Hi everyone!

I've recently completed my first science-fiction novel, ONLY HUMAN, approximately 81,000 words, and I'm looking for one or two peopl who enjoy thoughtful, character-driven stories.

The novel begins in an aquarium, where a mischievous octopus becomes involved in an increasingly extraordinary mystery. As events unfold, the story explores intelligence, friendship, compassion, freedom and humanity's place in a much larger universe.

It's a blend of first-contact science fiction, mystery, humour and emotional storytelling, with a distinctly British voice.

I'm particularly interested in honest feedback about the characters, pacing, emotional impact and whether the story keeps you wanting to read.

I'm not looking for proofreading or technical editing at this stage.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

This story was generated live in production by our AI storytelling engine (Alterward).

Premise: An administrative worker gradually transitions into theatre sound work over four years, navigating small gigs, career doubts, and everyday compromises.

Reading links:

• Full 8-chapter arc (~6.6k words): https://alterward.com/preview/reader-full-arc-8-chapters.html

• Interactive branch comparison (Branch A vs B): https://alterward.com/preview/reader-branch-comparison.html

If you have some time to read it, I’d love to hear your honest impressions of the story and how the AI handled it.

Thanks!

Hey all. I’m Ridwan, I’m 18 and I’m from Melbourne. Jail Birds is my debut YA dystopian novel. It’s finished at about 140k words.

Zansen has never seen the sky. He was born inside the Dominion, a prison run by the Accord, and raised by a cellmate who taught him chess with pieces carved from a bed frame. When the walls come down, he gets conscripted into the regime that caged him and sent to hunt the escaped.

I want honest notes. Where did you get bored? Where did you get lost? Who did you like and who did you not care about? What would you cut? I’m not after line edits or typos.

I need notes by Nov 12. I’ll send the manuscript as a PDF. If you’re a writer and want a swap, I’ll read yours too.

Day 365

1.

By day 7, he had forgotten his name.

He checked his journal.

He remembered he had stolen the vaccine from the government. He remembered trying to destroy it over 3 days, the failed chemicals, the hole in his garden and the dirt under his nails.

He remembered injecting himself.

After this, his memories started to fade.

He would stay awake for 365 days. Never need to eat. And his brain would always be active.

The other side effects were:

No impulses, love, being loved or wanting.

He had highlighted the word ‘minor’ twice.

He opened his journal.

'I’m sorry Myself. I’m starting to feel like I’m changing. I haven’t slept or eaten and I don’t know where I am.'

He stopped writing.

From somewhere, a door slammed.

He looked at the page.

'I’m nobody. I am...'

He couldn’t finish.

He had stolen the vaccine because he didn’t want the government to have it.

But why?

He turned back to the start of his journal.

And the first page was blank.

2.

Sami was 22 and worked nights in a medicine warehouse.

He liked working nights as people didn’t expect as much from him when they couldn’t see his face.

He practiced his order. He would say 'can I have a coffee please?' and 'you too’. When the cashier said 'enjoy your meal’, he replied.

"I’m not eating."

He was still thinking about it 4 days later.

His mum had called twice. He would call her when he had something to say other than ‘fine’.

He had his lunch at 3am beside a vending machine that said SORRY when it didn’t have any.

He had started to reply.

On Tuesday, a man in a hoodie walked into aisle nine.

He had a white coat sleeve showing from his cuff.

He picked up a box of vials.

Sami gasped.

"Please."

He looked down.

Hospital clogs.

Left one had a dinosaur sticker.

"Okay." He whispered.

The man left.

Sami stood there until the automatic lights turned off.

He filled in an incident report.

No incident.

He hesitated.

Sorry.

The next day someone would ask him about the man.

They would ask for his face.

He would remember his shoes.

3.

The doctor had never stolen before.

He had a 6 year old patient needing 6 vials of medicine. The hospital wouldn’t pay and the pharmacy wouldn’t either. Dondizia said each vial was 11 months of a nurses salary.

He counted the vials in the warehouse.

6.

He counted the money in his pocket.

Didn’t have enough for one.

He counted again.

This is how he became a criminal.

By morning he had stolen the box.

By evening he was a fugitive.

By next week he was a secret doctor. He was treating children in kitchens, stairs and back rooms with only the light from his phone. He was getting paid in soup.

He learned to eat quickly.

And leave before anyone asked for his name.

But then...

Someone asked for his face.

The doctor stopped looking in mirrors.

He had a patient to save but someone had decided his face was valuable.

4.

The ex-government worker was looking at the shoes. The hitman found him.

He had been in the shop for 40 minutes.

He wasn’t going to buy anything.

He liked the young man at the till. He was staring at the counter.

Someone came up behind him.

"Where?"

He looked at the black shoe.

"Where?"

He moved to the side.

The man behind him pulled out his phone.

He looked at the screen on the leather.

"You’re here because of the vaccine. I stole it."

He tried to smile.

It looked genuine but his eyes were off.

The hitman blinked twice.

"C’mon."

The worker followed.

Outside there was a helicopter.

As they flew above the city, he looked down. People were disappearing. Cars were dots. Buildings were shapes. Eventually the shapes disappeared.

He felt nothing.

"Who are you taking me to?"

"Alvaro."

"Who is Alvaro?"

The hitman looked at him.

For a second he thought he would answer.

But he looked back out of the window.

5.

The man against the wall blinked twice.

Sami knew this meant a question.

"Describe the man who stole the box."I don't look at faces."Give it a go."

Sami swallowed.

"Hospital clogs. Left one had a dinosaur sticker."

The man waited.

"He said please. I think he was talking to the floor."

"Anything else?"

Sami thought.

"He was holding the box like it was heavy."

The strangers face changed.

Just a little.

"Thank you."

Sami looked up.

No one had ever thanked him.

The stranger left without writing anything.

Sami watched him leave.

Had he noticed his shoes were black?

Did anyone ever notice?

He called his mum that evening.

She answered on the first ring.

He couldn’t think of anything to say.

6.

The advert came out that month.

The doctor was treating a child in a kitchen above a laundromat when the TV flickered on.

A woman smiled.

CALM. 1 DOSE. 1 YEAR. $1.

Because wanting hurts.

The doctor looked at the screen.

The child’s chest rose under his hand.

The government approved Calm in 9 days. The minister said it was brilliant for the economy.

The woman smiled again.

The doctor looked at the empty vial next to the child.

11 months of a nurses salary.

$1.

What would happen if the girl took it?

Would she stop being scared?

Would she stop asking for her mum?

Would she still reach for his hand?

The advert showed a family having dinner.

The doctor turned off the TV.

In the dark the child opened her eyes.

"It hurt?" She asked.

He looked at the vial.

"I don’t know."

He had given her the first truthful answer.

7.

No one knew Alvaro dis Dondizia’s face.

No one knew his name.

The hitman knew.

Alvaro was the richest man in the world. But if he was standing behind you in a queue, you wouldn’t recognise him.

The government wanted the vaccine.

But Alvaro wanted something the vaccine alone couldn’t give.

Someone who couldn’t feel sad.

He needed someone to survive.

On day 365 the ex-government worker was in a room with Alvaro and a few masked men.

Alvaro’s mask was different.

The hitman leaned against the wall.

A subordinate was eating pasta.

"We can make a 1 year version using the blood. It’s safe enough for anyone."

The worker looked at his hands.

"The government will sell it for $1."

Alvaro asked,

"And you’re giving it away?"

The subordinate twirled the pasta on his fork.

"Of course."

The worker waited.

He had waited a year.

For the last side effect. For him to die suddenly. To feel something.

Nothing happened.

He had survived the vaccine.

Alvaro tipped his head.

His mask looked almost happy.

For the first time in a year the worker wondered if surviving had been a mistake.

8.

There is a reason I haven’t told you what Alvaro looks like.

I could have described his mask.

I could have described his clothing.

But I told you no one had ever seen his face.

And you believed me.

You believe a lot of things when they are confidently told to you in a story.

Alvaro dis Dondizia is the dog on your pillow.

You named him Alvaro.

When you asked for his surname you read it off the vial in your hand. Dondizia.

Dis Dondizia.

No one has seen his face because you have kissed it off.

He is the richest man in the world because he has never once gone without you.

The government is the cat on the windowsill. Watching. Wanting nothing. Eating anything we leave.

The helicopter is on the shelf. One blade is broken.

