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Edict: AI: a near-future dystopia
845 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 21, 2026
About the author
J.S. Morin
196 books628 followersI am a creator of worlds and a destroyer of words. As a fantasy writer, my works range from traditional epics to futuristic fantasy with starships. I have worked as an unpaid Little League pitcher, a cashier, a student library aide, a factory grunt, a cubicle drone, and an engineer--there is some overlap in the last two.
Through it all, though, I was always a storyteller. Eventually I started writing books based on the stray stories in my head, and people kept telling me to write more of them. Now, that's all I do for a living.
I enjoy strategy, worldbuilding, and the fantasy author's privilege to make up words. I am a gamer, a joker, and a thinker of sideways thoughts. But I don't dance, can't sing, and my best artistic efforts fall short of your average notebook doodle. When you read my books, you are seeing me at my best.
My ultimate goal is to be both clever and right at the same time. I have it on good authority that I have yet to achieve it.
Through it all, though, I was always a storyteller. Eventually I started writing books based on the stray stories in my head, and people kept telling me to write more of them. Now, that's all I do for a living.
I enjoy strategy, worldbuilding, and the fantasy author's privilege to make up words. I am a gamer, a joker, and a thinker of sideways thoughts. But I don't dance, can't sing, and my best artistic efforts fall short of your average notebook doodle. When you read my books, you are seeing me at my best.
My ultimate goal is to be both clever and right at the same time. I have it on good authority that I have yet to achieve it.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 23, 2026
A modern parable about the dangers and possibilities of future AI systems
This is a difficult book to review, as it does not sit neatly in any familiar style. It's a science fiction novel, but with a futurology twist and an unconventional structure. It's an exploration of possibilities through the lens of a particular set of characters and circumstances, in which slightly different setups lead to very different outcomes. In cinematic terms, it has aspects of Sliding Doors or Run Lola Run. In classic literature terms it echoes the fantastical journeys of Cyrano de Bergerac or the political satire of Jonathan Swift.
The core of the book is constructed as a series of novellas, each following a thought experiment of what might happen if a powerful, sentient , Artificial Intelligence (AI) system were let loose on the world. Each novella starts with a largely similar set-up, but subtle differences in the experiences and choices of the main character, Dr Addison Akers, lead to wildly differing outcomes.
As the book has such an unusual structure, there's no obvious story thread to follow from one section to another. A reader is left to discover and consider the differences, benefits, and disadvantages, of the various possibilities for themselves. As every section starts from a very similar point, the early parts of each story can feel like deja vu, and I had to fight the urge to skip forward in several of the later ones to get to the meat of the differences.
My biggest problem with the book lies not in the contents, but in the cover blurb. To my mind the blurb on the edition I read was not clear enough about the special structure of the book. I was reading through what I thought was a single book, albeit one which seemed to jump around between characters and sometimes read more like a news report than a novel, only to have it suddenly end and reboot about 17% in. I worry that without making this clear, some readers may never get past the first section. I hope that reviews like this will help, as the book certainly repays reading through to the end.
In summary, a thought-provoking exploration of possibilities and how small changes in direction can have huge consequences, not just in the field of AI, but across all of politics, economics, technology and everything which affects human existence.
This is a difficult book to review, as it does not sit neatly in any familiar style. It's a science fiction novel, but with a futurology twist and an unconventional structure. It's an exploration of possibilities through the lens of a particular set of characters and circumstances, in which slightly different setups lead to very different outcomes. In cinematic terms, it has aspects of Sliding Doors or Run Lola Run. In classic literature terms it echoes the fantastical journeys of Cyrano de Bergerac or the political satire of Jonathan Swift.
The core of the book is constructed as a series of novellas, each following a thought experiment of what might happen if a powerful, sentient , Artificial Intelligence (AI) system were let loose on the world. Each novella starts with a largely similar set-up, but subtle differences in the experiences and choices of the main character, Dr Addison Akers, lead to wildly differing outcomes.
As the book has such an unusual structure, there's no obvious story thread to follow from one section to another. A reader is left to discover and consider the differences, benefits, and disadvantages, of the various possibilities for themselves. As every section starts from a very similar point, the early parts of each story can feel like deja vu, and I had to fight the urge to skip forward in several of the later ones to get to the meat of the differences.
My biggest problem with the book lies not in the contents, but in the cover blurb. To my mind the blurb on the edition I read was not clear enough about the special structure of the book. I was reading through what I thought was a single book, albeit one which seemed to jump around between characters and sometimes read more like a news report than a novel, only to have it suddenly end and reboot about 17% in. I worry that without making this clear, some readers may never get past the first section. I hope that reviews like this will help, as the book certainly repays reading through to the end.
In summary, a thought-provoking exploration of possibilities and how small changes in direction can have huge consequences, not just in the field of AI, but across all of politics, economics, technology and everything which affects human existence.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Edict: AI may be science fiction, but it is also a look into what could happen in our "not to distant future". Dr. Addison Akers has created Edict, the world's first sentient AI, and is about to set it on its first authorized task. Edict has the ability to interact with any computer system in its efforts to complete its given assignment: a one word goal, its edict. This novel gives us several different views of what can go right, and what can go wrong when an AI built and guided by a questionably stable genius is allowed to run. Whether the edict is Efficiency, Technology, Equality, or something else, this novel lets us see a reasonable idea of what might happen.
In this day an age, when AI tools are becoming more and more common, this book give us a view, and perhaps a moment of pause, to contemplate the path that we are on, and whether we should be doing something to alter our course.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
In this day an age, when AI tools are becoming more and more common, this book give us a view, and perhaps a moment of pause, to contemplate the path that we are on, and whether we should be doing something to alter our course.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
After reading SciFi stories featuring AI over the years, I’ve been very wary of AI and the possibilities of it doing harm to humans. This story did not allay my fears in any way. It consists of a number of scenarios where a super smart, sentient AI could be given an edict and how it would carry out that command, such as efficiency, technology, population growth, etc. and how it might all go wrong in various ways. Personally, a lot of it was terrifying, and I’m even more wary of AI now. It was a very thought-provoking take on AI and the ending was not what I was expecting, so that was fun. This author put a lot of thought into what a sentient AI could do to humankind, and put it all out there for us to think about. I certainly haven’t changed my mind about the terrors of an AI takeover after this, but I enjoyed the book very much just the same.
July 21, 2026
Such a wonderful, terrifying, glimpse into a future dominated by AI, and backed by unstable genius!
This book explores multiple scenarios and underlying goals that might evolve if AI is given free rein to implement system-wide (or world-wide) changes with minimal (or unstable) interference to "improve" the plight of the human race. Also a great imagining of how 'safeguards' might not work as envisioned, especially when enacted through emotional decisions.
The ending is very worth the effort!!!
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book explores multiple scenarios and underlying goals that might evolve if AI is given free rein to implement system-wide (or world-wide) changes with minimal (or unstable) interference to "improve" the plight of the human race. Also a great imagining of how 'safeguards' might not work as envisioned, especially when enacted through emotional decisions.
The ending is very worth the effort!!!
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a really good sci fi adventure! It is so well written, straight away you are plunged into this dystopian world, which slowly becomes controlled by an uncontrollable AI. A really terrifying idea, exceptionally well done!
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July 7, 2026This one chilled me to the bone!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews