Incarnate

by Alma Katsu

From Goodreads Choice and Stoker Award®-winning author Alma Katsu comes a terrifying modern reimagining of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray for the internet age.

An illuminating, haunting tale of algorithmic worship and beauty that can kill, for fans of Paul Tremblay, Clay McLeod Chapman, and Stephen King. 

Beauty doesn't fade. It feeds.

Dorothy Wagner has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to be seen. But after failing to make her mark (any mark, really) as an influencer, she takes a job at a company focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. And there, in secret, she creates her salvation. 

an impossibly gorgeous girl who takes social media by storm. Dorothy's code is brilliant, and Isabella seems real, so real that she garners millions of followers. Brands beg to partner with her. Everyone wants to meet her IRL. The adoration—and the cash—flows in. Dorothy is finally happy. She's getting all the attention she ever wanted—isn't she? 

Then the cracks begin to show. Dorothy can barely stay ahead of the partnership requests, and love letters and the rabid fans filling her DMs trying to track Isabella down. All this time working in secret with all this pressure is getting to Dorothy—she can't tell where she ends, and her creation begins. And when someone gets a little too close to her secret, a violent confrontation sends Dorothy on the run, forcing her to confront what she's willing to sacrifice to keep her secrets.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Retellings, Adult, Social Media, Contemporary

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 22, 2026

About the author

"Hard to put down. Not recommended reading after dark." -- Stephen King

"Makes the supernatural seem possible" -- Publishers Weekly

Award-winning author of eight novels, including historical horror (The Hunger, The Deep, The Fervor) and spy novels (Red Widow, Red London). Coming September 2025: FIEND (Putnam)

Reviews

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4.5-stars**

I was sold on Incarnate after seeing it described as a reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of my favorite Gothic novels of all time, but for the internet age?

How was Katsu going to spin this? I had to find out.



In this story, we're following Dorothy Wagner, a VFX designer, who has always wanted to standout and be noticed. Dorothy was bullied terribly when she was younger, but she's come a long way since then. Old insecurities are hard to totally shake though, and she constantly feels like she needs to prove herself.

After she gets a job with a small upstart company that's focused on cutting-edge deep fake technology, her abilities to standout start to grow. The owner of the company, Tomas, who has a lot of nervous energy, but boundless knowledge, becomes a bit of mentor for Dorothy.

She learns so much from him that she's able to master the tech, and in her free time, she creates Isabella. The perfect girl, who takes social media by storm.



Everyone wants to be Isabella, and Dorothy finally feels like she's reaching her own potential, but as the partnership requests roll in, and the money starts to flow, the inevitable cracks start to show.

I know that rhymes. How perfect. Just like Isabella.



I thought this was incredibly-creative and it's actually my favorite Alma Katsu to date. They say to write what you know, and she definitely took that advice here. In the mid-2000s, Katsu was one of the US Intelligence community's 1st Social Media Researchers.

This book is a fantastic exploration of social media's influence in our lives, and some potential unintended consequences of disruptive technologies.

Framing the story as a The Picture of Dorian Gray retelling was a brilliant choice, IMO. It did drag just a touch for me at the end, but overall, it was a fantastic reading experience.



I loved the body horror bits Katsu included and definitely was impressed with how dark she actually ended up taking this story. Once Dorothy starts spiraling, she really starts spiraling. It was hard to predict how it could possibly end.

I would recommend this to any dark fiction Reader. It's a great melding of Techno-Thriller and Social Horror, with a dash of fantastical. I really appreciated all the pertinent issues that Katsu explored here. I think this would be a stellar book club pick, as there's so much to discuss.



Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to get a hard copy of this one for my collection!

[Becky Spratford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review in the July 2026 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2026/07... (link live on 7/8/26 at 7am central)

4.5 stars

Three Words That Describe This Book: retelling, squirm inducing, deal with the devil

There is body horror here as well-- VERY EFFECTIVELY USED body horror. Think the movie The Substance. But full disclosure, unlike the movie, this book has a satisfying ending that closes the loop of the story here and leave the horror itself open ended. And in fact, the last lines of this book are chilling and a little too real. So well done there.

The marketing on this one is correct. This is a retelling of the Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde but for this exact moment. This was VERY well done. I can imagine how this book will make you feel (really uncomfortable because you see yourself in it and also terrified) is how Wilde's book made people feel at its time.

This book is so uncomfortable to read for so many reasons. Dorothy (our MC and narrator) is clearly making the wrong choices. We know from the prologue that she has some evil tendencies, but OH MY GOD does she make bad choices. And then we watch her continue to make bad choices, they are spiraling, and yet, as readers, we cannot look away. We fell her joy as she gets more and more followers. We know that there is a supernatural force behind it all though. This is revealed at the beginning of her journey to create the perfect influencer-- Isabella. She has to agree to some force that clearly has access to everything she is doing, even her thoughts-- she has to agree that she will pay a further price to have all the glory.

