China is the setting for this novel of a future espousing the best and worst that Eastern and Western culture has to offer those who live in the twenty second century. Focusing primarily on a character driven storyline we are introduced to a young girl named Nell. She is a complete innocent in a world sweating droplets of technology which in essence dehumanises what it means to be human. Her story begins with her being presented with a book by her older brother Harv. The backstory to how and why this book, a technological marvel commissioned by a man of tremendous affluence and influence, came into existence is one of the cornerstones of this novel. Named A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, this interactive book imprints itself upon any female child within its near vicinity and seeks to educate them in a most subtle and pervasive manner. It should also be mentioned that the man who created this novel rather foolishly created a pirated copy for his own daughter and it is this copy which, fortuitously for Nell, ends up saving her from a life of physical, emotional, and physical abuse. This piece of illicit technology is very much at the forefront for some the novel's central characters and it is into this that labyrinth of deeply complex socio-economic and cultural- technological mores are examined and allowed to cancerously fester without there being any clear cut path to a equanimous settlement between the old and the new.

This novel was a slow paced affair to watch unfurl as the depth and hideous obtuse reasoning behind the motives of the major players are deliberately kept hidden. The character themselves were some of the most wonderfully created beings I have ever followed in any piece of fiction I have ever read. The technology was kept brilliantly original in its conception but never deigned to become magic in its quotidian use. The author shows a willingness to mingle many societal norms upon a narrow stretch of polity which endeared him in my eyes as often, much too often in science fiction, such tropes descend into a chaotic splurge of over the top stereotypical clichés being played out to their natural and boring conclusions. The only failings I detected were the loose ends left behind with regards to one or two characters, and the ending which seemed a bit rushed. Highly recommended to one and all.

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