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Still Lost: Tales from 2080
"Still Lost" is the estranged brainchild of Sam O'Nella Academy creator Sam A. Miller.
A whopping eight rather long short stories are included, featuring such concepts
-An alien prostitute
-A baboon that gets cyberbullied
-An old lady getting killed with a sword
-An eight page discussion about grass
And many more!
A whopping eight rather long short stories are included, featuring such concepts
-An alien prostitute
-A baboon that gets cyberbullied
-An old lady getting killed with a sword
-An eight page discussion about grass
And many more!
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
February 28, 2026
I regularly post diatribes on this hellsite without the knowledge or blessing of the authors, so imagine my evil glee when Sam gave the all clear. Anyways, let's get this over with.
Luckily for Sam and unluckily for me, there was a lot in this that I thought was really well done. There was also some stuff that wasn't; I think this book can best be described as having some very high highs and, while the lows weren't that low, they were oftentimes fairly systemic.
Good stuff first: if you were to paper a wall with all of the pages of this book, throw a dart at a random paragraph, and read just that paragraph, this book would seem fantastic. There are so many passages that balance humor and sharp insight perfectly. There are also a lot of passages that are genuinely moving. On a narrative level, I thoroughly enjoyed both The Prophet and Being a Nothingness, with Beat being a strong third place--I'd go back and read the first two as standalones any day. Being a Nothingness in particular, which is about "a young man convinced that his bouts of unspeakable dread are a result of how deep he is, only to discover that he's just mentally ill," is a darkly hilarious and relatable premise, and his arc of emotional torment to horrified realization to dogged determination to improve is well written and pulls on the heartstrings. And in 30 pages, no less!
On that note: when this book is personal, you can tell, and the emotion in these parts is where the book is at its best: the anxiety attack and catharsis in Being a Nothingness, the despair and quiet resolve in Beat...chef's kiss. It's a bit of an aside, but I also thought the action scenes in Bloodstreams was well paced, descriptive, and engaging. Not easy to get right.
But this book falls apart a little bit on the broader scale, the two biggest issues being a lack of throughline and inconsistent tone.
On throughline: In the introductory story--the setting the scene, if you will--Earth is sort of taken over by aliens. Not malicious ones, but it's clear that they will have lasting effects on society, politics, climate, culture, etc. And then...they kind of don't. The Xenos are background characters in two of the seven stories (not counting the introduction), but beside some predictable comments on religion, they don't seem to have changed the world in any tangible way. There are hints in two stories about an upcoming presidential election with the runaway frontrunner being violently anti-Xeno, but that's as far as that (potentially very interesting) storyline goes. Other than some slightly more modern technology, most of these stories could have taken place today. There's nothing wrong with the world of 2080 looking similar to ours, except that multiple things in-universe--Xenos, the general knowledge that aliens are real and living on our planet, robots advanced enough that they're indistinguishable from humans--should make for a changed world. Many of the stories on their own are pretty good, but they become slightly inconsistent when you try to place them into the broader setting.
On tone: the tones of the Xenos changed rather rapidly. They'd be inscrutable and inhuman one moment, and then switch to being profane and immature the next. I'm not sure if this was done for humor, or what--crass aliens can be funny, but not when they were being stately benefactors the moment before--but it made their general characterization very uneven. The human characters were much more consistent, but every now and then they would have similar problems.
And while Beat, The Prophet, and Being a Nothingness were quite good, the others were so-so story-wise, with Four Little Words losing me entirely. I was about to be up in arms about how there's no way a bunch of academics would read a single paper and completely change their whole worldview, until Sam said in the story notes that he knew that, but my rage would mostly be in a joking way anyways. On a more serious note, it was way too short for any emotional connection, and the pipeline from "grass can feel pain --> we're committing holocausts so we should nuke the planet --> let's not tell anyone actually --> you published the paper already? I'm gonna shoot 12 times and we're gonna get the government to bury the evidence" is a tough sell for any length of story, let alone one 6 or so pages long.
So while this book isn't perfect, it's definitely promising. There is plenty of smart, funny, and reflective writing in here, and if Sam has the inclination, I think a lot of the inconsistencies this book has could be cleaned up with more practice. If he ever puts out something again, I'll read it.
Also, I saw so many words in this book I've only ever seen in the New York Times crossword (complimentary, not derogatory). Wonder why that is...
Luckily for Sam and unluckily for me, there was a lot in this that I thought was really well done. There was also some stuff that wasn't; I think this book can best be described as having some very high highs and, while the lows weren't that low, they were oftentimes fairly systemic.
Good stuff first: if you were to paper a wall with all of the pages of this book, throw a dart at a random paragraph, and read just that paragraph, this book would seem fantastic. There are so many passages that balance humor and sharp insight perfectly. There are also a lot of passages that are genuinely moving. On a narrative level, I thoroughly enjoyed both The Prophet and Being a Nothingness, with Beat being a strong third place--I'd go back and read the first two as standalones any day. Being a Nothingness in particular, which is about "a young man convinced that his bouts of unspeakable dread are a result of how deep he is, only to discover that he's just mentally ill," is a darkly hilarious and relatable premise, and his arc of emotional torment to horrified realization to dogged determination to improve is well written and pulls on the heartstrings. And in 30 pages, no less!
On that note: when this book is personal, you can tell, and the emotion in these parts is where the book is at its best: the anxiety attack and catharsis in Being a Nothingness, the despair and quiet resolve in Beat...chef's kiss. It's a bit of an aside, but I also thought the action scenes in Bloodstreams was well paced, descriptive, and engaging. Not easy to get right.
But this book falls apart a little bit on the broader scale, the two biggest issues being a lack of throughline and inconsistent tone.
On throughline: In the introductory story--the setting the scene, if you will--Earth is sort of taken over by aliens. Not malicious ones, but it's clear that they will have lasting effects on society, politics, climate, culture, etc. And then...they kind of don't. The Xenos are background characters in two of the seven stories (not counting the introduction), but beside some predictable comments on religion, they don't seem to have changed the world in any tangible way. There are hints in two stories about an upcoming presidential election with the runaway frontrunner being violently anti-Xeno, but that's as far as that (potentially very interesting) storyline goes. Other than some slightly more modern technology, most of these stories could have taken place today. There's nothing wrong with the world of 2080 looking similar to ours, except that multiple things in-universe--Xenos, the general knowledge that aliens are real and living on our planet, robots advanced enough that they're indistinguishable from humans--should make for a changed world. Many of the stories on their own are pretty good, but they become slightly inconsistent when you try to place them into the broader setting.
