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Daemon Hardcover – January 8, 2009

by Daniel Suarez (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 5,431 ratings
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In a near-future run by thousands of autonomous computer programs that control the world's wireless networks, a dormant program activates in the wake of a legendary game designer's premature death and launches a sinister effort to dismantle society and enforce a new world order. 60,000 first printing.
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Daemon
  2. Print length
    448 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Dutton Adult
  5. Publication date
    January 8, 2009
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    6.32 x 1.5 x 9.3 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0525951113
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0525951117
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Originally self-published, Suarez's riveting debut would be a perfect gift for a favorite computer geek or anyone who appreciates thrills, chills and cyber suspense. Gaming genius Matthew Sobol, the 34-year-old head of CyberStorm Entertainment, has just died of brain cancer, but death doesn't stop him from initiating an all-out Internet war against humanity. When the authorities investigate Sobol's mansion in Thousand Oaks, Calif., they find themselves under attack from his empty house, aided by an unmanned Hummer that tears into the cops with staggering ferocity. Sobol's weapon is a daemon, a kind of computer process that not only has taken over many of the world's computer systems but also enlists the help of superintelligent human henchmen willing to carry out his diabolical plan. Complicated jargon abounds, but most complexities are reasonably explained. A final twist that runs counter to expectations will leave readers anxiously awaiting the promised sequel. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

For now, Daniel Suarez will have to be content with the inevitable comparisons to Michael Crichton and Neal Stephenson; in the publishing world, there are certainly worse fates. To be sure, Suarez's ability in Daemon to push all the right buttons regarding technology and its potential for misuse suggests a writer with a bright future. If word-of-mouth publicity is any indication (there's already strong demand for the sequel, which is due in 2010), the rigors of self-publishing are already a distant memory for Suarez. Daemon is genre fiction meant to be devoured, not savored. "Henry James fans may shudder," the Dallas Morning Newspoints out, "but the result is an almost perfect guilty-pleasure novel that passes briefly through a pulp-bound larval stage before morphing into the Big Action Movie it was meant to be."
Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dutton Adult (January 8, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0525951113
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0525951117
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.01 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.32 x 1.5 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 5,431 ratings

About the author

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Daniel Suarez

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 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.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
5,431 global ratings

Customers say

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

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ReadabilityStorylineThought provokingWriting stylePacingTechnologyCharacter developmentStart quality
293 customers mention "Readability"293 positive0 negative

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

289 customers mention "Storyline"224 positive65 negative

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

176 customers mention "Thought provoking"166 positive10 negative

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

120 customers mention "Writing style"88 positive32 negative

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

71 customers mention "Pacing"55 positive16 negative

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

12 customers mention "Technology"12 positive0 negative

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

76 customers mention "Character development"48 positive28 negative

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

20 customers mention "Start quality"10 positive10 negative

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

Top reviews from the United States

K. P. Badertscher
5.0 out of 5 stars Taut, insightful cyberwarrior's technothriller.
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2011
Verified Purchase
What if a rogue AI, a distributed process running on tens of thousands of computers all over the internet, could recruit boots on the ground from among "the disaffected, the dispossessed, the displaced, the disgruntled. Worldwide"? What if it created an organization as distributed as itself, with no centralized power structure, with individuals having knowledge of only their local comrades, with no individual knowing the whole big picture? What if it had effectively unlimited financial resources and was able to have its minions manufacture various deadly remote controlled avatars for it (and them) to use? How would corporations and governments stop such an entity? Could they?

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.
5 people found this helpful
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AustinTiffany
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Concept; Falters Toward the End
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2013
Verified Purchase
I'll start by saying that I really liked this book, and in fact, was hooked completely for the first 3/4s of it. The concept is fantastic and original, the narrative is solid ... but unfortunately in the last act of this book, things start detouring from what made the beginning so good.

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.
7 people found this helpful
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Brian W
5.0 out of 5 stars Addicting!
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
This story sucks you in! Especially if you're a tech nerd like I am. Great read!
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Top reviews from other countries

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kessyus
5.0 out of 5 stars Kudos to the author
Reviewed in Brazil on February 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very interesting book! Cleaver story with so much real details that I feel more into it page by page. I’m halfway through the book and I’m loving it.
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PD
5.0 out of 5 stars Si te gustan los techno-thrillers no lo dudes, este libro te va encatar.
Reviewed in Spain on August 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Primera parte de un set de dos libros escritos por Daniel Suarez. Se nota que el “Background” previo a convertirse en escritor del autor es en el mundo de la tecnología, ya que la parte tecnológica de la novela es excelente, libro que engancha des del principio.
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Varun
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched storyline coupled with powerful writing
Reviewed in India on October 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is there first book I've read of Suarez and I'm a fan already. The story is well researched, cleanly narrated and though the narrative jumps from different parts of story to others, a reader rarely gets lost. The overly technical descriptions of certain technologies can be jarring at times but they do add an air of authenticity to the plot. Author has been successful in creating a powerful, mysterious super villian who slowly unwraps during the course of story. But what I love the most are powerful visualizations the author weaves which pull a reader in as if he or she was watching a film.
"Sobol stopped and looked over his shoulder..."
Within a single sentence author makes you visualize a lot. Kudos to such clean well thought writing.
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J Johnston
5.0 out of 5 stars A Techno-Thriller Ahead of Its Time, Which Is Right Now
Reviewed in Canada on September 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
WOW!

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.
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Alberto D'Ottavi
4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive
Reviewed in Italy on August 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
Buon romanzo, scritto bene. Tira un po' per le lunghe alla fine ma niente male. Soprattutto, è uno showcase incredibile di come possono essere usate tecnologie che sono già disponibili e altre che sono più che probabili, molto vicine. Fa davvero pensare.
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