All That We See or Seem

By Ken Liu

Book Overview

Award--winning author Ken Liu returns with his first scifi thriller in a brand-new series following former "orphan hacker" Julia Z as she is thrust into a high-stakes adventure where she must use her AI-whispering skills to unravel a virtual reality mystery, rescue a kidnapped dream artist, and confront the blurred lines between technology, selfhood, and the power of shared dreams.

Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at fourteen as the "orphan hacker," is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a quiet 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 created 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 oneirofex, 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 memories and providing an emotionally resonant narrative experience. While these collective dreams are anonymous, Julia discovers that Elli was also dreaming one-on-one with the head of an international criminal enterprise, and he's demanding the return of his dreams in exchange for Elli.

Unraveling the real and unreal leads Julia on an adventure that takes her across the country and deep into the shadows of her psyche.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1668083175
• ISBN13: 9781668083178
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: S&s/Saga Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Another great read from Ken Liu!

Book Review: All That We See or Seem (Julia Z book 1) by Ken Liu 5/5 stars. Ken Liu is one of the best writers of science fiction and fantasy writing today. There are others who might be more prolific, but none are quite as literary and creative as Mr. Liu. In addition, he has translated some of the best Chinese authors for English readers and has done a masterful job with those. I understand this first novel in his Julia Z series is his first full-length science fiction. This novel is excellent! The title of this novel comes from a line in a poem by Edgar Allen Poe – A Dream Within a Dream. This story is set in the near future, when AI (well, machine learning at least) has taken over the day-to-day tasks of the world and every person relies on their ‘neuromesh’ personal assistant to handle the menial tasks of their lives. Julia Z is an exceptionally talented computer wiz/hacker. Julia gets caught up in a mystery involving a missing vivid dream weaver (an oneirofex) named Elli when her husband, Piers, comes to Julia for help in finding Elli whom he thinks has been kidnapped by a man who calls himself The Prince. Liu has created a world with advanced technologies, and language to describe them, that seems plausible and even likely for our own future. He then proceeds to weave dreams, and their importance to the characters, into this fabulous tale. As with most of Liu’s writing, this novel is wonderfully written with ideas and language that challenge the reader to consider what creates the reality of this tale but also of our own lives. The mystery that Julia and Piers are set upon seems simple on its face but brings a depth of focus that must be fully considered by the reader as the story, peopled by both good and evil characters, climbs towards its conclusion. The story is as much about finding Elli and determining the identity of The Prince as it is about Julia discovering herself and who she wants to be. Highly recommended! #Netgalley #AllThatWeSeeOrSeem