On tone: the tones of the Xenos changed rather rapidly. They'd be inscrutable and inhuman one moment, and then switch to being profane and immature the next. I'm not sure if this was done for humor, or what--crass aliens can be funny, but not when they were being stately benefactors the moment before--but it made their general characterization very uneven. The human characters were much more consistent, but every now and then they would have similar problems.
And while Beat, The Prophet, and Being a Nothingness were quite good, the others were so-so story-wise, with Four Little Words losing me entirely. I was about to be up in arms about how there's no way a bunch of academics would read a single paper and completely change their whole worldview, until Sam said in the story notes that he knew that, but my rage would mostly be in a joking way anyways. On a more serious note, it was way too short for any emotional connection, and the pipeline from "grass can feel pain --> we're committing holocausts so we should nuke the planet --> let's not tell anyone actually --> you published the paper already? I'm gonna shoot 12 times and we're gonna get the government to bury the evidence" is a tough sell for any length of story, let alone one 6 or so pages long.
So while this book isn't perfect, it's definitely promising. There is plenty of smart, funny, and reflective writing in here, and if Sam has the inclination, I think a lot of the inconsistencies this book has could be cleaned up with more practice. If he ever puts out something again, I'll read it.
Also, I saw so many words in this book I've only ever seen in the New York Times crossword (complimentary, not derogatory). Wonder why that is...
February 22, 2026
“Man is a beast defined by his contradictions. One of many is that, despite being born from chaos, he strives relentlessly towards order. So much of his energy is robbed from him by this endless uphill battle against the forces of decay.”
I’ve been a fan of Sam O’Nella since middle school. I’m now graduating college, and I still find myself going back to old videos as a comfort when life becomes too much. Imagine my surprise when Sam comes out of the woodworks with a face reveal and a book release on a random Friday evening.
Of course, I immediately purchased and devoured said book.
I would like to emphasize that this book is not good in a “good-because-I’m-a-fan” type of way. Each story was so well crafted and communicated that I genuinely felt immersed for hours at a time, hence finishing it in only two nights of reading. I think knowing Sam’s cadence and humor from his videos only enhanced my reading experience, as I felt myself connecting closer with the dry humor throughout.
The world crafted in these eight stories was so intricate and enticing. It’s very impressive for a debut author to be able to communicate a complicated, completely alien future without succumbing to long paragraphs of tedious lore dumping. My favorite story was probably “Eggs for Roman.” It reminded me a lot of “Flowers for Algernon,” in terms of the writing style, which is a very good thing. I also really enjoyed “Beat.” I’m glad that Sam felt comfortable enough to include this story as it genuinely hit deep for me, and I’m sure a lot of other readers as well.
In all, I love this collection in two ways. One, as a genuine fan of Sam and his videos, and, two, as a reader who loves well written, genre-bending weird-lit. As a fan, I’m glad to be able to enjoy another medium of content from one of my evergreen favorite creators. As a reader, this book made me cry, and I think that speaks for itself.
While I found the quote above to be the most profound, my favorite quote from the book was, “who up starin they monkey,” followed closely by the continued allusions to a terrifying incident known only to historians the Roomba Rebellion.
I’ve been a fan of Sam O’Nella since middle school. I’m now graduating college, and I still find myself going back to old videos as a comfort when life becomes too much. Imagine my surprise when Sam comes out of the woodworks with a face reveal and a book release on a random Friday evening.
Of course, I immediately purchased and devoured said book.
I would like to emphasize that this book is not good in a “good-because-I’m-a-fan” type of way. Each story was so well crafted and communicated that I genuinely felt immersed for hours at a time, hence finishing it in only two nights of reading. I think knowing Sam’s cadence and humor from his videos only enhanced my reading experience, as I felt myself connecting closer with the dry humor throughout.
The world crafted in these eight stories was so intricate and enticing. It’s very impressive for a debut author to be able to communicate a complicated, completely alien future without succumbing to long paragraphs of tedious lore dumping. My favorite story was probably “Eggs for Roman.” It reminded me a lot of “Flowers for Algernon,” in terms of the writing style, which is a very good thing. I also really enjoyed “Beat.” I’m glad that Sam felt comfortable enough to include this story as it genuinely hit deep for me, and I’m sure a lot of other readers as well.
In all, I love this collection in two ways. One, as a genuine fan of Sam and his videos, and, two, as a reader who loves well written, genre-bending weird-lit. As a fan, I’m glad to be able to enjoy another medium of content from one of my evergreen favorite creators. As a reader, this book made me cry, and I think that speaks for itself.
While I found the quote above to be the most profound, my favorite quote from the book was, “who up starin they monkey,” followed closely by the continued allusions to a terrifying incident known only to historians the Roomba Rebellion.
February 22, 2026
I initially got the book solely to help support Sam as I've been a follower of his on YouTube and greatly enjoyed his content.
I very much enjoyed this set of stories as well!
Honestly, when you get the words "like cat piss struck by lightning" on the first page, you know there will be much to look forward to. The writing is good, the content is absurd (in the best way).
I very much enjoyed this set of stories as well!
Honestly, when you get the words "like cat piss struck by lightning" on the first page, you know there will be much to look forward to. The writing is good, the content is absurd (in the best way).
February 21, 2026
What a debut! I picked up the book and could not put it down. While not perfect, I found it so well crafted and poignant that I downloaded this app just to leave a review. Eggs for Roman and Beat are highlights in what will be a very successful career.
March 11, 2026
3.5 stars.
A great first publication! I thouroughly enjoyed seeing a different side of the youtuber I've watched for a few years.
My favourites were 'Beat' 'Eggs for Roman' and 'Being a Nothingsness'
The other stories were really solid, but 'Four Little Words' was a bit of a misser for me.
I look forward to reading more of Sam's work in the future!
A great first publication! I thouroughly enjoyed seeing a different side of the youtuber I've watched for a few years.
My favourites were 'Beat' 'Eggs for Roman' and 'Being a Nothingsness'
The other stories were really solid, but 'Four Little Words' was a bit of a misser for me.
I look forward to reading more of Sam's work in the future!
February 27, 2026
As someone who's watched every Sam O'Nella video multiple times over, I was still amazed by how well these short stories were written, that I ended up reading the entire collection in just one day. The last story in the collection, "Beat", was a remarkably well told story about addiction and how no one thinks it could happen to them, and the unwillingness to acknowledge the problem. The end notes revealing it's somewhat based on his struggles only add to that feeling. The other stories were just as good, but "Eggs for Roman" also stuck out as a particularly well written one. The change in vocab as Roman/Habibi gets smarter and smarter helps you to understand what's happening before anything is said. All in all, a remarkable first piece of literature for a new writer.
