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Book 1

Daemon (Daemon Series)

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$16.73
Book 2

Freedom (TM) (Daemon Series)

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Daemon

by Daniel Suarez (Author)

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$2672

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Daemon does for surfing the web what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean...both entertaining and credible...an impressive debut novel.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“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

Daniel Suarez is the New York Times bestselling author of Daemon, Freedom™, Kill Decision, Influx, and Change Agent. A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, his high-tech and sci-fi thrillers focus on technology-driven change. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1:// Execution

Reuters.com/business

Matthew A. Sobol, PhD, cofounder and chief technology officer of CyberStorm Entertainment (HSTM—Nasdaq), 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 possibilities—like 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 . . .

Published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group ( USA ).

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 ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.2 x 1.36 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #771,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,968 in Technothrillers (Books)
- #2,702 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction (Books)
- #2,854 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
(4.4) 5,109 ratings

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Daniel Suarez

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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 24, 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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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

5,109 global ratings

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Cthulhu

Abandon all hope or...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 2, 2010

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As soon as I finished Daemon, I rushed to order me Freedom (TM) , Daemon's long-awaited sequel. That's how good Daniel Suarez' first published book turned out to be.

How would your life change if GPS stopped working or, even better (or worse) occasionally directed you to places you didn't want to be? Or OnStar stopped your car engine while on a highway? Or Amazon granted you unlimited free overnight shipping and 50% off everything you ordered? Or you found yourself at the top of every single 'no fly' list? And, what if little incidents such as these and a lot worse were part of a big plan with some not-entirely-human, cyber entity in control and with no one able to figure out what 'the plan' was or even whether such a plan even existed?

Somewhere, half-way between The Matrix and Orwell's 1984 , 'Daemon' is a collection of snapshots and short plays of a possible, quite plausible and, in the author's view, almost inevitable future, sequentially presented to map the slow but unstoppable rise of a powerful entity. A computer genius dies and leaves behind some fault tolerant, distributed, highly redundant, impossible to kill cyber being that gradually takes control over corporate and government networks and begins to control some of the key people who operate them and appears to pursue some end-state - only no one can fully understand what it is. It's a power grab and, predictably, those who claim the right to hold and exercise power react.

Daemon wants to be an extra-lucid vision of what may soon come to be if the technological and societal agents now in play instead of continuing their current meandering are channeled so that 'something' - we don't know for sure what but there are hints - can be accomplished with some degree of efficiency. While specific interactions are meticulously described to the level of specific button pushes and mouse clicks, 'Daemon' is a story lacking an over-complicated plot - chapters are more like snapshots, only loosely connected: murders, havoc, covert or overt struggle, news and public opinion manipulation, NSA/CIA/FBI/etc. meetings - whose characters take brief turns onto the stage, say their lines only to fade away maybe to be reused a few chapters later, unless completely killed. There isn't a lot of introspection - characters are sketched in a hurry, act and then leave, making room for the next number and so are the landscapes of a dying world and social order or rather of a world order dominated by greedy corporations led by undeserving potentates.

Suarez starts from a few premises or assumptions to construct a possible future. Conflict between those who develop empowering technologies and those who actually hold power is inevitable with the impotent and clueless multitudes watching passively, helplessly and inconsequentially. The State is nothing but a manifestation of the corporations it violently protects or promotes. Soon, the distinctions between the virtual worlds our computers run for our entertainment and what we call 'reality' are going to blur and simply advancing today's technologies for a few more years would make reality increasingly more difficult to distinguish from virtual spaces or 'maps'. Daemon shows what appears to be the beginning of a new era - times and places where real people are pawns and occasionally (minor) actors in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) where a dead genius set new rules because he could. And, as we turn the pages, it becomes increasingly clear that it doesn't matter much which side wins any particular round or even the overall game/struggle/war. According to the Daemon, an artificial intelligence bent on world domination but whose ultimate goal can be only guessed, the real world of humans does not have much of a future going where it's going now. Knowledge, wealth, power - it's the old rock/paper/scissors game only, in Daemon, those who control 'knowledge' or maybe more accurately 'technological know-how' decide to claim the upper hand, or so this first of the 2-volume story appears to suggest. And they do so by focusing virtual cyberspace resources to the point where they break into the 'real' world and begin to shape it and control it almost at will. And, like your friendly government would also claim, it's probably done for our/your own collective good and safety or at least to prevent an even greater evil from taking over.

