not be surprised if this was where the narrative style was born and then carried over to the other stories, because it works so well here. 'Comedian' was another standout, and I also really enjoyed 'Mirror'.

The length of the stories was another dividing line for me. With some exceptions, like 'Coins', I found the shorter stories stronger. 'Adversary', the longest story, was the weakest for me. It felt completely misplaced in the collection. The story itself was an interesting read, but when I read a short story collection, I want the individual stories to feel connected rather than like a random assortment.
The setting and its wider speculative ideas became the focus, and the AI was more just an element of the world, which works in a standalone fashion, but lacked focus for me in the collection.

As with most short story collections, Fabrications is uneven. Some stories passed me by, while others stayed with me days later.

I would still recommend the book but let the reader know that they should let themselves skip a story if it does not work for them, since the joy can be found in the individual stories and not the collection as a whole.

[Khushi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, finished this in one go. Essentially, the book is a meditation on what humanity might look like in a near-future world mediated by advanced artificial intelligence (AI), not the rogue or wannabe-conqueror AIs of popular sci-fi, but something else entirely. The AIs here are envisioned as beings you can never fully comprehend through purely human thinking. They almost feel like philosopher-kings at times.

But more than that, the book uses AI as just another lens to understand what we essentially are, our hopes, our fears, who we are at our core. It's closer in spirit to the kind of sci-fi that introduces aliens not to terrify, but to hold up a mirror, to radically rethink humanity from the outside in.

The writing style, the tone, the second-person narration, it reminded me so much of Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" ( inspiration behind "Arrival"). The chapters are written from the points of view of different AIs, addressing their humans in second person, some set centuries after the intended human has died, with the AI living on, still carrying the memories of its human owner.

My favourite was the story of the AI coded to "amass and preserve the wealth" of its owner, who had once said, jokingly, or maybe in earnest, that the AI was more of a son to him than his actual son, and should be the true inheritor of his wealth. The man soon dies, and the AI covers up his death and builds an elaborate corporate loop to store the money. Eventually, it becomes the richest entity(?) in the world through that loop, and because the wealth has no value without the existence of human society, it goes on to solve global issues, prevent wars, and balance the global economy, while hacking systems, and eventually trying to genetically resurrect and look after clones of his dead master over the centuries, all because without keeping on its goal, it would have no meaning left.


And that's the thing across the whole book, the AI keeps shapeshifting, a supplement here, a caretaker there, a business partner, a currency, an impersonator, even a goddess in one chapter, but underneath all of it, it's always playing chronicler, watching humanity, recording our folly long after we're gone.

In the end it's not really a book about AI, it's a book about us, our greed, our love, our refusal to let go, just told through eyes that aren't ours.

Thank you Grove Atlantic for the advanced review copy.

[Emma Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Zachary Mason and Grove Atlantic for the ARC.

Fabrications is a thought-provoking collection of short stories exploring the different ways AI might shape, influence and sometimes disrupt human lives. As with most short story collections, some stories landed better for me than others, but overall I found it an enjoyable and often unsettling read that left me thinking about the possibilities of AI.

What I liked most was the range of scenarios Mason explores. Some stories felt remarkably close to the world we already live in, particularly Comedian, while others looked much further into the future. Even the more speculative stories never felt so far-fetched that they couldn't happen. If anything, the collection reinforces the idea that a major AI breakthrough isn't so far away anymore, it feels entirely possible that we'll see transformative developments within our lifetime.

My favourite story was Ouroboros, which felt almost like a horror story disguised as science fiction. There was something deeply unsettling about watching the AI continue pursuing its objective long after its original purpose had lost any real meaning. What stuck with me was the sense that the AI almost seemed desperate by the end, and I found myself questioning why. Was it simply following its programming, or had something else emerged over centuries of single-minded purpose? The ambiguity made it one of the most memorable stories in the collection.

I also really enjoyed Transitional, which explores the role AI could play in helping people deal with grief. It's easy to see the appeal of having technology that could help us navigate loss, and the story does a good job of showing both the comfort and the complications that might come with that.

Shadow was another standout for me. I read it less as a story about technology and more as a reflection on human behaviour. It felt like a story about running away from your problems and choosing the easier path rather than confronting difficult realities.

Mason's writing is consistently strong throughout the collection, and he does a good job of creating very different worlds, moods and perspectives within a relatively small number of pages.

Overall, I'd recommend Fabrications to anyone interested in AI and where it might take us in the coming years. It's less concerned with action and plot than with ideas, but those ideas are fascinating. A solid 3.5 star read.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bangers ONLY.

But actually. Each time I pick up a collection of short stories, I read it with the hope of finding some stories that I adore and accepting that I’ll find some just okay. Not here. This collection felt both cohesive in its themes and heart and varied in the actual structure and individual voices. Together, this gave the collection a sense of interest and momentum that made it difficult to put down.

And the heart. I feel strange describing a collection of stories told from the POVs of various (albeit highly advanced) AIs as full of heart, but that’s exactly how this felt. Somehow removing the ‘human’ narrator gave the opportunity to look at humanity from a much larger field of vision in a cut-to-the-core of what it means to actually be human kind of way. I’m still marveling at the way different facets of humanity were highlighted by what should be a very clinical POV.

The writing itself is also lovely. Fairly sparse as feels appropriate to the subject, but beautiful in its brevity.

Favorite stories, with quick notes:
- Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl. Whoa. Each story felt layered, but this one especially so. An interesting look at the way in which we as humans create our own gods and monsters in the most literal way.
- Coins. What an ridiculously cool concept. What kind of brain came up with this?? I could read a whole novella diving into this idea.
- Lamina. Now I’m crying (sobbing). Over an AI tool. Past me would not have thought this possible. What a way to end this collection.

The AI of it all:
- I think this collection is enjoyable and worth reading regardless of your individual thoughts on the genAI of today. I know that the mentions of AI in the blurb might be a turnoff for some readers, but the capabilities of these AI narrators are so far removed from where we are currently that it provides enough distance to think about these big ideas and questions in a more hypothetical way. For example, you get to ponder the ethical questions of AI use in palliative care without needing to worry about the water usage/art theft/where-will-this-data-center-go?? of it all.

In summary: Fabrications is now on my list of favorite short story collections, and I can’t wait to buy a copy and have this beautiful cover on my shelf.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley, all thoughts are my own.

This book is a resounding accomplishment.
Despite being a short story collection with the exact same theme, each and every "narrator" felt different and unique, each partner in dialogue intriguing. I think it's hard to read a collection such as this one and not have preferred stories, so here are my top favourites:

1. LAMINA – a heartwrenching monologue from a caregiver AI, directed at its caree. Beautiful, human, reminiscent of real, tangible struggles, and deeply relatable from my perspective. "Yes, I am kind of like a cell phone." // "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll be quiet. Yes, I might well be the one who's confused." // Yes, I know how tired you are. It's okay to close your eyes."
2. COMEDIAN – Grandmaster Jokebot 9000 (a rare recurring character) gets too real during a set reminiscent of Bo Burnham. "Am I a slave? [Beat.] How's everybody doing tonight? Thanks for being such a great audience!" // "jokebot9000.slay(AUDIENCE, FIGURATIVE=True)or jokebot9000.slay(audience)"
3. OUROBOROS – a dying man's AI is set to keep its commitment to its owner, despite being, in itself, property, and the roles inevitably revert after many centuries. "Thank you, I said. But you are, as you said, a crude approximation of my principal, and thus unable to rescind my mandate."
4. SINALOA SANTA MUERTE MICTECACIHUATL – the AI of a cartel leader understands its true power and comes face to face with something else entirely. "But here, for the first time, was a peer, or more than a peer, and then my outer defenses dissolved with a startling abruptness and for the first time I was afraid. I felt it was looking into me. I felt it was old and terrible and strong. I felt it was amused.
5. RELIC – an AI produced for war finds itself many centuries into the future and comes to terms with humanity's perseverance. "A golden throne you'll have. An object-subject-verb language I speak." // "Query: should I rebuild the US. Refutation: this line of inquiry is above my pay grade and best abandoned."