February 26, 2026
Very enjoyable! Some stories are better than others, but that's always the case for collections.
You get a bit of recognizable Sam O'Nella humor in a few of them, but others read very "straight"
In particular, the final story "Beat" is a painfully realistic view of the descent into and crawl out of addiction. The author's comments at the end of the book reveal where he got that realistic view.
I hope to see more books from Sam soon (In addition to finishing that damn Pliny the Elder series...)
You get a bit of recognizable Sam O'Nella humor in a few of them, but others read very "straight"
In particular, the final story "Beat" is a painfully realistic view of the descent into and crawl out of addiction. The author's comments at the end of the book reveal where he got that realistic view.
I hope to see more books from Sam soon (In addition to finishing that damn Pliny the Elder series...)
March 1, 2026
If you’re familiar with the content and quality of this author’s videos on YouTube, you will not be disappointed with his book. Made me laugh, cry, think a little harder than I usually do. Thanks Sam
March 31, 2026
3.5 stars but I always round down. I liked some of the stories but some of them not so much. there was a lot of humour but in what I feel was a sweetheart
somewhat different style from his videos, not necessarily in a bad way though
somewhat different style from his videos, not necessarily in a bad way though
March 26, 2026
Sam certainly has a good imagination in his little nogging. I quite enjoyed the setting(s) and most of the stories, but the prose frankly feels a bit amateurish and - forgive me - oftentimes goes a bit hard on the Reddit. Maybe I just don't read enough contemporary literature to not get totally taken out of it by reading a (on the surface) shitpost [one word] that presents as a book. It certainly made me laugh, so that's good, but I don't know if you need to hit every environment description with an epic science zinger. It reminds me a bit of Hitchhiker's guide, where I'm simultaneously the target audience and also someone who rolls my eyes at it. Is that my fault or yours? I don't know. The latter half has a lot less of what I've criticized so I warmed a lot on it. If this dog shit website had proper ratings I'd give it a 5/10 - perfectly adequate humorous paperback. Unfortunately, it doesn't.
March 26, 2026
What rich storytelling. Each piece has so much depth to it that I rush to learn the next word to form the next thought to see the whole story. 2080 is not that far away I will be lie 73 during the timeframe of this book, what a strange concept age is. What a fantastic way to be made to think about it. Probabaly one of the best sci fi short story collections I’ve read (which is saying nothing because I haven’t read a lot).
March 2, 2026
A pretty good book, I think the xeno biology, military and baboon sections where my favorites. I think the swearing was a little over the top in some parts, it sounds good coming from your vids, but it started sounding a little like every character was you in a different costume by the end.
Ps Mr O'Nella if you read this, I would like a sequel to your historia naturalis video.
Ps Mr O'Nella if you read this, I would like a sequel to your historia naturalis video.
February 24, 2026
Don’t know why Sam regards The Prophet as the weakest link in the story notes. Definitely one of my favorites along with Beat, and Eggs for Algernon. I’ve been recommending this book to all my friends; would love to see more from Sam in the future.
March 6, 2026
Silly youtube stick figure man made me laugh and think (unfortunately).
March 3, 2026
I really, genuinely enjoyed my reading experience. Being able to write well-paced sword fight scenes and panic attacks is a skill that not many have mastered, but Miller obviously has.
I admit, I’ve been a fan of Sam O’Nella since around 2018. BUT! I went into this book completely biased and knowing I’d like whatever was written inside.
Even with this bias, I think this book is great. The fact that aliens with seemingly unlimited power and knowledge occupy Earth with only some public uproar and general change in behavior is so human it’s hard to put into words. Of course we got used to aliens fast, we’ve got other shit to worry about.
On a more serious note, Beat was my absolute favorite story out of the eight. It was completely devastating and AGAIN very well written. I’m so glad it made the cut.
Thanks so much, Sam. I’m looking forward to your next creative work, whatever it may be.
I admit, I’ve been a fan of Sam O’Nella since around 2018. BUT! I went into this book completely biased and knowing I’d like whatever was written inside.
Even with this bias, I think this book is great. The fact that aliens with seemingly unlimited power and knowledge occupy Earth with only some public uproar and general change in behavior is so human it’s hard to put into words. Of course we got used to aliens fast, we’ve got other shit to worry about.
On a more serious note, Beat was my absolute favorite story out of the eight. It was completely devastating and AGAIN very well written. I’m so glad it made the cut.
Thanks so much, Sam. I’m looking forward to your next creative work, whatever it may be.
April 10, 2026
I found Sam O’Nella Academy on Youtube a mere 3 months ago: a page posting bite-sized videos of interesting topics, expertly explained with unrivaled humor and smart stick-figure visuals.
Suffice to say I was pretty bummed to learn that the content I could consume seemed to have an expiration date as Sam had posted just a few videos to the page over the last couple of years.
Just as I was reaching the depths of his channel, a new video popped up (at last!) with a few updates of cultural relevance (in order of importance):
1. a face reveal
2. the announcement of this book
3. the confirmation that Sam is just as quirky and brilliant in real life as he is in video form.
If you enjoy weird thinking, dystopian worlds, clever wordplay and exiting the overwhelming normalness of life, then dive into this title for a few minutes each day to escape. A superb debut, you will not be disappointed.
Suffice to say I was pretty bummed to learn that the content I could consume seemed to have an expiration date as Sam had posted just a few videos to the page over the last couple of years.
Just as I was reaching the depths of his channel, a new video popped up (at last!) with a few updates of cultural relevance (in order of importance):
1. a face reveal
2. the announcement of this book
3. the confirmation that Sam is just as quirky and brilliant in real life as he is in video form.
If you enjoy weird thinking, dystopian worlds, clever wordplay and exiting the overwhelming normalness of life, then dive into this title for a few minutes each day to escape. A superb debut, you will not be disappointed.
March 27, 2026
I really liked this little anthology and props to Sam for doing such a good job, especially for his first book. Definitely falls into the rare category of YouTuber books that are actually worth your time. If you’re not a fan of him on YouTube the humour may come off as a little jarring but I had a great time. Only complaint is that the aliens that come to earth do a whole lot a jack squat overall in this book except for the first and second chapters. They could honestly be taken out and it wouldn’t have much of an effect. Also this definitely falls into my “has to look up a word at least once a paragraph cause I’ve never heard of it before” category of books, but I’m also as dumb as a doorknob when it comes to English above a sixth grade level so many others might not have the same issue. I know Mr. Sam “O’Nella” Miller is quite fond of crosswords so that probably explains it.
