Kill Decision

By: Daniel Suarez

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner

Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The shocking techno-thriller that cements Daniel Suarez's status as the heir to Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy - a terrifying, breathtaking, and all-too-plausible vision of the world's near future.

Unmanned weaponized drones already exist: they're widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, best-selling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results.

Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned - and thanks to her research, automated - drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention.

Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the "kill decision" during battle has remained in the hands of humans - and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences.

But as forces even McKinney and Odin don't understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.

©2012 Daniel Suarez (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Suarez's premise is entirely believable

This book features the synergistic pairing of Daniel Suarez and narrator Jeff Gurner, in a thriller whose premise is definitely not far-fetched.

I thought the first part of the book was especially good as the plot unfolded. The action lagged in the middle third, but picked up toward the end of the book. I am sure there will be a sequel.

I don't want to disclose any of the plot, but suffice it to say that when you listen to this book, and reflect upon related newspaper articles, the premise is entirely believable. It would not surprise me at all if some (maybe not all, but some) of this stuff starts to happen in the near future. Scary.

Suspenseful, believable and thought provoking

The premise of the stroy is very believable and really gives you pause for thought. The events in this book could well be in our near future. The only weakness for me, was the romance thrown in - not really necessary, hence i dropped the overall and story ratings to 4 stars. This one had me listening, keen to know what was coming next!

A gripping modern thriller

This was a very enjoyable book, a modern thriller. I had listened to Daniel Suarez's previous two books and loved them. This book has similar elements while being a separate story. The central mystery are drone attacks that occur and the team that is dispatched to find out who is responsible. It is a roller coaster ride with strong characters. There were great sequences where the action was intense. In addition to the great action there is the whole question of drones, especially autonomous drones which is raise but the answer is left for us to work out.

The narration was excellent, Jeff Gurner narrated Suarez's previous two books and does and excellent job here with different and distinct voices for the characters which does a good job in bringing out their personalities. He also does a bang up job with the action sequences.

The only weakness with the books is a couple of scenes of awkward dialog and a romance angle that I think might have been better left for the end of the book. But these are minor and do not really detract from the story. I was also not a fan of the profanity but that is the way many people talk today.

While not as great and inventive as his first two books, I loved the book and would listen to it again. I highly recommend it.

fab reading of a tech marvel

loved this book and can't get enough of the author, this is a must add to your library

love sound effects.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes,sound effects add to story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

definetly

Any additional comments?

I love all books with multiple narrators,and or sound effects,dramatizotions.Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

Simply electric

The master of the techno thriller returns in force. I love this guy.

Having worked on unmanned aerial systems its apparent Daniel has too, or has done his research very well. This scenario could actually happen tomorrow. The guy knows his tech.

If you haven't read Daemon and Freedom then you have missed out on an epic story.

Suarez Does it Again!

This author is awesome. His stories are well thought out and intelligent. This book is great! Thrilling! Buy it! You will not regret it.

This Says it ALL

What made the experience of listening to Kill Decision the most enjoyable?

I really like knowing what is going on with the newest technologies.

Any additional comments?

I will make this sweet and simple. I read or listen to several books at a time going back and forth as my mood fits. Kill Decision did not allow that, once started you had to keep going and when it was over I wished it could go on but the smile on my face was all I had left. If DAEMON and FREEDOM were to your liking, then get going with Kill Decision.

very good story

don't get me won't I really love Danial Suarez books, especially since I'm in the IT field. it just seems that this story it's little too similar to Daemon. I will definitely listen to it again and very likely get other Suarez books

Geeky but Brilliant! (a small spoiler)

They get into a few "technical" paragraphs that are a little intimidating at first but they are just background and not key to understanding what's going on.

There isn't a lot of background before you get to the truly amazing plot. I feel that, at times, the author has to give the whole background of a person before the real action begins. Not in this story!

Remember in the movie Alien when the first lead character gets killed off and you think, "Oh my gosh. I thought... Wait..." and moving forward you're really not sure what to expect. That's as far as I'll go into it.

The narration is excellent. At no time was I confused about who was speaking or why.

My only disappointment is the end. A little bit cliche but it's about the journey.