This is a very strong debut novel, a thrilling ride, and an interesting concept called Thalience – I found it very hard to put down.

That article I just linked to summarized it neatly:

Imagine trying to define “punk” to a machine. That’s the problem we’ll have in ten or twenty years. Now imagine a machine trying to explain a semantic concept as culturally dependent to machines as “punk” is to humans. That’s Thalience.

Oh, and cc-licensed – free ebook version here which is how I found it. But when next I go on an SF-paperback binge and I happen to see this guy’s name I will certainly grab a copy.