8.5/10
8.5/10
March 1, 2026
First book I’ve truly read in a single sitting: absolutely hilarious if you vibe with Gen Z humor.
The references scattered across each story are varied enough that anyone relatively well read will find themselves chuckling or outright giggling at a line that would be innocuous to the less well acquainted.
He managed to create a wonderfully cohesive, fascinating lore across several narratively unrelated short stories: in my opinion, this is a genuinely masterful feat that I was not expecting from a brand new writer.
As this is a debut novel, it’s not perfect, but it’s uniqueness and whimsy easily make up for its minor flaws
One of my new favorite books of all time.
I cannot wait to see what he writes next.
The references scattered across each story are varied enough that anyone relatively well read will find themselves chuckling or outright giggling at a line that would be innocuous to the less well acquainted.
He managed to create a wonderfully cohesive, fascinating lore across several narratively unrelated short stories: in my opinion, this is a genuinely masterful feat that I was not expecting from a brand new writer.
As this is a debut novel, it’s not perfect, but it’s uniqueness and whimsy easily make up for its minor flaws
One of my new favorite books of all time.
I cannot wait to see what he writes next.
February 28, 2026
An amazing collection of short stories spanning a whole range of genres and topics. Philosophical enough to make you think, funny enough to make you laugh. Overall I found myself getting lost in it, finishing the last 100 pages or so in a sin g le sitting.
I really hope Sam continues to write and release books. If this is his debut piece I cannot wait to see what else he has to offer!
Also, shout out to anyone in recovery. Keep it up.
I really hope Sam continues to write and release books. If this is his debut piece I cannot wait to see what else he has to offer!
Also, shout out to anyone in recovery. Keep it up.
February 22, 2026
It is indeed, a book. And I very much enjoyed it.
I’ve always loved Sam’s content on YouTube and I was very excited when I heard about this book. I found the short stories in this book to be on-brand with the “Sam O’Nella” sense of humor and blended nicely with compelling sci-fi/futuristic stories that had me hooked from start to finish. I literally couldn’t stop reading. I skipped meals, forgot to sleep, and lost all contact with my friends and family. Great book!
I’ve always loved Sam’s content on YouTube and I was very excited when I heard about this book. I found the short stories in this book to be on-brand with the “Sam O’Nella” sense of humor and blended nicely with compelling sci-fi/futuristic stories that had me hooked from start to finish. I literally couldn’t stop reading. I skipped meals, forgot to sleep, and lost all contact with my friends and family. Great book!
March 7, 2026
Not perfect but I really enjoyed it. It’s refreshingly unique and is the first book I’ve finished in awhile after being bored by other books I’ve tried over the few last months.
April 3, 2026
Love Sam O’Nella Academy and that’s why I bought this book. A fun enough anthology about aliens leaving us to be the shit bags we are. Got some of his YouTube humor and even read it in his voice at times.
March 28, 2026
Hey kids,
Sam has a certain way with words, a way of stringing together metaphors in ways never before seen. This book delivers a couple of those one-liners I've come to expect from the videos. I thought the world of 2080 was creative and the stories were fun, although the social commentary can be quite direct and at times shallow.
Prof. O' Nella, if you're reading this (and you might be because I'm review #12), keep writing!
Sam has a certain way with words, a way of stringing together metaphors in ways never before seen. This book delivers a couple of those one-liners I've come to expect from the videos. I thought the world of 2080 was creative and the stories were fun, although the social commentary can be quite direct and at times shallow.
Prof. O' Nella, if you're reading this (and you might be because I'm review #12), keep writing!
March 5, 2026
Still lost is an incredibly funny and breezy read, with just enough depth and sci-fi world building to make you think. It has entered the very short list of books that has actually made me laugh out loud while reading.
March 23, 2026
Tl; dr:
I liked the book. If there will be a "Still Lost: Tales from 2081" I will probably buy it.
In the following I will go through my thoughts of each of the stories. The volume of text doesn't nessecarily reflect how much I liked each story and my personal ranking will be at the bottom.
Btw hi Sam. You said you read these? Well this one is about as long as one of the short stories, I think. Hope you enjoy my clueless rambling.
Fiat Strepitus:
I like how it starts out not even beating around the bush. We knew the "war" was lost and only then got an explanation on what exactly happened.
The ammount of payback seems to be a little overblown, however they seem to follow a law of which I do not know what exactly it says and that's definetly ok this way. This makes them seen more like the Clark tech welding aliens they are.
General Morris seems like the kind of person (psychopath) that I'd think a General has to be. What I find a bit odd about him is that he seems to be throwing people into the gears a bit too lightly. I dont know too many generals, but I would think that after at least a few tries they'd give up on killing the Xeno directly, seeing how they didn't seem to actively threaten anyone... although maybe that's all intentional and this character was written a little incompetent on purpose, especially how he directly disobey orders...
Also please dont tell me that in the aftermath of all that they forgot to retrieve Private Carter. Poor bloke.
The first two contact points prior to 2078 were clever historical nods, the last two gave me a good chuckle for the third one (RIP Harambe, true first Xeno fatality) and a full on cackle for the last one. I hope it's vague enough not to be grounds for a lawsuit, lol.
All in all I enjoyed reading this story.
Xenos:
That's a good one to start the whole main part with. It really meanders through multiple stages, giving me some playful hate for radical religious people. (Srsl wtf is this, lol)
The starting point really seems a bit odd, though it makes sense, that someone would go to such a place to collect fluid samples... it also makes sense to do the trade like that.
Xenos were counting in base 60? Who do they think they are? The anciant Babylonians?
I'm sure someone like Sam already knows this, but
Fun fact: we use base 60 too (in timekeeping and angles). Some human cultures have a base 12 system as well, for example europeans in the past, evident in the weird british monetary system of the past, the imperial unit system (or at least part of it) and words like dozen and eleven and twelve.
Did Sam pick base 60 and base 12 as examples because of that? Did the xeno propose the use of base 12, because so do people even today?
Then we get to Rachel... hooo boy, do I not like her.
Not only did she not seem to understand how basic logical deduction works, also not how basic safety works... like... dont you feel how the bottle that was in the freezer with a bunch of dry ice, probably for a reason, is now under stupid ammounds of pressure, as it warmed up?
Does the priest not feel how this seems like a bad idea? These people are so duuuuuumb.
Then Leah takes the skull and gets chased by an angry religious lynch mob.... felt very real, ngl... after Chastity saves her ass and acts all offended and Leah feels bad for dumbass Rachel and saves her ass Chastity goes like "CoNgRaTs On DoInG tHe RiGhT tHiNg"
My reaction was the same as Leah's.
