Ian Reid's Foe was published in 2018 by Gallery/Scout Press. Foe is set in the near future and follows Junior and Henrietta, who live together on a cramped, but isolated and remote farm. One day, a strange man named Terrance comes to the couple's farm with strange news: Junior is being forced to travel far away to a space station called Installation, where he will stay for two years. Junior and Henrietta are deeply in love, so the thought of Junior's departure frightens them both. However, Terrance tells them not to worry, because Junior will be replaced by an android to keep Henrietta company. To create the android, Terrance starts to spend a considerable amount of time with the couple, gathering information on Junior's behavior. This causes tension to develop between Henrietta and Junior, who starts to believe that Terrance—not an android—will be taking his place when he leaves.
In the end, it is revealed that the Junior at the start of the novel is actually the robot that Terrance created while the real Junior is away. In that sense, the novel explores themes of the nature of consciousness, love, and the effects isolation can have on a person.
Foe was adapted into a film of the same name. Released in October 2023 on Amazon Prime Video, the film was a critical and financial failure. This is in sharp contrast to Reid's novel, which earned critical praise and became a New York Times bestseller. Gabino Iglesias of the Los Angeles Review of Books called Foe "an engrossing, strange, addictive read."
