Daemon

By: Daniel Suarez

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner

Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Daniel Suarez's New York Times best-selling debut high-tech thriller is “so frightening even the government has taken note” (Entertainment Weekly).

Daemons: computer programs that silently run in the background, waiting for a specific event or time to execute. They power almost every service. They make our networked world possible. But they also make it vulnerable....

When the obituary of legendary computer game architect Matthew Sobol appears online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events that begins to unravel our interconnected world. This daemon reads news headlines, recruits human followers, and orders assassinations. With Sobol’s secrets buried with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed, it’s up to Detective Peter Sebeck to stop a self-replicating virtual killer before it achieves its ultimate purpose - one that goes far beyond anything Sebeck could have imagined....

©2009 Daniel Suarez (P)2009 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A riveting debut.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“This thrill-a-nanosecond novel is certainly faithful to the techno-traditions of Michael Crichton and should delight not only readers of the 'science gone awry' genre, but general adventure readers as well.” (Booklist)

“Suarez's not-just-for-gamers debut is a stunner.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Such a great story 

There’s nothing I disliked in this book  it was a great book from beginning to end 

Wow! How did it take so long to find Daniel Suarez?

This author seems to keep himself informed of cutting edge technology, both emerging and in some cases discovered a while ago, but without practical application. He also has the imagination to put these things in to play in what to me is plausible, near future, SciFi.

This is my 3rd book in as many weeks and now I’m in a hurry to finish this review so I can go find the next one!

Interesting view but outdated

Most technology mentioned in the book has advanced beyond what Suarez could imagine eg speech recognition. Some is spot on, some is still not possible o my knowledge. The story has flaws but it is still a good read.

Sci Fi plot

Unique plot exploiting our fear of technology and Artificial Intelligence controlling the world. Sometimes Hard to follow the different characters but overall, a really great story.

Good thriller but...

Any additional comments?

A genius software developer’s death triggers a computer virus that threatens to take control of the world. It’s pretty much non-stop action. The cutting-edge technical stuff kept it interesting, plus there are the seeds of some interesting ideas. I've started the sequel, “Freedom TM.” On the downside, the characters are never developed enough to care about anyone; it fails Question 2 in the Bechdel test (there’s never a conversation between two women) and there's a gang rape scene where the woman is made to seem like she wants it (it's not sympathetic to the rapists, it's more part of the action, but it's questionable).

Sequel?????

Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A very well written and thought out storyline. However, as other have said, I did not know it was part one of what appears to be a series???? The ending was clever, and again, well done, but it just flat out ended abruptly with no warning. I sat there for a couple of minutes feeling a bit taken advantage of...Sequel$$, however I'm over it and can't wait for the sequel! Let's just hope it has a complete ending in book two and he doesn't leave us stranded again. Jeff Gurner was exceptional with the narration and I will look to see what else he has read.

One of the best I have read in a while

This was one of the best picks I have made in quite a while. It was a book I would consider, then move past for quite a while since I am not really a technophile. Finally I took a chance on it. Well worth it, the story breaks new ground and is fantastic. Great dialog, great characters, written extremely well. If you are on the fence go ahead and download this book and I am willing to bet as soon as it is done you are downloading the sequel, and will be excited to do so.

Absolute must have for techs.

Absolute must have for techs. This is my second Audible book. Thanks Steve and Leo for the recommendation.

Imagination Grabber!

Another great TWIT recommendation. This book had me looking forward to my drive to and from work with great anticipation. Many driveway moments unable to turn off the iPod. Several times I had to replay segments because I thought, "this can't be happening."

The Matrix Meets Tomb Raider

This is one of the most clever stories I have read for some time. It tells of how a part of society that is technologically more literate gains controls of everyone's life. If you are not familiar with computer networks and multiplayer games you will find much of the book hard to get through. It uses the terms as if the reader is familiar and makes no attempt to explain what the acronyms stand for or mean. In most cases, not knowing the technical details is not crucial, but I can imagine that it would be a bit frustrating.

However, if you are computer savvy, you are in a for a treat. The computer scenario is real enough to make you think that it could happen. The story involves the people that set up the system, the workings of the system and the people that ultimately get controlled by the system. It is a blend of scienfiction, computer technology and adventure.

It blends the story of the matrix with characteristics reminiscent of Lara Croft...great fun!

Be forwarned, the end of the story is not the end of the story - hopefully more to come.