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DAEMON (Daemon Series) Paperback – December 29, 2009
- Print length632 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSignet Books
- Publication dateDecember 29, 2009
- Dimensions4.2 x 1.36 x 7.5 inches
- ISBN-109780451228734
- ISBN-13978-0451228734
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A chilling yet entirely plausible story of technology gone awry.”—St. Petersburg Times
“Fiendishly clever...an almost perfect guilty-pleasure novel.”—The Dallas Morning News
“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
“Greatest. Technothriller. Period. Suarez presents a fascinating account of autonomous logic-based terrorism, incorporating current and anticipated technologies to create a credible and quite clever story.”—William O'Brien, Former Director of Cybersecurity and Communications Policy, The White House
“Daemon is the real deal—a scary look at what can go wrong as we depend increasingly on computer networks.”—Craig Newmark, Founder Craigslist
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Reuters.com/business
Matthew A. Sobol, PhD, cofounder and chief technology officer of CyberStorm Entertainment (HSTMNasdaq), died today at age 34 after a prolonged battle with brain cancer. A pioneer in the $40 billion computer game industry, Sobol was the architect of CyberStorm’s bestselling online games Over the Rhine and The Gate. CyberStorm CEO Kenneth Kevault described Sobol as "a tireless innovator and a rare intellect."
What the hell just happened? That was all Joseph Pavlos kept thinking as he clenched a gloved hand against his throat. It didn't stop the blood from pulsing between his fingers. Already a shockingly wide pool had formed in the dirt next to his face. He was on the ground somehow. Although he couldn't see the gash, the pain told him the wound was deep. He rolled onto his back and stared up at a stretch of spotless blue sky.
His usually methodical mind sped frantically through the possibilitieslike someone groping for an exit in a smoke-filled building. He had to do something. Anything. But what? The phrase What the hell just happened? kept echoing in his head uselessly, while blood kept spurting between his fingers. Adrenaline surged through his system, his heart beat faster. He tried to call out. No good. Blood squirted several inches into the air and sprinkled his face. Carotid artery . . .
He was pressing on his neck so hard he was almost strangling himself. And he’d been feeling so good just moments before this. He remembered that much at least. His last debts repaid. At long last.
He was getting calmer now. Which was strange. He kept trying to remember what he’d been doing. What brought him here to this place. It seemed so unimportant now. His hand began to relax its hold. He could see plainly that there was no emergency. Because there was no logical scenario in which he would emerge from this alive. And after all, it was his unequaled talent for logic that had brought Pavlos so far in life. Had brought him halfway around the world. This was it. He’d already done everything he would ever do. His peripheral vision began to constrict, and he felt like an observer. He was calm now.
And it was in that cold, detached state that he realized: Matthew Sobol had died. That’s what the news said. And then it all made sense to him. Sobol’s game finally made sense. It was beautiful really.
Clever man . . .
Excerpt from DAEMON by Daniel Suarez © 2008.
Published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group ( USA ).
All Rights Reserved.
Product details
- ASIN : 0451228731
- Publisher : Signet Books; First Edition (December 29, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 632 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780451228734
- ISBN-13 : 978-0451228734
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 4.2 x 1.36 x 7.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #280,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #865 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction (Books)
- #963 in Technothrillers (Books)
- #1,471 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

DANIEL SUAREZ is a New York Times bestselling author whose books include Daemon, Freedom TM, Kill Decision, Influx, Change Agent, Delta-v, and its sequel Critical Mass (January 31, 2023). A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, he has designed and developed software for the defense, finance, and entertainment industries. With a lifelong interest in both IT systems and creative writing, his high-tech thrillers and realistic science fiction focus on technology-driven change. Suarez is a past speaker at TED Global, MIT Media Lab, and the Long Now Foundation -- among many others. Self-taught in software development, he is a graduate from the University of Delaware with a BA in English Literature. An avid PC and console gamer, his own world-building skills were bolstered through years as a pen & paper role-playing game moderator. He lives in Los Angeles, California. For more info visit, www.daniel-suarez.com.
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Customers find the book enjoyable and fascinating. They describe the storyline as interesting, exciting, and solid. Readers appreciate the unique premise and writing style. They mention the pacing is fast and keeps them interested. Opinions are mixed on the character development, with some finding them interesting and believable, while others say they're flat and stereotypical.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable, good, and worth reading. They say it's fascinating and simultaneously entertains and educates the reader. Readers also mention the characters are fantastic, compelling, and diverse.
