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Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep
A genre-bending near-future tech nightmare that is as bitingly funny as it is horrifically believable, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World.
Meet Julia Flang, a twenty-something former professional gamer, living with her retired uncle, and working two jobs she doesn't like. Out of the blue, her estranged mother, a CFO for one of the world's largest tech companies, offers her a temp job with a payday Julia can't refuse. One sham interview later, she's offered the job: to chaperone a man in a vegetative state from California to the East Coast. But he's not dead dead: he has an AI mind implanted in his head…
Meet a middle-aged man who wakes within a disorienting hellscape filled with monstrous grotesqueries. Worse than the fluid, morphing reality in which he's trapped, he has no memory of who he is. He certainly doesn't remember getting the rabbit tattoo on his arm. He only knows that he must find a certain person.
Who? He can't remember.
Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep is a heady, terrifying genre-bender from one of the most groundbreaking voices in fiction today, exploring the 'I' in AI.
Meet Julia Flang, a twenty-something former professional gamer, living with her retired uncle, and working two jobs she doesn't like. Out of the blue, her estranged mother, a CFO for one of the world's largest tech companies, offers her a temp job with a payday Julia can't refuse. One sham interview later, she's offered the job: to chaperone a man in a vegetative state from California to the East Coast. But he's not dead dead: he has an AI mind implanted in his head…
Meet a middle-aged man who wakes within a disorienting hellscape filled with monstrous grotesqueries. Worse than the fluid, morphing reality in which he's trapped, he has no memory of who he is. He certainly doesn't remember getting the rabbit tattoo on his arm. He only knows that he must find a certain person.
Who? He can't remember.
Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep is a heady, terrifying genre-bender from one of the most groundbreaking voices in fiction today, exploring the 'I' in AI.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 30, 2026
About the author
Paul Tremblay
134 books12.3k followersPaul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, the Sheridan Le Fanu, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of the New York Times bestselling Horror Movie, The Beast You, Are, The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, Growing Things, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. His novel The Cabin at the End of the World was adapted as the Universal Pictures film Knock at the Cabin. An adaptation of A Head Full of Ghosts is currently filming. His novel Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is coming in June 2026.
His short fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family. He is represented by Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management.
His short fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family. He is represented by Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management.
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November 2, 202511/2/25 There's a brief excerpt from the book at VARIETY: https://variety.com/2025/scene/news/p...
July 5, 2026
Philip K. Dick meets the Coen Brothers in this genre-bending near-future tech nightmare that is as bitingly funny as it is horrifically believable...
The above-line from the start of the Publisher's synopsis is a perfect description, and really tells you all you need to know about this latest Paul Tremblay novel.
In this novel, we're following Julia, a 20-something semi-professional gamer, whose estranged mother, Janice, is the CFO of one of the world's largest tech companies.
Julia lives with her Uncle and works two jobs she's not crazy about, so when her Mom offers her a high paying temp position perfect for her skill set, she can hardly say no. She goes to a fairly perfunctory interview and of course, is offered the job.
What is it, you wonder? Oh, no big deal. All she has to do is chaperone a man in a semi-vegetative state, who happens to have top-secret, proprietary AI implanted in his head, across the country from California to the East Coast.
It's very Weekend at Bernie's, if you can imagine that vibe, and the classic flick does get mentioned quite a bit. Not in an obnoxious way, but it certainly helps set the scene.
Except in this case, the man, who Julia actually calls Bernie, is remotely controlled via a cell phone controller that Julia uses essentially like one of her video games.
I won't say anything else about the plot. I feel like you can get the gist from that, but I will mention that we aren't just getting Julia's perspective. Oh no, Tremblay's not going to make it that easy for you.
This story is told from two perspectives: Julia and You. The You perspective, as you may assume, is told in 2nd-person, and I'm generally not a fan of that. I'll be honest, we start this story in a You perspective and it threw me for loop.
I wasn't sure I would be able to proceed. Not only is it 2nd-person, it's also very fever dream at the start. I know, I know, that completely makes sense in relation to the story, but yeah, it threw me at first.
I'm so, so, so happy that I stuck with it. Julia's perspective is great, and the further into the story I got, the more the whole 2nd-person thing started to make sense, and really match the overall story being told.
This is such a weird and compelling book. It's odd AF, and even though it took me a bit to settle into the narrative style, once I got my bearings, I was completely invested.
I found it funny, thought-provoking, emotional, and honestly, scary in its own way. As someone who gets freaked out thinking about the scope of potential future tech, that's not that far off, this definitely struck a cord in that regard.
I do feel like Tremblay took a risk with this one, and I'm really hoping it pays off for him. I respect the hell out of it.
It's part futuristic Frankenstein reimagining, part satire of the corporate tech industry and part horrifying tale of what our future could possibly hold.
There's so much going on, and it's quite nuanced. I'm looking forward to reading it again someday. Seriously, moments after finishing, I wanted to read it again. Knowing the ending, I want to go back to the start and see what other details I can pick up on. I feel like over time this could definitely bump up to a 5-star read for me.
Tremblay has a big ole' brain. I've known this of course, but this novel makes it even more clear than ever. I guarantee this story WILL NOT be for everyone, but I think for the Readers who are able to settle in and connect with it, it's going to have a lasting impact.
Thank you so much to the publisher, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 and I can honestly say, I have a strong feeling it will end up as one of my most memorable of the year.
The above-line from the start of the Publisher's synopsis is a perfect description, and really tells you all you need to know about this latest Paul Tremblay novel.
In this novel, we're following Julia, a 20-something semi-professional gamer, whose estranged mother, Janice, is the CFO of one of the world's largest tech companies.
Julia lives with her Uncle and works two jobs she's not crazy about, so when her Mom offers her a high paying temp position perfect for her skill set, she can hardly say no. She goes to a fairly perfunctory interview and of course, is offered the job.
What is it, you wonder? Oh, no big deal. All she has to do is chaperone a man in a semi-vegetative state, who happens to have top-secret, proprietary AI implanted in his head, across the country from California to the East Coast.
It's very Weekend at Bernie's, if you can imagine that vibe, and the classic flick does get mentioned quite a bit. Not in an obnoxious way, but it certainly helps set the scene.
Except in this case, the man, who Julia actually calls Bernie, is remotely controlled via a cell phone controller that Julia uses essentially like one of her video games.
I won't say anything else about the plot. I feel like you can get the gist from that, but I will mention that we aren't just getting Julia's perspective. Oh no, Tremblay's not going to make it that easy for you.
This story is told from two perspectives: Julia and You. The You perspective, as you may assume, is told in 2nd-person, and I'm generally not a fan of that. I'll be honest, we start this story in a You perspective and it threw me for loop.
I wasn't sure I would be able to proceed. Not only is it 2nd-person, it's also very fever dream at the start. I know, I know, that completely makes sense in relation to the story, but yeah, it threw me at first.
I'm so, so, so happy that I stuck with it. Julia's perspective is great, and the further into the story I got, the more the whole 2nd-person thing started to make sense, and really match the overall story being told.
This is such a weird and compelling book. It's odd AF, and even though it took me a bit to settle into the narrative style, once I got my bearings, I was completely invested.
I found it funny, thought-provoking, emotional, and honestly, scary in its own way. As someone who gets freaked out thinking about the scope of potential future tech, that's not that far off, this definitely struck a cord in that regard.
I do feel like Tremblay took a risk with this one, and I'm really hoping it pays off for him. I respect the hell out of it.
It's part futuristic Frankenstein reimagining, part satire of the corporate tech industry and part horrifying tale of what our future could possibly hold.
There's so much going on, and it's quite nuanced. I'm looking forward to reading it again someday. Seriously, moments after finishing, I wanted to read it again. Knowing the ending, I want to go back to the start and see what other details I can pick up on. I feel like over time this could definitely bump up to a 5-star read for me.
Tremblay has a big ole' brain. I've known this of course, but this novel makes it even more clear than ever. I guarantee this story WILL NOT be for everyone, but I think for the Readers who are able to settle in and connect with it, it's going to have a lasting impact.
Thank you so much to the publisher, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 and I can honestly say, I have a strong feeling it will end up as one of my most memorable of the year.
