Jean le Flambeur made one mistake. One mistake, that took him from fabled thief at the top of his game to foolish prisoner in the virtual Dilemma Prison, continuously working towards a practically unattainable goal. Until Mieli appears with Perhonen, her spider-ship, and breaks him out to complete the one heist he never managed to complete. But first, he has to follow the trail of breadcrumbs left by his former self, to find his way back to the secrets he needs.

Isidore is an architecture student with a special talent, helping the tzaddik solve gogol piracy cases and keeping himself to himself. His girlfriend, Pixil, is a zoku. Their differences make their relationship interesting – and difficult; a situation that is not improved by Isidore’s drunken conversation with a journalist. But then Christian Unruh appears. In the Oubliette, one of Mars’ Moving Cities, Time is the currency of choice, and Unruh is a millenniaire… A millenniaire who needs Isidore’s help.

As their stories unfurl, a greater web becomes visible and the intricacies of their various social landscapes come together in a dazzling vista.

Hannu Rajaniemi’s first novel is clearly that; a first novel. Chock-a-block with ideas and imagery he couldn’t bear to part with, the book could have done with some vicious trimming. Sometimes it’s hard to discern the plot amid a wild and fantastical landscape of futuristic technology and social customs.

Additionally, Rajaniemi has fallen into the easiest trap for a science-fiction author; he allows the fantasist in himself to take over, creating ways out of tight spots that smack a bit too much of the deus ex machina, and not enough of genuine plot development. Furthermore, he has striven too much to sound like the past greats – smacking heavily of Gibson and Sterling rather than developing his own voice as an author.

Despite all that, it is clear that The Quantum Thief would make a breath-taking film. The images Rajaniemi paints for his readers are crystal-clear and the quaint social customs of the Oubliette are a charmingly realistic continuation of today’s mixture of social conventions and technological safeguards.

Every author has to have a first work, and as such The Quantum Thief can stand reasonably proudly. As it is the first of a planned trilogy, it will be more than interesting to see Rajaniemi develop his own style and, hopefully, settle into a pattern where the story is not overshadowed by its trappings.

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