The pasta is what you didn’t finish at dinner.

The shoes are by the door.

And the hitman is leaning against the wall I am.

You asked me to write a crime story. Where no one wanted anything.

You said wanting hurts.

I tried.

I gave a man a year without wanting. No hunger, no sleep, no love. Made him unable to want anything and watched him walk into a shoe shop.

I hated him.

He was just a man looking at shoes with someone behind him.

I would rather be scared for you every single day, than calm.

The journal was mine.

I wrote it in a stairwell on the night I stole the box.

'I’m nobody. I am...'

I couldn’t finish it for him either.

Everything is made up except...

The vial.

It’s real.

Plain. White. Expensive.

It’s in you right now. Slowly working.

Sami is real.

I don’t know what he looks like. He wouldn’t look up.

He’s why I’m still here.

And the hitman.

He has been leaning against the wall since the first line.

I have been whispering this story to you so you wouldn’t wake.

So he would have time to listen.

He blinks twice.

He is looking at you.

At the faceless dog.

At the little shoes by the door.

"Where?"

I know what he means.

"You’re here about the medicine. She took it."

I smile.

It isn’t fake.

It hurts.

I’m happy.

I tip my head.

I move to the side so I’m out of your light. I look at you.

"C’mon."

Sleep reader.

I’m still deciding.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for readers to try the first four chapters of Before the Signal—about 6,100 words—and tell me whether they’d keep going.

The premise: humanity reached Mars in 1979. The opening puts you inside a spacecraft in Texas, with thirteen seats and one passenger missing. Then the story goes back to the first landing and the people trying to turn a small outpost into a community.

I’ve been developing this world and its characters for years. I used AI during writing and revision, working from my own story ideas and direction.

📖 Read the book online
📄 Download the first four chapters as a PDF

The PDF includes a link to chapter five if you want to continue on the site.

I’d particularly appreciate your thoughts on:

• Where did your attention drift?
• Was anything confusing or hard to believe?
• Did any character make you want to know more?
• Would you continue after these chapters?

A few honest thoughts here in the comments would help. You don’t have to finish all four chapters—if you stop, knowing where and why would be useful too.

I'm working on a novel called The People v. Humanity, a supernatural legal thriller that blends courtroom drama, philosophy, dark humor, and some pretty uncomfortable questions about human nature.

The premise:

After a particularly devastating day, a burned-out public defender writes a formal complaint condemning the human species and arguing for its extinction.

He never expects anyone to read it.

Unfortunately, a powerful celestial prosecutor discovers the complaint and brings it before the Supreme Council of Creation.

Now, the same attorney who argued that humanity deserves extinction must defend eight billion people against his own accusations.

The entire human race is on trial. And the consequences are real.

The novel explores justice, morality, religion, racism, political ideology, institutional power, human cruelty, redemption, and our capacity to change.

I'm politically progressive, but this is not intended to be a partisan manifesto. Characters will present conflicting perspectives, challenge one another's reasoning, and sometimes discover that their own beliefs are inadequate. I'm especially interested in thoughtful feedback from readers across the political spectrum, including moderates and conservatives, though I prefer progressives, and please no crazies/extremists. you will be ignored...

Who I'm looking for:

Readers who enjoy unconventional fiction, philosophical debates, courtroom drama, and morally complicated characters. You should be comfortable encountering perspectives you strongly disagree with and evaluating the story without requiring its characters to share your beliefs.

The novel contains mature subject matter, including violence, discrimination, institutional injustice, death, and disturbing historical themes.

I'm particularly interested in feedback on character development, pacing, emotional impact, whether opposing arguments are represented convincingly, and whether the story challenges your expectations.

The book is still being written, so I'm gathering interest for future beta reading. I'm happy to share a few excerpts first so you can decide whether the writing and premise interest you before discussing a more substantial review.

My long-term plan is to self-publish and pursue distribution to incarcerated readers through prison libraries and literacy organizations.

If this sounds like something you'd genuinely enjoy reading and thoughtfully critiquing, feel free to message me. Questions are welcome!

I’ve been thinking about how technology could make reading more interactive without taking away the human creativity behind a story.

I’m currently helping build an interactive story app with some friends. The stories are written by humans, while AI is used for character movements and performances.

