Seated on the patio of Mission Heirloom in the Gourmet Ghetto, Mason, 42, still jetlagged from his return from a writers' retreat in Tuscany, relents a bit when pressed for elaboration. "I hate describing it," he says. "But when forced, I say it's a combination between Mrs. Dalloway and Neuromancer ." That's an elevator pitch that actually says something meaningful. Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux on April 11, Void Star follows three disparate characters as they navigate a Future world altered by climate change, social inequality, longevity extension, digital brain implants and the machinations of incredibly powerful artificial intelligences.

Truly understanding artificial intelligence is rare. AI doesn't think in concepts and images the way humans do. It has individual goals, like to preserve humankind as technology's caretakers, or to dismantle complex systems. And in the sci-fi thriller Void Star, things are further complicated by the fact that AI's "thoughts" are actually glyphs, or waves of data, that only make sense to people with special cranial implants connected to the net. The elegant, if cerebral, examination of how both technology and humans process information is just one of many ideas explored in Void Star, out today.