Honestly I thought Chastity would approve of her taking the skull as it seems to follow along the law of what the Xeno equal payback law seems to be....or rather following the "eye for an eye, except if you try to pluck my eye, I'll yank off your head" she should have taken the skull and then kicked Rachel in the chin (maybe that was her mistake, lol).
Chastity comes across as an incredibly flawed individual, as does the whole race of Xenos, tbh. They may be nigh immortal and omnicient, thanks to their clark tech, but their logic seems to be deeply lacking behind their technological advancement.
Chastity likens the religious behavior to be equivalent to the scientific field of Biology. Maybe it seems like the data validity is about the same, however the method of acquiring data is very different... or rather one does not acquire any data whatsoever...
I am not entirely sure if it was intentional, that chastity seems too far into the superiority complex to understand how these two methods are entirely of different value, however I feel like it was intentional. Maybe we are being led to the conclusion that beneath the Clark tech the Xenos are not all that advanced after all.
This was also an enjoyable read for me.
Being a Nothingness:
Honestly didnt really click with me. It's written well, but I think I dont feel enough social anxiety to fully grasp the situation.
I love my alone time and have precious little of it, so I usually cherish part of the situation Niall is trying to escape... it's not bad or anything it's just too foreign of a feeling for me...
The ending was kinda whak, however it seems to continue the overal tone and is one of only two little bits to connect it to the universe (the other being the xeno that commented on the label "silly" with disregard...wouldn't you not comment at all if you didn't care?)
After reading the Story notes it becomes appearent, why it didnt click with me. It was waaaaaay too intellectual. How can an uncultured swine like me understand actual philosophy, lmao.
Eggs for Roman:
Very good. I think the ascension was a bit rapid, but you gotta do it to keep it all in the short story. If you like this concept of awakening maybe give Horse Destroys the Universe (by Cyriak Haris) a read. Same concept, but it goes a lot further.
It kinda clicked with me this time, because we all want to escape the inhibitions society places upon us, at least to a degree. It's left open, but I really hope Roman makes it to Thailand.
Another story not really much connected to the universe but by a passing mention of Xenos. No shame tho, this is a story in the world, not nessecarily about the broader context. Let's not get too silly in here (pardon my horrible pun).
Four Little Words:
Idk. I mean I get how the reaction is what it is but i'm sure everyone would be more skeptical of this. Evening the paper looks airtight there is gonna be doubt... the story is very short, but it gets the message across, I think.
...someone has gotta talk to the referee that peer reviewed the paper and get him to MemErase too.
Bloodlines:
Even though I ended up liking it, this story started kinda bad, ngl. I didnt think it would grow on me.
Vigilante who kills people for more or less minor shit? No way I'd like that guy. Who do you think you are? Batman with a Claymore?
NO WAY! BRO I HATE IT WHEN MORRALY GREY- and he turns out to be a full on asshole. and he knows he's an asshole
Okay! Thats good, but not only doesn't he think he's a good guy, he also fucks up the guy who does! "MODS PLIS BAN EVERYONE!"
This story also delivers on the ballsack that sam promissed, so i think we're not only in the clear but in a surplus.
Good story. Love it.
#RestInPiecesRoman
The Prophet:
Actually my favorite one now. One rogue hacker John Wick-ing a pseudo cult tech giant by a thousand needle stings per second. The build up was amazing too. Great work! Holy crap!!
Also, no, not "a gay pea" or "a gape" it's "egg ape"!!
#JusticeForRoman
Beat:
I really didn't know what to expect of this, other than "it wasnt gonna be about beetroot".
I mean I saw the pages full of what seemed to be random letters at the time, when initially flipping through the book, but it never occured to me they would be an actually useful way of conveying a state of mind.
This whole story kinda did drag me along though with little undesrstanding for the whole vibe.
I mean, dont get me wrong. I get it. It's also a good story, but it's the same as for being a nothingness: it's a foreign state of mind to me.
I am glad the protgonist failed in killing himself by brain liquifying, but ngl, the whole addict thing was a hard read, just for the reason how horrible of a situation it is.
(This story is once again only losely connected to the overarching story, kinda like every other).
After reading the Story notes, once again it makes a lot more sense why this story didn't click with me. Good to see you're back on top, man!
Btw PDC meas what?! Lmao. No way!
(I'm not gonna spoiler that. Y'all go and read through 220 pages of occational mentions of it, like i did, without knowing what it means, just to laugh like a crazy person in public!!)
My personal ranking (good to less good, but still good):
The Prophet
Eggs for Roman
Xenos
Fiat Strepitus
Bloodlines
Beat
Beaing a Nothingness
Four Little Words
I liked the book. If there will be a "Still Lost: Tales from 2081" I will probably buy it.
In the following I will go through my thoughts of each of the stories. The volume of text doesn't nessecarily reflect how much I liked each story and my personal ranking will be at the bottom.
Btw hi Sam. You said you read these? Well this one is about as long as one of the short stories, I think. Hope you enjoy my clueless rambling.
Fiat Strepitus:
I like how it starts out not even beating around the bush. We knew the "war" was lost and only then got an explanation on what exactly happened.
The ammount of payback seems to be a little overblown, however they seem to follow a law of which I do not know what exactly it says and that's definetly ok this way. This makes them seen more like the Clark tech welding aliens they are.
General Morris seems like the kind of person (psychopath) that I'd think a General has to be. What I find a bit odd about him is that he seems to be throwing people into the gears a bit too lightly. I dont know too many generals, but I would think that after at least a few tries they'd give up on killing the Xeno directly, seeing how they didn't seem to actively threaten anyone... although maybe that's all intentional and this character was written a little incompetent on purpose, especially how he directly disobey orders...
Also please dont tell me that in the aftermath of all that they forgot to retrieve Private Carter. Poor bloke.
The first two contact points prior to 2078 were clever historical nods, the last two gave me a good chuckle for the third one (RIP Harambe, true first Xeno fatality) and a full on cackle for the last one. I hope it's vague enough not to be grounds for a lawsuit, lol.
All in all I enjoyed reading this story.
Xenos:
That's a good one to start the whole main part with. It really meanders through multiple stages, giving me some playful hate for radical religious people. (Srsl wtf is this, lol)
The starting point really seems a bit odd, though it makes sense, that someone would go to such a place to collect fluid samples... it also makes sense to do the trade like that.
Xenos were counting in base 60? Who do they think they are? The anciant Babylonians?
