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@forbiddenlondon

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Marketing. London. Stories.
By James WJ Wilson, author of Do Spiders Leave Footprints?
Explore the book & our work ↓

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I would love for you to learn more about my novel "Do Spiders Leave Footprints?"

What better way than through a recent review...

"This book is going to stick with me for a while. It's a deceptively simple story about a near future where AI is taking, or being given, more and more power over decisions once made by humans. Underneath that though, it's asking whether human experience or objective records hold the truth, or if the truth lies somewhere between them. The novel explores and questions instead of explains, which I appreciated because such questions have no easy (or perhaps even true) answers.

The book is written in a minimalistic style that occasionally made conversations hard to follow, and some of the more technical sections felt a little over my head with their software-speak. But the rhythm, emotional undercurrents, and lingering questions overcame those issues and left me with a delightful feeling of unease when I closed the book."

#authors #authorlife #writing #selfpublishing by @forbiddenlondon

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2 days ago

My first novel came out on Friday, and I’d love to see it on the shelves of independent bookshops around London.

Do Spiders Leave Footprints? begins with a small disagreement: Adrian remembers a yellow chair. The photograph shows a red one. From there, it follows memory, relationships and the useful AI systems people learn to trust.

For booksellers, I can offer ten signed paperbacks for £70, with an RRP of £12.99 each, plus a poster for the shop. I have copies ready and can supply them within three days, with hand delivery in London or nearby at an agreed time.

If you run a bookshop, I’d be delighted to hear from you. If you know someone who does, an introduction would mean a great deal.

Message me for stockist details. For your next read, paperback and ebook editions are available at jameswjwilson.com.

#DoSpidersLeaveFootprints #DebutNovel #IndependentBookshops #LondonBookshops Poster for Do Spiders Leave Footprints? by James WJ Wilson. A child stands between a red chair and a yellow chair, surrounded by illustrations of London and digital displays. The headline reads: “The evidence is all there. The question is what you do with it.” Published 18 September 2026; available from Amazon, Apple Books and Kobo. by @forbiddenlondon

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a month ago

On 29 September, Donald Trump signed an executive order and created Super Intelligence.

Quite an achievement. No scientific breakthrough required. The machines simply got a promotion.

What followed was even more interesting. Elon Musk publicly corrected himself from “AI” to “SI”, Trump thanked him, and days later Musk invoked a twelve-year-old philosophy book to support the new terminology.

Was this genuine consensus, public compliance or clever political positioning?

I've been exploring how powerful people establish conventions, how those conventions become accepted, and what happens when compliance starts looking like agreement.

There's a bigger question too. What does declaring machines “super” signal to people who already feel ignored, replaceable or undervalued?

My latest article, **Super Intelligence by Executive Order**, explores the fascinating relationship between language, power, consensus and human worth.

Read the full article:

https://jameswjwilson.com/blog/super-intelligence-by-executive-order

#SuperIntelligence #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #TechnologyAndSociety #HumanIntelligence #FutureOfWork #TechCulture by @forbiddenlondon

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8 days ago

Sometimes the best escape from London’s headlines is a horror novel.

At least somebody has usually thought about how that story ends.

What do you read when you’ve had enough of the news?

#Reading #DarkHumour #LondonLife by @forbiddenlondon

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2 hours ago

We’ve all done something embarrassing.
Mine might have been writing this book.
Yours might already be training an AI. by @forbiddenlondon

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17 hours ago

#livemusic @thecheshirecheesepub by @forbiddenlondon

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a day ago

Books open doors, we’re always told.

I appreciate somebody finally testing the claim under practical conditions.

The book has passed. Whether its author would approve of the experiment is another matter.

#BookHumour #Reading by @forbiddenlondon

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a day ago

A second review of "Do Spiders Leave Footprints?" on Amazon...

------------
5 out of 5 stars
Can objective facts capture subjective reality?
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2026
Format: Kindle
------

(4.5 rounded up.) This book is going to stick with me for a while. It's a deceptively simple story about a near future where AI is taking, or being given, more and more power over decisions once made by humans. Underneath that though, it's asking whether human experience or objective records hold the truth, or if the truth lies somewhere between them. The novel explores and questions instead of explains, which I appreciated because such questions have no easy (or perhaps even true) answers.

The book is written in a minimalistic style that occasionally made conversations hard to follow, and some of the more technical sections felt a little over my head with their software-speak. But the rhythm, emotional undercurrents, and lingering questions overcame those issues and left me with a delightful feeling of unease when I closed the book.
------------ by @forbiddenlondon

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2 days ago

A shared book can do more for a conversation than an elaborate introduction.

Two strangers suddenly have a whole world in common. Whether they agree about the ending is another matter.

#ReadingLife #Books by @forbiddenlondon

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2 days ago

Everything is running beautifully. How inconvenient for anyone with a difficult question.

James WJ Wilson’s novel is interested in useful technology: the sort that earns its place by making life better. Would that put every concern to rest?

Do Spiders Leave Footprints?:
https://dospidersleavefootprints.com

#SpeculativeFiction #Reading by @forbiddenlondon

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2 days ago

Cornish night and reunion by @forbiddenlondon

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3 days ago

I love the idea that the dog thinks it’s the one training the human.

Get them to the park, hand over a book, settle down and enjoy a peaceful afternoon.

I increasingly think it’s a very sensible arrangement. The human may even believe the outing was their own idea.

#ReadingLife #DogHumour by @forbiddenlondon

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3 days ago