As Dorothy goes deeper and deeper into her deep fake of Isabella, things get bad. Yes she makes bad choices and chooses to lie cheat and steal to get the technology she needs. Yes she throws away an amazing opportunity to be not he ground floor of a VR company. Yes she compromises all of her relationships-- work, friends, family. YEs she makes a faustian deal with an unknown but powerful demon. All of these choices make the reader squirm with discomfort. But then, about halfway through-- after you are invested in Dorothy (you know she is not someone you should trust and like, but also you can't stop watching her, which is discomfiting on its own) Katsu take everything up an other notch. I will not give it away because WOW it is gross and fascinating, but it is also what takes the story from a scary cautionary retelling to a wholly original and stand alone horror novel for our times. And written by someone who was a national security analyst looking at the horror and harm social media could cause back in the days before anyone else was looking at it.

This book move quickly and yet it does not feel rushed. I kept turning the pages and was hooked. Then I looked up and I was like, wait...75 pages just went by when I blinked.

For readers who like faustian bargains, in the vein of All's Well by Awad, We Sold Our Souls by Hendrix, and especially The Substance (movie). People who enjoyed Bury Your Gays by Tingle will also like this one-- the way it seriously tackles the horror of AI while still being a satisfying horror novel. Youth Juice by Sathue

But really this book is singular and not exactly like any of these. It really is an effective and terrifying retelling of the Wilde.

[Olive Fellows (abookolive)]

The Picture of Dorian Gray for the digital era?!?! Oscar Wilde fans ASSEMBLE!!!!

Click here to hear more about this book and my other anticipated releases of the upcoming quarter over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[Mai H.]

ANHPI TBR

Halloween TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons

[Nikki Lee (Nikkileethrillseeker) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy shit, this was some straight influencer hell. When I started this, I had absolutely no idea where this was going. All I knew was that it was about the tech industry. That’s it. I finished it in 24 hours, so that should tell you my level of excitement to finish it!

Dorothy flies across the country to accept an intern position for a small company that creates cutting edge AI. She has excellent coding skills but wants to learn more.

One night, she creates her own AI Avatar, who’s incredibly beautiful, with her boss’s files. Meet Isabella. She decides to put her on Instagram and see what happens. Little does she know how powerful Isabella is about to become. Be careful for what you wish for.

Let’s just say things escalate from there. 😳😳😳 WOW! This was such an original story featuring AI technology. Incarnate is like nothing you’ve read before! Believe that. Dorothy continues to make the most hideous decisions but you can’t look away from the terrible trainwreck coming.

There’s lots of focus on influencer life, however, it’s highly fascinating! Themes here are power, beauty, the longing to be seen, and the addiction to social media and its users. There’s so much truth about the story in today’s culture and that’s downright sad. Scary even.

The substance meets The Picture of Dorian Gray. I freaking loved this book and I think horror fans will too. This is one you’ll definitely want to pre-order! Add it to your TBR NOW!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BTW, after reading her Afterward, I went down a huge rabbit hole. 😆😆
— Fun fact— Alma Katsu was a senior intelligence analyst for the federal government. NO SHIT.

Out 9/22/26

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the arc.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorothy is looking for relevance, respect, and perhaps a touch of notoriety. She manipulates reality using methods that may not be wholly honest nor of-this-world, and Katsu takes us into a mind-bending tour of this pseudo-make-believe world.

There were aspects of the novel that I loved. The representation of social media and the influencer label was spot-on, in my opinion. Falsities made to sparkle and shine to bring in fame and power. I could relate to that desire for attention. And the ending, but I'll get to that later.

There were other aspects, however, that fell flat for me. I felt that the author did a lot of telling with too much description and depth at times. Little inconsistencies popped up here and there, one of which I couldn't get past, and it kept bugging me as I read. I can't go into detail because of spoilers, but it had to do with appearance and recognition. Also, everyone around the MC didn't seem realistic to me. They were more like clueless NPCs, and I had a hard time suspending my belief.

Having said all of that, this had one of the most well done endings I've read in a while. Katsu absolutely stuck the landing here. No loose ends, and it wasn't done in a rushed way. So good.

I will always recommend Alma Katsu to readers because I find her stories relatable and easy to read. Although this wasn't my favorite, I will do the same with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

[She’s Stranger Than Fiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1981, there was a movie called “Looker”. A plastic surgeon realizes his supermodel clients are dying. He eventually learns a company who could create computer generated images of models and use them to replace the models and actors themselves. This book made me think about that movie and realize that we are now realizing the technology that was sci fi in 1981.
Dorothy, the main character in Incarnate, works in AI, fine tuning AI simulacra into flawless deepfakes. She creates a character and launches her into social media. She is soon offered the opportunity to leave her physically and socially unremarkable self behind and become a social media It Girl, but there is always a price.
This book is filled with psychological obsessions, unethical compulsions, and sheer terror as the proverbial chickens come home to roost. This book is well-written and compelling. Dorothy is a multilayered morally grey character with a penchant for self-pity and paranoia. As she changes and grows, the reader can see how this story could go either way based on Dorothy’s choices. As Dorothy’s character arc picks up steam, the book ramps up the tension all the way to the surprising (though not spectacular) end. Recommend everyone give this one a try.

This is an honest review of an ARC from NetGalley and graciously shared by Penguin Random House and Alma Katsu. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy this book.

[Brice Montgomery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley & Putnam for the ARC!

Alma Katsu’s Incarnate is a woefully outdated tech fable built around an influencer culture that hasn’t existed in at least a decade.


The premise feels almost like a spoiler because Incarnate never moves beyond it, but it certainly has some Black Mirror appeal: a young woman who was bullied as a child makes a virtual avatar and skyrockets to overnight fame with the help of some mysterious entity. That’s it. Black Mirror works—on occasion, at least—because it understands that technology is a simple tool for reflecting the complexities of the human condition. Incarnate does the opposite at every turn, needlessly convoluting its understanding of tech to reveal a simplistic understanding of what it means to be human.

As a result, the novel’s central theme rings hollow and cliché: Social media isn’t real life, and fame isn’t everything.

To the story’s detriment, Katsu relies on a superficial familiarity with real-world and anachronistic touchpoints in a way that forces readers to take the novel at face value. We read about Mr. Beast because the book doesn’t understand him enough to transpose his equivalent into a heightened world. He has a lot of followers. That must mean something, right? Likewise, there’s handwringing over SonaAI—a thinly veiled reference to the now-defunct Sora—but there’s no real understanding of the ethical or aesthetic concerns surrounding such platforms. In fact, Katsu seems to think the threat is that they democratize excellence, rather than that they cheapen expertise. Most critically, however, the author grossly overestimates the role of influencers in society, and it saps all momentum from the book.

It’s 2026, and we’re already pretty deep into the dead internet. We don’t have the kind of monoculture that would produce prestigious thinkpieces on a single influencer, nor do influencers have the social capital they once did. Incarnate seems to think that Swiftie-level devotion follows virality, and that the possibility of a digital influencer would inspire mystique. But when more than 60% of real-life companies are using virtual influencers and it increasingly seems like Instagram has been cannibalized by AI OnlyFans accounts, these are irrelevant concerns. We now all recognize that we are consumers, and we care less about authenticity than about getting the experience we want.

These might just sound like stylistic nitpicks, but because Incarnate is so self-congratulatory in its moral critique, they make the book feel actively unhelpful. For example, in the novel’s final third, a pervy influencer is exposed as a perv, and the author writes:

“Society has weaponized women’s natural empathy against them. These two girls have been conditioned from birth to take the man’s side, to give men the benefit of the doubt while, at the same time, being suspicious of what a woman says. It’s ingrained by the time they’re this age, not realizing the unconscious bias that kicks in and makes them doubt even video evidence. Pics or it didn’t happen. Yeah, turns out even pics won’t sway some minds.”

Aside from the 2012ness of “pics or it didn’t happen,” the bigger issue is that we have societally decayed far more than Katsu seems to realize. If you’ve paid any attention to cultural discourse in the past five years, we are no longer conditioned to doubt whether men are predators; we are encouraged to believe that it doesn’t matter if they are. Those nuances matter when a book wants to trade in nuance.

In the novel’s afterward, Alma Katsu waxes poetic on her expertise as a technology forecaster in the early 2000s, and while much of what she describes feels resonant, it also strikes me as someone who still views the internet as a place one goes, rather than the primary place people live. The damning problem with Incarnate is that it refuses to acknowledge that we’re still not sure where technology is going, so it can't possibly be interesting or scary. Certainty is the enemy of drama.

Skip this one.

[Kelly Dienes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Dorothy is a young VFX artist working for this guy Tomas who produces advanced deepfake AI technology. She is SUPER talented at the job, and very valued by Tomas, but otherwise she's always been a completely unremarkable person. I guess other than the incident she had with her classmates in middle school that she's been distancing herself from for 10 years. But she knows she's talented and she knows she can create something magnificent.

So she secretly uses Tomas's programs to create Isabella, a hyper-realistic instagram influencer who inexplicably catapults to an insane level of internet fame almost immediately... after Dorothy offhandedly accepts a vague deal for success at an unknown price from a random anonymous message.

Isabella is widely adored, but Dorothy doesn't have enough hours in her day to keep painstakingly creating content for her while also doing her work for Tomas. Until she begins to physically change. In a short amount of time her body morphs into that of Isabella, and voila, she no longer needs the deepfake technology.

But shit goes down and she starts to fear she made a deal with the devil. And worse... maybe she's had these self-serving psychopathic inclinations all along.

Being a big fan of The Picture of Dorian Gray, I enjoyed how that device was used in this story, and I think it was executed well. It's also clear that the author has vast knowledge on this topic, having previously worked as someone who predicts the outcomes of new technology. Oh and I loved the part with the creepypasta, that really hooked me.

That said, there were things that bothered me. I wasn't a huge fan of the prose. And who the HELL is Dorothy's roommate and why are there no scenes with her? A complete non-entity. Also I was confused because I thought at the beginning her name was Marta but then it became Kim? Or maybe Marta was temporary and I just forgot, but like why even have that detail then, if these characters literally don't matter? For the first half or maybe two thirds of the book, every scene is of Dorothy working at the office, and this got so boring for me. A couples scenes of her and her roommate at home spliced in there would have made it more interesting and improved the pacing. Maybe the point is that Dorothy is thoroughly one-track-minded but still. Most characters in this book are completely irrelevant and not developed. Another thing was that Dorothy initially made it seem like Isabella was in the process of learning English, but that fell away super fast; she suddenly just talks like a native speaker and it's never mentioned again. And how the hell does she have enough money to laze around Europe for two years after she flees the country? It's unclear how much money she makes off Isabella, but she implies that it's not THAT much. Idk, I'm confused. The ending also dragged a lot for me. That said, I liked the very end, with her mangled corpse visually displaying all the damage she'd caused others along her way to fame and success. Gonna reread Dorian Gray soon after this!

[Denise Ruttan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Alma Katsu's writing, so even though books about influencer culture are generally flops for me even though I think that's a great vehicle for fiction, I decided to try her take on a Picture of Dorian Gray for the digital age. Fun premise. But this wasn't my favorite book of hers and that surprised me.

Dorothy is a VFX designer who is an extreme introvert. She struggled with childhood bullying from other girls, and female friendships all her life. She has no friends and spends all her time working. She takes a risk and reaches out to her idol, Tomas, who creates convincing deepfakes without AI. He's starting a business and asks her to come work for him, and she moves her life to LA. They create a deepfake of a famous pop singer, and Dorothy, who lives on her phone but is a lurker there too, has always dreamed of becoming an influencer.

She steals from Tomas's work to create her own avatar called Isabella, and becomes obsessed with her side project. A troll reaches out to her and promises her stardom, but there will be a cost. Thinking he's full of shit, she agrees. She becomes an overnight sensation. Then her body starts changing, in a spot of body horror reminiscent of The Substance.

But she struggles being an influencer too because she bungles all her social interactions in the real world. And how long can her new, beautiful life last before the devil comes to collect his due?

I did enjoy the look at Internet culture. The author's background in intelligence related to emerging technologies really shines through here. I found it convincing that the devil was online offering bargains for Internet fame.

But where this fell short for me was for a book by an author advertised as a horror maven, this wasn't really horror to me. The body horror was creepy, but this felt more like a true crime story, women's fiction, or contemporary, with a critical commentary on the dangers of internet culture. It just wasn't creepy enough.

Then I felt the character development fell short. I'm okay with unlikable characters but I found Dorothy incredibly unlikable, when I really wanted to root for her and feel sympathetic to her plight. At first I related to her because I too have struggled with female friendships and bullying from women. But then I found it weird that she didn't have any friends at all, not even an online friend. I have friends, mostly online. Introverts do have friends.

And I struggled with her motivations. I could not understand her motivations for wanting to become an influencer because of her childhood trauma around cyberbullying. She didn't seem like a narcissist or vain. I found her to be a pretty flat, arrogant character. I also struggled with how all the women in this were so mean and toxic. It made Dorothy seem like a pick me girl who had a lot of internalized misogyny, a very annoying character type.

Sadly this one was a miss for me, but I still hope to read more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bora Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

—

A Dorian Gray reimagining for the internet age, why wouldn’t this be a fantastic idea? Especially by an author who’s had an extensive career as an intelligence analyst for the NSA and CIA. Alma Katsu’s work as a technology forecaster and social media researcher (actually, one of the firsts) gives her unparalleled knowledge of its effects on our society.

Katsu’s commentary will have you examining your own place within the social media hub, how you contribute to its culture, and hopefully spark ongoing conversations about the very real dangers of technology and the ways we can protect ourselves and those most vulnerable.

Generative AI has disappointingly infected every space imaginable. Social media, while it can be a beacon for positivity, also harbors the worst evils.

Dorothy, our main girl, inevitably falls into the trappings of social media’s perverse culture. Ordinary is what we all are, but on the internet? We can become whoever we want. The possibilities are endless. The enticement of “instant” success is enough to draw anyone in. But Dorothy is just one in a sea of many, all of whom are vying for attention, to be at the top. If you’re successful, it must mean you’re worth loving and respecting. Dorothy and Dorian. Both want nothing but perfection, for people to notice their worth. To what lengths would someone go to secure their chance at fame?

I’ll spoil it for you!!! SHE IS CRAZY—I mean passionate about what she does :) Love her, hate her, twas quite the fun watching her life turn upside down. Vague and suspicious prologue, but by the end, you’ll read it back again and gasp at how much you missed.

Was going to rate this 4 stars, but 5 stars will do because every time I open my phone to check Instagram or Twitter now, all I can think about is if there’s someone on the other end who has sold their soul to stay beautiful, young, and RELEVANT.

I think this novel was brilliant. Fans of Dorian Gray/ the horror genre will undoubtedly devour this novel. If you are someone who loves watching social commentary videos (YouTube essays) about influencers (or on anything really), “a day in my life” types of videos, and perhaps wonder about the psychological state of people in this industry (be it your favorite influencer, celebrity, streamer, artist, etc.), then you must give this book a try. ALSO had a little bit of “The Substance” vibe to it. Take what you will from that.

[Jensen McCorkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incarnate is an ambitious blend of psychological horror, modern Gothic fiction, and social commentary that reimagines The Picture of Dorian Gray for the age of AI, deepfakes, and influencer culture. Rather than focusing on the technology itself, Alma Katsu explores the timeless human longing to be admired, envied, and truly seen.

The novel's greatest strength is its atmosphere. Instead of relying on relentless scares, Katsu creates a creeping sense of unease that intensifies with every chapter. Much of the horror stems from Dorothy's psychological unraveling, while elements of body horror and the supernatural deepen the growing sense of dread. The parallels to The Picture of Dorian Gray feel purposeful and fresh, successfully translating Wilde's themes into a world where image and perception often carry more weight than reality.

The first half unfolds at a measured pace, devoting considerable attention to Dorothy's isolation and Isabella's meteoric rise to online fame. Although the slow-burn approach ultimately pays off, readers expecting immediate thrills may find the buildup a bit prolonged. Likewise, the novel's commentary on influencer culture and artificial intelligence occasionally feels heavy-handed, but it's grounded by the emotional complexity of Dorothy's journey.

Overall, Incarnate stands out because it raises unsettling questions that linger long after the final page. In an era defined by carefully curated identities and manufactured perfection, Katsu delivers a horror novel that feels both eerily relevant and unsettlingly believable. Creepy, thought-provoking, and haunting, Incarnate is one of her most contemporary works and a strong recommendation for readers who appreciate psychological horror paired with incisive social commentary.

[Kyle Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dorothy Wagner has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to be seen. But after failing to make her mark as an influencer, she takes a job working for a brilliant coder whose company is focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. And there, in secret, is where she creates her salvation.”

Wowee, I absolutely plowed through this book and it kept me enraptured the whole time. I often  have to read in short spurts given the demands of life, but this one kept me reading for extended stretches. But it’s a hard one to classify. It’s not a straightforward horror novel, though it’s definitely supernatural. It operates in a similar place to Preston & Child’s Pendergast series - decidedly globetrotting with a wonderful touch of the intimately creepy.

Incarnate touches on quite a few topics, including media literacy, patriarchy, fame, social media, AI, and bullying, though it’s never heavy-handed in its presentation. 

Our protagonist is both likeable and also completely unhinged at times, which is a very difficult line to toe, though Katsu does it masterfully. This felt a lot like those dark comedies of yore (like Very Bad Things or Head Above Water) where little decisions start to add up and snowball into something else entirely.

This is a nice and tight story with no wasted breath. A fast and gripping read that will keep you engaged from beginning to end. A big thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC and the opportunity to read this one early. This is definitely an immediate pre-order for me. Incarnate is available on Sep 22, 2026 and you should absolutely check this one out!

[Steve Edholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Alma Katsu has a passion and a knowledge for a topic, you know the story is going to be amazing. That says nothing about some of her other stories, I have enjoyed everything she has written that I have read. You can tell with this story that she has a vast knowledge and expertise in what she is writing.

Incarnate is a story about a VFX artist who starts working for a cutting edge artist as he starts up his studio. She is a quick learner and really starts to take off with what she can do. She gets the idea to try to create the most realistic influencer for the social media world. She gets a text from an unknown number offering her a chance to have her creation blow up and be a viral sensation, but what is the cost? How will this deal with the unknown manifest? I thought I knew where this book was going to ultimately end up, but I was surprised by this one in the end. She does a great job trying to create a new version of Dorian Gray, which ultimately seems like what social media is trying to be.

Alma talks in the afterword about her work with predicting where social media and what not will go with her work for the CIA. You can tell she has really thought through where things are flowing in the story and she really uses her CIA knowledge towards the end of the book. This is a bit of a slower burn book, but it's still a fast read.

Alma is really cooking with this novel, one of her absolute best!

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for the advanced copy!

[Kate Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comparison to "Picture of Dorian Gray" for the social media age is very apt, making me even more fearful of what the next generation faces in the wave of AI and more taking over social media, which already hurt generations of people. I also learned that Alma Katsu was an intelligence worker with the CIA and NSA, which helped lend some knowledge to this story, especially since the last third of her career she was a technology futurist, advising the U.S. government and private industry on emerging technologies. I've always enjoyed her writing and it's fascinating to have this added knowledge of her.

Dorothy Wagner has felt invisible most of her life, especially after some tumultuous events in her childhood. She loves technology, and this love leads her to become a talented VFX worker, and she gets a job working for a coder she idolizes, whose company is focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. As Dorothy begins messing around with the technology outside of work, she creates Isabella, an impossibly gorgeous woman who Dorothy begins posting as on social media. But when some odd messages and a middle of the night agreement lead to Isabella being more popular than Dorothy could have imagined, there are bound to be negative consequences as well. Dorothy begins to change physically, and has to wonder what is most important, herself or Isabella.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

[Alicia Ceasar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incarnate by Alma Katsu is a reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray for the internet age. It follows Dorothy, a young woman who works in visual effects as she creates an AI persona that takes social media by storm. The only problem? No one can tell that is is AI so Dorothy has to figure out a way to keep up the ruse without people finding out the truth.