I'm sure someone like Sam already knows this, but
Fun fact: we use base 60 too (in timekeeping and angles). Some human cultures have a base 12 system as well, for example europeans in the past, evident in the weird british monetary system of the past, the imperial unit system (or at least part of it) and words like dozen and eleven and twelve.
Did Sam pick base 60 and base 12 as examples because of that? Did the xeno propose the use of base 12, because so do people even today?
Then we get to Rachel... hooo boy, do I not like her.
Not only did she not seem to understand how basic logical deduction works, also not how basic safety works... like... dont you feel how the bottle that was in the freezer with a bunch of dry ice, probably for a reason, is now under stupid ammounds of pressure, as it warmed up?
Does the priest not feel how this seems like a bad idea? These people are so duuuuuumb.
Then Leah takes the skull and gets chased by an angry religious lynch mob.... felt very real, ngl... after Chastity saves her ass and acts all offended and Leah feels bad for dumbass Rachel and saves her ass Chastity goes like "CoNgRaTs On DoInG tHe RiGhT tHiNg"
My reaction was the same as Leah's.
Honestly I thought Chastity would approve of her taking the skull as it seems to follow along the law of what the Xeno equal payback law seems to be....or rather following the "eye for an eye, except if you try to pluck my eye, I'll yank off your head" she should have taken the skull and then kicked Rachel in the chin (maybe that was her mistake, lol).
Chastity comes across as an incredibly flawed individual, as does the whole race of Xenos, tbh. They may be nigh immortal and omnicient, thanks to their clark tech, but their logic seems to be deeply lacking behind their technological advancement.
Chastity likens the religious behavior to be equivalent to the scientific field of Biology. Maybe it seems like the data validity is about the same, however the method of acquiring data is very different... or rather one does not acquire any data whatsoever...
I am not entirely sure if it was intentional, that chastity seems too far into the superiority complex to understand how these two methods are entirely of different value, however I feel like it was intentional. Maybe we are being led to the conclusion that beneath the Clark tech the Xenos are not all that advanced after all.
This was also an enjoyable read for me.
Being a Nothingness:
Honestly didnt really click with me. It's written well, but I think I dont feel enough social anxiety to fully grasp the situation.
I love my alone time and have precious little of it, so I usually cherish part of the situation Niall is trying to escape... it's not bad or anything it's just too foreign of a feeling for me...
The ending was kinda whak, however it seems to continue the overal tone and is one of only two little bits to connect it to the universe (the other being the xeno that commented on the label "silly" with disregard...wouldn't you not comment at all if you didn't care?)
After reading the Story notes it becomes appearent, why it didnt click with me. It was waaaaaay too intellectual. How can an uncultured swine like me understand actual philosophy, lmao.
Eggs for Roman:
Very good. I think the ascension was a bit rapid, but you gotta do it to keep it all in the short story. If you like this concept of awakening maybe give Horse Destroys the Universe (by Cyriak Haris) a read. Same concept, but it goes a lot further.
It kinda clicked with me this time, because we all want to escape the inhibitions society places upon us, at least to a degree. It's left open, but I really hope Roman makes it to Thailand.
Another story not really much connected to the universe but by a passing mention of Xenos. No shame tho, this is a story in the world, not nessecarily about the broader context. Let's not get too silly in here (pardon my horrible pun).
Four Little Words:
Idk. I mean I get how the reaction is what it is but i'm sure everyone would be more skeptical of this. Evening the paper looks airtight there is gonna be doubt... the story is very short, but it gets the message across, I think.
...someone has gotta talk to the referee that peer reviewed the paper and get him to MemErase too.
Bloodlines:
Even though I ended up liking it, this story started kinda bad, ngl. I didnt think it would grow on me.
Vigilante who kills people for more or less minor shit? No way I'd like that guy. Who do you think you are? Batman with a Claymore?
NO WAY! BRO I HATE IT WHEN MORRALY GREY- and he turns out to be a full on asshole. and he knows he's an asshole
Okay! Thats good, but not only doesn't he think he's a good guy, he also fucks up the guy who does! "MODS PLIS BAN EVERYONE!"
This story also delivers on the ballsack that sam promissed, so i think we're not only in the clear but in a surplus.
Good story. Love it.
#RestInPiecesRoman
The Prophet:
Actually my favorite one now. One rogue hacker John Wick-ing a pseudo cult tech giant by a thousand needle stings per second. The build up was amazing too. Great work! Holy crap!!
Also, no, not "a gay pea" or "a gape" it's "egg ape"!!
#JusticeForRoman
Beat:
I really didn't know what to expect of this, other than "it wasnt gonna be about beetroot".
I mean I saw the pages full of what seemed to be random letters at the time, when initially flipping through the book, but it never occured to me they would be an actually useful way of conveying a state of mind.
This whole story kinda did drag me along though with little undesrstanding for the whole vibe.
I mean, dont get me wrong. I get it. It's also a good story, but it's the same as for being a nothingness: it's a foreign state of mind to me.
I am glad the protgonist failed in killing himself by brain liquifying, but ngl, the whole addict thing was a hard read, just for the reason how horrible of a situation it is.
(This story is once again only losely connected to the overarching story, kinda like every other).
After reading the Story notes, once again it makes a lot more sense why this story didn't click with me. Good to see you're back on top, man!
Btw PDC meas what?! Lmao. No way!
(I'm not gonna spoiler that. Y'all go and read through 220 pages of occational mentions of it, like i did, without knowing what it means, just to laugh like a crazy person in public!!)
My personal ranking (good to less good, but still good):
The Prophet
Eggs for Roman
Xenos
Fiat Strepitus
Bloodlines
Beat
Beaing a Nothingness
Four Little Words
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2026
I'd read this again for the first time if I could.
February 26, 2026
I felt like this book definitely had a bit of a dark sci-fi outlook on the future that was present throughout each short story. I may be wrong, but that may be where the title of the book comes from: "Still Lost" being that humanity is still as lost as they are in the present day of when the book was released. I could be wrong, but that's the gesture I get.
For me, the darkness and sometimes crudeness was a little bit out of my taste, but I was entertained by the stories contained in the book. I feel 3/5 stars is a bit low, so I would say 6.9/10 would be more of an accurate representation of how I feel about the book.
Of course, I also bought the book to support Sam A. Miller (aka Sam O' Nella), and I want to congratulate him on finishing it out, especially after finishing the last story and understanding the context of it with Sam's real life, I understand that finishing the book and having it published must feel like a big achievement, and I think it is.
For me, the darkness and sometimes crudeness was a little bit out of my taste, but I was entertained by the stories contained in the book. I feel 3/5 stars is a bit low, so I would say 6.9/10 would be more of an accurate representation of how I feel about the book.
Of course, I also bought the book to support Sam A. Miller (aka Sam O' Nella), and I want to congratulate him on finishing it out, especially after finishing the last story and understanding the context of it with Sam's real life, I understand that finishing the book and having it published must feel like a big achievement, and I think it is.
March 24, 2026
Astonishingly good.
In brief, it's a short story collection set in a near-ish future earth after (and briefly during) the arrival of a superintelligent alien species, who have installed themselves as some kind of overseers. Actually they're scarcely present in most of the work, which was not what I was led to believe, but this is the premise. Near-future Earth, on the dystopia/utopia scale we're looking at a solid 5 or 6 out of 10.
Below are my thoughts on the works individually, avoiding major spoilers (though going in blind is still the best way to read this one):
Prologue/Fiat Strepitus:
Fantastic start, genuinely so much fun to read. Depicts the arrival of an alien superintelligence and one general's unsurprisingly unsuccessful attempts to kick them off our planet. A very fun sandbox of dumb what-ifs taken to funny conclusions. The entity was unharmed.
Xenos:
My least favourite from the collection, and frankly the only one I wasn't thrilled about. Depicts a biologist trying to break ground in the study of these recently-arrived aliens, before finding herself in a tussle with some religious fanatics. Don't know if it was the switch-ups and slightly long-winded plot that did it, but for whatever reason this one just didn't grab me like the others (honestly, it might just look bad in comparison to everything else). Still, it had some fun ideas, and I definitely wasn't struggling to finish it.
Being a Nothingness:
A story about overthinking things. Anyone who has tried to philosophise their way out of mental health issues by reading an article on stoicism only to find that it Doesn't Fucking Work Like That should enjoy this one. I want to wave this is in the face of myself at seventeen and say, 'Look, dumbass!!!' but alas. I really liked it.
Eggs for Roman
A story about an ape gaining sentience and the ensuing antics (and mistreatment). I loved it, but I actually don't have much to say on it; I think it has some interesting, Black Mirror-esque observations about how humanity would probably mistreat a sentient ape (lol), but honestly it's just really fun to read. It's such a wonderful premise and Sam makes good on it.
Four Little Words
'Centuries of slavery wouldn't hold a candle to what we've done to corn in this country.' AWESOME.
Bloodstreams
About an assassin with very mundane targets--the sort of people we all see and despise in our everyday lives, and in that sense it's an exercise in wish fulfillment, but with a very fun, pulpy twist. It kept going after I expected it to end, and I'm glad it did.
The Prophet
If I had a gun to my head and someone told me to convert one of the short stories from Sam A. Miller's 'Still Lost' into a Hollywood movie script, I would probably pick this one. About someone hooked up to the entire internet who can ostensibly pick the future (and ensuring antics, and etc.) It has a good pace, a familiar structure, and a pretty fun ending.
Beat
Don't want to talk too much about this one because I really think it's best experienced blind (stop reading this damn review!). There is a subtle, choking tonal shift as the work goes on which can really catch you off guard. Once again I did not expect the direction this story took (as obvious as it is in hindsight!) and the last few pages were tough, but ultimately quite beautiful. It's hard to get through, and awful to know so many people are going through a genuine approximation of what's depicted here. Won't say anything more on it, other than it made me tear up on a fucking bus ride.
Overall:
The prose is distinct, pretty witty and irreverent, and there are definitely moments where you can see the same (morbid? bizarre? unique! recognisable!) sense of humour that you'll find on Sam's YouTube channel. Actually, I think that's a good segue into my main takeaway, which is that this book is really funny--not obnoxious funny, but funny in a way which blends really well with whatever idea Sam is currently exploring. An ambient, welcoming funny which gave me a shit-eating grin for pretty much the duration of this book. For a self-published first-timer it's pretty tight too, and while there is the occasional janky sentence (and maybe the odd paragraph whose description would lose me) these complaints were few and far between, and did not significantly affect my enjoyment of the book.
If I had to pick favourites, I'd probably choose Beat and Eggs for Roman (and maybe Fiat Strepitus, and maybe also Four Little Words :p), but it was fun throughout and my enjoyment never dipped beyond possibly Xenos. That five star rating is not just me gassing up The Real Sam O'Nella Academy: this is genuinely a fantastic read, and one of my favourite books of the past year. It actually kind of pisses me off to see someone pivot so well; I despise successful people. Fuck you, and I'm looking forward to your next book (presumably in twelve years' time).
In brief, it's a short story collection set in a near-ish future earth after (and briefly during) the arrival of a superintelligent alien species, who have installed themselves as some kind of overseers. Actually they're scarcely present in most of the work, which was not what I was led to believe, but this is the premise. Near-future Earth, on the dystopia/utopia scale we're looking at a solid 5 or 6 out of 10.
Below are my thoughts on the works individually, avoiding major spoilers (though going in blind is still the best way to read this one):
Prologue/Fiat Strepitus:
Fantastic start, genuinely so much fun to read. Depicts the arrival of an alien superintelligence and one general's unsurprisingly unsuccessful attempts to kick them off our planet. A very fun sandbox of dumb what-ifs taken to funny conclusions. The entity was unharmed.
Xenos:
My least favourite from the collection, and frankly the only one I wasn't thrilled about. Depicts a biologist trying to break ground in the study of these recently-arrived aliens, before finding herself in a tussle with some religious fanatics. Don't know if it was the switch-ups and slightly long-winded plot that did it, but for whatever reason this one just didn't grab me like the others (honestly, it might just look bad in comparison to everything else). Still, it had some fun ideas, and I definitely wasn't struggling to finish it.
Being a Nothingness:
A story about overthinking things. Anyone who has tried to philosophise their way out of mental health issues by reading an article on stoicism only to find that it Doesn't Fucking Work Like That should enjoy this one. I want to wave this is in the face of myself at seventeen and say, 'Look, dumbass!!!' but alas. I really liked it.
Eggs for Roman
A story about an ape gaining sentience and the ensuing antics (and mistreatment). I loved it, but I actually don't have much to say on it; I think it has some interesting, Black Mirror-esque observations about how humanity would probably mistreat a sentient ape (lol), but honestly it's just really fun to read. It's such a wonderful premise and Sam makes good on it.
Four Little Words
'Centuries of slavery wouldn't hold a candle to what we've done to corn in this country.' AWESOME.
Bloodstreams
About an assassin with very mundane targets--the sort of people we all see and despise in our everyday lives, and in that sense it's an exercise in wish fulfillment, but with a very fun, pulpy twist. It kept going after I expected it to end, and I'm glad it did.
