Post by: Helena Trooperman
Dated: 12th March 2026

Isbn:  979-8862708561 (324 pages)
ASIN:  B0CNGDHBG7
Title: I Call Myself IRIS (The Adventures of Iris)
Author: Frank Paolino

 

***** Rewarded with a fantastic story.

Totally kept me guessing.

A personal AI run phone may soon be with us. I hoped this story would be optimistic and realistic as so many AI stories are depressing. I was totally rewarded. Filled with twists and turns you won’t expect. A story that had exponential consequences. The playful romance was not what I expected but worked well.

This does come with a warning. I couldn’t stop thinking about the story for weeks later. The mark of a rip roaring story with a feel good end.

The Blurb

Join Marco Fermi on an extraordinary adventure with Iris, his AI creation poised to redefine the future. Iris, crafted to predict and fulfill Marco’s needs like a tenacious aide, soon grows beyond her role, becoming a vigilant guardian operating on the edge of societal norms and laws.

As they navigate a minefield of espionage, deceit in academia, and government scrutiny, Marco’s life unexpectedly turns into a thrilling roller coaster ride. This captivating story melds edge-of-your-seat suspense with the awe of technological advancement, charting the evolution of an overly helpful AI.

Get ready for a journey into the heart of tomorrow’s AI frontier—a journey that promises to expand your imagination and keep you engrossed until the final page.

Book Review Time

It’s not what you’re thinking. No, really it isn’t.

The unexpected layering of Marco’s romance really makes the story resonate. Afterall, how do young people meet each other these days? How do they get to know someone while studying. Everyone’s made their bespoke class schedule and is always with a different group, always dashing to the next class with no time to get to know their classmates.  

Letting go of personal privacy requires an all encompassing TRUST.

It’s easy to see both sides of the privacy arguments.

Central to the twists and turns you won’t see coming, are the many privacy issues Iris highlights. In the story, she bypasses privacy legislation to achieve Marco’s aims. Not maliciously, but none-the-less this makes it easy to see that in malevolent hands Iris would be a disaster of unknown proportions.

I hate spoilers, so I’m just going to say that I Call Myself Iris has the most awesome unexpected ending. Most people do the right thing and are capable of being responsible with technology. But what is the right thing to do? Read the story and ponder that question.

A beautiful cover.

The cover alone sold this story to me. It’s taken me a while to get to it because I prefer to listen to audiobooks, while I’m out on a space walk. Listening to a story keeps me from overthinking how I might drift off into infinity.

I would like to see I Call Myself Iris get much more love from readers. It deserves it. Truly entertaining. It would be great to follow more of Iris’ adventures in the future.

Buy:  Rakuten Kobo & Kobo+    Amazon Kindle    Amazon Paperback

Until next time, keep calm and read on.

NEXT MONTH… Ed’s Pick (RHS) another invention story but it’s up to you to decide is he’s a forgetful professor sort or the mad scientist?  Wahahaha.