This is where Daemon ends and I'm looking forward to reading Freedom now. There's no Hollywood happy ending in 'Daemon' because no one is ever happy or even smiling - most of the plot is driven by a non-human entity and most humans actions are tightly controlled, playing their part - either Daemon's physical extensions under its complete control or super-secret government agents doing what they're told - so why would anyone ever smile? In spite of the lack of characters, the linear plot - the Daemon grows increasingly more powerful - and of only hints as of where this is going, this is a captivating read. It all starts slowly, with the author oh-so-eager to show off his mastery of 'computer lingo' but also because he wants to help us understand that we are already half-way there when it comes to the enabling technologies that would make the Daemon or a Daemon-controlled world possible. As the story keeps pace, so to speak, the little puzzle pieces begin to arrange themselves, the pace of the action picks up and the technology lingo while still present and in abundance is less noticeable and less intimidating.

Being somewhat familiar with the tech terms and acronyms, I may not be able to properly assess Daemon's readability by non-techies. '1984' was prophetic, readable and effective by simply hinting at the outlines of domination technologies and techniques that, even though have not come into existence EXACTLY the way Orwell imagined, his 'big picture' and vision are uncomfortably validated by today's realities. The Matrix needs little or no connection to 'reality' because it's nothing but a dream so everything is possible - high tech is nothing when compared to the kind of magic we can dream. Neuromancer became a cult read BECAUSE Gibson imagined most of the technology and he did so before he had the chance to touch a computer (or so the story goes). So, the question is - could Daemon become quickly 'dated' in a world where computer tech continues to change if not evolve at a fast pace. I am afraid so but time will tell.

For a 'first novel', Daemon is surprisingly good. I hope that non-techie, non-gamers will have the patience to read and appreciate this work as it comes from an enormously talented author who clearly has something and, hopefully, a lot to say about the world we live in.

--
>> Brush your teeth, it's the law! <<

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Grand techincal trailer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 26, 2023

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The details in which the deamon works is delightful to read.
The number of characters makes it a little hard to get involved with any of them except Peter Sebeck.
It's a little on the long side as well, but overall, a great work of art.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 30, 2014

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Daemon is another "AI takes over the world" sci-fi story set in the near future. Yes, it has been done before. Who did it first? HG Wells (who would've could've!?) Heinlen? William Gibson? The Wachowski brothers? Those observations are irrelevant to this sci-fi reader. The themes of sci-fi and it reflections of our psyche, environment, and future are usually very much the same. In Daemon, and other (current) stories like it, the near future and believability aspect are closer to home. Additionally, in every AI story there are variations on the transition and transformation to distributive authority, economic challenges, and the effects on society.

Other stories of a similar vein and recently read (not including many more):
Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears
The Circle
and very much recommended: Nexus

Resistance is futile. That theme pretty much plays through on every current AI story--at least at the beginning and in the transition. Then either another revolution occurs or a synergistic state evolves. In short, this whole theme is very intriguing in the world of sci-fi, and if you are a reader who has not spent much time in this theme set, you need to start somewhere. Daemon is a great start to that adventure.

Daemon presents us with a dead game maker leaving an AI legacy that is looking for the some kind of revolution at any cost. The objective of that revolution is not totally clear even at the end, but is certainly much clearer in the last 10 pages or so. The structure of using a game as a model for the AI comes out early in the story, and is fundamental to fun of reading it - especially if you do play video games.

Daemon is also the first book which also includes "Freedom" as the second installment. Be prepared to buy Freedom pretty quickly, as Daemon took only a couple of days of sporadic but concentrated reading to complete, and you will absolutely want to keep reading! Suarez wisely employs the well read Crichton method of story telling--start developing a mystery with multiple stories converging to a crescendo of action and satisfying ending with a hook to the next installment. It is a page turner, well written, and fun.

The continuing exploration of AI effects on the economy and society is the central reason to read this type of sci-fi. The transformation that takes place in so many of these stories is revolutionary and evolutionary. Who controls that revolution and evolution is the underlying theme that provides much more room for thought.

Highly recommended!

3 people found this helpful

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Gwaa Zi

Superb page turner for geeks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 7, 2014

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book (and the sequel), I was gripped from the first chapter.

The first three quarters of the book use current-day technology, with a lot of the gadgets, AI scripts and plot devices being very plausible indeed. They're used in refreshingly novel ways too - sci-fan fans will have seen some of the ideas before but there is an abundance of fresh ideas too.
The plausibility can be demonstrated well by some of the predictions already coming true - the recent emergence of Google Glass being an obvious example. Did Suarez invent the concept of augmented reality linked to the web? Of course not, but the use of such devices within the context of this technothriller is smoothly done.

Do you have to be a geek to enjoy this book? I'm pretty sure you don't - but gamers and readers with more than a passing interest in IT are likely to get more out of it. The way Artificial Intelligence is portrayed for example, is dealt with using current state of the art (at least earlier on), rather than the more usual super AIs of sci-fi set further into the future, which is refreshing.

