Politics and cyber-espionage collide in a somewhat tangled plot that centers on the pursuit of The Laughing Man, an über-hacker whose pseudonym is linked to J.D. Salinger's 1949 story of the same name. The master cyber-criminal leads Kusanagi and Batou into a web of murder and deceit involving bogus cures for "cyberbrain sclerosis" and corrupt government ministers. In the secondary story, the Tachikomas, crab-like robots used by Section 9, develop personalities and an awareness of their existence. The Tachikomas recognize some of the implications of their growing consciousness, but their childish voices--modeled after the performance of Japanese actress Akiko Tamagawa--sound odd discussing philosophical questions. Not surprisingly, the story ends with Kusanagi, Batou, et al. tackling a new case that leads into the 2nd Gig. (Rated 13 and older: considerable violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon