Incarnate by Alma Katsu
G.P. Putnam’s (Sept. 2026)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
AI – there’s no bigger concept in publishing right now, and the evils of it keep growing. Writers are having their work stolen, chewed up, and spit out something terrible. Leave it to Alma Katsu to spin a tale that absorbs the current issue and births something unique, yet still relevant to the classics.
Incarnate combines body horror with AI along with the wondrously saccharine world of influencers. What makes a Katsu novel different is that she never writes in the same realm twice (well, other than her dark fantasy/horror trilogy that jump-started her career).
Dorothy works for a coder who specializes in deepfakes. That’s scary enough, but in the world of influencers, it happens. Her boss devised a program that can create video content for performers who need the extra social media posts to drive up engagement. She attempted this on her own – and failed – but with the technology in her hands, she creates Isabella, a brand new personality – all AI, all deepfaked.
When Dorothy launches Isabella into the world, her own life turns upside down.
Just when she believes she has it under control and can use her creation to have the life she desires, fate steps in and the novel turns into something unexpected.
Yes, the comparisons to The Picture of Dorian Gray do fit, but to rely on that is shortsighted. Katsu’s imagination propels Incarnate into body horror, employing twists that are actually effective. She leads the readers into the darkest places of humanity and then drags them deeper. There’s a dark character in here who lends a Faustian component that elevates the novel into something brilliant and, unfortunately, all too timely.
If one hasn’t read Katsu’s novels before, Incarnate is a fine place to begin. If this isn’t the first, the reader knows that the bar is set high – and she clears it with ease.