April 1, 2026
Starred review in the April 2026 issue of Library Journal
Three Words That Describe This Book: AI Horror, character centered, unique, disorienting (on purpose) and compelling narrative style.
I know that is a lot more words than 3, but this is my review and I get to make the rules.
More words: unforgettable, overlapping narratives with dual POV, meta, existentially terrifying, biting satire, middle finger to the AI companies, heartwarming and full of love even in the face of evil.
Draft Review: Throwing down the gauntlet for AI horror, with a novel that would make Philip K. Dick beam with pride, Tremblay introduces readers to Julia, a semi-pro gamer short on cash, offered a job by her estranged, Silicon Valley, CEO mother to test a groundbreaking technology, controlling the AI bots implanted in a braindead employee as he is returned to his mom in Rhode Island. Told in alternating and overlapping narrations by Julia and “You,” the voice of what is left of the body Julia nicknames, Bernie, readers watch Julia contemplate the ethics of her task, while Bernie simultaneously fights the “clicks” overwhelming him and struggles to remember who he was. Quirky textual choices in Bernie’s chapters enhance the disorientation, unease, and heartbreaking beautiful tone. Readers are quickly and emotionally invested in Julia and Bernie, separately and together, as they “abide*” across the country, A masterpiece of storytelling, injected with a squirming worm of fear,** forcing all who encounter it to take a critical look at AI’s encroachment, how it is actively stripping away our humanity, and rushing us all down the road to ruin.
Verdict: A not-to-miss reading experience for fans of a wide range of chilling, darkly humorous, existentially terrifying titles like Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill, Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle, and The Wanderers Duology by Chuck Wendig.
This is THE standard for AI horror as of this moment and it will be for a long time to come. It is also the darkest buddy comedy you have ever read.
Are there more than 5 stars to give? Well I would if I could. Let me back up. I love the way Paul Tremblay writes. As a professional reviewer I am even tougher on the authors to whom I hold to the highest standard. This book exceeds that standard-- in every facet of its writing and as a superior horror novel.
The allusion to Philip K Dick is there to put you in the right frame of mine to read this book. There are also two characters with Richard in their name (one first and one last). They are both corporate shills. But I point this out because it adds to the dark humor here. This book is deadly serious and existentially terrifying-- readers will not be able to NOT see themselves as part of the horror. And yet, I need to say this before I write more-- Tremblay is able to tell this deadly serious story and still imbue it with heart and humor. This is key to why it is such a great read.
All you need to know about the plot is this-- Julia is a recent college grad whose mom is an executive for a HUGE computer company. Julia is a former semi-pro gamer and her mom calls her up to San Fran up to LA. They have a strained relationship, but Julia agrees because her mom is offering a job that pays very well. She is asked to help the company test a new AI that they have implanted in an employee who had a stroke. He is brain dead. She is supposed to pilot him across the country using a controller and bring him to RI, back to his mother.
This is a horror novel, so come on, you know the big tech company is not telling the truth about its motives.
Julia ia whole and real from the start, Without sacrificing the narrative pacing, we get a fully fleshed out woman while the action is moving briskly. So by the time she gets to San Fran, we know who she is.
But it is the alternating narrative-- which is why this novel goes from just terrifying to excellent.
The story fluctuates between chapters told by Julia and those told by "You." You is the man that this AI is implanted in. First of all, the choice to make it "you" is perfect! "You" as the narrator instantly makes the reader an intimate player in the story. The man, who Julia calls Bernie because it is like she is in the movie Weekend at Bernies, is for all intents and purposes all of us readers, or he could be, at first. His narration begins oddly to us the reader. We are seeing the story we get from Julia overlap with how it appears from inside "Bernies" head. As the story moves on, Bernie begins to remember more of who he was, even as the
This adds a level of heartbreaking emotion to the story. It also allows Julia to connect to Bernie as well-- even though she does not know what is happening in his head, she knows he is regaining himself as they move across the country, but our chapters in his head help.
Tremblay uses textual images to help make the "You" chapters easier to from his perspective. Trapped in his head, part the man he was and part AI technology, we need to be able to see how he is interacting insides his own head with himself. It works very well and helps to orient the reader into a perspective that is purposely disorienting and hard to understand. But again, as it moves along, the reader and Bernie get more comfortable. Great narrative choice.
I also enjoyed all the Big Lebowski references. It helped to flesh out Julia's character and get the reader to know her as a person before this story's events. I am going to add something about Julia and Bernie "abiding" in the review to make reference to this (I only get 200 words so I have to make them count).
Also Tremblay fans will chuckle as Bernie's real identity comes to light.
Julia and Bernie will come to feel like friends as they follow them across the country. The characters are so fully developed that you will miss them when it is over. This novel will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you think long and hard about how AI is encroaching on our lives, stripping away our humanity and leading us down a road to ruin. It will make you feel a fear that will worm its way off the page and into your body, a fear you will not be able to shake. But all of this is the entire point.
And get ready for the ending because it is doozy. Terrifyingly realistic. And spoiler alert-- not really if you have ever read any AI horror (Sea of Rust is a good comp here)-- rise of the machines sf/horror never works out well for the humans.
For readers who enjoyed The Wanderers Duology by Wendig, Sea of Rust by Cargill, and the world of Blake Crouch. But in terms of the tone here, the dark humor mixed with existential terror but always centering love of Lucky Day or Bury Your Gays by Tingle. Also the real world horror being novelized in a way that makes is a good horror read but doesn't allow you to not think about the real world implications is similar to Mariana Enriquez.
And if you made it this far-- touche to Tremblay for the NOS4A2-esque use of the "Notes on the Type" to enhance the novel.
Three Words That Describe This Book: AI Horror, character centered, unique, disorienting (on purpose) and compelling narrative style.
I know that is a lot more words than 3, but this is my review and I get to make the rules.
More words: unforgettable, overlapping narratives with dual POV, meta, existentially terrifying, biting satire, middle finger to the AI companies, heartwarming and full of love even in the face of evil.
Draft Review: Throwing down the gauntlet for AI horror, with a novel that would make Philip K. Dick beam with pride, Tremblay introduces readers to Julia, a semi-pro gamer short on cash, offered a job by her estranged, Silicon Valley, CEO mother to test a groundbreaking technology, controlling the AI bots implanted in a braindead employee as he is returned to his mom in Rhode Island. Told in alternating and overlapping narrations by Julia and “You,” the voice of what is left of the body Julia nicknames, Bernie, readers watch Julia contemplate the ethics of her task, while Bernie simultaneously fights the “clicks” overwhelming him and struggles to remember who he was. Quirky textual choices in Bernie’s chapters enhance the disorientation, unease, and heartbreaking beautiful tone. Readers are quickly and emotionally invested in Julia and Bernie, separately and together, as they “abide*” across the country, A masterpiece of storytelling, injected with a squirming worm of fear,** forcing all who encounter it to take a critical look at AI’s encroachment, how it is actively stripping away our humanity, and rushing us all down the road to ruin.
Verdict: A not-to-miss reading experience for fans of a wide range of chilling, darkly humorous, existentially terrifying titles like Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill, Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle, and The Wanderers Duology by Chuck Wendig.
This is THE standard for AI horror as of this moment and it will be for a long time to come. It is also the darkest buddy comedy you have ever read.
Are there more than 5 stars to give? Well I would if I could. Let me back up. I love the way Paul Tremblay writes. As a professional reviewer I am even tougher on the authors to whom I hold to the highest standard. This book exceeds that standard-- in every facet of its writing and as a superior horror novel.
The allusion to Philip K Dick is there to put you in the right frame of mine to read this book. There are also two characters with Richard in their name (one first and one last). They are both corporate shills. But I point this out because it adds to the dark humor here. This book is deadly serious and existentially terrifying-- readers will not be able to NOT see themselves as part of the horror. And yet, I need to say this before I write more-- Tremblay is able to tell this deadly serious story and still imbue it with heart and humor. This is key to why it is such a great read.
All you need to know about the plot is this-- Julia is a recent college grad whose mom is an executive for a HUGE computer company. Julia is a former semi-pro gamer and her mom calls her up to San Fran up to LA. They have a strained relationship, but Julia agrees because her mom is offering a job that pays very well. She is asked to help the company test a new AI that they have implanted in an employee who had a stroke. He is brain dead. She is supposed to pilot him across the country using a controller and bring him to RI, back to his mother.
