All That We See or Seem

This dazzling near-future mystery from Hugo winner Liu (Speaking Bones) sparkles with suspense, intensity, and effortless worldbuilding. Julia Z, a famous hacker and bounty hunter in her mid-20s, is contacted by lawyer Piers Negri to help track down his missing wife, dream guide Elli Krantz, who induces vivid dreams for paying audiences. When Julia declines, strange men appear outside her building in suburban New England, and she flees. Then a master criminal known as the Prince tells Piers and Julia that he has Elli, demanding Piers find and return something unspecified that Elli stole from the Prince if he wants her back. Victor, the Prince’s right-hand man, is tasked with keeping track of Piers and Julia, who try to stay one step ahead of him as they work to find and free Elli. The trail of clues is long, dangerous, and littered with red herrings, sending Julia to a secret slave factory and revealing that certain members of the book’s core cast are more entangled than they appear. Liu has a rare ability to flesh out sci-fi concepts—like Elli’s dream art and Julia’s talent for AI communication—with just a few words, and his pacing is pitch-perfect. This is another marvel from a perennially innovative author. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil, Galen & Ghosh. (Sept.)