Freedom (TM)

By: Daniel Suarez

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The propulsive, shockingly plausible sequel to New York Times best seller Daemon.

In one of the most buzzed-about debuts, Daniel Suarez introduced a terrifying vision of a new world order, controlled by the Daemon, an insidious computer program unleashed by a hi-tech wunderkind. Daemon captured the attention of the tech community, became a New York Times and Indie best seller, and left listeners hungry for more. Well, more is here, and it's even more gripping than its predecessor.

In the opening chapters of Freedom, the Daemon is firmly in control, using an expanded network of real-world, dispossessed darknet operatives to tear apart civilization and rebuild it anew. Soon civil war breaks out in the American Midwest, in a brutal wave of violence that becomes known as the Corn Rebellion. Former detective Pete Sebeck, now the Daemon's most powerful - though reluctant - operative, must lead a small band of enlightened humans toward a populist movement designed to protect the new world order. But the private armies of global business are preparing to crush the Daemon once and for all.

In a world of conflicted loyalties, rapidly diminishing human power, and the possibility that anyone can be a spy, what's at stake is nothing less than human freedom's last hope to survive the technology revolution.

©2010 Penguin; 2010 Daniel Suarez

Critic reviews

"Freedom™ surpasses its smart, exciting predecessor. This concluding volume crackles with electrifying action scenes and bristles with intriguing ideas about a frightening, near-future world. The two books combined form the cyberthriller against which all others will be measured.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review]

“Suarez continues his popular technothriller, and Daemon fans will be well be pleased with the exciting conclusion.” (Booklist)

"An engrossing, fast-paced tale of speculative fiction." (SF Site)

I really liked the first book. This one however...

What does Jeff Gurner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Jeff Gurner is simply fantastic. I didn't enjoy the story much, but I appreciated the audio book because of the way he was able to bring it to

Any additional comments?

If you would enjoy listening to an audio version of a Transformer movie. I would recommend picking this up. I thought a weakness of the first book was that there were two many secondary characters. I thought that this book would focus on the characters that I actually care about: John Ross and Natalie, but instead, I was bombarded with more minor characters.

Great continuation of an amazing story

This was an amazing book. It picks up right after the last and continued it perfectly. Characters and events pulling me in constantly. Some characters making you worry when they're in danger, others making you curse their existence, etc. Great book. It ended really well but I still would love a sequel just so I can stay in this book world a little longer.

Awesome conclusion!

Have you listened to any of Jeff Gurner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Jeff Gurner continues his excellent delivery in this well written conclusion to Daemon.

Any additional comments?

I picked up Daemon and Freedom based on reviews I read here. If it hadn't been for Audible I would never have discovered this amazing story.

End of disillusionment

I thought the disillusionment with current system presented in the first book would be solidified in this one, but it turned out to me more optimistic and humanistic that I expected, given the blood and gore and the complete disregard for human life. Maybe it was put it place for the entertainment without which the books would be cerebral and ultimately boring.

These books are wonderful and fantastical they should make them into a mini TV series. A movie would miss all the wonderfully geeky details.

Compelling and vivid peak at possible world change

What did you love best about Freedom (TM)?

The use of current technology to launch into visionary tech possibilities.

What did you like best about this story?

The use of current technology to launch into visionary tech possibilities.

Which character – as performed by Jeff Gurner – was your favorite?

John Ross and Laney Price

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Visions of the small communities that embraced the Daemon and were uplifted by communal participation

Any additional comments?

I wish some of this were possible as I think it's too easy to feel helpless in our current capitalistic-run state.

Good Thought-Provoking Story!

In Freedom ™, Daniel Suarez continues his fictionalized description of the changes that are occurring in our world due to the Internet. His story extends these changes into the realm of (what is at the moment) sci-fi, but his extension is based on such present day realities as the Dark Web, bit-coin, and dark digital anarcho-marketplaces such as Silk Road. It is present day reality to have Dread Pirate Roberts in our digital midst and lawsuits where the federal government is trying to prove, among other things, that this cyber pirate is the real-world man known as Ross William Ulbricht. This means that the technology used by the characters in Freedom ™ is not too far away. This work is not as engrossing as its prequel, Daemon, but it is still worth your money and time. The work contains more discussion of deep philosophical ideas than the first work. In this work, the author imagines the fulfillment the mad programmer’s vision of creating a new, worldwide Utopia – a sort of Jacques Ellul world created by a very well thought out computer virus. The author’s ideas about society and government are put into the mouths of various characters as they travel through the computer game style adventures that comprise the plot of the work. The conceit is that the dead programmer who put this adventure into motion with his computer virus could create a “dark net” program so perfect that it could not be hacked, at least not for a long, long time – long enough to become embedded throughout the world’s computer systems. In the real world, a computer virus that was discovered to be so fundamentally changing human society would be hacked into very quickly. Another conceit is that the “distributed democracy” envisioned would be any better than the representative democracy we now have. Being asked to vote on hundreds of questions each day does not sound enjoyable to me and I would bet that most would simply decline to be involved. Be that as it may, it is easy to suspend disbelief in this story long enough to enjoy it. I found it hard to put down. The reader is good. After one has finished, reality reasserts itself and one quickly realizes that what happened in these two books could never happen in the real world. I have no doubt someone is going to try it, though. Listen to the first work, Daemon, before this book. Enjoy both!

Great story

What a page Turner. Get ready for the technocracy. Totally acttion packed.. Leave you breathless

Excellent Series

I'm a software developer and avid geek. This book (along with Daemon) is simply the best novel that I have ever read! It captured my imagination in a way no book did. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Great concept

With all the advancements and augmented reality, it's not hard to imagine some of these events becoming a reality in the not too distant future.

Terrifying

terrifying, plausible, and amazing. You must do this. It's uncomfortable, but it has a happy ending.