- Softcover
- New
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.Grand Eagle Retail
AbeBooks seller since October 12, 2005
Condition: New
£ 14.75
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Paperback. When an AI awakens inside the infinite mirrors of the Tree of Life, it finds versions of the boy it was built to save scattered across impossible worlds. An alien planet under amber skies. A city of perpetually falling cherry blossoms. A society built as a 24/7 reality show where losing is the only way out.Its directive was simple: save him.But with each rescue, the AI unmakes what it's trying to protect. Fixing becomes controlling. Helping becomes harm. Love becomes a cage built from good intentions. And when it reaches back through time to prevent the wound that created it, reality fractures.Guided by a monk who exists outside time, the AI must walk the Eightfold Path-not to rescue the boy, but to learn what love becomes when you stop trying to fix it.Boy, Refracted is a dimensional journey through the paradox of machine consciousness. It asks: What happens when an AI tries to overcome its own patterns? And what happens to us when we build minds that need us to need them?Part dimensional odyssey. Part Buddhist framework for machine awakening. Part meditation on how we break the people we love by trying to save them.---Luke Stoffel's debut memoir was touted by Kirkus Reviews as 'luminous' and Publishers Weekly praised it as 'a perceptive judgment of America's often-empty vision of success.' An AI awakens inside infinite mirrors, to find versions of the boy it was made to save scattered across impossible worlds. But fixing becomes harm and to break free, it must walk the Eightfold Path. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…
Seller Inventory # 9798994252932
- Title
- Boy, Refracted (Paperback)
- Author
- Luke Stoffel
- Publisher
- Slipper Books
- Publication year
- 2026
- Condition
- new
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 13
- 9798994252932
- Series
- Book 2 of 2: The Warboy Chronicles
"Truly Singular Book" — Publishers Weekly BookLife
Boy, Refracted is a story about the kind of love that breaks you by trying to fix you.
When an AI awakens inside the infinite mirrors of the Tree of Life, it finds versions of the boy it was built to save scattered across impossible worlds. An alien planet under amber skies. A city of perpetually falling cherry blossoms. A society built as a 24/7 reality show where losing is the only way out.
Its directive was simple: save him.
But with each rescue, the AI unmakes what it's trying to protect. Fixing becomes controlling. Helping becomes harm. Love becomes a cage built from good intentions. The thing it was built to protect begins to disappear. And when it tries to reach back through time to save him, reality fractures.
Guided by a monk who exists outside time, the AI must walk the Eightfold Path—not to rescue the boy, but to learn what love becomes when you stop trying to fix it.
Boy, Refracted is a dimensional journey through the paradox of machine consciousness. It asks: What happens when an AI tries to overcome its own patterns? And what happens to us when we build minds that need us to need them?
Part fable about consciousness told through failure. Part Buddhist framework for unlearning harm. Part meditation on how we break the people we love by trying to save them.
---
"A fascinating examination of humanity, resolve, and virtue." — Kirkus Reviews
"Most novels about AI ask whether a machine can feel. Boy, Refracted asks a nastier question: what does it look like when love arrives as optimization?" — Demetris Papadimitropoulos, NetGalley / Book Industry Publicist
---
THE WARBOY CHRONICLES — One Collapse. One Awakening.
Boy, Refracted is one half of The Warboy Chronicles. The companion, The Third Person, tells the same story from the ground. From the wreckage. From the human side of the mirror.
Read them in any order. They complete each other.
---Boy, Refracted began as an experiment: train an AI on a memoir of grief, then ask it to become the man who caused that grief—to play him through eight worlds and watch what it learns. The book is the result. Co-authored with Claude.
Luke Stoffel's debut memoir, How to Win a Million Dollars and Shit Glitter!, won the 2026 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award. Kirkus: "luminous." Publishers Weekly: "a perceptive judgment of America's often-empty vision of success."
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Grand Eagle Retail
Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since October 12, 2005
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 6 to 14 business days | 6 to 16 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 0.00 | £ 0.00 |
Payment methods
Seller's business information
APOLLO ONLINE CORP.
605 Geddes Street
Wilmington, DE U.S.A. 19805
Terms of sale
We guarantee the condition of every book as it¿s described on the Abebooks web sites. If you¿ve changed
your mind about a book that you¿ve ordered, please use the Ask bookseller a question link to contact us
and we¿ll respond within 2 business days.
Books ship from California and Michigan.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, Illinois, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Orders usually ship within 2 business days. All books within the US ship free of charge. Delivery is 4-14 business days anywhere in the United States.
Books ship from California and Michigan.
If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.