This is a horror novel, so come on, you know the big tech company is not telling the truth about its motives.
Julia ia whole and real from the start, Without sacrificing the narrative pacing, we get a fully fleshed out woman while the action is moving briskly. So by the time she gets to San Fran, we know who she is.
But it is the alternating narrative-- which is why this novel goes from just terrifying to excellent.
The story fluctuates between chapters told by Julia and those told by "You." You is the man that this AI is implanted in. First of all, the choice to make it "you" is perfect! "You" as the narrator instantly makes the reader an intimate player in the story. The man, who Julia calls Bernie because it is like she is in the movie Weekend at Bernies, is for all intents and purposes all of us readers, or he could be, at first. His narration begins oddly to us the reader. We are seeing the story we get from Julia overlap with how it appears from inside "Bernies" head. As the story moves on, Bernie begins to remember more of who he was, even as the
This adds a level of heartbreaking emotion to the story. It also allows Julia to connect to Bernie as well-- even though she does not know what is happening in his head, she knows he is regaining himself as they move across the country, but our chapters in his head help.
Tremblay uses textual images to help make the "You" chapters easier to from his perspective. Trapped in his head, part the man he was and part AI technology, we need to be able to see how he is interacting insides his own head with himself. It works very well and helps to orient the reader into a perspective that is purposely disorienting and hard to understand. But again, as it moves along, the reader and Bernie get more comfortable. Great narrative choice.
I also enjoyed all the Big Lebowski references. It helped to flesh out Julia's character and get the reader to know her as a person before this story's events. I am going to add something about Julia and Bernie "abiding" in the review to make reference to this (I only get 200 words so I have to make them count).
Also Tremblay fans will chuckle as Bernie's real identity comes to light.
Julia and Bernie will come to feel like friends as they follow them across the country. The characters are so fully developed that you will miss them when it is over. This novel will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you think long and hard about how AI is encroaching on our lives, stripping away our humanity and leading us down a road to ruin. It will make you feel a fear that will worm its way off the page and into your body, a fear you will not be able to shake. But all of this is the entire point.
And get ready for the ending because it is doozy. Terrifyingly realistic. And spoiler alert-- not really if you have ever read any AI horror (Sea of Rust is a good comp here)-- rise of the machines sf/horror never works out well for the humans.
For readers who enjoyed The Wanderers Duology by Wendig, Sea of Rust by Cargill, and the world of Blake Crouch. But in terms of the tone here, the dark humor mixed with existential terror but always centering love of Lucky Day or Bury Your Gays by Tingle. Also the real world horror being novelized in a way that makes is a good horror read but doesn't allow you to not think about the real world implications is similar to Mariana Enriquez.
And if you made it this far-- touche to Tremblay for the NOS4A2-esque use of the "Notes on the Type" to enhance the novel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Paul Tremblay is one of my favorite authors so I will always look forward to reading his new releases. Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep was no different. But despite my excitement and my predisposition to like anything Paul Tremblay writes, this one is probably and unfortunately my least favorite from his catalogue.
The premise and the set up at the beginning seemed promising. We follow a young woman who is assigned to accompany, or rather remote control, a man in a vegetative state with AI implanted in his head. It touches on topics such as morality and autonomy and we do get an interesting perspective from the man’s murky consciousness, lost in a hazy void. I also appreciate the references to The Pallbearers Club.
That said, my main issue with the story is how dragged out it is. There is a lot of repetition and a large part of the story was painfully boring to get through. It could have easily been cut down to a novella which would have made it a lot more impactful. I was also let down by the lack of any weirdness and ambiguity which I’ve come to expect from Paul Tremblay. The ending was also quite predictable.
Thank you to publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
The premise and the set up at the beginning seemed promising. We follow a young woman who is assigned to accompany, or rather remote control, a man in a vegetative state with AI implanted in his head. It touches on topics such as morality and autonomy and we do get an interesting perspective from the man’s murky consciousness, lost in a hazy void. I also appreciate the references to The Pallbearers Club.
That said, my main issue with the story is how dragged out it is. There is a lot of repetition and a large part of the story was painfully boring to get through. It could have easily been cut down to a novella which would have made it a lot more impactful. I was also let down by the lack of any weirdness and ambiguity which I’ve come to expect from Paul Tremblay. The ending was also quite predictable.
Thank you to publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 6, 2026
3 "WTAF was that" stars... I guess this is sort of "social horror" with it's evils of A.I. run amok theme but it was just depressing AF to me, a horrid road trip meets "Weekend at Bernies" - the ending, uh... less said the better. I chose it based on the title too, and there was zero here that reminded me of PKD, either. I'm sure it will have its fans, though I'm not sure exactly who they might be, but def. not me
Want to Read
October 23, 2025Nobody else could make me read sci-fi xxx
July 5, 2026
Between a 3.5-4 ⭐️. This book was weird. Lol
July 4, 2026
This book really had my thinking about the future of medicine (especially in the hands of billionaire CEOs). That's the real horror of this plot--the idea of weaponizing the bodies of incapacitated people or people in a vegetative state. It raises ethical and moral questions while amping up the tension as a young, unemployed gamer is put in charge of basically remote-controlling a supposedly brain dead patient across the county. Of course, our patient is trapped inside his head and will do anything to regain the ability to express himself. This is part dystopian, part sci-fi, part horror novel and I found it very compelling.
July 6, 2026
i rarely read horror but oh my god this was kinda sick 🌚
March 10, 2026
Afraid of AI? No? Well you will be after reading Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep.
I’m a huge fan of Paul Tremblay’s work and this is both his most unique novel to date and also one of his scariest, despite not being a “traditional” horror novel on the surface.
Julia, a Big Lebowski loving young woman, is tasked by her tech company mother with transporting a man she calls “Bernie” (ha ha, get it?) across the country with the goal to get him home to his family. The catch: “Bernie” is in a coma and has been implanted with AI in his brain.
This novel is told in alternating POVs, limited third person from the POV of Julia as a more traditional narrative, and You chapters that are told in 2nd person with “you” as the man implanted with AI. I especially loved these (intentionally) disorienting sections as they make the reader feel culpable with what is happening. It’s similar to how tech companies foist AI upon as against our will, whether we want it or not.
On the surface this is a sci-fi buddy road trip kind of story with lots of humor and lots of heart, which is an excellent counterbalance to the bleak horror of the AI and the implications of what is happening to Bernie and the incredible dilemma that Julia faces as she learns more about the intentions of the tech company. I think what makes this even scarier than many other tech horror or sci-fi stories is that this novel doesn’t feel far off at all in the future. It feels like the now and a major warning for what we are doing to ourselves by feeding into this terrible technology.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is Paul Tremblay at his absolute best - smart, witty, humorous, and outright scary. It is an incredibly important novel that is unfortunately way too relevant and will continue to be.
Wake us up from this nightmare.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC for review.
I’m a huge fan of Paul Tremblay’s work and this is both his most unique novel to date and also one of his scariest, despite not being a “traditional” horror novel on the surface.
Julia, a Big Lebowski loving young woman, is tasked by her tech company mother with transporting a man she calls “Bernie” (ha ha, get it?) across the country with the goal to get him home to his family. The catch: “Bernie” is in a coma and has been implanted with AI in his brain.
This novel is told in alternating POVs, limited third person from the POV of Julia as a more traditional narrative, and You chapters that are told in 2nd person with “you” as the man implanted with AI. I especially loved these (intentionally) disorienting sections as they make the reader feel culpable with what is happening. It’s similar to how tech companies foist AI upon as against our will, whether we want it or not.
On the surface this is a sci-fi buddy road trip kind of story with lots of humor and lots of heart, which is an excellent counterbalance to the bleak horror of the AI and the implications of what is happening to Bernie and the incredible dilemma that Julia faces as she learns more about the intentions of the tech company. I think what makes this even scarier than many other tech horror or sci-fi stories is that this novel doesn’t feel far off at all in the future. It feels like the now and a major warning for what we are doing to ourselves by feeding into this terrible technology.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is Paul Tremblay at his absolute best - smart, witty, humorous, and outright scary. It is an incredibly important novel that is unfortunately way too relevant and will continue to be.
