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Daemon [Paperback]

Leinad Zeraus
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)


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Book Description

December 1, 2006
Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer--the architect behind half a dozen popular online games. His premature death from brain cancer depressed both gamers and his company's stock price. But Sobol's fans weren't the only ones to note his passing. He left behind something that was scanning Internet obituaries, too--something that put in motion a whole series of programs upon his death. Programs that moved money. Programs that recruited people. Programs that killed.

Confronted with a killer from beyond the grave, Detective Peter Sebeck comes face-to-face with the full implications of our increasingly complex and interconnected world--one where the dead can read headlines, steal identities, and carry out far-reaching plans without fear of retribution. Sebeck must find a way to stop Sobol's web of programs--his Daemon--before it achieves its ultimate purpose. And to do so, he must uncover what that purpose is . . .


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Product Details

  • Paperback: 444 pages
  • Publisher: Verdugo Press; 1St Edition edition (December 1, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0978627105
  • ISBN-13: 978-0978627102
  • Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

I cannot wait until the next book comes out to see where things go from the end of Daemon. Jonathan Butler  |  26 reviewers made a similar statement
Having read a review of the book in Wired Magazine I decided to pick up a copy. Evan Lee  |  10 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent High Tech Thriller April 30, 2007
Format:Paperback
Daemon incorporates many current and near-future technologies. Zeraus' vision of our use and misuse of technology is both intriguing and disconcerting. The author spins an exciting tale and all the while you're thinking, holy crap, is any of this actually possible? Or worse - maybe it's already here.

I visited the Daemon website and there is a page dedicated to many of the technologies used in this book. In fact, the website has a synthetic voice to guide you. It's hard to appreciate this until you've read Daemon. A female, British-accented speech module known only as 'The Voice' plays an integral role in the novel, and it's not your typical alien-sounding voice either. It's alarmingly realistic.

Here's a list of some relevant technologies used in the book:

MMORPGs (very creative use of Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games)

Voice Recognition/Synthetic Voice Systems

News-reading bots

Acoustical weaponry

Hypersonic Sound

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

Haptic clothing

Fab Labs

Digital Ink

GPS/Geo-caching

There's quite a bit more, but it's how the author rolls it all together to create something new and (at least for me) wholly unexpected that makes Daemon such a fascinating book. Buy it. Read it. You won't be disappointed.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book for the nerd in your life...... December 15, 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a computer professional I found the technology in this book believeable --which is it's most compelling feature. Whether one individual with a lot of know-how and money could pull off a scenario like this is debatable, but an entity (Government, corporation, etc.) certainly could which is what makes the moral underpinnings of the tale so important. I wish the author had spent more time on the implications of hitching our wagons to technological hegemonies in general and companies like Microsoft in particular. They aren't inherently evil, but as the book points out, a lack of diversity from an evolutionary standpoint has always been bad.

I loved the book and have bought 7 copies (so far) as gifts, but I rated it 4 stars because I think the author ran out of gas at the end and didn't make as strong of a moral statement as he tried to do. I can't say I am disappointed, but what could have been a classic and a great book seemed to suffer from over aggressive editing at the end and thus ends up as only a very good book which I highly recommend for the nerd. I would be interested to see what a literate non-nerd thinks of it.

The story is strong, but the writing isn't literature. If you liked this book, you'll love "Darwin Among the Machines" by Dyson; "Mind Children" by Hans Moravec might also interest you; and if you can still get your hands on it the classic cautionary morality tale in the computer industry is still "Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgement to Calculation" by Weizenbaum who asks the basic question: Just because we CAN do it, does it necessarily follow that we MUST or SHOULD do it?
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the New World. Are you ready? January 11, 2007
Format:Paperback
Based on the back-cover blurb, I expected Daemon would be an interesting `high concept' techno-thriller, but this book floored me. Zeraus seems to have thoroughly researched the technology presented and combines it in ways that are exciting and terrifying. This book pulls you in and doesn't let go.

You might think you know where the story is going, but believe me: you don't. This book will surprise you countless times, and it will stay with you long after you finish it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars blah, blah, blah, blah required to make this feedback page work and...
blah, blah, blah, blah required to make this feedback page work and blah, blah, blah some more for this section
Published 3 months ago by William Pociengel
5.0 out of 5 stars The Original
The story was engrossing from page 1. The tech believable and prophetic (a lot of the tech was only a dream at the time of publication). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Perry Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars A Summer Short List Read
Daemon is a novel that gets quite a bit of airtime from me. It is a great story about a writer with the passion not only to craft a great story, but one who is also not afraid to... Read more
Published on May 9, 2011 by Christopher Matney
2.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointed
I was expecting a lot more. But it has a slow start, anemic mid part and degenerates into blow-em up block buster by the end. Loose ends and plot holes are galore. Read more
Published on December 27, 2009 by M. Bakhvalov
4.0 out of 5 stars nearly perfect technothriller
(Before we get to the plot, we here @ The Rotten Review decided a bit of background was needed)
"Daemon" is the term given to programs that run in the background - we know... Read more
Published on October 7, 2009 by Rottenberg's rotten book review
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Read
This book is awesome. Smart read that flows easily. I cannot wait for the followup.
Published on February 16, 2009 by G. Cassidy
5.0 out of 5 stars Who's doing the movie?
This book will definitely be made into a movie. Lots of action -- lots of things blowing up -- lots of opportunity for special effects. Read more
Published on February 8, 2009 by John H. Hardin
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Absolutely one of the best books I have ever read. At the end, it'll leave you speechless just like the first time you saw The Matrix.....
Published on January 3, 2009 by Noel D. Lucas
3.0 out of 5 stars I want to like this book
This book is definetly based on the geek shall inherit the earth concept. There are some really cool uses of technology that make you think. Read more
Published on January 1, 2009 by C. Boudreau
5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the Modern World
Silent, but deadly...very deadly.

Lurking in the shadows of our computer world is a rather unique program - operating like a commonplace daemon - that is not under the... Read more
Published on December 26, 2008 by County Lineman
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Topic From this Discussion
Daemon: Daniel Suarez and Leinad Zeraus
try spelling the author's name backwards, guy....

the paperback is the original self published version, I think.
Aug 6, 2009 by Kenneth N. Fricklas |  See all 2 posts
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