Murder in the Solid State

In early 21st-century America, the law-and-order Gray Party rules through fear of crime and the Vandergroot Molecular Sniffer, which can detect molecules associated with almost any form of illegal activity. A nanotechnological chemist in Philadelphia, David Sanger, develops nanoware that can block the Sniffer. He promptly finds himself assaulted, arrested, framed for three murders and on the run. David's flight takes him through the Philadelphia ghetto and a virtual-reality role-playing game, and into a climactic assault on the Gray headquarters. The pacing is brisk, even too much so at times, with Sanger's ethical transformation and some plot turns likely to race past readers. McCarthy (Flies in the Amber) offers memorable characters, however, and manages to tell an enjoyable and imaginative tale of social and technological speculation without loading on the hardware.(July)