"...These are some of the questions posed in Daemon, probably the most amazing first novel I've ever read. Suarez gets everything right...." Read more
"...All told, it's a good book, and I recommend reading it ... but the misleading first half of the book (which is fantastic) that gets followed by a..." Read more
"This story sucks you in! Especially if you're a tech nerd like I am. Great read!" Read more
"...Yes this novel is a bare knuckle, no holds barred, thrill ride from beginning to end...." Read more
Customers find the storyline interesting, exciting, and taut. They say the narrative is solid, and the book is a high-tech thriller. Readers also mention that the ending is satisfying and surreal.
"...Suarez gets everything right. His mind-bending worldwide plot is remarkably plausible, even with 2004 (the year the book was written) technology...." Read more
"...The concept is fantastic and original, the narrative is solid ... but unfortunately in the last act of this book, things start detouring from what..." Read more
"This story sucks you in! Especially if you're a tech nerd like I am. Great read!" Read more
"...3 stars for the interesting storyline, good opening and because I didn't dislike the the book. I was just very disappointed in the poor execution...." Read more
Customers find the concept interesting, incredible, and unique. They also appreciate the delightful tech twists and futuristic ideas. Readers describe the book as thought-provoking.
"...His writing chops aren't the only thing that is so impressive. Suarez has big ideas, too: fascinating takes on globalization, government bureaucracy..." Read more
"...The concept is fantastic and original, the narrative is solid ... but unfortunately in the last act of this book, things start detouring from what..." Read more
"...The technology premise is fascinating: Could you in fact treat the real world like a game world and manipulate it accordingly?..." Read more
"Great book about the power of technology and how it can be abused. The ending was not tied up and I hope there is a sequel. I really like the author...." Read more
Customers find the writing style intelligent, wonderfully described, and straight-forward. They also say the plot is excellent, complex, and well-done. Readers appreciate the snappy dialogue and good presentation. They mention the technical details are superb and clearly conveyed to non-programmers.
"...is seamlessly integrated with the world of the book and makes perfect sense in the contexts where it's used...." Read more
"...They make some good points. But overall, I found the writing tolerable (and in a few places, quite good). The criticism of the characters is legit...." Read more
"...I really like the author. Very straight forward writing and witty dialogue." Read more
"...it's a good book, and I recommend reading it ... but the misleading first half of the book (which is fantastic) that gets followed by a genre-..." Read more
Customers find the pacing of the book fast and entertaining. They say it grabs them at the beginning and keeps them engrossed. Readers also mention the book is intense and prescient.
"...It NEVER slows down, the plot advances further and further, and with each chapter things get more and more out of controlled and hopelessly complex...." Read more
"...Daniel Suarez’s techno-thriller is a fast read with a large cast of characters...." Read more
"...The book is fast paced and keeps the reader engaged. I was particularly impressed with the accuracy of the technology described in the book...." Read more
"...This book is NOT slow.(spoiler alert) There is no hero. The characters you get invested in get killed...." Read more
Customers find the technology in the book sound, excellent, and absolutely real. They also say it's refreshing.
"...The plot crackles along, the dialog is snappy and never sounds contrived, and the characters are fleshed out in a believable manner...." Read more
"Daemon is a great read, grounded in real technology stretched to a foreseeable horizon...." Read more
"...highly improbably, and logistically infeasible, the technology in the book is absolutely real...." Read more
"...What made this book good for me is that the technology is all plausible, it is just jacked up and implemented in a way that allows the author to..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book. Some mention the characters are interesting and believable, while others say they're flat and stereotypical.
"...The book is filled with characters, so many that after a while, I just stopped trying to remember them all...." Read more
"...I was just very disappointed in the poor execution. Non-existent character development, perverse sex and gratuitous violence that contributes..." Read more
"...The criticism of the characters is legit. They're fairly flat. But Suarez wants to keep the action going, so he falls short in character development...." Read more
"...Daniel Suarez’s techno-thriller is a fast read with a large cast of characters...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the start quality of the book. Some mention it's a great debut, while others say it starts off not so well and barely develops.