Wake us up from this nightmare.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC for review.
July 7, 2026
Dead But Dreaming of Electric sheep is a homage to Philip K Ducks novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep except Tremblay flips the story. In Dick’s novel, the threat comes from androids who look human but lack an empathetic soul. They are trying to break into the human world. Instead of a machine pretending to have a soul, Tremblay gives us a machine inside a body, trapping whatever humanity is left inside a mental prison. The embodiment of humans losing control to AI.
The story is told from alternating points of view from Julia, an ex pro gamer and daughter of a high tech Silicon Valley CEO, and the “brain dead” man who she is in charge of moving across the west coast via remote control of highly sophisticated technology and AI implanted in “Bernie’s” brain. The Julia chapters are told in a normal third person narrative whereas the Bernie chapters are told in a fragmented disoriented second person point of view giving a feeling of being trapped in a Fever dream.
I fell in love with the very sarcastic main character Julia, who runs on references to The Big Lebowski and other pop culture. The chapters told by Bernie start as dark painful jibber ish and pull you into his tormented world as he is transported across the east coast as a proof of concept for large tech corporations.
This is not a horror novel full of monsters, gore, and non stop scares. It is an exploration of what it means to be human in the current digital age, full of ever expanding AI. It explores themes of death, consciousness, the ills of large corporations and unfettered capitalism. It is very different from Trembleys previous horror novels in terms of writing style and genre. It blends psychological horror, science fiction, and dystopian/speculative fiction. Do not disregard if you have not liked his previous novels, this is a very unique reading experience.
The story is told from alternating points of view from Julia, an ex pro gamer and daughter of a high tech Silicon Valley CEO, and the “brain dead” man who she is in charge of moving across the west coast via remote control of highly sophisticated technology and AI implanted in “Bernie’s” brain. The Julia chapters are told in a normal third person narrative whereas the Bernie chapters are told in a fragmented disoriented second person point of view giving a feeling of being trapped in a Fever dream.
I fell in love with the very sarcastic main character Julia, who runs on references to The Big Lebowski and other pop culture. The chapters told by Bernie start as dark painful jibber ish and pull you into his tormented world as he is transported across the east coast as a proof of concept for large tech corporations.
This is not a horror novel full of monsters, gore, and non stop scares. It is an exploration of what it means to be human in the current digital age, full of ever expanding AI. It explores themes of death, consciousness, the ills of large corporations and unfettered capitalism. It is very different from Trembleys previous horror novels in terms of writing style and genre. It blends psychological horror, science fiction, and dystopian/speculative fiction. Do not disregard if you have not liked his previous novels, this is a very unique reading experience.
July 5, 2026
DNF 71% (skimmed the rest)
I'm glad I listened to the audiobook for this read because it was produced well and Sophie Amoss is one of my favorite narrators—it's also the only reason I made it as far into this book as I did.
I suspect Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is only being labeled as horror because of who wrote it, but it reads more like a literary dystopian novel. A case for psychological horror could be made, but I feel like that's a stretch.
I struggled to fully engage with the story's set up because of the lengthy, largely uneventful chapters, disorienting "You" chapters, and the niche pop culture references (The Big Lebowski is mentioned many times). I was especially put off by the patronizing “A Brief Interlude” chapter at the 36% mark. While I got the point and ultimately agreed with the sentiment, the interlude was a little too self-important for a book that, in my opinion, hadn’t done anything impressive enough to warrant that level of metafictional, fourth-wall-breaking snark.
My biggest issue with this read was its commentary on artificial intelligence. “AI bad” is a perfectly valid position, but it’s also a very simple one, so stretching it across 300+ pages with no complexity is an interesting choice; and by interesting, I mean anticlimactic. A deeper examination of AI and the ethics of its applications would have made for a more interesting narrative for me, but the novel presents a binary position that inspires nothing more than readers nodding along in unquestionable agreement—so mission accomplished I guess?
Conceptually, this book reminded me a lot of Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang—another "sci-fi horror” that I personally classify as literary dystopian/speculative fiction. Both books use near-future technology and a morally compromised protagonist to grapple with AI, identity, autonomy, institutional exploitation, and the commodification of humanity. Comparing the two helped me pinpoint why Tremblay’s novel fell flat for me while Huang’s became a favorite of mine.
Immaculate Conception is intensely intimate. Everything is filtered through Enka’s deteriorating mental state, making its philosophical questions inseparable from her choices, relationships, and emotional decline. Conversely, Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep's "and then" storytelling, plentiful yet negligible detail, metafictional flourishes, philosophical digressions, dark humor and satirical elements, and pop culture references all create distance from the characters, making it feel less personal and human centered. I admired its ideas on a surface level, but I never felt the circumstantial weight of those ideas on Julia, "Bernie", or any other character. One would think strong characterization would be a priority in a novel commentating on AI technology—something being used intentionally to dehumanize people—but it's possible I just didn't "get it".
Both novels are also character-focused, but Immaculate Conception's execution arrives at its ideas through the characterization, whereas Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep's execution feels like it starts with the ideas, builds the characters around them, and then tells the story with a character-focused lens. Both of these executions can work, but the ideas-first execution puts more pressure on plot and momentum because you run the risk of stalling out (which is exactly what ends up happening for me), especially if the ideas are rudimentary and unambiguous to begin with (i.e., "AI bad"). In this case, a short story or novella format may have work better because the central concept(s) could've be explored before it starts to feel stretched thin and ineffectively propped up with filler.
To me, Immaculate Conception has a more poignant, holistic take on the shared themes because the character development and actions are conduits for the ideas and commentary instead of serving as a means to an end. But this doesn’t mean Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep doesn't have an audience.
This book will work well for readers who specifically enjoy most or all the following:
- Literary fiction with dystopian/speculative elements
- Slower-paced narratives
- Longer, meandering chapters
- Fever-dreamy, disorienting storytelling
- Dream sequences
- Straightforward sociopolitical commentary
- Niche pop culture references
Readers who struggle with any combination of these elements may have a difficult time connecting with this story.
I think those who enjoyed The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, The Ferryman by Justin Cronin, and The Merge by Grace Walker stand a good chance of this novel working a little better for them.
Conversely, if you're looking for a more plot-driven story with substantially more horror and bio-sci-fi, I recommend picking up Intercepts by T.J. Payne instead. Intercepts has tighter pacing, sharper bioethical commentary (focused more broadly on biotechnology and human experimentation rather than AI specifically), emotional stakes in the form of a father-daughter relationship, and far more engaging POV chapters from its “You” equivalent.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for the gifted ALC of this read. All opinions are my own.
I'm glad I listened to the audiobook for this read because it was produced well and Sophie Amoss is one of my favorite narrators—it's also the only reason I made it as far into this book as I did.
I suspect Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is only being labeled as horror because of who wrote it, but it reads more like a literary dystopian novel. A case for psychological horror could be made, but I feel like that's a stretch.
I struggled to fully engage with the story's set up because of the lengthy, largely uneventful chapters, disorienting "You" chapters, and the niche pop culture references (The Big Lebowski is mentioned many times). I was especially put off by the patronizing “A Brief Interlude” chapter at the 36% mark. While I got the point and ultimately agreed with the sentiment, the interlude was a little too self-important for a book that, in my opinion, hadn’t done anything impressive enough to warrant that level of metafictional, fourth-wall-breaking snark.
My biggest issue with this read was its commentary on artificial intelligence. “AI bad” is a perfectly valid position, but it’s also a very simple one, so stretching it across 300+ pages with no complexity is an interesting choice; and by interesting, I mean anticlimactic. A deeper examination of AI and the ethics of its applications would have made for a more interesting narrative for me, but the novel presents a binary position that inspires nothing more than readers nodding along in unquestionable agreement—so mission accomplished I guess?
Conceptually, this book reminded me a lot of Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang—another "sci-fi horror” that I personally classify as literary dystopian/speculative fiction. Both books use near-future technology and a morally compromised protagonist to grapple with AI, identity, autonomy, institutional exploitation, and the commodification of humanity. Comparing the two helped me pinpoint why Tremblay’s novel fell flat for me while Huang’s became a favorite of mine.
