Dissecting ‘William’ – How Andrew Pyper Foreshadowed His 2024 AI/Tech Thriller By Steve Stred
If you follow me on social media, by now you’ll have probably seen that I’m a huge fan of Canadian and International Bestselling author Andrew Pyper. From discovering his modern classic ‘The Demonologist’ about a decade ago, to reading everything of his that I can get my hands on, to curating the online Andrew Pyper Archives (www.theandrewpyperarchives.ca), and organizing the 10th Anniversary celebration of ‘The Demonologist’ in 2013, I’ve done my best to promote his work and get more people celebrating an author that writes horror/thriller novels that stay with you for many, many years.
Some people believe I’m a Pyper expert – to which I’d respond – maybe?
There are people who’ve read his books more than I and there’re are people who’ve analyzed his work more than I, and that’s all good and well. I don’t believe it’s a competition. At the end of the day, I simply love his novels, read them deeply and thoroughly, and try very hard to tell others why they should give his books a chance. If that makes me an expert on his work, then I’ll gladly accept!
Back in 1996, Andrew released his first – and to this point only – collection, with the lauded and acclaimed ‘Kiss Me.’ Three short years later, his debut novel ‘Lost Girls’ was released and from that time on, until 2020, readers of his work were privileged to have a new Pyper novel every two-three years. With 2020’s ‘The Residence,’ we went into an unexpected lull. Sure, we had the 2021 and 2022 audio only releases of ‘Oracle’ and ‘Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders,’ but there’s wasn’t anything new in the printed world that voracious readers could sink their teeth into.
Not until we received news of a new novel coming in 2024 and a follow up in 2025.
In September of 2024 in North America and October of 2024 overseas, ‘William’ arrived, written under the pseudonym of Mason Coile. 2025 will see the sequel, ‘Exiles,’ also under the Coile moniker. And while Andrew’s discussed the reasons for the pseudonym – according to him, his agent loved the story, but felt with how quick and concise it was and that it was more a sci-fi/tech thriller than the normal horror Pyper released, that it might bold well to use a pseudonym – the truth is, that if you’ve read Andrew’s work before, you’d know this was him, even if you ignored the author photo and biography of Coile, stating he was in fact Pyper.
The reason I say this, is because without the previous ten novels (not counting ‘Oracle,’ which would make it eleven), we never would’ve arrived at ‘William.’ For this particular analysis, I’ve decided to bypass his collection, ‘Kiss Me’ as those stories are also present within each of the novels in a variety of ways.
So, come along, while I journey through each of those ten novels to briefly show how Andrew Pyper introduced us to ‘William’ long before it was ever written.
Lost Girls – 1999.
Released to critical acclaim, awards and international recognition, Andrew’s debut novel ‘Lost Girls’ follows young, eager lawyer, Bartholomew Crane who is assigned to defend a teacher in the far north of Ontario, who has been accused of killing two students, even though there’s been no bodies found.
The novel itself has aged very nicely, even with it being 25 years old. The only outdated parts are the lack of internet, use of payphones and library usage for finding out information.
Connection to William
Of all of Andrew’s novels, this one is both the most obvious one to connect, but also the one not obvious at all. Atmosphere. Pyper has always had an otherworldly command of atmosphere within his novels, whether through prose structure, use of environment, or narrative pacing, and ‘Lost Girls’ set the stage for what was to come from that moment forward. It is a dark and twisted story and the feeling of dread throughout is akin to what you’ll experience in ‘William.’
The Trade Mission – 2002.
Considered a departure from his debut – and the rest of his bibliography – 2002’s ‘The Trade Mission’ on its surface is a straightforward Amazon survival tale. Entrepreneur’s head south to sell their product and celebrate their windfall, when they get kidnapped and need to survive. It’s an unnerving, dirty book, that very well might be Andrew’s most realistic novel of anything he’s written.
Connection to William
The reality here, is that ‘The Trade Mission’ was Pyper’s first stab at introducing futuristic tech. Andrew introduces the product known as Hypothesys, which is described as a ‘virtual morality machine.’ It’s this early use of adding in a ‘sci-fi’ element that planted the seeds of where Andrew would go with another of his books almost fifteen years later, and of course, with the futuristic AI tech within ‘William.’
