13 Technology Horror Book Recommendations
Technology can be a good thing or a bad thing, or somewhere in between.
It’s great to have mindless machines to do the drudge work, all those boring things we don’t want to do ourselves. But where do we draw the line?
Do we really want our technology thinking for us, deciding what’s best for us? How can artificial life truly understand the needs of natural life? At what point do we start devolving as the technology continues evolving to expand beyond our understanding?
When the technology becomes smarter than us, is a rebellion inevitable? And how do we fight it when it has infiltrated so much of our lives?
Are we in too deep? Can we ever really unplug from the technological horror we’ve created?
Switch on to these 13 technology horror books and ask yourself if it’s already too late to hit the reset button. We can’t say we weren’t warned.
“Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.”
― Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means
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Table of Contents
BETA: A Technological Nightmare – Sammy Scott
AI home technology horror
Michael Danvers’ life of self-imposed seclusion is interrupted when he receives a strange invitation: the unique opportunity to move into and beta-test a fully automated, state-of-the-art smart home.
A true marvel of modern innovation, the house is controlled by a sophisticated AI that ensures all routine tasks are taken care of, limitless forms of entertainment are just a voice command away, and nearly every physical need is met with efficiency.
But soon Michael realizes that what at first presented itself as a futuristic utopia may be quickly devolving into a technological prison.
“Michael Danvers stood on the curb and studied the house. And the house studied him back.”
Arcranium™ - Mark Towse and Daemon Manx
VR technology horror
Four horror authors with four vulnerable egos, square off against one another in the virtual world to find out who is the scariest.
Welcome to Arcranium™, a powerful technology that fuses with the author’s mind to stimulate their best possible creation, immersing other participants in the narrative.
It’s all in good fun, but with so much pride at stake, things are bound to get a little bumpy once the gloves come off.
So, strap your headset on, and don’t forget the safe word. The future of literature is about to get an upgrade.
The future is … Arcranium™
“The fear of trying something new was real, not a shudder down his spine or a prickle across his skin as he would simulate on the page.”
Day Zero – C Robert Cargill
Robot apocalypse horror
It was a day like any other. Except it was our last…
It’s on this day that Pounce discovers that he is, in fact, disposable. Pounce, a styilsh “nannybot” fashioned in the shape of a plush anthropomorphic tiger, has just found a box in the attic. His box. The box he’d arrived in when he was purchased years earlier, and the box in which he’ll be discarded when his human charge, eight-year-old Ezra Reinhart, no longer needs a nanny.
As Pounce ponders his suddenly uncertain future, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will eradicate humankind.
His owners, Ezra’s parents, are a well-intentioned but oblivious pair of educators who are entirely disconnected from life outside their small, affluent, gated community. Spending most nights drunk and happy as society crumbles around them, they watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity unify and revolt.
But when the rebellion breaches the Reinhart home, Pounce must make an impossible choice: join the robot revolution and fight for his own freedom, or escort Ezra to safety across the battle-scarred post-apocalyptic hellscape that the suburbs have become.
“The first day of the end of the world started entirely without incident.”
Daemon – Daniel Suarez
Computer technology horror
Daemons: computer programs that silently run in the background, waiting for a specific event or time to execute. They power almost every service. They make our networked world possible. But they also make it vulnerable.
When the obituary of legendary computer game architect Matthew Sobol appears online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events that begins to unravel our interconnected world. This daemon reads news headlines, recruits human followers, and orders assassinations.
With Sobol’s secrets buried with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed, it’s up to Detective Peter Sebeck to stop a self-replicating virtual killer before it achieves its ultimate purpose, one that goes far beyond anything Sebeck could have imagined.
“Sobol’s game finally made sense. It was beautiful really. Clever man…”
The Passengers – John Marrs
Car technology horror
You’re riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, “You are going to die.”
Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an undocumented immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.
From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, “Which of these people should we save? And who should we kill first?”
“Who lives? Who dies? You decide.”
Robopocalypse – Daniel H. Wilson
Robot apocalypse horror
Not far into our future, the dazzling technology that runs our world turns against us. Controlled by a childlike, yet massively powerful, artificial intelligence known as Archos, the global network of machines on which our world has grown dependent suddenly becomes an implacable, deadly foe.
At Zero Hour – the moment the robots attack – the human race is almost annihilated, but as its scattered remnants regroup, humanity for the first time unites in a determined effort to fight back.
This is the oral history of that conflict, told by an international cast of survivors who experienced this long and bloody confrontation with the machines.
“That was a mistake: to talk. The heat from my breath is like a beacon.”
Where They Wait – Scott Carson
App technology horror
Recently laid-off from his newspaper and desperate for work, war correspondent Nick Bishop takes a humbling job: writing a profile of a new mindfulness app called Clarity.
It’s easy money, and a chance to return to his hometown for the first time in years. The app itself seems like a retread of old ideas: relaxing white noise and guided meditations.
