Consciousness Zero

by James Lee Haner

290 pages, Paperback

Published March 26, 2026

About the author

James Lee Haner writes under the Thought Boundary imprint from Nampa, Idaho, where his best plotting happens on long walks with his two Corgis. His debut novels — Shadows of the Kestrel, an espionage thriller following operative Tavian Corvus through the world of handlers, defectors, and Cold War-legacy tradecraft, and Consciousness Zero, a literary science fiction novel exploring grief, consciousness, and consent in the age of optimization — mark the beginning of two ongoing series.

A U.S. Air Force veteran who completed doctoral work at the University of Idaho, James also teaches program and project management, delivering PMP, PMI-ACP, and related certification exam prep through Brain Sensei. When he's not writing or teaching, he's active in a local storytelling group and book club and is currently developing a memorial piece honoring a friend who died in military service in Southeast Asia.

Reviews

[Lizzy B.]

I'm sorry. So sorry. I got this as an ARC copy at a writer's fair, and I said I would write a review for it, so I am. I did not - could not- finish it. The idea was interesting, philosophical, and fascinating, but I had a hard time following the plot and the scientific terms were complicated. This is coming from a girl who reads Dickens for fun and watches Doctor Who. I'm used to tangled plots and complicated, timey-wimey science. This was too much. Then the writing style was choppy, lots of fragments and metaphors. I like metaphors! But I just couldn't get it. And then the theology...or lack of it...I don't know. I'm a Christian, and while I don't expect every book I read to be sermonizing and I read books by non-Christians, I do want the books to not be anti-Christian...and to be clear! If I can't tell, then I get frustrated, like in this book. Mr. Haner, if you are a Christian, forgive me. I am so sorry.

[James Haner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consciousness Zero (The Luminous Heresy) immediately stands out as an ambitious and thought-provoking work of literary science fiction that explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, consciousness, grief, and what it truly means to remain human. Rather than treating AI as simply a technological threat, the novel raises profound philosophical questions that linger long after the final page.