If you are a writer, should the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence worry you? Or how might AI enhance your writing?

In this fascinating book the authors chart the history of “story machines”, probing their strengths and weaknesses, and what they might tell us about the creative writing process.

While the book is both detailed and enjoyable, it is not entirely convincing. It seems to me that AI tells us more about the way computers emulate the creative process than the creative process itself.

The book’s main focus is fiction, though not all types of fiction, rather than creative non-fiction, such as that by Woolfe.

As for the question posed at the start of this review, to paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke, if a writer can be replaced by a computer, perhaps he should be. However, the authors suggest that AI could prove a useful assistant for writers. What do your students think?

A slightly different version of this review was first published in Teach Secondary magazine. Please see Two for the price of one! to read that.