3.5
All That We See or Seem
ByPublisher Description
Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award–winning author Ken Liu's first sci-fi thriller, his most commercial, accessible, and action-packed outing yet.
Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at 14 as the "orphan hacker," is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a Boston suburb.
But when a lawyer named Piers, whose famous artist wife, Elli, has been kidnapped by dangerous criminals barges into her life, Julia decides to put the solitary life she has painstakingly recreated at risk as she can’t walk away from helping Piers and Elli, nor step away from the challenge of this digital puzzle. Elli is an onierofex, a dream artist, who can weave the dreams of an audience together through a shared virtual landscape, live, in a concert-like experience by tapping into each attendee’s waking dream and providing an emotionally resonant and narrative experience. While attendees’ dreams are anonymous, Julia discovers that Elli was also providing a one-on-one dream experience for the head of an international criminal enterprise, and he’s demanding his dreams in return for Elli.
Unraveling the real and unreal will lead Julia on an adventure that will take her across the country and deep into the shadows of her psyche. This is the first in a near-future science fiction thriller series.
Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at 14 as the "orphan hacker," is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a Boston suburb.
But when a lawyer named Piers, whose famous artist wife, Elli, has been kidnapped by dangerous criminals barges into her life, Julia decides to put the solitary life she has painstakingly recreated at risk as she can’t walk away from helping Piers and Elli, nor step away from the challenge of this digital puzzle. Elli is an onierofex, a dream artist, who can weave the dreams of an audience together through a shared virtual landscape, live, in a concert-like experience by tapping into each attendee’s waking dream and providing an emotionally resonant and narrative experience. While attendees’ dreams are anonymous, Julia discovers that Elli was also providing a one-on-one dream experience for the head of an international criminal enterprise, and he’s demanding his dreams in return for Elli.
Unraveling the real and unreal will lead Julia on an adventure that will take her across the country and deep into the shadows of her psyche. This is the first in a near-future science fiction thriller series.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesAll That We See or Seem Reviews
3.5
“This was my first time reading anything by Ken Liu, and I got a really solid and engaging sci-fi thriller with a strong modern edge.
The story follows Julia Z, a hacker with a complicated past who ends up pulled into a dangerous case involving a missing woman. From there, things quickly spiral into a mix of crime, technology, and survival. I really liked Julia as a protagonist. She’s not perfect, often unsure, and makes mistakes, but that only makes her feel more real. She sits somewhere in that grey area between right and wrong, which makes her journey all the more interesting.
What stood out most to me was how grounded the world feels. The technology, especially around AI, surveillance, and data, doesn’t feel like distant sci-fi, but rather a natural extension of what we already have. It raises some thoughtful questions about identity, creativity, and how much of ourselves can exist (or be recreated) online. It’s not overly flashy, but it feels relevant and believable.
The plot itself works well as a thriller. There are plenty of twists and tense moments, even if a few of them are a bit predictable. Still, the story keeps you engaged, and the final part of the book is definitely the strongest, both in terms of atmosphere and stakes.
There are moments where the technical detail becomes quite dense, but rather than pulling me out, it added to the authenticity of the world. It’s clear a lot of thought went into making everything feel cohesive and believable.
Overall, this is a compelling, intelligent, and immersive read. It works both as a fast-paced thriller and as a deeper exploration of technology and identity. I’d absolutely love to continue Julia’s story in future books.
Verdict: A gripping and thought-provoking sci-fi thriller with a brilliant protagonist and a world that feels strikingly real. Intelligent, tense, and deeply engaging from start to finish.”
About Ken Liu
Ken Liu is an award-winning American author of speculative fiction. His collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. Liu’s other works include The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, The Veiled Throne, a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, and the forthcoming Julia Z series. He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work, including the short story “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in Netflix’s animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories. “The Hidden Girl,” “The Message,” and “The Oracle” have also been optioned for development. Liu previously worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on topics including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, the history of technology, and the value of storytelling. Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
Other books by Ken Liu
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