Daemon - Kirjakasa

Paperback, 448 pages

English language

Published Nov. 10, 2010 by Quercus.

ISBN:: 978-1-84724-961-6

(3 reviews)

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.

5 editions

Thom reviewed Daemon by Daniel Suarez (Deamon, Book 1)

Review of 'Daemon' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

First read shortly after it was released, while much of this was still fiction. Fortunately we aren't at the stage of world takeover bots and automated killer cars - yet. Dropping a star on reread due to too much villainy and the fact that it ends in a cliffhanger. Tomorrow I start the sequel.

This is sort of a set piece for technology and we follow various people who encounter it and mostly die. The ending may have polished off the rest of the good guys - only the sequel will tell. The bad guys (and one bad set of subroutines created by the eccentric billionaire before he died) are quite evil, and other reviews have commented on the depravity displayed mid-book.

But is it good? For me it was hard to put down, with each new puzzle leading to the next, the bad guys usually one step ahead. The …

First read shortly after it was released, while much of this was still fiction. Fortunately we aren't at the stage of world takeover bots and automated killer cars - yet. Dropping a star on reread due to too much villainy and the fact that it ends in a cliffhanger. Tomorrow I start the sequel.

This is sort of a set piece for technology and we follow various people who encounter it and mostly die. The ending may have polished off the rest of the good guys - only the sequel will tell. The bad guys (and one bad set of subroutines created by the eccentric billionaire before he died) are quite evil, and other reviews have commented on the depravity displayed mid-book.

But is it good? For me it was hard to put down, with each new puzzle leading to the next, the bad guys usually one step ahead. The explanations were just plausible enough, and several have come out into the open since. This is better than a 3 star book, but not 5 star fantastic either. My initial rating of 4 stars may end up restored at some point. Looking forward to reading stand-alone books by [a:Daniel Suarez|1956402|Daniel Suarez|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1265394868p2/1956402.jpg].

dare

rated it

Nov. 2, 2020

Kalle Kniivilä

rated it

Oct. 10, 2020