Immaculate Conception is intensely intimate. Everything is filtered through Enka’s deteriorating mental state, making its philosophical questions inseparable from her choices, relationships, and emotional decline. Conversely, Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep's "and then" storytelling, plentiful yet negligible detail, metafictional flourishes, philosophical digressions, dark humor and satirical elements, and pop culture references all create distance from the characters, making it feel less personal and human centered. I admired its ideas on a surface level, but I never felt the circumstantial weight of those ideas on Julia, "Bernie", or any other character. One would think strong characterization would be a priority in a novel commentating on AI technology—something being used intentionally to dehumanize people—but it's possible I just didn't "get it".
Both novels are also character-focused, but Immaculate Conception's execution arrives at its ideas through the characterization, whereas Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep's execution feels like it starts with the ideas, builds the characters around them, and then tells the story with a character-focused lens. Both of these executions can work, but the ideas-first execution puts more pressure on plot and momentum because you run the risk of stalling out (which is exactly what ends up happening for me), especially if the ideas are rudimentary and unambiguous to begin with (i.e., "AI bad"). In this case, a short story or novella format may have work better because the central concept(s) could've be explored before it starts to feel stretched thin and ineffectively propped up with filler.
To me, Immaculate Conception has a more poignant, holistic take on the shared themes because the character development and actions are conduits for the ideas and commentary instead of serving as a means to an end. But this doesn’t mean Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep doesn't have an audience.
This book will work well for readers who specifically enjoy most or all the following:
- Literary fiction with dystopian/speculative elements
- Slower-paced narratives
- Longer, meandering chapters
- Fever-dreamy, disorienting storytelling
- Dream sequences
- Straightforward sociopolitical commentary
- Niche pop culture references
Readers who struggle with any combination of these elements may have a difficult time connecting with this story.
I think those who enjoyed The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, The Ferryman by Justin Cronin, and The Merge by Grace Walker stand a good chance of this novel working a little better for them.
Conversely, if you're looking for a more plot-driven story with substantially more horror and bio-sci-fi, I recommend picking up Intercepts by T.J. Payne instead. Intercepts has tighter pacing, sharper bioethical commentary (focused more broadly on biotechnology and human experimentation rather than AI specifically), emotional stakes in the form of a father-daughter relationship, and far more engaging POV chapters from its “You” equivalent.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for the gifted ALC of this read. All opinions are my own.
June 29, 2026
My review is based on the physical ARC I received, thank you to William Morrow Books! This title releases on June 30, 2026.
Estranged from her mother and at a dead-end job, twenty-something Julia Fang is given an interview that changes two lives: her own and the basically dead man she's remote controlling.
I've never read from Paul Tremblay before, and the only thing I ever knew about him is that his books are divisive even amongst his die-hard fans. While I really liked the overall storyline and execution, I agree with other reviewers that say this should've been a novella! It's a short book, but, personally, it lagged a lot for me in the middle 100 pages. I wanted more from this, and while I'm a fan of open endings, I don't think I quite understood it all (user error, for sure!)
I was a big fan of the formatting and characterization. I loved that "Bernie" still had his sapience (is that the right term, oops) and was aware of everything that was going on and being controlled, yet still on the hunt for the person he's been searching for. There's excellent multimedia in his chapters, as well as a second-person element that really elevates the book!
Estranged from her mother and at a dead-end job, twenty-something Julia Fang is given an interview that changes two lives: her own and the basically dead man she's remote controlling.
I've never read from Paul Tremblay before, and the only thing I ever knew about him is that his books are divisive even amongst his die-hard fans. While I really liked the overall storyline and execution, I agree with other reviewers that say this should've been a novella! It's a short book, but, personally, it lagged a lot for me in the middle 100 pages. I wanted more from this, and while I'm a fan of open endings, I don't think I quite understood it all (user error, for sure!)
I was a big fan of the formatting and characterization. I loved that "Bernie" still had his sapience (is that the right term, oops) and was aware of everything that was going on and being controlled, yet still on the hunt for the person he's been searching for. There's excellent multimedia in his chapters, as well as a second-person element that really elevates the book!
July 3, 2026
I was really looking forward to this book because I thought I was getting into some kind of technological horror-thriller version of Weekend at Bernie’s and that was one of the most interesting ideas for a book I had heard in a long time.
And sure, it was a little bit that, but unlike Weekend at Bernie’s, this was boring. Boring enough that I resent myself for making me finish it.
It’s books like these that make me wish we reviewers could read a page or two sample before we request a title, because I likely would’ve skipped this title once I heard the very first reference to The Big Lebowski (a movie I hate and is quoted and referenced repeatedly in this book).
It wasn’t just the lack of humor and the prevalent use of The Dude that had me disliking this book. The dual POV felt repetitive, even if the two characters were operating on two different planes of existence. “Bernie’s” plane was supposed to be terrifying and mind-melting, but it was just a total miss in that area for me.
I know there was suppose to be some philosophical and emotional weight to this book besides “AI BAD”, but all I got was hot air. 2⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granted me early access to this title.
And sure, it was a little bit that, but unlike Weekend at Bernie’s, this was boring. Boring enough that I resent myself for making me finish it.
It’s books like these that make me wish we reviewers could read a page or two sample before we request a title, because I likely would’ve skipped this title once I heard the very first reference to The Big Lebowski (a movie I hate and is quoted and referenced repeatedly in this book).
It wasn’t just the lack of humor and the prevalent use of The Dude that had me disliking this book. The dual POV felt repetitive, even if the two characters were operating on two different planes of existence. “Bernie’s” plane was supposed to be terrifying and mind-melting, but it was just a total miss in that area for me.
I know there was suppose to be some philosophical and emotional weight to this book besides “AI BAD”, but all I got was hot air. 2⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granted me early access to this title.
June 28, 2026
Thank you William Morrow for my free ARC of Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay — out Jun 30!
» READ IF YOU «
🤖 know AI horror is the most timely and terrifying sub-genre
🎮 love a protagonist who is deeply, relatably in over her head
✈️ have ever had an layover-gone-wrong at the Denver Airport
» SYNOPSIS «
Julia is a former semi-pro gamer working two jobs she hates when her estranged tech bro mom offers her a short gig with a windfall payday. The job? Chaperone a comatose man across the country via cell phone controller, connected to the AI implants in his brain. Huh? it's Weekend at Bernie's, but corporate billionaire nightmare. Julia dubs him Bernie, and things get wilder from there.
» REVIEW «
First, I want to be super upfront that sci-fi is generally not my genre, but Paul Tremblay still got me with this one! The AI horror here doesn't feel speculative so much as it feels like a glance at next week's news headlines—surveillance, evil tech trillionaires, lying to families, oh and can't forget the casual horror of what happens when humanity becomes proprietary technology. It made me furious in all the right ways.
Julia is a fun FMC; she's sassy and scrappy but still has a ton of empathy and wants to do what's right, even with a fortune dangling over her head if she completes this job. And the Denver airport scenes?! As a local, I can confirm that DIA is already operating on a different and slightly sinister plane of reality, so Paul making it the setting for peak chaos felt deeply, personally correct. Blucifer approves.
Our favorite math teacher has built something genuinely great here—it's darkly funny, but bleak, but heart-wrenching all at the same time. Damn him.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
» READ IF YOU «
🤖 know AI horror is the most timely and terrifying sub-genre
🎮 love a protagonist who is deeply, relatably in over her head
✈️ have ever had an layover-gone-wrong at the Denver Airport
» SYNOPSIS «
Julia is a former semi-pro gamer working two jobs she hates when her estranged tech bro mom offers her a short gig with a windfall payday. The job? Chaperone a comatose man across the country via cell phone controller, connected to the AI implants in his brain. Huh? it's Weekend at Bernie's, but corporate billionaire nightmare. Julia dubs him Bernie, and things get wilder from there.
» REVIEW «
First, I want to be super upfront that sci-fi is generally not my genre, but Paul Tremblay still got me with this one! The AI horror here doesn't feel speculative so much as it feels like a glance at next week's news headlines—surveillance, evil tech trillionaires, lying to families, oh and can't forget the casual horror of what happens when humanity becomes proprietary technology. It made me furious in all the right ways.