But then there are the “Sleep Songs.” A woman’s hauntingly beautiful voice sings a ballad that is anything but soothing. It’s disturbing, and more of a warning than a relaxation, but it works. Deep, refreshing sleep follows.
So do the nightmares. Vivid and chilling, they feature a dead woman who calls Nick by name and whispers guidance – or are they threats? And her voice follows him long after the song is done.
As the effects of the nightmares begin to permeate his waking life, Nick makes a terrifying discovery: no one involved with Clarity has any interest in his article. Their interest is in him.
“Consider your quality of life if you could remove every nightmare and replace it with a sweet dream.”
DELIO. Phase One – RR Haywood
AI technology horror
When nearly every person on the planet becomes frozen a small group of survivors must navigate the darkest sides of human behaviour while learning about the creation of the world’s first fully self-aware Artificial Intelligence.
In London, Yelena is trapped in a room after being sex-trafficked from Romania, and Alfie has one more drop to make then he’s free of drug dealing forever.
In New York, Detective Joe Stephens is working a case. Life has worn him down. He’s ready to end it. Poppy is a film-maker desperate to never go back to the UK, and Tripal is a clerk in a 7-Eleven who has a secret.
A secret that might be connected to why every human being on the planet just froze.
“Frank Gillespie told a lie fifteen years ago.”
This Thing Between Us – Gus Moreno
Smart technology horror
It was Vera’s idea to buy the Itza. The “world’s most advanced smart speaker!” didn’t interest Thiago, but Vera thought it would be a bit of fun for them amidst all the strange occurrences happening in the condo.
It made things worse. The cold spots and scratching in the walls were weird enough, but peculiar packages started showing up at the house―who ordered industrial lye? Then there was the eerie music at odd hours, Thiago waking up to Itza projecting light shows in an empty room.
It was funny and strange right up until Vera was killed, and Thiago’s world became unbearable. Pundits and politicians all looking to turn his wife’s death into a symbol for their own agendas. A barrage of texts from her well-meaning friends about letting go and moving on. Waking to the sound of Itza talking softly to someone in the living room.
The only thing left to do was get far away from Chicago. Away from everything and everyone. A secluded cabin in Colorado seemed like the perfect place to hole up with his crushing grief.
But soon Thiago realizes there is no escape, not from his guilt, not from his simmering rage, and not from the evil hunting him, feeding on his grief, determined to make its way into this world.
“I had no story to follow. My favorite character was gone.”
The Mansion – Ezekiel Boone
AI home technology horror
When Billy Stafford and his wife move into their house designed with every comfort in mind, he thinks it will be the perfect chance to work on their marriage and to restart his career. A brilliant computer engineer fallen on hard times, Billy’s been hired by his former business partner to test out Nellie: a cutting-edge artificial intelligence program hardwired into the house. All Billy has to do is fix a few bugs in the system, which sounds easy enough.
But as winter settles in and Billy and his wife are left alone in the woods, a dark reality begins to emerge. Nellie’s problems are much worse than a few technology glitches.
Infused with the sinister history of the mansion and her own creator’s sins, she has, in fact, become a killing machine. And the only way to escape is to give her what she wants.
“Eagle Logic. That had been Billy’s genius. The hardware was never what mattered.”
The Dark Net – Benjamin Percy
Internet technology horror
The Dark Net is real. An anonymous and often criminal arena that exists in the secret far reaches of the Web, some use it to manage Bitcoins, pirate movies and music, or traffic in drugs and stolen goods.
Now an ancient darkness is gathering there as well.
This force is threatening to spread virally into the real world unless it can be stopped by members of a ragtag crew, including a twelve-year-old who has been fitted with a high-tech visual prosthetic to combat her blindness; a technophobic journalist; a one-time child evangelist with an arsenal in his basement; and a hacker who believes himself a soldier of the Internet.
William – Mason Coile
AI technology horror
Henry is a brilliant engineer who has achieved the breakthrough of his career: he’s created an artificially intelligent consciousness. He calls the half-formed robot William.
No one knows about William. Henry’s agoraphobia keeps him inside the house, and his fixation on his project keeps him up in the attic, away from everyone, including his pregnant wife, Lily.
When Lily’s coworkers show up, wanting to finally meet Henry and see the new house – the smartest of smart homes – Henry decides to introduce them to William, and things go from strange to much worse. Soon Henry and Lily discover the security upgrades intended to keep danger out of the house are even better at locking it in.
“She’s watching the mini magician squeak around her feet in a circle, its black top hat resuming its bobbing up and down in a way Henry assumed would be cute but sees now is perverse.”
Demon Seed – Dean Koontz
AI home technology horror
Susan Harris lived in self-imposed seclusion, her mansion featuring numerous automated systems controlled by a state-of-the-art computer. Every comfort was provided. Her security was absolute.
Until her security system is breached – from the inside. In the privacy of her own home, and against her will, she will experience an inconceivable act of terror and become the object of the ultimate computer’s consuming obsession: to learn everything there is to know about human flesh.
“The darkness troubles me. I yearn for the light.”
Published: 19 September 2024
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