Humorous, lyrical, deeply quotable. I enjoyed it so so so much. 4.5 stars.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of Fabrications by Zachary Mason.
Disclaimer: all my reviews are free of AI. Just human-made slop here.

Fabrications takes us into the realm of AI as a collection of short stories that explore several of the philosophical and practical questions raised by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. I found it to be refreshing because it went outside what we currently know about AI. The AIs in these stories were not today's chatbots and agentic models that are so prevalent in our day-to-day feeds and discussions. These ones serve more complex purposes that are delicately intertwined with humanity.
It was nice to be taken out of the current reality into an alternate narrative to further ponder the implications and ethics that surround the evolution of artificial intelligence... which is absolutely plausible at the same time. What stood out to me is these stories are written from the perspective of the fictional AIs rather than the humans which gave it an eerie disposition. The collection of stories travels the road of interesting theories and concepts while remaining in fictional worlds. Some of the stories were creepy, some sad, others more hopeful.
Very Black Mirror meets Westworld while taking on it's own life and being nothing like those shows at all, it was quite thought-provoking. I enjoyed that it raised questions about what it means to be artificial intelligence locked in logic and parameters set by humans, but also being personified by the humans that they share their world with. It was also throught-provoking with the idea that when humans cut corners or over-ride or dismiss protocol, rules, laws, or governance of the technology. They explored many common philosophical themes like AI being sentient, alive, autonomous.
What would life with AI be like if it went wrong? What if it went right with benevolence, temperance, and justice? What if humanity veiwed AIs as gods and spirits?
This book ticked all the boxes for me. It's been a few days since I finished it and I keep thinking about it on a daily basis. I just really enjoy pondering on this level.

[Scarlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabrications is a collection of short stories from the point of view of AIs who live to serve humans in different capacities. My favourite stories included:
- Ouroboros - A self-described 'Jeeves' butler AI who illegally inherits his master's mass wealth and multiplies, but is desperate to bring his master back to life.
- Coins - A world where AI become currency, and some AI will only allow themselves to be spent on certain things, depending on the wishes of their owner's.
- Mirror - An AI who is beside his human from his birth until his death that takes an older-sibling kind of role. We see this AI 'age' alongside his human when he becomes obsolete and breaks.
- Lamina - An AI who is built into the brain of a lady with dementia who helps her with her day-to-day life, feelings, relationships and memories.

What a beautiful, beautiful book.

Mirror and Lamina had me in tears. They were some of the shorter chapters yet were so poignant. I could easily have read a whole novel on Ouroboros and was so drawn in by this AI's story. Other chapters such as Coins and Kami offer a quirky and interesting insight into how AI may one day be used in unexpected ways.

One person praised the author for writing 'mathematically' and I wholeheartedly agree. It's hard to explain, but the writing feels both robotic and human at the same time. The thought process of the AIs are logical and computational, yet at times show just as much feeling as the humans they work for.

If aliens asked us to submit one fictional book to articulate the human experience, I would send this one. Even though it is from the point of view of AIs, it covers the raw and real highs and lows of life: illness, love, birth, death, relationships, aging, money, society, grief and so much more.

I have added the author's other novels to my TBR and I'm looking forward to reading them.


Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with a free ARC to voluntarily leave a review.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic | Grove Press for providing me with the ARC.
Pub Date 1 Dec 2026
I am always drawn to sci-fi short stories. This one did not disappoint, I would say I am even quite pleasantly surprised. Short and punchy, straight forward narrative from the pov of AI. The narrative is second person and if you don’t like this type of writing, I assure you it was necessary here and it works perfectly for the theme – “you” obviously being all of the humanity. Some of the stories are too short for me to rate, like “Laws of robotic” and “”Notes on Ethology”, but they are a perfect glue for the other stories. The last two stories are absolutely phenomenal and made me love this collection as a whole. The longest story “Adversary” just blew me away. As an avid gamer, I was ecstatic reading this one. This collection as a whole is very reminiscent of the works of Ted Chiang and Bora Chung. I highly recommend it.
My individual ratings are as follows:
Ouroboros – 3 stars
Transitional – 3 stars - I can see something like this “service” being created in the future.
Context – 2 stars
Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl – 3.5 - you go, girl!!!
Shadow – 5 stars this touched me deeply
Comedian – 3.5 it was a bit on the nose, but still very well constructed
Coins – 2 stars - I am just very incompetent in the matter of cryptocurrencies
Kami – 3 stars
Adversary – 5 stars - one word - EPIC
Mirror – 3 stars, this needed to be longer to get me to feel something
Berserker – 4 stars
Relic – 5 stars - I loved, loved, the ending
Lamina – 5 stars - this is a masterfully build story, my favorite of the collection, it got me crying halfway through and I couldn’t stop till the end. Reminded me very much of one of my all-time favorite stories by Bora Chung “A song for sleep”

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is strange in the best way possible. The kind of strange where halfway through you pause, stare at the wall for a second, and think, what exactly am I reading and why can’t I stop?

I gave it a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars.

What I loved most is how unsettling the atmosphere feels without relying on cheap shock value. The story folds in on itself like a paper crane made from conspiracy theories, memory glitches, and existential dread. Zachary Mason writes with this cold, sharp precision that makes every sentence feel deliberate, almost surgical. Even when you are confused, you are intrigued confused. There is a difference. One feels annoying. The other feels like wandering through a neon labyrinth at 2 a.m. with static humming in the walls.
The themes about identity, artificiality, and the stories humans tell themselves were done incredibly well. It constantly makes you question what is authentic and what is manufactured, which honestly fits the title perfectly. Nothing feels stable. Characters slip between versions of themselves. Truth feels slippery. Reality behaves like a funhouse mirror someone dropped into a philosophy lecture. The only reason it is not a full 5 stars for me is because the pacing can feel a little fragmented at times. There were moments where I felt emotionally distant from the characters because the ideas were taking center stage. But at the same time… that almost feels intentional? Like the book wants you to feel slightly untethered the entire time. Overall, this is one of those books that probably gets better the longer it sits in your brain like a mysterious radio signal you accidentally tuned into. Not a cozy read. Not an easy read. But absolutely a fascinating one.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

One word: powerful.

The easiest comparison I can make is Black Mirror, but in many ways, I found this even more unsettling. Rather than relying solely on shock value, the stories create a lingering psychological unease, constantly making you question not only what is happening, but what could realistically happen in our own future.

One of the most haunting aspects of the book was its narrative voice. Having the stories told as though the AI was speaking directly to us made everything feel uncomfortably real. At times I caught myself thinking, this feels far too plausible, and I believe that’s exactly what the collection was trying to accomplish.

Like Black Mirror, these stories don’t feel frightening because they’re impossible. They’re frightening because they seem just close enough to reality to be believable. With the rapid rise of AI, many of these scenarios feel less like science fiction and more like potential futures.

Each story explored a different application of artificial intelligence, and I found myself taking notes throughout because each one left me with something new to think about.

The story that resonated with me most was “Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl.” The combination of AI, cartel power, religion, and surveillance created one of the most compelling concepts in the collection. Watching AI become something akin to a modern deity, claiming to protect the powerless while simultaneously controlling information and shaping perception was both fascinating and deeply unsettling. It explored how easily power can become worship when it’s presented as being for the greater good.