The Wildfire Season – 2005
Following his foray to the Amazon, Andrew then turned his sights back to northern Canada, this time to the Yukon town of Ross River. Featuring a new version of Miles, a character previously introduced within a short story in ‘Kiss Me,’ the story follows him, as he hides from his personal scars, while living with his physical ones in isolation.
Connection to William
Whether we consider the theme of isolation – which is very prevalent within ‘The Wildfire Season’ – or the theme of looking different, we see early rumblings of what we discover in ‘William’ in this 2005 thriller. Miles is scarred, broken and lonely, much like both Henry and William. Both deal with their own internal motivations, but ultimately, both – much like Miles – are stuck within themselves, dealing with how the outside world perceives them and how the outside world is frightening.
The Killing Circle – 2008.
Three years after we went to the Yukon, Andrew took the reader back to Toronto, which has become his long-time home. Within the pages of this psychological/supernatural thriller, we get a father searching for his son, a mysterious figure seemingly stalking a writing group, and Andrew delivers a page-turner that is filled so full of tension the paperback weighs fifty pounds when held, if not more.
Connection to William
This is the first novel of Andrew’s to showcase the parenting aspect within a thriller. Sure, in ‘The Wildfire Season’ there’s a parenting angle, but nothing close to what we get in here, and our main character, Patrick Rush’s despondency to find his son is one of the highlights of the novel. Within ‘William,’ we see how Henry is eager to be a father, if perplexed as to how, but we also see that the theme of family is ever present in Andrew’s books, this being the first to really introduce that theme.
The Guardians – 2011.
After focusing on Toronto, Andrew truly brought the reader home, by heading to his childhood haunt of Stratford, for the coming-of-age ghost story that is ‘The Guardians.’ The novel jumps between past and present and we get subplots of lost love, Parkinson’s and how leaving home means it might not feel the same when you return.
Connection to William
One of the main components with ‘The Guardians’ that makes it so terrifying is the house across the street. This is the harbinger of all ill that has come to the childhood friends and the reason for their return to begin with. This was Andrew’s first use of a ‘haunted location’ as a set piece within a novel and you could argue that it was a direct influence for how ‘William’ takes place within the family home and how that home becomes a prison.
The Demonologist – 2013.
Andrew’s modern classic juggernaut, ‘The Demonologist’ was released two years after ‘The Guardians’ to critical acclaim and International Bestselling results. Lauded for its rich atmosphere, demonic road trip storyline and the bond between David Ullman and his daughter Tess, this book gave people nightmares while also breaking their hearts.
Connection to William
This connection is significantly harder to state while remaining spoiler free, but for that sake I’m going to label it as the search for connection. Ullman has it with Tess, until it’s taken away by the demon and he seeks to reclaim it, and find her again, throughout the rest of the novel. Both William and Henry seek connection, and the reality of why for Henry is one of the biggest plot points within the novel and one that will break readers hearts. As well, much like Ullman had a disconnect from his wife in ‘The Demonologist,’ we see Henry and Lily have a disconnect, one that seemingly baffles Henry, but is used to create a perfect subtext of tension between those two characters.
The Damned – 2015.
Ignoring any sort of fear of failure after releasing such a massive hit like ‘The Demonologist,’ Andrew came out, all guns blazing, with his next novel, the Near Death Experience examination of ‘The Damned.’ Danny and his twin, Ash, were in a fire together, with Danny the only one to survive. But maybe Ash didn’t completely die. Maybe a part of Ash returned.
The novel takes us down a few introspective and philosophical paths, but ultimately ends up with a horrible truth being revealed and readers shedding tears.
Connection to William
Again, this one is tough, wanting to remain spoiler free, but absolutely there is the philosophical discussion of AI as an entity and what does it mean if AI believes they have a soul and believes they are good or evil. Henry sees a change in William. Lily sees a change around her. And when these two aspects are put together, it theorizes that AI and robotics can internally extrapolate their personal self, faster than the humans who make them can keep up. It’s a frightening proposition and one that Andrew has suggested he’ll investigate further in next years ‘Exiles.’
The Only Child – 2017.