"...While the book started out brilliantly, and felt like things were being set up for a really spectacular finale, toward the middle or just after I..." Read more
"...I'm afraid it's just not a good one by any measure." Read more
"...The concept is interesting, and the early part of the book starts off strong. An attack on the world's networks? A powerful artificial construct?..." Read more
"...TLDR: Not perfect, but really good. Hacking looks like it should." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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These are some of the questions posed in Daemon, probably the most amazing first novel I've ever read. Suarez gets everything right. His mind-bending worldwide plot is remarkably plausible, even with 2004 (the year the book was written) technology. His characters are as authentic as the varied settings where the action plays out, and the action - it never stops. His writing chops aren't the only thing that is so impressive. Suarez has big ideas, too: fascinating takes on globalization, government bureaucracy, legal, correctional and criminal organizations. There's even a dose of philosophy and moral calculus, but nothing heavy handed. His background as an independent systems consultant lends a frighteningly realistic edge to the deadly effective technologies employed by the ruthlessly efficient Daemon.
The coolest thing about this book for gamers is that the whole system was designed by the head of CyberStorm Entertainment, the most popular fictional game company in the world. The company's WW2 FPS and fantasy MMORPG are central to the plot. Suarez is even able to weave elements of game culture into the real world, as the Daemon awards experience points to its minions for completing tasks, and rewards them with ultra-high-tech gizmos that can have almost magical abilities. It even lets them see things in "D-space," a 3D environment superimposed over the real world GPS grid, projected onto specially designed sunglasses, and complete with wireframe buildings and callouts for other Daemon followers which indicate their relative strength and experience level, just like the stuff that appears over a character's head in an MMO. That all may sound goofy and a little dorky, but it is seamlessly integrated with the world of the book and makes perfect sense in the contexts where it's used.
I dread this book being turned into a movie, because it's just the kind of thriller that Hollywood loves, and it's chock full of just the kind of technology that Hollywood inevitably gets so very wrong. Suarez makes it all come to life so effortlessly. You never feel like you're in some technology training seminar, but at the same time, he gets enough of the nuts and bolts across to make it believable and comprehensible even to a technology tyro. The bittersweet thing about this book is that I'm sure that in just a few years it will all be quaint and dated - a snapshot of the possibilities available at the turn of the 21st century.
I recommend reading it while it's still awesome.
Ostensibly, this book is a current day concept sci-fi centered around the autonomous actions of an incredibly advanced non-AI computer intelligence. It's a distributed, trigger-event sensitive program, a so called "daemon" in tech jargon ... so far so good. This Daemon is set forth upon the world when a genius computer mogul dies, and at first, the book appears to just be a murder mystery novel with the twist of the murderer being already dead, and the murders committed by an unfeeling, uncaring computer program. But it quickly develops into much more than that ...
The initial concept of this book requires something of a suspension of disbelief. At first, things seem plausible enough. But about halfway through, it becomes clear that the Daemon is something that could not possibly exist in the current day tech world (and this book was written in 2006). Anyone who is a child of the digital era knows by now that no computerized machine can be trusted to do anything involving a boat-load of variables, ESPECIALLY if those variables occur over a lengthy period of time AND involve interaction with humans in the context of the real world. Going into detail might ruin the suspense and mystery of "Daemon" ... but suffice to say, you should go into the novel not expecting this to follow real-world machine intelligence very closely.
Other than that, the book has a strong opening, strong middle that keeps changing the nature of the mystery, and making it clear that things are more than they seem ... but then the book takes a sharp and unexpected turn from "current day concept sci-fi" to "near-future sci-fi" ... and maybe not even "near-future". Specifically, even though almost all technology featured up to this point (other than the Daemon itself) is in-use real-world or protype technology, in the last act of the book, the author suddenly introduces various bits of fantastical sci-fi technology. There's an explanation for this ... sort of ... but the jarring departure from one genre to the other makes this unpleasant ... especially when one of these technologies is something straight out of "Terminator: Salvation".
All told, it's a good book, and I recommend reading it ... but the misleading first half of the book (which is fantastic) that gets followed by a genre-switching second half makes the book far from perfect. Just go into the book with an open mind.
Top reviews from other countries
"Sobol stopped and looked over his shoulder..."
Within a single sentence author makes you visualize a lot. Kudos to such clean well thought writing.
This is one of the best stories I've ever read, regardless of genre. As a techno-thriller, it couldn't be any better!
Suarez is a consummate story-teller. It's a fascinating look at what could be, and how some will stop at nothing to ensure that it never happens.
The best part for me? That Suarez is also a good writer. Some authors tell a great story but can't write well. Some write very well, but the story is useless. This one has both the story and the great writing. Suarez's writing never got in the way of enjoying the story.