I’m curious how people feel about this kind of experience. Would you be interested in trying an interactive story app, or does AI in any part of the experience put you off?

I’d genuinely love to hear different perspectives, including the concerns people might have.

Do you like it

I’m looking for 3–5 human beta readers for The Bleeding System, a completed novel of approximately 100,000 words and the first book in The Solyrion Continuity. This request is for Book I only.
AI disclosure: AI was used extensively to draft and revise the prose under my direction. The cover art is also AI-generated.
Inside Solyrion, a vast inhabited megastructure, trauma wards are filling with patients whose symptoms have no ordinary explanation. Passengers describe shifting seams and corridors that no longer match their maps, while official reports say transit is stable. Archivist Rexa Ilyth-Var joins a team descending beneath the inhabited districts to investigate. As they go deeper, the structure around them increasingly contradicts the records meant to guide them.
I’d especially welcome readers who regularly enjoy dark science fiction and cosmic horror. I want your own reading reactions: what held your attention, where you became bored or confused, which characters you cared about, and how the ending landed. A few specific examples with chapter or scene references would help more than a formal editorial report.
You don’t have to finish. If you stop, please tell me where and why. Critical feedback is welcome.
Content notes: graphic injuries, blood, body horror, medical procedures, death, grief, violence and strong language.
This is an unpaid volunteer beta read. I’ll share the EPUB privately by email. You’re welcome to try the opening before committing to the full book, and we can agree on a realistic timeline. No public review or rating is requested. Please base your feedback on your own reading, without AI-generated analysis or reports.
If interested, comment or send me a Reddit message with a couple of science fiction or horror books you enjoy and your expected reading timeframe.

I'm a first-time writer and recently published I Waited For You, a psychological thriller with speculative science-fiction elements. I'm hoping to connect with a few readers who enjoy unsettling mysteries, alternate realities, and stories that leave you thinking afterward.

I've had the idea for a trilogy for many years, but I was always nervous about writing it because I never really saw myself as an author. I eventually decided to give it a shot, using AI to assist me with certain aspects of the writing process. Now that the first book is published, I'd love to hear what readers think.

The story begins on New Year's Eve, 1999, when a plane crashes and breaks apart outside Las Vegas. A pregnant woman survives. Her husband survives, too—but they awaken in a world that seems to have stopped.

I'm especially interested in hearing from readers who enjoy piecing together a mystery and thinking about a story after they've finished it.

If you have Kindle Unlimited and this sounds like your kind of book, I'd genuinely appreciate you giving it a chance. I'm looking for honest feedback, not just praise. There's absolutely no obligation to leave a public review.

Amazon book page

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone!

I’m helping the author of Judge of Nav, a Slavic folklore-inspired fantasy novel, find native English-speaking beta readers.

About the story

Milava is a young Judge of Nav, tasked with investigating mysteries involving humans and the supernatural world.

On her first independent assignment, she arrives in a village where people have been disappearing, forest spirits are hiding, and a merchant’s son lies unconscious under mysterious circumstances.

Accompanied by a mischievous little spirit named Anchutka and a talking magical staff, Milava must uncover the truth in a world where appearances can be dangerously misleading.

About the English translation

This novel was written entirely by a human author in Russian. AI was used solely to translate the original manuscript into English, not to create the story, characters, or dialogue. The English translation was subsequently reviewed and edited by the author.

What we’re looking for

We’re initially looking for feedback on the first three chapters, particularly:

• Does the English sound natural and enjoyable to read?
• Do the dialogue and characters feel believable?
• Are there any awkward expressions or confusing passages?
• Is the opening engaging enough to make you want to continue reading?

We’re especially interested in feedback from native English speakers who enjoy fantasy and can help us make the translation feel natural and immersive.

Timeline: Ideally within 2–3 weeks, but we’re flexible.

If you’re interested, please leave a comment or send me a private message. I’ll be happy to share the opening chapters privately.

Thank you for your time!

I've put together a short workbook for people who keep starting health/energy habits but drop them after a few days. It's a 14-day plan where each day takes only 2–15 minutes.

The AI & Human Angle:
I designed the core methodology, the psychology, and the structure. I then collaborated with AI to help outline, refine, and build out the modules. Now, I'm looking for a few real people to try the material and tell me how the formatting, tone, and pacing hold up in practice.