Julia is a fun FMC; she's sassy and scrappy but still has a ton of empathy and wants to do what's right, even with a fortune dangling over her head if she completes this job. And the Denver airport scenes?! As a local, I can confirm that DIA is already operating on a different and slightly sinister plane of reality, so Paul making it the setting for peak chaos felt deeply, personally correct. Blucifer approves.
Our favorite math teacher has built something genuinely great here—it's darkly funny, but bleak, but heart-wrenching all at the same time. Damn him.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 21, 2026
Rounded up. Dystopian Weekend at Bernie's in an unsettling big tech hellscape. This is Paul Tremblay at his most literary.
July 2, 2026
I think this is the first real review I’ve left in 8 years and I was inspired because I really hated this book.
Tremblay has been on a downward slope since Cabin and now he’s finally plunged off the cliff.
Half the chapters are pretentious nonsense and the other half are endless descriptions of how a person moves.
There are two interludes that made me want to rip the book in half and the About the Type page made me throw the book across the yard (I read outside).
Find something more inspired to read, like a drug interaction warning sheet.
Tremblay has been on a downward slope since Cabin and now he’s finally plunged off the cliff.
Half the chapters are pretentious nonsense and the other half are endless descriptions of how a person moves.
There are two interludes that made me want to rip the book in half and the About the Type page made me throw the book across the yard (I read outside).
Find something more inspired to read, like a drug interaction warning sheet.
July 8, 2026
I don't typically read sci-fi, and apparently my imagination wasn't up to the task.
That said, the writing was, as always, fantastic. If you're into tech-heavy stories and dreamlike sequences, I have a feeling you'll appreciate this one a lot more than I did.
That said, the writing was, as always, fantastic. If you're into tech-heavy stories and dreamlike sequences, I have a feeling you'll appreciate this one a lot more than I did.
June 30, 2026
Reading this book is an uncategorizable experience. It is DEFINITELY horror, but it is Sci-fi, it is meta, it is tech horror/grief horror, it is a thriller and it is, most importantly, a raging anti-AI manifesto.
Thrilling and heartbreaking, frustrating and confusing, the reader is sucked into not-Bernie and Julia’s quest to bring him home. But then we are violently and purposefully flung out of the story, forced to be aware of what is happening to all of us in the world right now. It is more than an unreliable narrator. Tremblay is telling you YOUR ENTIRE READING EXPERIENCE is becoming unreliable with the current infusion of AI into our lives.
There were times in this book I had no idea what was happening, much like Bernie’s experience. This book is a raw and violent attack on AI. There is anger in this book, despair and paranoia, and very little hope. But it is an important experience, no matter how confounding.
Thrilling and heartbreaking, frustrating and confusing, the reader is sucked into not-Bernie and Julia’s quest to bring him home. But then we are violently and purposefully flung out of the story, forced to be aware of what is happening to all of us in the world right now. It is more than an unreliable narrator. Tremblay is telling you YOUR ENTIRE READING EXPERIENCE is becoming unreliable with the current infusion of AI into our lives.
There were times in this book I had no idea what was happening, much like Bernie’s experience. This book is a raw and violent attack on AI. There is anger in this book, despair and paranoia, and very little hope. But it is an important experience, no matter how confounding.
July 2, 2026
Paul Tremblay's Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep hums with static, alive with the quiet terror of rotten memory and distrust of the self. A masterclass in technohorror that (re)wires psychological dread into literary musings on our present moment.
"It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity." ― Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
"It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity." ― Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
July 7, 2026
this was just one big, long, drawn-out drive to the airport (also, particularly disliked all the "you" chapters)
July 5, 2026
Tremblay leans heavily into sci-fi in this one and does an incredible job.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is weird, and I couldn’t put it down. Think Weekend at Bernie’s, but Bernie is being remotely controlled through a phone… and he isn’t quite dead yet. Not DEAD dead anyway.
The story alternates between a confusing, dreamlike perspective and a more grounded, darkly humorous sci-fi thriller, and at first it feels disorienting in a way that doesn’t make any sense. Before long, though, the pieces start to click into place and becomes much clearer as things unfold.
It’s strange and surprisingly addictive once it gets going, and honestly feels like something that could be a lot closer to reality than it should be. 👀
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep is weird, and I couldn’t put it down. Think Weekend at Bernie’s, but Bernie is being remotely controlled through a phone… and he isn’t quite dead yet. Not DEAD dead anyway.
The story alternates between a confusing, dreamlike perspective and a more grounded, darkly humorous sci-fi thriller, and at first it feels disorienting in a way that doesn’t make any sense. Before long, though, the pieces start to click into place and becomes much clearer as things unfold.
It’s strange and surprisingly addictive once it gets going, and honestly feels like something that could be a lot closer to reality than it should be. 👀
February 8, 2026
This is somehow the most Paul Tremblay book that ever Tremblayed (yes, it is now a verb), despite it being entirely unlike any of his other novels. Thank you to the man himself and William Morrow Books for an arc that I was able to read and honestly review ahead of its release day.
This novel is broken up into two main perspectives that alternate back and forth. One perspective follows Julia, who is an incredibly compelling character to read about, especially as the novel kicks off and she struggles with the morality of the situation she has been put in. The other perspective is written entirely in second-person POV, and "You" is a bit of a mystery (at least at the start). I think some readers will struggle with this second-person narrative, but I am a huge fan of second-person and don't think it is utilized enough in stories. Second-person was, in my opinion, the best way to tell half of this narrative. It forces the reader to be as close as possible to the horror that is occurring.
As someone who works in biotech, I struggle to even call this book science fiction due to the believability of the plot. And just because I am calling it science fiction does not mean it is not horror. I'd argue this is one of Tremblay's most horrifying books, if not the most horrifying, because of its believability. The overarching theme of this novel is the AI takeover. The novel does not hide Tremblay's stance (the correct one) on AI, and if you follow him on any social media, you already know it. I think that is where this novel differs vastly from a chunk of Tremblay's back catalog. There is no ambiguity in this novel. If anything, this novel is anti-ambiguity. The themes present a narrative that you would be hard-pressed to find a different meaning in. This does not mean the story is not nuanced, as I think Tremblay explores nuance in different ways throughout the novel, especially when following Julia.
As previously mentioned, this novel alternates between two perspectives, and this decision does wonders for the pacing. I think this is a nearly perfectly paced novel. I took it extremely slowly, annotating as I went, but I could've finished this rapidly in one setting because of how compulsively readable it was.
I can't end this review without talking about the different way the "You" chapters are comprised. I hesitate to call it a mixed-media aspect of the story, but I don't really know what else to call it. Other Tremblay novels have something fun/different within them; The Pallbearers Club has the notes in the margins, Horror Movie contains a script. This novel has a different aspect entirely, so much so that I am not sure how an ebook or audiobook version captures the experience of reading this book physically. And I think these extra/ different bits add so much to the novel and truly elevate the reading experience and the story.
I am going to end this review despite the fact that I could go on and on about this novel. This book forces people to look at the catastrophe going on around us in the world today and acknowledge that AI is, can, and will be bad for human civilization. I was filled with so many emotions while reading. I was disgusted, horrified, depressed, hopeful, confused, enlightened, and so much more. I laughed, I cried, and I cringed. I wanted to make it to the end, but I never wanted it to end. Chills ran down my spine as the last lines of this novel consumed me.
This novel is broken up into two main perspectives that alternate back and forth. One perspective follows Julia, who is an incredibly compelling character to read about, especially as the novel kicks off and she struggles with the morality of the situation she has been put in. The other perspective is written entirely in second-person POV, and "You" is a bit of a mystery (at least at the start). I think some readers will struggle with this second-person narrative, but I am a huge fan of second-person and don't think it is utilized enough in stories. Second-person was, in my opinion, the best way to tell half of this narrative. It forces the reader to be as close as possible to the horror that is occurring.