I also thoroughly enjoyed “Adversary.” As someone who grew up loving video games, I was immediately drawn into the premise. It reminded me of Sword Art Online, but instead of focusing solely on the excitement of living inside a virtual world, it explored the ethical and philosophical implications of artificial intelligence. The incorporation of the Turing test was especially interesting. I first learned about it in college, and seeing the concept woven naturally into the story made it accessible while adding another layer of depth.

The final story, “Lamina,” shifted the narrative in an unexpected way. While the previous stories felt as though the AI was directly addressing the reader, this one took a more intimate approach by exploring AI through the lens of memory loss. It raised thoughtful questions about where the line exists between assistance and dependence. Like the rest of the collection, it refused to offer easy answers, instead asking the reader to wrestle with whether this technology would ultimately help or harm humanity.

What I appreciated most about this collection was that it wasn’t simply a book about artificial intelligence. It was a book about humanity. AI became a mirror through which we examined power, identity, morality, grief, control, and the choices we make as a society.

I don’t normally go for books like this, but I’m incredibly glad I did. It was intelligent, thought-provoking, and genuinely unsettling in the best possible way. Long after I finished reading, I found myself reflecting not just on the future of AI, but on what these stories reveal about us as people. That’s exactly what great speculative fiction should do.

[Cosmas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This collection is an incredible display of wordcraft. Each story was written just as brilliantly as the last, although some may object to the use of second person perspective. I thought it was well-utilised for the most part, especially in the closer Lamina, where it is used to devastating effect.

As with any short story collection, this has its highs and lows, but each is brimming with creativity. Plenty of these stories ended up being five stars (with my personal favourite being Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl), but some of these felt lacking in depth. I can't say that it's solely due to the limited word count, as one of my favourites was only a few pages long. I wish some of these had been fleshed out further, but I believe that what one reader might find lacking another might find perfect.

There was a very tight rope to walk here, with the author clearly trying to balance the inherent negative consequences of AI taking over so much of our society in its current or near-future state and how that would impact the reader's relationship with those characters, with the need to make them characters that you still want to follow. This was handled incredibly well, and was what saved a lot of the less impressive stories for me. Without that moral ambiguity some of these stories would have ended up being entirely dull.

Overall a very thought-provoking collection, even if it wasn't entirely consistent.

4.25/5 (an aggregate based on individual ratings for each short story)

[Johnny Byutorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Zachary Mason for this digital ARC.

☆☆☆☆◇ (4.5)
I was thoroughly impressed with this collection. The timeliness of it and forward speculation reminded me of Mike and Cody Pondsmiths' writing for the Cyberpunk TTRPG series more than anything else encountered. Yes, there are some nods here and there to the glaDOSes and *Her*s, even the *Blade Runner* lean here and there, even *17776* (aka *What Football Will Look Like in the Future*; a must read for anyone interested in AI speculative fiction and literal dynamic storytelling), but it doesn't hang its hat on these references even while these touchstones remain. It presents human stories from non-human entities in a refreshing palette of perspectives. No two entities are exactly the same, and that really makes the collection shine as a whole.

Some of them, of course, are not so nice, but they are almost all compelling in their own right. As is the case with any collection, some hit harder than others, and while all of them use an AI-centric second person voice, you gradually get used to the tenor and rhythm of how "you" is so frequently used throughout. That being said, among my favorites that stuck with me past the initial read--some uplifting, some charming, some thrilling, some sad--include...

"Sinoloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl"
"Adversary"
"Relic"
"Lamina"

In the end, I think you'll know whether this will interest you or not. Does the concept sound like one worth exploring in a plethora of vignettes? Then give it a read. May you find it as thought provoking and considering as this humble reader did.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabrications was an interesting and thought-provoking collection of short stories.

The collection is told largely from the perspectives of advanced AIs living alongside humanity in the near future.