I really enjoyed the reading experience with this one. It has really short chapters which had me flying through it and there is always that sense of knowing that everything will eventually fall apart.

I think this book had great commentary about the dangers of social media in a way that didn’t feel preachy. I also thought Dorothy was a very interesting character to follow. I also think that you can tell that the author has experience in social media research (which is confirmed in the author note.)

This book also dived into the implications that generative AI can have. I wish it would have focused more on that than the social media aspect but I think it still managed to serve as a cautionary tale for the overuse and dependence on AI.

I would highly recommend this book to people who like to follow somewhat unlikable characters. Also, this movie kind of reminded me a bit of the film, The Substance. Not in the story at all but in some of the themes.

[Maxwell Wilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incarnate is one of those books that had a really interesting premise, but the execution didn’t fully work for me. I can see what Alma Katsu was going for with the commentary on influencer culture, social media, and the way attention shapes people’s lives, but a lot of it felt a little too on-the-nose and dated for the moment we’re in now.

What I did appreciate was the idea at the center of it. The whole “fame, image, and manufactured identity” angle is compelling, and I can see why it would work for some readers. There were definitely moments that held my attention, and Katsu still knows how to write a readable, accessible story. But I also found myself wanting a little more depth and a little less heavy-handedness in how the themes were handled.
The ending was probably the strongest part for me. Katsu really does know how to stick the landing, and I thought the final stretch came together better than some of the earlier parts.

Even though this wasn’t a favorite of mine, I still think it’s worth reading if you enjoy Alma Katsu’s style and want a quick, contemporary horror read with a strong concept.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[The Undercurrent Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... she might have OCD or some condition that makes it hard to leave things alone. If "driven" and "detail-oriented" are nothing more than euphemisms for being crazy or broken in some way, desperate to please others. Desperate for the approval of others. Her neurosis is great for Tomas, not so good for her."

After being bullied her whole adolescence, Dorothy just wants to be loved and included. When she forms a friendship and lands a job with the tip AI creator in the field, she finally has the tools to make her dream come true, but at what cost?

Alma Katsu does an amazing job at layering the dangers of GenAI, social media, and the effects of bullying to create this story. As much as this is a warning about what dark roads social media and AI can take us down, it's also a story about trauma. How bullying (especially through channels like social media) can shape our whole lives, even into adulthood.

Id like to thank Alma Katsu, Netgalley, and Putnam publishing for a free copy of Incarnate in exchange for a review.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special effects artist Dorothy Wagner uses her skills to create a generated computer avatar, Isabella, who becomes a social media sensation and who everyone believes to be a real person. But as the pressure builds with Isabella's newfound fame, the lines between where Isabella ends and Dorothy begins start to blur.

I haven't read any Alma Katsu before but I'm definitely going to check out her backlist after picking this one up. It's billed as horror, but I would call it "horror-lite," with supernatural underpinnings but no real gore/jump scares type of horror. This is more subtle and insidious, which makes it more impactful in a way. The protagonist is kind of awful but in a can't-look-away type of way. It was fascinating and compelling and I found it hard to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Alyssa Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

HO LY F*CK. Pardon my French, besties. This novel squeezed by brain out, twisted it in knots, and gently laid it back in my head. Modernized Dorian Gray? HELL. YES.

Sometimes all we want is to be seen. Social media coerces comparison, with short lived dopamine bursts keeping us addicted. Incarnate explores the terrifying capabilities of AI, the pitfalls of a virtual existence, and the limits of our sanity when faced with fame. What will we sacrifice, and what will it cost?

I have been craving a novel that makes my spine tingle and brain buzz, and I was NOT disappointed. Gruesome and absolutely immersive.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnum for the Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review!

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Alma Katsu’s historical horror novels. This one has a completely different modern setting but still with her trademark edge of your seat suspense. I do feel that it started really strong but started to lose its way a bit at about the 3/4 mark. I found the social media friend group insufferable, but I believe that was Katsu’s intention. I did find the social media aspect and the background that was included fascinating.

Rating: 3 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Don Gillette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alma Katsu has done it again and I don't know how she does it. Unbelievable.
This re-invention of The Picture of Dorian Gray in the digital age is, in my opinion, better than the original and honestly, a comparison is kind of pale. This book isn't actually a re-invention, more of an homage that take the original premise and expands on it in a terrifying, updated, frightening, and completely believable tale.
If you're a fan of Alma Katsu, get in line for this. If you haven't read her, start with The Hunger and take it from there.
Recommended highly!

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rough Notes for LJ review

This is a novel about technology and the face we show to ourselves versus the one we show to the multitude. Parasocial relationships seem like the truth but are not.

