Algorithms of Betrayal

by Anat Deracine

“An urgent mirror to today’s technological crossroads — that doesn’t pull any punches.” — Ana Sun

Laid-off, disgruntled, and ready for revenge. Can he strike back without being caught by his ex, her boyfriend, or the FBI?

Ryan Archaki’s wake-up call has left him reeling. Fired by a former best friend from the AI-based ad company he helped build, the forty-something is suddenly unhirable and angry enough to be impulsive. And learning his work is about to be weaponized for an unethical client, the anti-social genius hatches a plan to hack his old tech… that backfires with a vengeance.

Threatened with exposure unless he helps other victims of the artificial intelligence craze, Ryan reluctantly teams up with four women with their own axes to grind. But when their zany scheme snowballs from poisoning a machine learning model with erotic fan fiction into global espionage, the would-be vigilante panics as his coding spins out of control.

Can Ryan grow out of his man-child era before countries topple?

Algorithms of Betrayal is an action-packed crime & mystery novel. If you like juicy characters, jaw-dropping twists, and dark satire, then you’ll love Anat Deracine’s heartfelt heist.

Buy Algorithms of Betrayal for a cache of catastrophes today!

Kindle Edition

Published June 15, 2025

About the author

Anat Deracine is the pen-name of the author of the Publishers Weekly and Kirkus-starred YA novel, “Driving by Starlight” (Macmillan, 2018). She writes on the themes of women’s friendships and relationships, and their struggles with oppressive social structures. Her short story, “The Divine Comedy of the Tech Sisterhood” highlights inequalities in the tech industry and was featured on the front page of Medium. She has also written several articles on writing craft, technology, and decolonization, for Publishers’ Weekly, Writer's Digest, Mslexia, The Writing Cooperative, and more. She has been featured in interviews and podcasts on writing craft, gender and feminism, as well as on diversity issues in the tech industry, where she currently works as an executive.

Full list of publications: https://www.anatderacine.com/media


◆ Driving by Starlight (Macmillan, 2018)
◆ The Divine Comedy of the Tech Sisterhood (Code like a Girl)
◆ Why do you believe you’re a woman? (An Injustice!)
◆ Authors can be agents of hope (Publishers Weekly)
◆ The agony and the ecstasy of switching genres (Pipeline Artists)
◆ Give a woman a mask and she’ll take you somewhere new (Mslexia)
◆ Publishing is a wedding, writing a marriage (The Writing Cooperative)
◆ How to be edited without losing your voice (Writers’ Digest)
◆ Writing Female Friendship (Kobo)
◆ 5 A’s of Decolonized Editing (Book Trust)

Reviews

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Algorithms of Betrayal by Anat Deracine

A Thought-Provoking Exploration of Technology and Human Trust
Anat Deracine, acclaimed author of Driving by Starlight, returns with Algorithms of Betrayal, a gripping speculative novel that delves into the fragile boundaries between human intuition and artificial intelligence. Set in a near-future world where algorithms dictate social hierarchies and personal relationships, the story follows a disillusioned coder who uncovers a conspiracy that forces her to question whether betrayal is a uniquely human flaw—or if machines can learn it too.

Key Strengths
-Conceptual Brilliance: Deracine weaves a chillingly plausible narrative about AI’s role in eroding trust, blending cyberpunk aesthetics with philosophical depth.
-Character Complexity: The protagonist’s moral ambiguity and emotional turmoil anchor the high-stakes plot, making her journey deeply relatable.
-Cultural Relevance: Themes of surveillance capitalism, algorithmic bias, and emotional manipulation resonate powerfully in today’s tech-dominated landscape.

Potential Considerations
-Pacing: Some readers may find the middle section dense with technical exposition, though it serves the novel’s intellectual ambitions.
-Ending Ambiguity: The climax leans into open-ended questions, which may frustrate those seeking tidy resolutions.

Score Breakdown (Out of 5)
-Originality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – A fractal of ideas, each more unsettling than the last.
-Worldbuilding: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Rich but occasionally overwhelming in detail.
-Emotional Impact: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – Lingers like a shadow in your browser history.
-Prose: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Sharp as code, with moments of poetic clarity.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – A virus for the mind—infects your thoughts and refuses to be deleted.

Ideal Audience
-Fans of Black Mirror-style speculative fiction.
-Tech ethicists and skeptics of AI’s societal role.
-Readers who enjoy morally gray protagonists and cerebral narratives.

Gratitude
Thank you to NetGalley and Anat Deracine for the advance copy. Algorithms of Betrayal is a timely, unnerving masterpiece that proves Deracine’s voice is as vital as ever in questioning the systems that shape us.

Note: Review based on an ARC; minor edits may appear in the final version.

[Larissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Tech-Drama That's Both Entertaining and Thought-Provoking

In Algorithms of Betrayal, Anat Deracine delivers an engaging, fast-paced tech drama that feels perfectly designed for our current moment—a world both excited and anxious about the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence. Structured as fiction but grounded in real-world dynamics, the novel is an accessible yet deeply insightful read, making it especially fitting for a train ride or a quiet afternoon when you want to be both entertained and informed.

At first glance, it's a story about technology—about what AI can do and what it might do—but Deracine layers her narrative with rich psychological depth. Her characters are thrown into ethically murky, high-stakes situations that test their values and reveal what people are made of when systems begin to blur the lines between human decision-making and algorithmic control.

Despite tackling complex topics, Deracine's writing remains clear and accessible, avoiding density and technicality. Instead, she uses storytelling as a gentle yet clever way to educate non-tech readers about the risks and blind spots of AI. "The trouble is, most lawmakers don't understand AI well enough to know what to regulate or how," she writes, and you feel the weight of that truth.
Much like an episode of Black Mirror, it's futuristic, bizarre at times, but uncomfortably close to reality. Her understanding of AI systems enables her to demonstrate how technology influences human behaviour in subtle yet profound ways, making the story feel lived-in rather than speculative.

Although the book doesn't tie up with a neat, moralistic ending—true to life, it leaves readers with questions rather than answers—Deracine does offer hope. "We don't yet know the true possibilities and dangers of AI," she writes, "but it is up to us to be in the arena, daring greatly, until we do." That optimism is tempered with realism. As she puts it, "Neither side seemed to get that AI was here to stay, or that it was about as fearsome as a teething toddler: brimming with potential for greatness or destruction, but not to be trusted with sharp objects."

In all, Algorithms of Betrayal is a timely, thought-provoking novel that's as entertaining as it is illuminating. Whether you're new to tech or steeped in it, Deracine's storytelling will leave you with a new perspective on both AI and the human choices that shape it.

Thank you to Anat Deracine for the advance copy.

[Amanda Quraishi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Algorithms of Betrayal by Anat Decine on NetGalley. This book took a while to grow on me, but once I got into it, I was hooked. I'm chalking my initial reticence up to my baggage working in and around technology for 20+ years. Initially, it felt like this might be a superficial story about tech bros and their infinite moral and social failings.

Don't get me wrong, the book has plenty of that kind of drama. The main character, Ryan Archaki is neurospicy-coded as a brilliant, germaphobic asshole with mommy issues and whatever is the opposite of emotional intelligence. His ex-girlfriend, Amy, is an executive at the company he founded (and was recently fired from). She waffles between being direct and competent in her public life and spending most of the novel privately mooning over Ryan. Then, there's Mark, Ryan's former college roommate, lifelong friend, and a 'golden boy' of tech who took over the CEO role after Ryan was ousted. Joining these three is a cast of characters easily recognizable to anyone who has spent time in the tech industry: ambitious, politically motivated, ranging in ages between Gen Z and Gen X, ethnically diverse, but all slightly obsessed with the cult that is their company. These personalities can sometimes come off as stereotypical, but I've met all these people at some point in my career, and stereotypes aren't always inaccurate.

Yes, Algorithms of Betrayal is a story of corporate intrigue, hacker culture, and intelligent, self-interested people. But it turns out to be a lot deeper. The relationships between these characters prove fertile ground for reflection on what it means to be a friend, a lover, and a co-worker. As the title implies, trust is a big theme in this story. His company’s board fired Ryan, only to have his best friend step into the role. Amy dates Mark, only to break up with him after he becomes CEO and she has a miscarriage that she keeps from him. Ryan found out that one of the people who reached out to him after he left the company was part of why he got fired. All this cloak-and-dagger BS that large companies are riddled with. It's hard for the reader to know who to trust, much less the characters themselves.

The book isn't highly technical, but Decine knows her stuff. She understands the threats inherent in AI technology and the industry that is rushing head-first toward its applications in all sectors of society. The book does a great job of 'teaching' the reader about the technology without it becoming dull or encyclopedic. That is, the debate around AI and the people impacted by it is presented naturally, through conversations between characters as opposed to boring technical descriptions. The stakes for each character (even minor ones) hinging on the development of AI are clear. This is an impressive feat considering that even people currently developing AI don't necessarily grasp how it works, or its long-term impacts.

The public conversation around AI has been frustrating for many of us as we've watched society take sides in a discussion about which absolutely no one has any clarity. Rather than taking the "good vs. evil" approach and allowing the book's narrative to champion or condemn the technology outright, Decine challenges us to consider its societal implications from multiple angles. If you're the kind of person who needs their fiction to tell them what to think about a topic and assign moral value to it, you may find this book challenging. I, however, adore moral ambiguity in my fiction, and this book is chock-full.

Tension increases as Ryan, Amy and Mark's relationship begins to unravel; At the same time, all three are engaged in a highly public security breach that started as Ryan's revenge for his ouster via a backdoor he'd installed in the code of the SaSS that his company sells for AI-generated advertising. Hijinks ensure, and eventually, they are all pulled into an international incident involving a foreign hacker ring and the deep state. It's fun.

Decine deserves credit as a writer. This book has multiple messages and layers to the plot, but it doesn't feel muddy. Everything folded in nicely in the end, and it left me satisfied. Despite all the characters being flawed (and sometimes annoyingly one-note), they weren't caricatures. There was plenty to empathize with in all of them.

I've not read anything else by Anat Decine but after reading Algorithms of Betrayal, I'm going to search for more.

[David Geisert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. The author has a solid grasp of the tech involved, and many of the ways they are attacking the models have been done in real life, albeit on a smaller scale. I found myself identifying with the protagonist in some ways, not the hating people part, but the obsession with tech, and the move from SF to London.