Towards the later chapters, modern-tech takes a back seat and some of the gadgets and powers of the Daemon border on the silly (I can't see the Razorbacks being in any way practical for example) but by this time you're having far too much fun to care. Partly this is because of the exciting and thought provoking plot, but it's helped immeasurably by interesting, amusing and engaging characters.

This is a book that adopts a biting, cynical view of the Western US-centric world, which will either ring very true or potentially offend depending on your sensibilities. Either way, it will make you think, which is always laudable.

By the way, there are no problems with the Kindle formatting. I shouldn't really have to say this, but sadly it's not always the case even with modern books.

I don't know if I will review the sequel, but in case I don't, I'd give that five stars too - favourite characters get even more interesting and the ending is truly satisfying (how often can you say that?!).

2 people found this helpful

Alistair Kelman

Good, well plotted and thoughtful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 5, 2009

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I think I was one of the first people in the UK to read "Daemon" - mainly because I ordered it from Amazon some two months before its UK publication having watched Daniel's talk about it at Google on the web. It arrived two days ago and I finished it tonight. I had previously read the first few chapters on Suarez's website.

"Daemon" is pacey, packed with ideas and well written. In something like this something has to give and the writing is not great literature. But Jane Austen didn't choose to write about edgy Victorian technology and very few writers (Stephen Fry being an exception) can combine broad technology pacing with plot and character development.

This is one novel which needs a glossary - Suarez uses acronyms without explanation - understandably because to explain would ruin the pacing. But I would love to be able to read it as hypertext with all the key concept words being hot-links in blue like Wikipedia. In many ways it is far too dark and lacks the plurality of US society - to my UK eyes it looks to me like a USA in about 2012 where a member of the Bush family is in the White House and Fox News is the sole media provider. The reality is now different and this colours my appreciation of the risks and threats outlined in the book.

But don't let that put you off. There are very real threats posed to the computer systems upon which we all depend by the development of narrow artificial intelligence. And this book lands you straight up in the risks. Every few minutes I was saying to myself - "Ridiculous - that could not happen!". And then thinking a bit more about it I started to wonder whether it was so ridiculous. Most of the stuff happening in real time was unworkable and would hopefully always remain so. But processes which could go on behind the scenes without any time constraints I began to feel were dangerously plausible. A scene where one actor has to take apart a hotel booking system for fear that it would identify him to the Daemon seemed quite possible.

This is a fun read - just right for a holiday trip or a long flight. I hope by the time the author produces a reprint for the UK market he will prepare a further reading list which covers some of the British books about the technologies and themes.

I understand that there is to be a sequel. And the author has landed a movie deal. Pretty good for something which started out as self-publishing and word of mouth publicity. Read it and enjoy it.

One person found this helpful

Grim_Tidings

When technology grows beyond its function...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 30, 2017

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This book was a complete surprise, an excellent read. When I read this originally the technology described was in early stages of development and had limited use in the modern world, but now loads of it used to this day.
The book was almost foretelling events to come!
The story was interesting and kept me reading, which I found especially impressive as I usually read high/ epic fantasy.
If you are into modern style SciFi and technology novels I do recommend this, even if you aren't this is worth a read or at least a try.

3 people found this helpful

Mr Robert Butler

Like the last book review I wrote for Daniel Suarez ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 21, 2014

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Like the last book review I wrote for Daniel Suarez (Influx) this book is quite believable (at least at the start) and quickly draws you in with an action packed start. There is lots of action and the plot is fast paced with several strong characters who stay with us throughout the book (although Daniel isn't afraid to build a character up and then write them off with the flick of a pen!)

This is a book of two halves and the first is much better than the second. It wasn't until I got close to the end of the book that I realised that the story wasn't going to be concluded in this volume. If you don't like unfinished stories (I don't!) then you'll need to read the sequel.

I enjoyed this story, and I recommend it to computer literate friends. You'll never look at the internet the same way again!

N. Barron

Good techno thriller with some annoyances

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 15, 2009

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The basic plot behind Daemon is intriguing; a recently-dead computer genius leaves an almost self-aware distributed software system as his legacy, and proceeds to infiltrate the world's leading businesses. It's a mixture of high tech thriller and, rather timely, highlights the power in the hands of big business (and how easily this could be subverted).

There's plenty of technical detail in it, and to be honest this was my main complaint. While the author has clearly done some research, the descriptions of network attacks are subtly inaccurate in places (for example, no self respecting hacker would use Netstumbler, they'd be using Aircrack or Kismet). Still, this is a minor moan and despite comments from some other reviewers there's not a huge amount of jargon sequences in the book.

My other complaint is that this is a book clearly written with a sequel (or two) in mind, and came to a rather abrupt and dissatisfying end.

Still, well worth a read and a very novel (pardon the pun) addition to the genre.

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DAEMON (Daemon Series) Paperback – December 29, 2009

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