Dorothy Wagner learned at an early age that the worst thing that you can be is unpopular. After college, she lands a job with Tomas Delgado, a brilliant software engineer reimagining social media after he creates deep fake videos. She falls into a world of deception where is is never clear what is real. While Tomas tells her that her work is good, Dorothy’s people pleasing self drives her to do better. She starts up on an endless treadmill of deception. After creating a social media character called Isabella, Dorothy begins a double life, balancing Isabella’s increasing popularity with her day job. The reader will be riveted to the text even as Dorothy makes one bad decision after another. Although she’s drawn the suspicion of a co-worker, she manages to hold her dual lives together. Having dreamed of being a beautiful influencer, she falls deeper and deeper into the false world she herself created. But is this what she really wanted? She makes an agreement with an anonymous entity who is willing to grant her deepest desire but at a great price.

Dorothy’s physical self begins to morph while she falls deeper into a complex tapestry of lies. Isabella becomes more and more real, even as Dorothy begins to slip away; Dorothy seems to becoming her lie. There are illusions all the way down - from Isabella to Tomas’ company which spends investors money without creating anything of value. At some point, protecting the lie becomes more important than the truth or reality. The novel serves as an update to The Picture of Dorian Gray; as Dorothy becomes more beautiful on the outside, she becomes uglier on the inside. Desperate to create content for the internet’s endless appetite, Dorothy falls into a trap where she is in danger of losing herself and everything she used to value in the real world. Dorothy begins to follow the voice of the online troll who granted her wish and who whispers in her ear, leading her to make choices that the old Dorothy never would have. Her real life clashes with her online fantasy when the endorphin rush of being online, overtakes her. The only thing that might save her is going offline which may not even be possible for her now.

Katsu (Fiend) has once again taken the real world danger of deep fakes, AI, and the online world and woven that danger into a horror novel that is truly frightening all the more because so much of it seems as if it could happen. The idea of a deal with the devil is reworked for the online age, combining occult horror with a healthy dose of body horror as Dorothy’s body is transformed. The combination of the retelling of a classic, occult and body horror make Incarnate uniquely terrifying. As with so much online, the reader will wonder along with Dorothy where the boundary between real and online lies. Recommended for those who enjoyed books like Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill or Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang. Readers who want more of the exploration of the dark side of technology as in Molka by Monika Kim will also enjoy this book.

[Josh Escandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Putnam and Netgalley for an eARC of Incarnate by Alma Katsu. I loved how Incarnate reimagined The Picture of Dorian Gray for the AI and tech age. Dorthy was such an intriguing and layered character; it was mesmerizing to watch her transformation through the course of the novel. By giving tons of exposition through Dorothy's eyes, you come to understand why she chooses the things she does. Incarnate is a must for anybody looking for a timely tech mystery/thriller.

[Xanadu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alma Katsu's latest novel is framed in its Afterword as a dire warning from an expert about the impact of disruptive new technologies, the Dorian Gray story told through the modern ability to digitally indulge vanity. As a devoted fan of the author, I found far less to enjoy in Incarnate than Fiend or The Hunger. Some reviewers debate whether it's really a horror novel and I could see how it might be considered something more like crime fiction for the most part, but there is the supernatural angle.

Overall, I found the prose a little messy (at one point the narrator steps in to tell us the protagonist is deluding herself), the main character unrelatable, unlikeable and unconvincing, and the anthropological lesson at the end just seemed out of place. I didn't get as much mileage out of the ending as some other reviewers, though it does have a nice symmetry with the Oscar Wilde story. Unfortunately, this one came off very much as a potboiler crossover of Better Call Saul (mentioned explicitly) and Adolescence.

Readers looking for a smart, transportive look at a sociological issue should read Katsu's previous book, Fiend, which I think better captures the issue at hand while presenting a creative analogy through the plot.

Thank you to the author, Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothy has always wanted to fit in and be noticed. She grew up friendless and bullied. Upon graduating college, she is a digital tech genius and she lands her dream job with a small new tech firm. Dorothy decides to recreate herself using new tech and is soon approached with a deal by a stranger that seems too good to be true. And it is of course! There is always a price to pay for beauty and fame.

I really enjoy books by this author so I was super excited to get this early copy. The book is super fast paced and very original. I had no idea where the story was going and as it unraveled, I thought it was very cleaver. The ending was very well done!

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy for my honest review.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the current attention economy, what would you give up for money and fame? That is the question Incarnate asks at its core. It is The Picture of Dorian Gray updated for modern influencer culture.

The story is timely and unnervingly plausible. I imagine Alma spent a good chunk of time updating the manuscript as new AI capabilities hit the market. The story of a young woman who uses frontier technology to create a digital avatar and pursue fame and wealth is not as far-fetched as it might seem. A quick Google search will turn up stories about people creating realistic digital avatars designed to capture the attention of specific audiences, build a following, and convert that attention into money.

What Incarnate explores, though, is the Faustian bargain behind that pursuit of fame. There is an enticing blend of body horror and the supernatural, and, as always, Alma writes in a way that keeps you turning pages to find out where everything is heading. The plot never stays in one place for too long, culminating in a globe-trotting sequence during the final ten percent that made me feel like I needed to up my anxiety meds.

I don't know what else to say. I am a huge Alma Katsu fan, and she killed it again with Incarnate. It is a timely novel that shines a light on some of the more nefarious corners of social media and the attention economy that drives it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[S.H. Mansouri · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Perception trumps reality. Perception IS reality.'

