THIS SIDE OF JUDGMENT

Blade Runner meets The Terminal Man. Dunn's near-future US is a land riven by wars and upheavals. Some time ago, charismatic genius Nathan Kahn encouraged his followers to implant computer chips in their brains, thus enhancing their abilities to an unparalleled degree. But, one by one, the implants drove the ``chipheads''—including Kahn himself—mad, leading the government to set up an agency of ``Cossacks'' to track down and eliminate them. When a woman's savagely mutilated body is found in the snows of Montana soon after a local bank's security is breached, skilled but unorthodox Cossack agent Ross Bohlen suspects chiphead involvement. But the perpetrator, Page, seems to have a hidden agenda that not even Bohlen can elucidate. Also in pursuit of Page comes Telford, a still-sane chiphead who has dedicated himself to helping Kahn's surviving disciples. As Bohlen wonders why his shifty, meddlesome Cossack boss is showing a sudden interest in the case, Telford and Page draw closer to a private showdown. Dunn's debut lacks originality and contains typical rookie errors in logic and timing. Still, the well-crafted characters, telling details, and intriguing developments look very promising.