What if somebody told you they were the living inspiration for Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Such is the case in the 2017 hit, ‘The Only Child.’ This is Andrew at his most gothic, his most mass-market-thriller. We follow Lily (who is unrelated to Lily within ‘William’) a psychiatrist, who meets a new patient and then goes on a worldwide adventure trying to get to the bottom of their claims and the truth about her past.
Connection to William
Of all the books Andrew’s released, this one might be the most on the nose in that we see a character who was created, pretending to have good intentions but ultimately isn’t a good guy, much like how the character of William is presented early on. Additionally, we get the overwhelming theme of ‘unknown past’ which Andrew plays perfectly in both novels.
The Homecoming – 2019.
What starts as a fairly straightforward novel with a twist – a family is whisked away to a mansion they didn’t know their recently deceased father had – takes several more turns and – blast this needing to remain spoiler free! – ends with Pyper delivering his most bonkers twist of any of his books ever, but also his most sci-fi moment ever.
Additionally, there’s a subtle nod to societal unrest that is darted in a few times but laces the entirety of the story with a bitterness, especially once all is revealed.
Connection to William
The obvious connection is the sci-fi-ness and futuristic aspects. I’m bound and determined to not spoil either novel, but much like in ‘The Homecoming’ Andrew exploits man’s desire to create and push things faster than we have any right to push. This is a firm plot point within ‘William’ and one that we see from Lily’s POV, Henry’s POV and even Lily’s co-workers POV.
As well, we do get the plot point of the height of the Covid confinement, being our ‘societal unrest’ connection. Lastly, within ‘The Homecoming’ we’re shown a family confined within the sprawling PNW compound, while within ‘William’ the home becomes a place they’re confined, both from Henry’s agoraphobia and William’s evil turn.
The Residence – 2020.
Perhaps Andrew’s saddest novel, ‘The Residence’ is based on real events, real people, and was released right before the 2020 US Presidential Election. The story follows the Pierce’s – Franklin, who was just elected President, his wife Jane, and how they arrive at the White House, not long after their son died in a train accident. Jane arrives in mourning, determined to explore every option to bring her son back to her and Pyper dances a delicate tight-rope act of showing how Franklin struggles to navigate life as a President and life as a husband disconnected from his wife and family.
Connection to William
Much like ‘Lost Girls,’ ‘The Residence’ leans heavily on the atmospheric dread Pyper creates, but further towards ‘William’ is the demonic presence aspect. Real stories of the White House being haunted have been told for a century, and Andrew uses that to have us question every bump in the night and every creak in the walls. This is also used within ‘William.’ Every unsettling noise is a startling question for the reader. Who is that? What is that? And what is their purpose? Linking that to Jane’s grief over losing her son, and Lily’s pregnancy with the child coming soon, Andrew also once again focuses on the family aspect to deliver even more tension and more cliff-hanging chapter endings.
Ten published Bestselling novels. All ten, giving us hints, and snippets of what was to come with the release of the tour-de-force novel that is ‘William.’ Only Andrew Pyper can write like Andrew Pyper, but with his morphing into the pseudonym-wielding Mason Coile, he’s gone for a tighter, more condensed version of the Pyper playbook and delivered a blistering novel that details an author’s thoughts and fears about Artificial Intelligence, the world around us, and even those who we hold closest. It’s a novel that you’ll race through in a single sitting, then circle back around to re-read almost immediately.
And by then it’s too late – ‘William’ will have worked its way into your brain.
And maybe even your home.
Further Reading
https://gnofhorror.com/steve-stred-the-nine-influences-on-my-writing/
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is a multiple-award nominated author, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with his wife and son.
Known for his novels, ‘Mastodon,’ ‘Churn the Soil,’ and his series ‘Father of Lies’ where he joined a cult on the dark web for four years, his work has been described as haunting, bleak and is frequently set in the woods near where he grew up. He’s been fortunate to appear in numerous anthologies with some truly amazing authors. His 2023 memoir, ‘The Color of Melancholy,’ featured an examination of his life as intersected with Andrew Pyper’s novels, and he is the online curator of The Official Andrew Pyper Archives. –
https://theandrewpyperarchives.ca/
His novel ‘Mastodon’ will be translated into Czech and Italian over the next few years.