The Prophet
If I had a gun to my head and someone told me to convert one of the short stories from Sam A. Miller's 'Still Lost' into a Hollywood movie script, I would probably pick this one. About someone hooked up to the entire internet who can ostensibly pick the future (and ensuring antics, and etc.) It has a good pace, a familiar structure, and a pretty fun ending.
Beat
Don't want to talk too much about this one because I really think it's best experienced blind (stop reading this damn review!). There is a subtle, choking tonal shift as the work goes on which can really catch you off guard. Once again I did not expect the direction this story took (as obvious as it is in hindsight!) and the last few pages were tough, but ultimately quite beautiful. It's hard to get through, and awful to know so many people are going through a genuine approximation of what's depicted here. Won't say anything more on it, other than it made me tear up on a fucking bus ride.
Overall:
The prose is distinct, pretty witty and irreverent, and there are definitely moments where you can see the same (morbid? bizarre? unique! recognisable!) sense of humour that you'll find on Sam's YouTube channel. Actually, I think that's a good segue into my main takeaway, which is that this book is really funny--not obnoxious funny, but funny in a way which blends really well with whatever idea Sam is currently exploring. An ambient, welcoming funny which gave me a shit-eating grin for pretty much the duration of this book. For a self-published first-timer it's pretty tight too, and while there is the occasional janky sentence (and maybe the odd paragraph whose description would lose me) these complaints were few and far between, and did not significantly affect my enjoyment of the book.
If I had to pick favourites, I'd probably choose Beat and Eggs for Roman (and maybe Fiat Strepitus, and maybe also Four Little Words :p), but it was fun throughout and my enjoyment never dipped beyond possibly Xenos. That five star rating is not just me gassing up The Real Sam O'Nella Academy: this is genuinely a fantastic read, and one of my favourite books of the past year. It actually kind of pisses me off to see someone pivot so well; I despise successful people. Fuck you, and I'm looking forward to your next book (presumably in twelve years' time).
April 14, 2026
As a fan of Sam’s YouTube channel, I was very excited to get my hands on this book. Having read it, I thought that Sam did a great job for his debut, creating a collection of fun and diverse short stories that is greater than the sum of its parts. Though the humor may be juvenile at some parts, and some sections may insist upon themselves, the whole book is a fun read for sure.
Thoughts on the individual stories:
Fiat Strepitus: Ok for a prologue. Nothing special, not much depth to it for the majority of the story. The end is cool-ish and does a good job at setting up the remained of the book. 3/5
Xenos: One of the weaker stories. The religious cult trope is so played out and there is not much emotional payoff or development of the characters or the universe created by Sam. The alien biologist masquerading as a prostitute idea is pretty cool, however. 3/5
Being a Nothingness: Mostly some pretentious deep stuff. Nothing super interesting in here, except for it being relatable. 3/5
Eggs for Roman: Possibly the strongest story here. As a fan of Flowers for Algernon, I found this story to be a great homage, but instead of focusing on the idea of mental disability and its social consequences, Sam focuses here on inter-species relationships. What do we do with an animal that is as smart as a person? And how do we even define intelligence? The concepts here are developed very well and the humor is well utilized. 4/5
Four Little Words: The shortest of the stories in this book, this one was still fascinating. The idea behind it, while not very connected to the remainder of the book, are still thought-provoking. 4/5
Bloodstreams: This was the most fun story here. It is a strong criticism of streaming culture and how much of our entertainment comes at the cost of others. The story here is about a hit-man streamer and there isn't much direct introspection in the writing since it is written from the perspective of the hit-man himself. But I found this to be a solid decision from Sam, as it made the inhumanity of the protagonist's actions clearer. 4/5
The Prophet: This story had the strongest start and one of the weakest endings. The concept is fantastic, combining ancient tropes about destiny and fate with the world of technology and high-tech predictions. Sadly, the second half of it focuses a lot on technical aspects of "hacking" and basically kills the narrative momentum. But the first half, up until the point where the "disaster" occurs, is fantastic.
Beat: A story about addiction. It is the most personal in the book, and is best enjoyed going in blind. It did not particularly resonate with me, though I did find the portrayal of addiction here to be painfully accurate. 3/5
Overall, this is a decent collection of short stories. It is a bit rough around the edges and it probably won't achieve much success outside of its target audience, but I can see Sam writing more (and better) stuff in the future with the feedback he gets from this book. 4/5
Thoughts on the individual stories:
Fiat Strepitus: Ok for a prologue. Nothing special, not much depth to it for the majority of the story. The end is cool-ish and does a good job at setting up the remained of the book. 3/5
Xenos: One of the weaker stories. The religious cult trope is so played out and there is not much emotional payoff or development of the characters or the universe created by Sam. The alien biologist masquerading as a prostitute idea is pretty cool, however. 3/5
Being a Nothingness: Mostly some pretentious deep stuff. Nothing super interesting in here, except for it being relatable. 3/5
Eggs for Roman: Possibly the strongest story here. As a fan of Flowers for Algernon, I found this story to be a great homage, but instead of focusing on the idea of mental disability and its social consequences, Sam focuses here on inter-species relationships. What do we do with an animal that is as smart as a person? And how do we even define intelligence? The concepts here are developed very well and the humor is well utilized. 4/5
Four Little Words: The shortest of the stories in this book, this one was still fascinating. The idea behind it, while not very connected to the remainder of the book, are still thought-provoking. 4/5
Bloodstreams: This was the most fun story here. It is a strong criticism of streaming culture and how much of our entertainment comes at the cost of others. The story here is about a hit-man streamer and there isn't much direct introspection in the writing since it is written from the perspective of the hit-man himself. But I found this to be a solid decision from Sam, as it made the inhumanity of the protagonist's actions clearer. 4/5
The Prophet: This story had the strongest start and one of the weakest endings. The concept is fantastic, combining ancient tropes about destiny and fate with the world of technology and high-tech predictions. Sadly, the second half of it focuses a lot on technical aspects of "hacking" and basically kills the narrative momentum. But the first half, up until the point where the "disaster" occurs, is fantastic.
Beat: A story about addiction. It is the most personal in the book, and is best enjoyed going in blind. It did not particularly resonate with me, though I did find the portrayal of addiction here to be painfully accurate. 3/5
Overall, this is a decent collection of short stories. It is a bit rough around the edges and it probably won't achieve much success outside of its target audience, but I can see Sam writing more (and better) stuff in the future with the feedback he gets from this book. 4/5
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