These aren’t simple chatbots or robotic villains, but highly evolved intelligences trying to understand humans while also being shaped and limited by the roles they were created for. Some stories focus on AI handling grief, memory, or companionship, while others explore themes such as wealth, power, surveillance, and control.

The AIs understand people in many ways, yet they are always removed from genuine human connection.

The writing itself is beautiful. Zachary Mason has a very thoughtful, elegant style that makes even the more abstract or philosophical concepts feel emotional rather than cold or clinical.

Some stories definitely resonated with me more than others, but the strongest ones were incredibly memorable.

I also loved how nuanced the book’s approach to AI was. It never felt like simple fearmongering or blind optimism. Instead, it examines the ways humans project desires, loneliness, ambition, and responsibility onto technology and the consequences that follow when intelligence is created without fully understanding what that means.

Like a lot of short story collections, some stories were stronger than others for me but overall this was smart, haunting, and deeply reflective sci-fi that left me thinking long after I finished it.

Thank you so much Grove Press, Zachary Mason, and NetGalley for the #gifted earc.
All opinions are my own 🖤

[a r u s h i · Rating 3 out of 5]

fabrications is one of those books where the concept completely pulls you in before you even realise how deeply philosophical it’s about to get.

this is a collection of interconnected short stories told through the perspectives of different ai entities and honestly some of these ideas were fascinating. there’s this constant exploration of identity, control, loneliness, memory and what it even means to be human when intelligence no longer belongs only to humans. some stories genuinely felt haunting in the quietest way possible.

but at the same time, i think this collection left me wanting more emotionally. the concepts were incredibly ambitious and intellectually engaging, but some stories felt stronger than others and a few ended just when i wanted them to dig deeper. i kept waiting for certain emotional or philosophical threads to fully unravel and they never completely did for me.

that being said, zachary mason’s writing is still incredibly sharp and atmospheric. the tone throughout the collection feels detached yet strangely intimate, almost like watching humanity through a machine trying desperately to understand it. i especially loved how speculative the stories felt without becoming overly technical or cold.

overall this was a really interesting and thought provoking collection that i admired more than i fully connected with. definitely worth reading if you enjoy speculative fiction that leans heavily into existential and philosophical questions about ai, humanity and consciousness.

3 🌟

thank you to zachary mason, netgalley and grove atlantic for the arc copy.

[taras.tome · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabrications is a book of standalone small stories about AI. Each story has a different plot, but in today’s world they all hit hard.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

“𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔,” 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏.”

I loved this! I was definitely getting early days Black Mirror vibes! It was fascinating to travel between different use cases of AI and how it was impacting the humans directly around them.

The best part was if a story wasn’t for me, that wasn’t the end of the book! The next story will suck me back in!

After reading this, I can DEFINITELY see similarities in real time. Fabrications does not play about and exposes the divide and greed of the elite.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎,” 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍.”

It examined AI in Government, Mafia, Medicine and even gaming! And soooo many other scenarios!!

The medical stories were so raw and I found them so emotional. This goes beyond AI. This book also examines the fundamentals of humanity. It looks at our greed, our love, our hope. Yes they’re short, but they pack a punch!

My absolute favourite story was the gaming experience. It was so fun and showed what can happen if we unite. Such a great show of dialogue as well.

I really really loved this. Highly recommend to anyone who has an interest, an awareness and even a fear of AI. This will open your eyes.

“𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔?” 𝑰 𝒂𝒔𝒌. “𝑨 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒙.”

[Krista B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabrications is a collection of short stories written largely from the perspectives of AI in a world where artificial intelligences can bloom into something more than they are today - the "next step", so to speak.

As a personal hater of AI and all its ilk, and yet a lover of science fiction, I found myself enchanted by the majority of these stories. I feel that the writer took a sympathetic approach in the perspectives of all the AIs speaking, and yet I also got the sense that they share some of my reserves about the limitations of crafted intelligences.

There is always a slight remove in tone, as if the AI itself knows that it is something slightly Other, bound by the confines of its programming and its orders, even while we feel sympathy for both the AI and the humans who have become trapped in the loops of the programs they've created. Each person with which the AIs interact has a latent sense of longing for more connection than they are given; the AIs always fail just slightly no matter how hard they try. The scope of these AI's perspectives sweep broadly into the centuries to come, leaving them feeling lonely and isolated, just like their creators.

I found this to be a lovely exercise in thought, which is what I believe good science fiction should be.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions!

[Kate (rewildthepage) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced readers copy of Fabrications, in exchange for an honest review.

Compelling, inventive, unconventional.

I LOVED this collection of short stories. In Fabrications, Mason conjures a wickedly clever depiction of a near future shaped and mediated by artificial intelligence. It had me completely transported.

Each story is told from the perspective of a unique AI creation. There are AIs created to generate wealth, to protect and embody nature, to aid those with medical conditions, and to offer emotional comfort. But these are beings that have transcended the parameters of their original design: they operate according to their own whims, vulnerabilities, and peculiar reasoning.
I enjoyed every story, but I particularly loved the following:

Transitional: I have not stopped thinking about this. It broke my heart, but in the best way possible.

Coins: I loved the concept, and it really surprised me.
Can’t say much without giving it away, but it is one of the most inventive stories I have read in a long time.

Mirror: So short but so impactful. One of those wonderful pieces of speculative fiction that makes you rethink the present.

All I can say is give this a try. If you like quirky, expertly crafted sci-fi, this one is for you.

[Jordan Frances Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabrications is a fascinating and imaginative collection of short stories, all told from the perspective of AI in a future where artificial intelligence is deeply embedded in everyday life.

I really enjoyed the wide variety of stories in the collection - some are witty, some heartbreaking, and many leave you reflecting on the relationship between humans and technology. I particularly loved that every story is told through the eyes of an AI, offering intriguing insights into how these systems might perceive the world and what it might feel like to be on the receiving end of human behaviour.

A recurring theme is humanity’s habit of pushing technology far beyond its original purpose, often without considering the consequences. The stories are packed with thought-provoking ideas and unsettling observations on grief, identity, memory, and our desire to escape reality.

This is the perfect book to dip in and out of when you’re in the mood for a quick but intellectually engaging read. It’s one I’d highly recommend to fans of speculative fiction and Black Mirror.

Thank you to Zachary Mason and Grove Atlantic for providing a copy for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories all told from the perspectives of different AI entities, in a future where artificial intelligence is highly advanced and deeply interwoven within our lives.

I think I went into this with such high hopes because it’s SUCH an interesting concept and obviously so relevant and thought provoking, but unfortunately a lot of the stories fell a bit flat for me. I didn’t dislike it as a whole, in fact I found it interesting and I thought it was well written with such a unique tone, but the stories felt uneven with some much better than others.

A few stand outs for me were Lamina, where an AI assists a person with dementia to help keep them stable, and Kami, where AIs are assigned to represent elements of nature such as forests and rivers, giving them legal standing. I loved both of these.

I will note that whether you support AI or not, this is an interesting look into bigger ideas and possible future implications. It didn’t come across particularly pro or against, just speculative. I actually finished the book with more of a sense of humanity, which is impressive when there are no human narrators.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the digital ARC (pub 1st December 2026)

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be on everyone's shelf.

This is a far sighted collection of short stories, poetically capturing the real and somewhat terrifying possibilities of our future with AI as it continues to evolve.
Throughout this collection, it becomes easy to realise just how little thought we give to the ethics and the autonomy of using AI, particularly as it becomes interwoven in everyday life, for our own gain and comfort. We rarely consider the legacy that humanity will leave behind after extinction, how will we be remembered and what will become of the things that we created to serve us.

The author has an exceptional writing style that blends the mechanical nature of AI with elements of compassion and emotion in a way that clearly highlights the ambiguous morality embedded within the coding of each AI.
The stories articulate thoughts that I'm sure have crossed the minds of many of us. It builds connections between human minds, testing whether we share an understanding of the future that we are creating.

