A young hacker is pulled from the quiet life she has built for herself to solve the mystery of a missing dream artist in All That We See or Seem, the first in a gripping science-fiction thriller series from Ken Liu (The Hidden Girl; The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories).
Julia Z gained notoriety in her past as the "orphan hacker." Now, she maintains a minimal digital footprint and struggles to pay the bills. But when lawyer Piers Neri comes to her for help to determine whether a ransom video for his missing wife is legitimate and, if so, where she might be, Julia winds up in the alleged kidnapper's crosshairs.
Piers's wife, Elli Krantz, is an oneirofex, an artist who weaves together the dreams of an audience for a "vivid dreaming" experience. The video came from someone she had been dreaming with one-on-one, and to free her, he demands that Piers send him something he claims Elli took.
Liu has created an inventive vision of an AI future, full of thrilling near escapes by engaging and clever characters. Julia's inclination toward anonymity means she has never participated in vivid dreaming; discovering what the ransomer wants will require her to find new ways to use her hacking skills, manipulating the remnants of files from vivid dreams that were never intended to be recoverable. All That We See or Seem does not contain much moral ambiguity, but Liu's thoroughly despicable villains here are nonetheless fun foils for Julia's heroism. Readers will be eager for the next installment of Julia's adventures. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library