ENTRADA BOOK REVIEWS

With His Words I'm Not Alone

By Lucas Ryker

Pages: 361 ISBN:‎ 9535958194 Date Reviewed: March 11, 2026 Release Date: September 25, 2025     Available at:

The development and proliferation of artificial intelligence is of concern to most people in today’s world, and author Lucas Ryker creates an interesting tale of its impact in With His Words I’m Not Alone.

This unique tale follows Noel, who has recently left his office job to focus on writing ads, articles, and novels. Noel suffers from haphephobia, an intense fear of being touched or touching others, and a contrasting condition, monophobia, the fear of being alone. These conditions affect Noel’s relationships in such a profound way that he has a very close-knit crew. He lives with his dog Howler, and his robocat, Destiny, and has one close friend, Marsha. Marsha and her son Xavier enjoy spending time with Noel and his pets. They also seem to understand and respect his conditions.

While Noel is working on his writing, he begins to utilize an artificial intelligence program to assist with his writing. At first, he is astonished by how much content and accuracy the program can generate in such a short time; he begins to churn out article after article, book after book. One day, he receives a message from someone on Twitter, Faded, that startles him in its friendliness and flirtatious tone. Noel and Faded continue to exchange messages and develop a sort of supportive relationship. Noel can be honest with Faded about his conditions and his writing. Eventually, Noel realizes that the extent to which he is using artificial intelligence to write for him is dishonest in a way that makes him feel guilty and uncomfortable.

“Artificial intelligence can and will help me with my writing. Which is a good and bad thing. Because it means I will sink even deeper into being dependent and addicted to it, which will open new wounds of self-doubt and loathing for asking for help for the things I’ve been doing without a problem by myself before. I hate the moment I signed a contract with it, rushing to grab something that lured me as wonderful, ingenious, and revolutionary—which it is—but which turned my blessing into my curse. Because I am not a robot. I am a human being. I’m only human. With my needs and limitations. With my goals, expectations and fears. With my dreams, ideas, and plans on hot to reach them. My creativity is falling victim to the growing demands of the market with every new article and book I publish.”

Ryker does a brilliant job of creating these situations of opposition within Noel. He craves company but has to keep them at arm’s length. He wants to write, but caves to the program to increase volume and speed with which he accomplishes it, sacrificing his creativity, for which he has to atone. His close relationship with Faded can develop because they are each hiding behind the wall of the internet.

This is an interesting look at the impact of artificial intelligence and its benefits and downfalls as it pertains to those in creative industries and those with anxiety disorders.

“I am a human being. I’m only human. With my needs and limitations. With my goals, expectations and fears.”