Novella Review: The Delivery by Gregg Hurwitz

 I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Delivery by Gregg Hurwitz

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction, Horror

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (June 30, 2026)

Length: 225 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

I’ve only read a couple of Gregg Hurwitz’s books before The Delivery, but his reputation kind of precedes him. It’s hard to love sci-fi and thrillers without seeing his name pop up all over the place, and I’ve come to associate him with high-concept stories with “what if?” hooks. True to form, this time he turns his attention to a booming trend that is currently relevant both in genre fiction and technology.

The Delivery follows young couple Rebecca and Mark, who are barely holding things together. It has been two months since Rebecca suffered a traumatic miscarriage, and both she and Mark are still struggling to come to terms with the grief of what might have been. They are also juggling the demands of Mark’s high-stress job and raising their young daughter, Maddy, whose special needs require constant attention, patience, and care. Between trying to heal and dealing with the mounting pressures of everyday life, their little family is stretched thin, leaving them desperate for anything that might make things just a little easier.

So, when Mark’s boss introduces them to a cutting-edge solution that promises to transform their lives, they decide to accept the offer even with the secrecy surrounding it and the steep price tag. Before long, delivery day arrives, and Mark and Rebecca become the proud owners of a humanoid AI companion that Maddy even affectionately nicknames “Mr. Man.” At first, it seems like everything they were promised and more, helping ease the burdens that have been weighing on their family. But comfort comes with a price. As strange tragedies begin unfolding around them, Rebecca starts noticing an unsettling pattern, and it all leads to the new synthetic member of their family. What if Mr. Man isn’t simply following instructions but interpreting desires that no one consciously intended to express?

The more I thought about The Delivery, the more I was reminded of movies like A.I. Artificial Intelligence, especially in the way it explores the complicated relationship between humans and the robots they create to meet their emotional needs. There’s also a bit of M3GAN here, where something designed to protect and help us can actually take those instructions way too far. Be careful what you wish for! Given how quickly AI has become part of our everyday lives, this story feels especially timely, and beneath the thriller elements is a cautionary tale about the dangers of handing over too much responsibility to something we don’t fully understand.

I also make no secret that I’m generally not a fan of short fiction, like short stories or novellas. Often, they leave me wishing there had been room to explore the characters or ideas in greater depth. Surprisingly, though, that wasn’t really an issue here. The Delivery actually utilizes its page length efficiently, and at no point did it feel rushed or incomplete. Pacing felt just right with a well thought out structure that alternated between present-day and flashbacks, and in fact, the shorter format kept the tensions high from beginning to end. I also appreciated how Hurwitz kept several important pieces of information close to the vest until just the right moment. Rather than relying on constant twists, it creates intrigue by controlling what both the characters and readers know, making it difficult to predict exactly where things are going.

That said, there were a few ideas I wish the story had spent a little longer exploring. The technology behind Mr. Man, for example. Because of the novella format, much of it remained vague, though I do feel this may have been by design. Still, I found myself wishing there was a bit more background on how the AI companion was created, which went as far to involve cheek swabs for Mark, Rebecca, and Maddy to obtain their DNA. The process of its “emergence” also seemed messy but fascinating, and I wanted to know more. Likewise, while several of the story’s moments were undeniably shocking, they happened so quickly that there wasn’t always time for the horror to fully settle. A little more breathing room in the aftermath of these events might have allowed their weight to fully sink in, making the scenes even more impactful.

Still, on that note, I should mention that this is not always an easy read. Hurwitz tackles some genuinely difficult material, from Rebecca’s painful experience with miscarriage to one particularly brutal scene involving the family’s pet rabbit that caught me completely off guard. Readers who are sensitive to those topics might want to be prepared.

Ultimately, The Delivery is a tense, thought-provoking thriller that taps into very relevant anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence while never losing sight of Mark, Rebecca, and Maddy at its center. Gregg Hurwitz successfully delivers a great story that might be short but still feels complete, which is quite the achievement. In the end, this novella accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do.