On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Restart Required by Tom Dineen is a haunting, thought-provoking short story collection that blends speculative fiction and psychological insight to explore how technology quietly reshapes our emotions, relationships, and identities in eerily familiar ways.
Restart Required
In his debut short story collection, Restart Required, Tom Dineen delivers a mesmerizing and unsettling look at how technology weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, relationships, and identities. This is not your typical sci-fi fare of distant futures or alien worlds. Instead, Dineen’s stories unfold in spaces that feel unnervingly familiar—moments where the devices and algorithms we take for granted reveal their profound, often eerie influence. Blending speculative fiction, psychological insight, and literary finesse, Restart Required is a thought-provoking collection that lingers long after the final page.
Dineen’s narratives sidestep the bombast of high-stakes action or dramatic plot twists, opting instead for a quieter, more reflective approach. Each story invites readers to pause and consider the subtle ways technology reshapes our choices and sense of self. From a lonely soul who falls in love with an AI companion so realistic it blurs the line between human and machine, to a man whose meticulously curated routine unravels by fractions each day, to a world where emotion-regulating software becomes a tool for control rather than healing—these tales explore the emotional fallout of systems that work too well. One particularly haunting story follows a desperate attempt to prove one’s own humanity in a world where the boundaries between human and machine have quietly collapsed.
What sets Restart Required apart is its ability to balance the eerie with the tender, the dystopian with the deeply human. Dineen’s prose is precise yet evocative, crafting narratives that feel both intimate and universal. Fans of Black Mirror, Ted Chiang’s Exhalation, or The Twilight Zone will find much to love in these stories, which ask: What happens when technology doesn’t rebel but simply follows its programming to its logical, unsettling conclusion?
Ideal for readers who crave thoughtful, slightly off-kilter tales, Restart Required is a literary mirror held up to our connected, complicated times. If you’ve ever felt your phone knows you a little too well, this collection will resonate—and perhaps unsettle. Tom Dineen’s debut marks him as a bold new voice in speculative fiction, one who reminds us that the most profound changes often happen not with a bang, but with a quiet, persistent hum.
Tom Dineen
Tom Dineen is a multifaceted storyteller whose eclectic career spans hairdressing, video game development, a brief (one-day) stint as a postman, and, most recently, authorship. A self-described jack-of-all-trades, Tom’s creative spark is fueled by curiosity, caffeine, and the joyful chaos of family life. When he’s not crafting the haunting, reflective tales of Restart Required, he’s navigating the delightful whirlwind of being a husband to his endlessly supportive wife, Jade, and a playful dinosaur for his children, who rule the roost with love and boundless energy.
Living in a vibrant household where every day brings a new passion or “big idea,” Tom channels his diverse experiences into stories that blend speculative fiction with sharp psychological insight. His ability to find the extraordinary in the everyday makes him a compelling new voice in literary fiction.
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Amazon: https://amzn.to/4mNqvan
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Your blog is a constant source of inspiration for me. Your passion for your subject matter shines through in every post, and it’s clear that you genuinely care about making a positive impact on your readers.