A Fly on the Wall From A - Z

by Tim Werenko

A Fly on the Wall From A - Z is the collected writings of a man in prison retelling the events that led to his incarceration. Our narrator, Andrew, is a drone pilot in the not too distant future where drones can be the size of houseflies. Out of this technology, a growing industry of privatized surveillance has emerged. As surveillance missions go from monitoring criminals to monitoring protesters, Andrew begins to recognize the abuses in the system taking place around him. Any action against the system of which he’s a part will potentially put his family at risk. Doing nothing eases the slide towards a world where corporations play with the lives of those they watch - in other words: anyone. Kurt Vonnegut meets David Mitchell in this love story, political suspense, science fiction, dystopian novel of a man who must choose between keeping his family safe in a deteriorating world or risking everything to burn it all down.

Told over the course of 26 chapters arranged alphabetically, the writings are the efforts of a man in prison trying to retain his sanity, remember his humanity, and make sense of the actions he’s already taken. Whether in the form of a traditional narrative or a stream of consciousness, a poem, or screenplay, each chapter reveals new layers of a world where AI robots police the streets and the pursuit of corporate power leads to murder. Andrew comes to realize that his responsibility as a parent, husband, and human being is more than protecting those he loves, he must take steps to make the world better even if that means starting the Second American Revolution.

259 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2026

Reviews

[Kristian Kuegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling dystopian tale set in the all too soon future. Orwell warned of a surveillance state, but this hits much closer to our reality of corporate infiltration of our lives leveraged for nefarious purposes. A fresh voice telling a gripping story.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Werenko weaves multiple styles of storytelling into a frightening yet believable dystopian future.
If you’re looking for a truly original piece of contemporary literature, you won’t be disappointed in “A Fly On The Wall from A-Z”.

[Joel Robb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo Tim Werenko! This was a fantastic book! (my note to those reading this -- Tim and I were best friends in high school -- I don't know whether to talk about the author or the book -- but I feel that both are intertwined -- this is pure Tim W. -- I could hear Tim's voice telling this story [baring his soul at times] -- he really shined in his ability to weave an exciting tale into every chapter!) I will focus on the book now --> part 1984 (Big Brother), part Solzhenitsyn? (maybe a hint of the Russian authors I know he so loves), part near future pre-apocalyptic robot/microdrone/morally dubious mega corporations who spy on you and me (and a heartless government that acts on the overwatch), part NY/NJ love stories, part social/political commentary, part movie references (eg Star Wars, Indiana Jones -- movies that forged us as teenagers), and part relevant/interesting NDG Tyson/Bill Bye fun facts (Schrodinger's Cat, collapsing waves --- what is reality?, etc) that actually are appropriate to the dialogue and story, and so much more --> this book just keeps moving. It's edgy, witty, and has smart dialogue. The characters are believable, connectable, and impossibly entangled into life situations that keep the moral ambiguity and dilemmas churning throughout. This is a high quality (and fun) story that most authors aren't able to achieve on their first go, but I imagine his screen writing through the years has given him a leg up on how to write effectively. I passed this book on to my brother and I hope he enjoys it as much as I did. It reads fast, and you should go get a copy to check it out for yourself! I could see this story as a six part series on Netflix in the near future.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fly on the Wall from A to Z is one of those rare novels that manages to be sharp, funny, and deeply human while taking a hard look at the world we’re living in. The premise (a drone pilot who becomes a literal “fly on the wall” in other people’s lives) could have been just a clever gimmick, but here it becomes a powerful way to explore surveillance, power, and the quiet choices that shape people’s futures.

The voice is immediately engaging: wry, self‑aware, and emotionally honest without ever getting heavy‑handed. The book moves effortlessly from high‑tension scenes (combat missions, political unrest, impossible moral decisions) to intimate, grounded moments of family and love that genuinely land. I especially loved how the story balances big, near‑future ideas with very real feelings: fear for a child, the weight of responsibility, the messy hope of trying to do the right thing when there are no clean options.

If you like speculative or near‑future fiction that actually has something to say, with characters you care about and set pieces that feel uncomfortably plausible, this is absolutely worth your time. It’s thought‑provoking without being preachy and entertaining without ever dumbing things down. I’ll be thinking about these characters, and the questions this book raises, for a long time.

[Nicole Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for the summer. A Fly on the Wall From A to Z has restored my faith in contemporary literature. I had to slow myself while reading so I could savor each moment. Tim Werenko weaves together a richly complex story that is entertaining and thought provoking with characters that captivate. Set in a dystopian near future that is only a few degrees off from our world today, the story is a tapestry of suspense, adventure, romance, and realism. The realism hits home as you see yourself in the character. That's it. I'm not giving anything away. This book is filled with depth and meaning while also being fun. Read with friends, and you'll have endless hours of conversation afterwards. I wish I could read it again for the first time.... a second and third time will have to suffice.

[Danielle Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Werenko has written something that felt completely new to me, and yet completely FOR ME all at once. I felt instantly drawn into the mind of Andrew Winslow and I was captivated by all of the characters that populate his world. However dark the story gets, and it gets pretty dark, there was a constant current of love and humor and humanness running through the story. I particularly love the more abstract chapters when Werenko breaks the traditional narrative form to give us poetry, philosophic musings, theatre, film, and yes, even math. Any book that can get me to stick with math must be tremendously good. I highly recommend A Fly On the Wall From A-Z.

[Maxwell Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very gripping storytelling that paints the picture of this depressingly realistic near-future world with a fantastic, ever-changing and experimental writing style. The variety of styles, ranging from traditional prose to script to poetry, gives the audience an intimate understanding of Andrew's mental state. By the end, we are left with a very clear idea of the world Andrew lives in while being kept just as in the dark as he is.