eBook, 640 pages
English language
Published Jan. 17, 2009 by Penguin Group USA, Inc..
Already an underground sensation, a high-tech thriller for the wireless age that explores the unthinkable consequences of a computer program running without human control—a daemon—designed to dismantle society and bring about a new world order.
Technology controls almost everything in our modern-day world, from remote entry on our cars to access to our homes, from the flight controls of our airplanes to the movements of the entire world economy. Thousands of autonomous computer programs, or daemons, make our networked world possible, running constantly in the background of our lives, trafficking e-mail, transferring money, and monitoring power grids. For the most part, daemons are benign, but the same can't always be said for the people who design them.
Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer—the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company's stock price. But Sobol's fans aren't the only ones to …
Already an underground sensation, a high-tech thriller for the wireless age that explores the unthinkable consequences of a computer program running without human control—a daemon—designed to dismantle society and bring about a new world order.
Technology controls almost everything in our modern-day world, from remote entry on our cars to access to our homes, from the flight controls of our airplanes to the movements of the entire world economy. Thousands of autonomous computer programs, or daemons, make our networked world possible, running constantly in the background of our lives, trafficking e-mail, transferring money, and monitoring power grids. For the most part, daemons are benign, but the same can't always be said for the people who design them.
Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer—the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company's stock price. But Sobol's fans aren't the only ones to note his passing. When his obituary is posted online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events intended to unravel the fabric of our hyper-efficient, interconnected world. With Sobol's secrets buried along with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed at every turn, it's up to an unlikely alliance to decipher his intricate plans and wrest the world from the grasp of a nameless, faceless enemy—or learn to live in a society in which we are no longer in control...
Computer technology expert Daniel Suarez blends haunting high-tech realism with gripping suspense in an authentic, complex thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson.
Good, fast paced tech-thriller. Nothing groundbreaking, but a fun ride through an interesting setting.
I'd heard a lot of glowing recommendations about this book, but found myself struggling to get through the lengthy setup. Despite everybody knowing who the killer is (it was the basis for the excitement in the recommendations!) the first half of the book tries too hard to be a police mystery - which is a genre I'm not really interested in.
In addition, the author's over-use of technical jargon, made even more cumbersome by attempts to explain it for non-techie readers, was jarring. I'm a computer professional myself, but this was continually pulling me out of the narrative.
Once we got into the overall premise, however, the author's writing smoothed out and the plot became much more engaging. As with all good stories, this one presents intriguing questions (and some possible answers) - specifically about the current state of our corporate industry and it's influence on government.
I'll definitely be …
I'd heard a lot of glowing recommendations about this book, but found myself struggling to get through the lengthy setup. Despite everybody knowing who the killer is (it was the basis for the excitement in the recommendations!) the first half of the book tries too hard to be a police mystery - which is a genre I'm not really interested in.
In addition, the author's over-use of technical jargon, made even more cumbersome by attempts to explain it for non-techie readers, was jarring. I'm a computer professional myself, but this was continually pulling me out of the narrative.
Once we got into the overall premise, however, the author's writing smoothed out and the plot became much more engaging. As with all good stories, this one presents intriguing questions (and some possible answers) - specifically about the current state of our corporate industry and it's influence on government.
I'll definitely be continuing with the sequel, FreedomTM to see where the Daemon takes us.
Fast paced cyber thriller. A little rocky in places, covers a lot of ground quickly, a bit terse in the story line at times. But I couldn't stop reading it. Looking forward to the sequel, FreedomTM
Probably more of a 3.5 stars book. It was a solid, fast moving, techno-thriller with some great ideas, some clunky writing, and, worst of all, it's only the first book of, I think, a proposed trilogy, so it ends pretty abruptly. I kept wondering, as I reached the end of the book, just how Suarez was going to wrap up all the narrative strands with so few pages to go. Well, he has at least another book to do it in, I guess!
Daemon tells the story of a dead computer game company founder whose death unleashed a cyber creation of his. Told in the 3rd person from several different points of view (cop, computer security consultant, military types, etc), it also includes vignettes describing how some of the early followers of the Daemon were recruited. The network the Daemon unleashes and controls is pretty impressively described and generally believable. …
Probably more of a 3.5 stars book. It was a solid, fast moving, techno-thriller with some great ideas, some clunky writing, and, worst of all, it's only the first book of, I think, a proposed trilogy, so it ends pretty abruptly. I kept wondering, as I reached the end of the book, just how Suarez was going to wrap up all the narrative strands with so few pages to go. Well, he has at least another book to do it in, I guess!
Daemon tells the story of a dead computer game company founder whose death unleashed a cyber creation of his. Told in the 3rd person from several different points of view (cop, computer security consultant, military types, etc), it also includes vignettes describing how some of the early followers of the Daemon were recruited. The network the Daemon unleashes and controls is pretty impressively described and generally believable. Another warning though - just because a character is a narrator, don't get too attached! Like [a:George RR Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1195658637p2/346732.jpg], he's not afraid to kill off any character, no matter how central he or she may seem.
Some of the action goes over the top and some of the chase scenes carry on a bit too long, but I never felt like flipping past them. I also had a hard time at the start keeping everyone straight - not sure if it was the author's fault or my fault. But once the story got rolling, it really took off. The ending, while admittedly just of part one, was quite mysterious and I'm not sure what the rambling was about, but we'll see in book 2.
So if you like a fast paced, sometimes over the top, techno thriller, like say [a:Philip Kerr|53936|Philip Kerr|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1242600733p2/53936.jpg]'s [b:The Grid|462837|The Grid|Philip Kerr|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174963161s/462837.jpg|910199] , you'll enjoy Daemon, despite its unfinished business at the end.
I really enjoyed this book. At the very beginning of the book, I felt like some of the characterization was a little forced, or possibly just done in too calculating a method. However, that's only within the first few chapters, and after that the individual voices of the characters were clear enough that I forgave the earlier issues.
The plot is tense and moves forward at a quick pace, as any great thriller should. The ideas behind this story are both fascinating and terrifying, the latter because the technology described in the book currently exists. In fact, the technology is so current, I almost hesitate the place the label science fiction on it.
My only real issue with the book is the abruptness of the ending, which does not resolve nearly enough of the sub-plots. Apparently, there is a sequel being released next year, titled Freedom TM, which explains …
I really enjoyed this book. At the very beginning of the book, I felt like some of the characterization was a little forced, or possibly just done in too calculating a method. However, that's only within the first few chapters, and after that the individual voices of the characters were clear enough that I forgave the earlier issues.
The plot is tense and moves forward at a quick pace, as any great thriller should. The ideas behind this story are both fascinating and terrifying, the latter because the technology described in the book currently exists. In fact, the technology is so current, I almost hesitate the place the label science fiction on it.
My only real issue with the book is the abruptness of the ending, which does not resolve nearly enough of the sub-plots. Apparently, there is a sequel being released next year, titled Freedom TM, which explains why so many parts of the story are left unresolved. I've read that this book was originally at least twice as long, but he was asked to split it into two books for publishing, which makes sense, and is the only reason that I'm taking off one star.
This is an excellent read, and helps to shed light on just how vulnerable we have made our society by using homogeneous and centralized networks.
Good book, sadly inconclusive ending