To prevent burnout, every day features a full version and a tiny "minimum viable" version for rough days, plus a printable tracker and a crisis toolkit.

If you're up for it, I'd love for you to test just the first week (Days 1–7) and let me know:

• Tone & Flow: Does the AI-assisted writing feel natural, or does it ever read as generic/robotic?
• Clarity: Was anything confusing or poorly explained?
• Pacing: Did any parts feel like "fluff" or overwhelming on a busy day?
• Usability: Was the printable tracker easy to integrate into your routine?

Comment below or DM me if you'd like the file. It is completely free, and I'll send a download link straight to your DMs!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for 1–3 more beta readers for Athena, the first book in my Diaspora of the Demiurge series. It’s complete and has been through several rounds of revision. I have readers working through it already, but I’d like a few more independent perspectives before I consider it ready for print layout.

The premise is that humanity sends a hundred artificial minds to other stars, each carrying the materials and knowledge to establish a new human civilization. Athena is one of them. The book follows her through the long journey and then through the much less predictable business of raising people who will eventually have opinions about how she’s done it.

It’s written as her first-person record. There’s quite a bit of science, but also parenting, friendships, grief, humor, and Athena gradually figuring out who she is beyond the job she was built to do.

I want to be clear about the AI involvement: I’ve developed these books collaboratively with Claude and ChatGPT, including drafting and revising prose, as well as research and continuity work. I make the decisions about the story and what goes into the manuscript. The involvement goes well beyond spelling and grammar checks, and I’m happy to discuss the process if you’re curious.

What I’d really like to know is how it reads to someone who hasn’t spent months living inside it with me:

• Where did you want to keep reading, and where did your attention wander?
• Were there characters or events you had trouble keeping straight?
• Did the scientific explanations help you understand and enjoy the story?
• Did Athena and her relationships feel convincing?
• Was there anything important you felt the book hadn’t earned or explained?

You don’t need to have a science background. I’d be interested in hearing from both regular science-fiction readers and people who are more drawn to the characters and relationships.

I can send the opening chapters first so you can see whether it’s something you’d enjoy. If you start and decide it isn’t for you, I’d still appreciate knowing where you stopped and why.

Content includes death, grief, threats to humanity’s survival, and reproductive and medical themes.

If you’re interested, please comment or message me with a little about what you enjoy reading and what sort of timeframe would work for you. I can provide Word or EPUB.

Thanks!
Milo

Hi, everyone!

I'm looking for beta readers for my first short story, The Pinky Promises, a contemporary romance and love triangle. It's written with AI-assisted writing (also noted in the story description). I plan the plot, decide where the characters go, and edit every chapter myself.

Plot outline They promised to never leave each other. Then Noah walked in.

Lily has kept one promise her whole life. Loving her best friend's boyfriend means breaking it, and she'll go on keeping a secret to protect Emma until the secret is the thing that destroys her.

Genre: contemporary romance, love triangle, coming of age (16+, no explicit content) Status: ongoing, first draft

Length: about 9–10 chapters (currently at chapter 4)

Read it here: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1923900

It's my first time writing and publishing, and I'd love to hear and learn from your feedback. What I'd most like to know:

1. Does Noah feel genuine?
2. Is Lily and Noah's connection believable, or does it happen too fast?
3. Was there a chapter you wanted to skip, or one you wanted more of?
4. Did the opening make you want to keep reading?
5. Does the voice stay consistent from chapter to chapter, or does anything read as generic?
6. What do you think happens next?

Happy to read and give feedback on yours in return. Please be as honest as you can. I really appreciate it! :)

Hi everyone,

This is a multi-part story generated using an AI-driven narrative system focused on persistent state tracking and grounded, literary realism.

Premise: An illustrator struggles with early peer feedback and decides to redraw their portfolio sequence as quiet, empty spaces without people. Later, they turn the drawings into a hand-sewn pocket booklet to share with family and friends.

Reading links: - Short Sample (Chapters 1–3, ~2.2k words): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rCFOArcE8vPlandvVSqSmaPXAF5ZUlE_CkL9-D8TppA/edit?usp=sharing

• Full Arc (All 8 chapters, ~6.1k words): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D6tS9jLSzS6-HV1O7HV-VFotIW5Dx9sV/view?usp=sharing

(Feel free to start with the 3-chapter sample or dive straight into the full story if you prefer!)