As someone who works in biotech, I struggle to even call this book science fiction due to the believability of the plot. And just because I am calling it science fiction does not mean it is not horror. I'd argue this is one of Tremblay's most horrifying books, if not the most horrifying, because of its believability. The overarching theme of this novel is the AI takeover. The novel does not hide Tremblay's stance (the correct one) on AI, and if you follow him on any social media, you already know it. I think that is where this novel differs vastly from a chunk of Tremblay's back catalog. There is no ambiguity in this novel. If anything, this novel is anti-ambiguity. The themes present a narrative that you would be hard-pressed to find a different meaning in. This does not mean the story is not nuanced, as I think Tremblay explores nuance in different ways throughout the novel, especially when following Julia.
As previously mentioned, this novel alternates between two perspectives, and this decision does wonders for the pacing. I think this is a nearly perfectly paced novel. I took it extremely slowly, annotating as I went, but I could've finished this rapidly in one setting because of how compulsively readable it was.
I can't end this review without talking about the different way the "You" chapters are comprised. I hesitate to call it a mixed-media aspect of the story, but I don't really know what else to call it. Other Tremblay novels have something fun/different within them; The Pallbearers Club has the notes in the margins, Horror Movie contains a script. This novel has a different aspect entirely, so much so that I am not sure how an ebook or audiobook version captures the experience of reading this book physically. And I think these extra/ different bits add so much to the novel and truly elevate the reading experience and the story.
I am going to end this review despite the fact that I could go on and on about this novel. This book forces people to look at the catastrophe going on around us in the world today and acknowledge that AI is, can, and will be bad for human civilization. I was filled with so many emotions while reading. I was disgusted, horrified, depressed, hopeful, confused, enlightened, and so much more. I laughed, I cried, and I cringed. I wanted to make it to the end, but I never wanted it to end. Chills ran down my spine as the last lines of this novel consumed me.
March 10, 2026
Actual rating: 1.5 stars
I read roughly 55% of this one and skimmed the rest. The 1.5 stars is for the idea itself - sci-fi-esque AI tech implanted in a brain-dead person's brain that's then used to control their body via a video game-like remote controller.
The writing was...awkward and told in a strange, clunky way, and often the dialogue seemed so stilted and unnatural. I thought Bernie's chapters were nonsensical and boring, and eventually I found Julia's POV to be filled with so much unnecessary detail about every little movement second-by-second. For such a popular author I thought this book would be better, but after the halfway point it really frustrated me and I wanted nothing more than to be done with it.
I read roughly 55% of this one and skimmed the rest. The 1.5 stars is for the idea itself - sci-fi-esque AI tech implanted in a brain-dead person's brain that's then used to control their body via a video game-like remote controller.
The writing was...awkward and told in a strange, clunky way, and often the dialogue seemed so stilted and unnatural. I thought Bernie's chapters were nonsensical and boring, and eventually I found Julia's POV to be filled with so much unnecessary detail about every little movement second-by-second. For such a popular author I thought this book would be better, but after the halfway point it really frustrated me and I wanted nothing more than to be done with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2026
Thank you to LibroFM and William Morrow for providing access to this audiobook. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay is an intense and compelling novel that serves as a dark glimpse into the future of corporate exploitation, the disintegration of personal autotomy and the dangerous consequences of the unchecked implementation of AI.
It is a disorienting novel with dark humor, numerous pop culture references and probably one of the most unique “road trip” themed stories that you may come across.
Told from two perspectives: Julia is the struggling protagonist who has taken a job that sounds too good-and bizarre-to be true: being asked by a major corporation to apply her experience as a former pro-gamer to remotely control an employee-nicknamed “Bernie” by Julia-with proprietary technology in his brain after being left in a vegetative state, from the West Coast to the right-to-die state of Rhode Island and “You” the second-person perspective who is experiencing a bizarre and unsettling new reality.
I personally feel that listening to the audiobook is best way to experience this novel, as it has an incredible cast and unique sound effects and does an excellent job at truly immersing the listener into the sympathetic, confusing, sometimes-frustrating and unsettling mindsets of the characters.
Sophie Amoss is wonderful as Julia, depicting her sharp wit, her love of The Big Lebowski, her relationship with her Uncle/roommate and her growing conflict regarding her role as “Bernie’s” chaperone in an engaging fashion.
Graham Halstead, John Pirhalla and Dan Bittner are also amazing narrators when the audiobook switches to the perspective of “You” and emphasize the uncertainty, the resilience, the smugness of the consciousnesses and the growing awarenesses within the character.
You-general you-can’t help but to emphasize with him as he undergoes his journey of discovery while trapped within his own mind. Julia’s perspective tends to be a more linear one, while the story from “Your” perspective is a cumulation of thoughts, memories and commentary until it reaches its inevitable conclusion.
Given the lack of ethics concerning corporations and human rights in general, the moral quandaries presented within Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep are absolutely horrifying and not in any way unbelievable.
The massive push to include AI in all aspects of life and the lack of consideration regarding how that will affect society in the long run is already present and I wouldn’t be at all shocked if experiments involving the manipulation of the human body through the application of AI becomes a genuine possibility.
Dead But Dreaming Of Electric Sheep is a book that may not appeal to all readers. The more meandering moments present within the “You” chapters led me to listen to some of them more than once to make certain that I was grasping what was being presented.
As someone who has never seen The Big Lebowski, the numerous references to the movie were also probably not as appreciated as they could have been. Nevertheless, I was still captivated by Julia and “Bernie’s” intermingled stories and found Dead But Dreaming Of Electric Sheep to be a unique blend of science fiction and horror.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay is an intense and compelling novel that serves as a dark glimpse into the future of corporate exploitation, the disintegration of personal autotomy and the dangerous consequences of the unchecked implementation of AI.
It is a disorienting novel with dark humor, numerous pop culture references and probably one of the most unique “road trip” themed stories that you may come across.
Told from two perspectives: Julia is the struggling protagonist who has taken a job that sounds too good-and bizarre-to be true: being asked by a major corporation to apply her experience as a former pro-gamer to remotely control an employee-nicknamed “Bernie” by Julia-with proprietary technology in his brain after being left in a vegetative state, from the West Coast to the right-to-die state of Rhode Island and “You” the second-person perspective who is experiencing a bizarre and unsettling new reality.
I personally feel that listening to the audiobook is best way to experience this novel, as it has an incredible cast and unique sound effects and does an excellent job at truly immersing the listener into the sympathetic, confusing, sometimes-frustrating and unsettling mindsets of the characters.
Sophie Amoss is wonderful as Julia, depicting her sharp wit, her love of The Big Lebowski, her relationship with her Uncle/roommate and her growing conflict regarding her role as “Bernie’s” chaperone in an engaging fashion.
Graham Halstead, John Pirhalla and Dan Bittner are also amazing narrators when the audiobook switches to the perspective of “You” and emphasize the uncertainty, the resilience, the smugness of the consciousnesses and the growing awarenesses within the character.
You-general you-can’t help but to emphasize with him as he undergoes his journey of discovery while trapped within his own mind. Julia’s perspective tends to be a more linear one, while the story from “Your” perspective is a cumulation of thoughts, memories and commentary until it reaches its inevitable conclusion.
Given the lack of ethics concerning corporations and human rights in general, the moral quandaries presented within Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep are absolutely horrifying and not in any way unbelievable.
The massive push to include AI in all aspects of life and the lack of consideration regarding how that will affect society in the long run is already present and I wouldn’t be at all shocked if experiments involving the manipulation of the human body through the application of AI becomes a genuine possibility.
Dead But Dreaming Of Electric Sheep is a book that may not appeal to all readers. The more meandering moments present within the “You” chapters led me to listen to some of them more than once to make certain that I was grasping what was being presented.
As someone who has never seen The Big Lebowski, the numerous references to the movie were also probably not as appreciated as they could have been. Nevertheless, I was still captivated by Julia and “Bernie’s” intermingled stories and found Dead But Dreaming Of Electric Sheep to be a unique blend of science fiction and horror.
June 16, 2026
Thank you to Libro.fm for the gifted copy - all opinions are my own.
Reading Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep feels like having a sharp and uncanny fever dream. AI could never be this inventive and clever.