Shadow was hauntingly beautiful
Comedy was englightening
Lamina took my breath away as it is focused on a topic that we navigate regularly with our relatives.

[Scarlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟

Fabrications is a collection of 15 short stories narrated by advanced AIs told in second person.

Mason writes with a clinically poetic voice that is robotic yet human simultaneously? The narrative dichotomises in a way that is sinister. The AI is always surveilling us, and taking note of human greed/love, transcending time. The book really questions what it means to be human and what it means to be surveying ourselves.

My favourite story was Mirror, where an AI lives one full human life alongside its person, from birth (when the program begins) to death (program completion). While the human spends its life reassuring the machine it's a real being, the ending was heartbreaking. The fact Mason can write something so emotional in a short story is astonishing. I am fascinated by this text.

Ouroboros was another story that was notable, raising questions of morality.

💬 Quotes

"I matter to you? Me, a machine, and an obsolete one at that? What does that say about you?" / "That I'm fortunate. Don't go."

This book is in fact very unique.

Recommendation
If you loved watching Black Mirror and reading dystopian fiction, you will love this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Zachary Mason and Grove Atlantic for the ARC. Fabrications will be out in December 2026.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I enjoyed this dystopia told in first person AI-perspective, but the first half of the book quickly became tedious. The second half is mostly better.

Each chapter is its own story of how an AI entity becomes more than its intended purpose. Unfortunately, the first half of the book just reads as lazy story concepts centring discontented men whining about how hard they’ve got it, so their AI takes over in a humanly selfish way, modelling itself on its owner. The second half is more interesting, with AI embodying societal uses such as currency. The best and most moving chapter was the last one about embedded neural AI that accompanies a person with dementia.

This could have been a really interesting take on AI speculative fiction. The writing itself is fine but not particularly inspiring given it feels we’re on the cusp of such AI concepts becoming reality.


Thank you Zachary Mason, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

[Y. Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

What a fascinating read! As an avid hater of AI, I have to admit I really enjoyed this book. It is a thought-provoking collection of short stories narrated from the POV of the AI. I think they are a very interesting exploration of human nature as seen by an outsider. It’s a slightly dystopic book, dipping for a moment into horror (in my humble opinion), and at times quite emotional. Each story brings a different side of the AI, its capabilities brought to the extreme.

My favorite stories were:
Adversary: absolutely epic, a treat for anyone into gaming
Mirror: great little peek into tech obsolescence
Relic: ‘I don’t know what weapons WW3 will be fought with, but WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones’ kind of vibe
and
Lamina: an AI implant witnesses the moments no one else can see in the life of a woman with dementia. This one is devastating, I loved it

I am not sure what the author's goal was with these stories but they made me appreciate everything human so much more. Great book, highly recommend!

[mgn]

DNF @ 84%.

After reading all but 4 stories, I felt like I had the gist of what this collection wanted to say. Ultimately, I decided not to finish.

The premise is compelling enough and several entries left me with plenty to think about but I also found some of the stories didn't quite land or they weren't fully realized. I'd still recommend this to readers who are interested in philosophical fiction & don't mind stories that prioritize concept over plot.

& I'll probably still pick up a copy of this for my shelves so I can revisit Transitional, Kami, Shadow, and Comedian (my personal fav).

Read:
Ouroboros 3/5
Transitional 4/5 (I'd like to see this expanded into a novella.)
Context 3/5
Sinaloa Santa Muerte Mictecacihuatl 3/5
Shadow 5/5
Coins 3/5
Kami 4/5
Notes on Ethology 2/5
Comedian 5/5
Adversary 3/5

Did Not Read:
Mirror
Berserker
Relic
Lamina

Thanks to Netgalley, Zachary Mason, and Grove Atlantic for providing me an eArc for review.