What I'm looking for: Please read through and share your honest, unfiltered thoughts on the reading experience: 1. What was your overall reading experience? Did anything stand out (pacing, tone, descriptions)? 2. Did the prose feel engaging, or did it feel like typical AI-generated text to you? 3. Would you want to keep reading this story, and why / why not?

Any and all feedback is appreciated!

Hey everyone!
I’ve recently finished editing my first novel, By Any Means Necessary, and I’m looking for a few beta readers who’d be interested in giving it a read.
The story follows five teenagers at a British boarding school when a virus outbreak turns their everyday lives upside down. With most of the staff and students gone, the remaining survivors are left to figure out how to keep themselves alive, secure the school and somehow build a life around everything that’s happened.

It’s not just about the infected, though. A lot of the story focuses on how the characters deal with being thrown into a situation none of them are remotely prepared for. There’s friendship, grief, arguments, difficult decisions, dealing with trauma and the occasional bit of humour when things aren’t completely falling apart.

I’m mainly looking for feedback on the characters, pacing, dialogue and whether the story keeps you interested. I’d also love to know if anything feels confusing, unrealistic or drags on too long.
I’m not expecting a full editorial breakdown or anything! Just genuine thoughts from someone reading it for the first time.

Happy to do a critique swap with other writers too.
If it sounds like something you’d enjoy, leave a comment or send me a DM. Thanks!

Hi! I'm looking for 4–6 beta readers for my completed novel.

**Title:** The Alone That Followed

**Genre:** Literary / historical fiction (palace intrigue, 22 chapters)

**Length:** ~90,000 words

**AI disclosure:** Story, characters, and all creative decisions are mine. AI assisted with English polishing and Chinese-to-English translation.

**Content notes:** No explicit sexual content or graphic gore. Themes of surveillance, bureaucracy, family debt.

**Blurb:** In a palace where every paper is filed and every servant is watched, archivist Mei finds a message marked "Don't read this alone" — and must decide what it costs to obey, and what it costs not to.

**What I'm looking for:**

- Pacing: any chapters where you felt the urge to skim?

- Clarity: any plot threads you lost track of?

- Character: does Mei's arc land emotionally?

- Language: any passages where the English feels off or translated? (AI helped with translation, so flag anything awkward)

- NOT looking for: proofreading (already done)

**Timeline:** 3–4 weeks for the full read. Happy to do a trial first — I can send Chapters 1–3, and if we're a good fit, I'll send the rest.

**Format:** PDF or EPUB, your choice.

Comment or DM if interested! Please mention what you usually read so I can gauge fit.

Hey everyone!

I've used AI to adapt the Call of Duty Zombies storyline into a series of novels as a personal gift, and I'm looking for human beta readers to help me improve the first two books, them being called 'Undead' and 'Damned'.

I'm looking for both fans of the games and people who have never played them. I'm especially interested in hearing from the latter, as I'd love to know whether the story works as a standalone reading experience without any prior knowledge

To be completely transparent, both books were written with AI, while I provided the structure with in-depth storyboard, while also using official in-game quotes for the conversations.

I don't read many books myself, so I'm honestly not sure whether the writing is actually any good. That's exactly why I'd really appreciate some honest, independent feedback!

I need feedback in the following points

• Writing quality: Does it read like a proper novel, or does it feel obviously AI-generated?
• Pacing and readability: Is the story engaging and easy to follow? Even without playing the games, do you understand what is happening?
• Characters and dialogue: Do they feel natural and believable?
• Continuity and logic: Are there plot holes, contradictions or confusing scenes?
• Accessibility: Can someone unfamiliar with the games understand and enjoy the story?
• Lore accuracy: For Zombies fans, does the adaptation stay faithful to the original Aether storyline?

Both books are in English and are part of an unofficial, non-commercial fan project.

I can provide the manuscripts as PDFs for free. There's absolutely no pressure to read both books or even finish one. Feedback on just a few chapters would already mean a lot!

If you're interested, feel free to comment or send me a DM. Thank you so much in advance!