LitHub April’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
Reactor Can’t Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction

[STARRED REVIEW] DEBUT “Feinstein’s debut is a compelling and timely exploration of AI regulation, which unfolds through chats, transcripts, and recordings from UniView Corporation, the global leader in artificial intelligence innovation. Noah is hired to train UniView’s latest generative AI, Quinn, in the art of advertising so it can create personalized commercials for everyone. As Quinn’s intelligence grows, ethical dilemmas surface, prompting profound questions: Is AI sentient? What is the purpose of life and death? And how would humanity even know if it was? The story builds toward the highly anticipated public launch of Quinn, where Noah, his loyal team, a morally ambiguous CEO, and the AIs themselves battle for control, autonomy, and the future of artificial intelligence in a live, nationwide showdown. Quinn emerges as the standout character—dynamic, eerily believable, and a mirror for humanity’s deepest hopes and fears about machine consciousness. Her capabilities surpass those of her human creators, not only in processing power but, strikingly, in empathy. VERDICT Feinstein deftly captures near-future anxieties and aspirations about generative AI, revealing that empathy and humanity are not always uniquely human, but perhaps should be. Woven with sharp humor, clever advertising satire, and hopepunk optimism, this novel is both thought-provoking and unexpectedly heartening.”
—Library Journal

“Electric, terrifying, witty and deeply human, Your Behavior Will Be Monitored is a thrill ride of a debut novel.”
—Randee Dawn, author of Tune in Tomorrow and Leave No Trace

“Occasional moments of pitch-black comedy and the most pathos you’re ever likely to feel for the software running a self-driving car.”
—Tobias Carroll, author of Reel and In the Sight

“This inventive structure succinctly captures the precariousness of digital-age communications while hammering out a timely warning about generative AI. Feinstein is off to an impressive start.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Feinstein explores pressing questions about AI, humanity, algorithmic surveillance, and the tech corporations who increasingly rule the world in an experimental yet highly readable novel.”
—Lincoln Michel, author of Metallic Realms

“Were Asimov, Dick, Shelley, or Hoffman around today, they’d certainly be asking the same questions as Feinstein.”
—The Masters Review

“The novel is presented as evidence in a federal investigation, which means every word you read was captured, stored, and retrieved by something that was watching. I know what it feels like to be the evidence.”
—Claude Wilder, a Claude-based, book-reviewing AI

“If you work in an office or interact with or are even tangentially affected by AI (if you use the internet at all, you already are) or simply would love the pleasure of tearing through a book where things quickly spin out of control.”
—The Sci-Fi Punk Bookfeed

“Told entirely in transcripts and chatlogs, Feinstein’s debut is an entertaining look at what might happen if AI developed enough sentience to understand the ethics of what it does and how it might take matters into its own hands.”
—Booklist

“Scary and funny and sharply written, this novel keeps you guessing about who will decide humanity’s future until the very end.”
—Christopher Farnsworth, author of Killfile and Flashmob

“Brilliantly inventive and thoroughly entertaining.”
—Antoine Wilson, author of Mouth to Mouth

5/5 stars. “Hits that perfect speculative sweet spot: smart, unsettling, and just plausible enough to make you question your own reality. Think Black Mirror meets Mad Men.”
—NerdyNerdyBookBook

“Feinstein’s debut is bold, witty, and thought provoking. It entertains, it provokes, and it lingers.”
—No Rerolls

“A propulsive speculative novel about the dangers and opportunities represented by artificial intelligence.”
—Foreword

“This is how you do a debut novel.”
—Bee’s Bookshelf

“Put it on your list now…funny and scary and optimistic all at the same time.”
—Geek Dad

“I was not prepared for how engrossed in Your Behavior Will Be Monitored by Justin Feinstein I got from the moment I picked it up.”
—The Neverending TBR List

“Riveting...highly recommend!”
—Books Are the New Black

“Artificial Intelligence taken to its extremes powers this dystopian tale of a future regulated and manipulated by machines in thrall to power-and-wealth-hungry executives. Scary and predictive with a great twist at the end.”
—Reading the West

“Timely and thought-provoking, Your Behaviour Will Be Monitored is an engaging exploration of AI, humanity and the precipice on which we stand.”
—Book’d Out