Second paragraph of third chapter:

Another Talos toast popped up on the bottom of the monitor.

I reviewed Ken Liu’s Hugo and Nebula-winning story “The Paper Menagerie” only a few weeks ago, and have generally enjoyed his short fiction, though I bounced off the only other novel of his that I tried. This was part of this year’s Hugo Voter Packet, in Joe Monti’s editorial contribution, and whatever I may think about the category, I am glad to have the extra books on my virtual shelf.

I rather enjoyed it. It’s a gritty tale of AI and sinister market dominance by evil plutocrats, combined with the concept of the “oneirofex”, or dream-weaver as other writers have put it, able to create dreamscapes for consumers to enjoy. There is a prolonged chase sequence across America, and central characters meet untimely ends. The underground confrontation at the end teetered on the edge of plausibility but just about got away with it. Forty years ago we’d have called this kind of thing cyberpunk; now it’s a mild extrapolation from our lived reality. You can get All That We See or Seem here.

This was my top unread book by a writer of colour. Next on that pile is A Quiet Place, by Seichō Matsumoto.