All That We See or Seem review: AI fans will love Ken Liu’s cyberpunk thriller

Everything we see or seem
Ken Liu, head of Zeus (UK); Saga Press (USA)

Author's latest novel Ken Liu, Everything we see or seemis the story of the mysterious disappearance of a professional dream weaver named Ellie in the near future. It is positioned as cyberpunk thriller.

Full disclosure: I don't usually look for thrillers or cyberpunk books, so I may not be the target audience for this. But I really wanted to read it because Liu has not one, but two claims to fame: and also that he is the author of the famous fantasy series called Dandelion Dynastyhe is also a translator of the sensationally good Memories of Earth's Past author's trilogy Cixin Liu.

So, to Ken Liu's version of our near future. In the world we find ourselves in, personal artificial intelligence is ubiquitous, and Ellie makes a living by using her AI to create shared dream experience for her thousands of adoring followers. For Ellie, such work is a work of art, and she is very proud of it.

Then one night Ellie gets up and leaves her beloved husband without warning. After that, she simply disappears… until the gangster announces that he is holding her hostage. Could it be that Ellie learned something about this terrible man, perhaps during a one-on-one dream session, that put her life in danger? And does the gangster really have it, or is he using his AI to create deepfake version about her?

Ellie's husband, Piers, a mild-mannered lawyer with a secretive personality, is determined to get his wife back. He's tracking down the once famous hacker known as Julia Z, and begs her for help. He's sure Ellie wouldn't have disappeared without saying a word if she hadn't done it to protect him.

We go on an adventure as Julia joins Pierce in trying to discover the truth about our missing dream weaver while various thugs attempt to cause them serious harm. I say adventure, but most of the action involves detailed descriptions of online activities. This is not something to complain about: the scenes in which Julia and her Artificial Intelligence Assistant Together, the clues about what happened to Ellie are really interesting.

The complex work that Julia does online is beautifully thought out and translates into a realistic sketch of how AI could be used very soon. I especially liked how Julia uses the smallest details of the environment to either figure out or hide her actions.

The biography in my copy of the novel describes Liu as a consultant futurism and history of technology. His knowledge and experience certainly comes through in these online stories, and I think people with a deep interest in AI will really enjoy the book.

For me, however, Everything we see or seem didn't quite land. I was underwhelmed by the thriller aspects. The criminals looked strangely caricatured. And the offline part of the plot did not seem very believable, especially in the long final part of the novel.

There may also be an underlying problem with installing the book in future so close to the present that it is not entirely clear to the non-specialist reader what is currently possible and what is not. Complacency loses some of the fun if you keep thinking, “Can’t they do that already?” But maybe that's just me.

I'll give Dandelion Dynasty at least try. Liu is clearly a talented and thoughtful writer, and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Emily also recommends…

Enemy of the State
Directed by Tony Scott

The connection may be tenuous, but Ken Liu's book reminded me of this excellent 1998 film starring Gene Hackman and Will Smith. It was way ahead of its time in depicting technical methods of observation and was also very interesting.

Emily H. Wilson is a former editor of New Scientist magazine and author of the Sumerian trilogy, set in ancient Mesopotamia. The latest novel in the series, Ninshubar, is out now. You can find it at emilyhwilson.comor follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1.