Our story follows Julia, a jaded gamer living with her uncle and working two dead-end jobs. Julia’s estranged mother (and CFO of a giant tech company) offers her a job she can’t refuse; remotely controlling a brain dead man. Enter said brain dead man. Julia soon dubs him, fittingly, as “Bernie”. The two embark on an unsettling cross country journey and while “Bernie” appears asleep, he’s actually on a terrifying trip of his own.
The story is told using two POVs and dual narration styles and that worked surprisingly well for me. It was initially jarring but I soon fell in to rhythm and it became clear why it was an appropriate choice. It’s a very modern story told in a very modern way and the pieces simply…fit. As a juxtaposition to this near future nightmare, the story is littered with nostalgic pop culture references that I found wildly entertaining.
Tremblay explores many topical issues like A.I. overreach, capitalism, and corporate greed but also some quieter, more existential ones like “what makes the self”. I found myself pondering the MANY ethical implications at play in this hellacious scenario. This is a really thought-provoking piece and the more I stew on it, the more I see the nuances and intricacies at play.
I listened to the audio and I swear this story is MADE for this format. The narrating cast was superb and the sound design took things up to an entirely different level.
Overall, this is a superb story that I expect to stay with me. I recommend this to fans of gaming, bold story-telling, and intellectually stimulating stories.
Reading Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep feels like having a sharp and uncanny fever dream. AI could never be this inventive and clever.
Our story follows Julia, a jaded gamer living with her uncle and working two dead-end jobs. Julia’s estranged mother (and CFO of a giant tech company) offers her a job she can’t refuse; remotely controlling a brain dead man. Enter said brain dead man. Julia soon dubs him, fittingly, as “Bernie”. The two embark on an unsettling cross country journey and while “Bernie” appears asleep, he’s actually on a terrifying trip of his own.
The story is told using two POVs and dual narration styles and that worked surprisingly well for me. It was initially jarring but I soon fell in to rhythm and it became clear why it was an appropriate choice. It’s a very modern story told in a very modern way and the pieces simply…fit. As a juxtaposition to this near future nightmare, the story is littered with nostalgic pop culture references that I found wildly entertaining.
Tremblay explores many topical issues like A.I. overreach, capitalism, and corporate greed but also some quieter, more existential ones like “what makes the self”. I found myself pondering the MANY ethical implications at play in this hellacious scenario. This is a really thought-provoking piece and the more I stew on it, the more I see the nuances and intricacies at play.
I listened to the audio and I swear this story is MADE for this format. The narrating cast was superb and the sound design took things up to an entirely different level.
Overall, this is a superb story that I expect to stay with me. I recommend this to fans of gaming, bold story-telling, and intellectually stimulating stories.
June 22, 2026
The FMC, Julia, is a struggling 20-year-old who can’t refuse an odd job to make money. She is remotely piloting a man in a vegetative state to the East coast through a series of car and planes rides. The story is told from 2 POVs, Julia’s and someone else called “You”. Oh, I absolutely hate the mambo-jambo “You” chapters in the beginning. I’m sure all will be revealed in time but I barely can get through this nonsense. At least these chapters could have shorter.
Someone who likes reading for the sake of the literary language and vibes would enjoy this book. As for me, I’d rather read earlier Paul Tremblay’s books than this one. I really liked how fast paced and action packed some other Tremblay’s books are. But more recent ones, and this including Dead but Dreaming, are more philosophical and reflective and writing rather than plot focused.
The whole time I kept thinking that the government is definitely going to make an army of zombie soldiers with this tech. I’m surprised it took half through the book for characters even to bring up their concerns with the military applications of the tech.
The scariest scene for me was actually the story that Julia told as the most frightening moment of her life.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own
Someone who likes reading for the sake of the literary language and vibes would enjoy this book. As for me, I’d rather read earlier Paul Tremblay’s books than this one. I really liked how fast paced and action packed some other Tremblay’s books are. But more recent ones, and this including Dead but Dreaming, are more philosophical and reflective and writing rather than plot focused.
The whole time I kept thinking that the government is definitely going to make an army of zombie soldiers with this tech. I’m surprised it took half through the book for characters even to bring up their concerns with the military applications of the tech.
The scariest scene for me was actually the story that Julia told as the most frightening moment of her life.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own
July 2, 2026
What the hell happened to my boy Paulie T? This book was SO bad. Like, egregiously bad. So bad that I don't even know where to start, I just want to keep saying "that sucked" over and over again.
Okay, to begin with, there's the plot. As in, there's barely any of it. The concept is idiotic and the action scenes are just our main moron fiddling with a remote control. And yes, the main character is a moron of the highest order. One of the worst fictional people I've ever spent time with. She's the type where, if you ask her if she's okay, she'll reply "No. I'm never okay. You shouldn't be okay, either." Like, fuck allllll the way off with your constant emo bullshit. Not only is she annoying, but freaking EVERYONE is. Nobody in this book talks like a real human being. If I met people who talked like this, I would think they were having a series of strokes. It's worse than Joss Whedon quippiness, it's a whole new level of everyone framing their dialogue like Twitter posts. And this author is old. Like, older than me. Why the hell is he writing like a Gen Z teen girl? Grow up, dog. Go back to writing horror, because this book represents everything I hate about the modern sci-fi scene. This book is so bad, it will probably win a Hugo, an award that I treat as an "avoid at all costs" list. RIP.
Okay, to begin with, there's the plot. As in, there's barely any of it. The concept is idiotic and the action scenes are just our main moron fiddling with a remote control. And yes, the main character is a moron of the highest order. One of the worst fictional people I've ever spent time with. She's the type where, if you ask her if she's okay, she'll reply "No. I'm never okay. You shouldn't be okay, either." Like, fuck allllll the way off with your constant emo bullshit. Not only is she annoying, but freaking EVERYONE is. Nobody in this book talks like a real human being. If I met people who talked like this, I would think they were having a series of strokes. It's worse than Joss Whedon quippiness, it's a whole new level of everyone framing their dialogue like Twitter posts. And this author is old. Like, older than me. Why the hell is he writing like a Gen Z teen girl? Grow up, dog. Go back to writing horror, because this book represents everything I hate about the modern sci-fi scene. This book is so bad, it will probably win a Hugo, an award that I treat as an "avoid at all costs" list. RIP.
July 1, 2026
Thank you to William Morrow and Librofm for an advanced listeners copy of Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
I chose this unique novel to listen to with my science fiction loving husband on our latest road trip. The premise is compelling: Julia, a 20-something semi-professional gamer, is hired by her mother’s tech company to transport a man in a coma, who has proprietary AI implanted in his brain, from Californian to Rhode Island. She is given a cell phone that works as a controller to move the man (who she calls “Bernie”). Their journey, which is like a futuristic Weekend at Bernie’s, is interspersed with the man’s wild dreams and memories.
This is a complex story with alternating points of view, levels of awareness, and timelines. The audio version offers a dramatic full cast narration and I think is the best way to enjoy it. I preferred Julia’s point of view best, especially when Bernie’s dreams become lengthy, increasingly bizarre, and difficult to decipher. And although the story is definitely creative, the pacing loses momentum midway through. I found the ending, when Julia arrives in Rhode Island with “Bernie” and wrestles with the moral implications of their journey, to be the most compelling. Overall a wildly unique story outside of my reading comfort zone that didn’t consistently hold my attention 2.75/5⭐️
I chose this unique novel to listen to with my science fiction loving husband on our latest road trip. The premise is compelling: Julia, a 20-something semi-professional gamer, is hired by her mother’s tech company to transport a man in a coma, who has proprietary AI implanted in his brain, from Californian to Rhode Island. She is given a cell phone that works as a controller to move the man (who she calls “Bernie”). Their journey, which is like a futuristic Weekend at Bernie’s, is interspersed with the man’s wild dreams and memories.
This is a complex story with alternating points of view, levels of awareness, and timelines. The audio version offers a dramatic full cast narration and I think is the best way to enjoy it. I preferred Julia’s point of view best, especially when Bernie’s dreams become lengthy, increasingly bizarre, and difficult to decipher. And although the story is definitely creative, the pacing loses momentum midway through. I found the ending, when Julia arrives in Rhode Island with “Bernie” and wrestles with the moral implications of their journey, to be the most compelling. Overall a wildly unique story outside of my reading comfort zone that didn’t consistently hold my attention 2.75/5⭐️
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