In the context of Incarnate--IRL too, really--how I wish this statement wasn't true. I picked up this novel because I have no idea what's it's like living in the kind of world Dot does, how the pressure, exposure, and isolation of the attention economy may slowly be eroding the souls of a generation who don't know life without its invisible tentacles. Man, this story was an eye-opener for me. I know what a 'hype house' is now.

Synopsis and spoilers aside, we begin with an 'incident,' something that happened to a twelve-year-old girl named Dorothy... something that will haunt her for the rest of her life. It's ten years later and Dot is working in the VFX field, an intern for an artist she admires, doing work she's proud of. But this dreadful sense of loneliness, of maybe feeling unappreciated, of having more knowledge and insight than those above her pushes her to create something that will eventually change her entire world. Her identity, even.

Long story short, Dot makes some horrible choices throughout this story, even to the end, but she's not entirely unsympathetic. You feel for her, the way she sees herself in the world, up to a certain point, because the nightmare journey she takes, it's not something that unfairly just happens to her--she's not Reagan playing with Ouija board. She makes choices. Makes a deal with an entity she thinks she can escape. Great line here: 'It wouldn't have been possible without your ego, your greed, your desire.'

Katsu puts the reader at a crossroads of sorts, begging the question: Is this supernatural, a malevolent entity doing all this, or not? Is it skewed perception? Trauma from what happened ten long years ago? And, based on the 'changes' Dot goes through, I think you can come to a concrete conclusion, and it's frightening. The whole read, you get a sticky feeling, like what you're reading is clinging to you, and the sense of dread you catch from the very first chapter is unavoidable. In a lot of ways, this story gets under your skin. The pacing is perfect, the close POV deft, and the tension leading up to the ending is inevitable--you will be compelled to keep turning pages. It's a 'bargain' story along the lines of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray,' but so much more timely and informative. About: 'Attention, the most precious and fragile substance in the world. Doled out by capricious algorithms, subject to the whims of the masses.'

While the last few pages left me wanting more, scratching my head, hoping for more of a collision, it works well, I think. Incarnate is like watching a car crash while someone keeps telling you it isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real. Until you feel shards of glass imbedded in your face, smell the bodies burning.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Putnam, and Alma Katsu for the experience. Highly recommended.

[Nikki Kossaris · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was reborn through influencer culture, deepfakes and the endless hunger to be perceived online, you’d get Incarnate. Alma Katsu takes a familiar cautionary tale and twists it into something cold, modern and deeply unsettling, where beauty isn’t just currency, it’s survival.

Dorothy Wagner is one of those characters who slowly gets under your skin. At first, her desperation to be noticed feels painfully human. The need for validation, the obsession with visibility, the fear of becoming invisible in a world ruled by algorithms, Katsu captures all of it with brutal precision. Watching Dorothy create Isabella, a flawless AI-enhanced online persona, feels disturbingly believable because it doesn’t feel far removed from reality at all. That’s what makes this book so effective. The horror comes less from jump scares and more from recognizing how easy it would be for someone to disappear into a curated identity and never want to come back out.

Katsu absolutely nails the atmosphere. There’s this constant slick, artificial sheen hanging over the story. The deeper Dorothy falls into Isabella’s success, the more the novel spirals into paranoia, obsession and violence. The tension builds quietly at first, then tightens hard once Dorothy realizes how much she’s willing to destroy to protect the illusion she created.

What really stayed with me is how sharp the commentary feels without ever becoming preachy. The novel understands influencer culture well enough to make its satire sting, but it also understands loneliness. Dorothy isn’t evil in a cartoonish way. She’s lonely, angry, ambitious and addicted to being wanted. That makes every terrible choice she makes feel horrifyingly understandable.

Fans of psychological horror and techno-thrillers will probably tear through this one. It feels especially suited for readers who loved the social horror elements of Black Swan or the identity-driven unease of Ingrid Goes West. Katsu blends classic gothic themes with modern digital anxieties in a way that feels smart, vicious and incredibly timely.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC to review!

Dorothy longs to make a name for herself in the world of VFX. When she creates an AI avatar, complete with a viral social media presence, she heads down a dark path of fame, ego, dodging the truth, and strange happenings that surround those involved in the source material for her avatar - Isabella.

I LOVED this book. Alma Katsu’s writing hardly ever misses, and I enjoyed Fiend last year. So I was buzzing to get a hold of Incarnate, and it did not disappoint.

Here’s what I loved most:
-Katsu’s writing here reads like a cautionary fairy tale. It’s described as a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I feel that’s a fair comparison. It felt otherworldly while still being firmly planted in modern society. This is important for me because sometimes modern storylines that are too real (especially around AI) make me anxious haha
-Dorothy, while a bit despicable, is such a compelling character. Watching her downward spiral was delicious and dramatic in the best way.
-The horror was done so well and genuinely creeped me out. Especially once the sanity lines begin blurring and we aren’t sure what’s real and what isn’t.


Overall, I had a great time with Incarnate. The AI storyline may not be for everyone, but even if you’re like me and the horrors of modern technology hit too close to home, I think you’ll find this book enjoyable.