I do like a “social media gone wrong” story. Stories that are revealing about how this untested, maxed-for-profit experiment has affected the 8 billion people on this planet. Arguably, it’s the literary equivalent of doomscrolling. Reading something to confirm everything is exactly as terrible as you thought it was.
Incarnate by Alma Katsu gives us a story with a Faustian bargain. A bargain many of us take watered-down versions of every day.
Growing Information:
Plant With: Social Media, Bullying, Faustian Pacts
Grows Into: An examination of influencer culture and the drive to fit in.
Rating: Garage Flowers 🌻(Check here for rating information.)
Available now in paperback (affiliate link).
The Review:
Incarnate is a readable horror-ish story, which is entertaining if unconvincing. It follows Dorothy, a high-IQ, possibly low EQ, computer expert.
The novel opens with a brief scene that details a hinted-at terrible event during Dorothy’s school years. We see her as a high functioning, low on confidence teenager. One who appears to be victim-blamed after a bullying incident. The story then cuts to her applying for a job with a cutting-edge CGI guru. A master in his field.
The technology they are creating can render accurate deepfakes. The company’s aim is to sell its expertise to stars and influencers so they can be in multiple places at once. These hyperrealistic virtual selves will allow increased revenue streams by multiplying the number of sponsorship deals an influencer can commit to. In a world where the side-hustle is everything, being able to effortlessly run multiple projects at once is highly desirable.
Almost on a whim, Dorothy “borrows” her boss’s proprietary technology to create a deepfake Instagram account of the perfect girl next door.
And things spiral from there.
A mysterious commenter, offers Dorothy the chance for her creation, Isabella, to become massively popular. In return? The price is unspecified – beyond that he’ll collect later.
Isabella’s numbers rocket and she becomes an internet sensation. The initial problem is that Dorothy is not Isabella, making it difficult for her to collect on the various deals that might come her way. This problem is surmounted when Dorothy begins morphing into her creation. Her physical appearance changes and suddenly, she is everything she has always wanted.
This boils down to one word. Popular.
Of course, the time comes to pay the piper, and well, let’s just say things don’t go well.
Dancing With the Devil
While I enjoyed the time I spent with Incarnate, I’m not sure it managed to set out what it achieved.
It’s an examination of the pitfalls of social media, and the chase for ratings. A rail against the superficiality of the internet and a wake up call to the possibility of powerful AI deepfakes. A reminder that the technology is here now, not something to worry about for some unspecified point in the future.
Incarnate succeeds to an extent, but I found the analysis itself somewhat superficial. Dorothy scratches the surface of influencer cultures, but just as the novel feels it might dig deeper and become more revealing, we sort of bounce off, and don’t learn very much at all.
The Supernatural elements don’t quite work for me. There are obvious comparisons with The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I must confess, I haven’t read, though I am aware of its broad themes. It didn’t work for me in this format, unless perhaps it is to say, you can stay young and beautiful in this internet world, but it still won’t make you happy.
The devil collecting on the down payment felt underwhelming in the novel’s dénouement. I was expecting a true reckoning and realisation and perhaps a more overt sense that Internet stardom exacts a price that you can never repay. Dorothy runs, not so much to escape the deeper consequences of her actions but more just because if she’s doesn’t she’ll be arrested for murder.
Dorothy is conflicted by her actions, but in the end neither they nor her reaction to them felt believable. There’s a vague sense that chasing happiness on the internet will leave you more lonely than ever, but the message isn’t strong enough to justify the set up.
Incarnate was a fun read but not a particularly impressive one, nor one that will leave me thinking about it much after finishing.
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