Scan barcode
ingo_lembcke's review against another edition
5.0
Started yesterday, June 24th,2013 just after finishing the first book in the series of two: [b:Daemon|4699575|Daemon (Daemon, #1)|Daniel Suarez|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347478594s/4699575.jpg|4763873].
Do yourself a favour, buy both together.
This book reminds me of John Brunner: [b:The Shockwave Rider|41070|The Shockwave Rider|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348645148s/41070.jpg|868164] (among others from him).
Bruner writes more fragmented, like someone flipping through channels of a TV, with Newsclips splattered in between and the storyline is not complete, the reader has to piece the given parts together and figure out missing parts. This makes hard reading for some, if you do not like that style. In Robocob, Starship Troopers and Total Recall (the original) Paul Verhoeven has used nearly the same technique for bringing a story to live.
Suarez writes more straight.
The two books are a harsh view of a near future that might-be, with a strong sense of morality and critique of giving corporations too much power (among other mistakes). In this way they serve as a warning.
Being near the end I view it as an optimistic, good ending, but reached with a brutally high body count, torture, sometimes sanctioned from the government / white house.
Must-read and although I took my time, both books are page-turners and may lead to reading them in a long nigh (or short :-). Highly recommended, therefore 5 stars.
The next book [b:Kill Decision|13542606|Kill Decision|Daniel Suarez|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1332376530s/13542606.jpg|19106895] is already on my to-read list, but I will wait till the price drops and also because reading 3 books in a row from the same author is not my style. Check out the talk about automated Drones from Suarez (Youtube, TED or Vimo?).
If you like the gaming part of this, I suggest reading the (arguably lighter) [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One|Ernest Cline|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333576871s/9969571.jpg|14863741].
And of course, the already mentioned Brunner, Shockwave Rider (Good Ending), [b:Stand on Zanzibar|41069|Stand on Zanzibar|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360613921s/41069.jpg|2184253] (Open Ending), [b:The Sheep Look Up|41074|The Sheep Look Up|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327999238s/41074.jpg|900514] (dark ending, high body count). All 3 could be considered a trilogy, although they have no people or story-parts overlapping. A fourth book [b:The Jagged Orbit|470186|The Jagged Orbit|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1175028806s/470186.jpg|2202667] goes in the same direction but I have not finished it yet. The books by Brunner were sometimes out of print, I do not know now, if printed editions are available as new or used for a reasonable price, but the ebooks are mostly cheap.
Other books from Brunner differ greatly in style and story and from those I read I did not like all, some just felt to be written to cover a certain theme, like time-travel. These 3 I finished and mentioned I consider among his best, Jagged Orbit probably also very good.
Do yourself a favour, buy both together.
This book reminds me of John Brunner: [b:The Shockwave Rider|41070|The Shockwave Rider|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348645148s/41070.jpg|868164] (among others from him).
Bruner writes more fragmented, like someone flipping through channels of a TV, with Newsclips splattered in between and the storyline is not complete, the reader has to piece the given parts together and figure out missing parts. This makes hard reading for some, if you do not like that style. In Robocob, Starship Troopers and Total Recall (the original) Paul Verhoeven has used nearly the same technique for bringing a story to live.
Suarez writes more straight.
The two books are a harsh view of a near future that might-be, with a strong sense of morality and critique of giving corporations too much power (among other mistakes). In this way they serve as a warning.
Being near the end I view it as an optimistic, good ending, but reached with a brutally high body count, torture, sometimes sanctioned from the government / white house.
Must-read and although I took my time, both books are page-turners and may lead to reading them in a long nigh (or short :-). Highly recommended, therefore 5 stars.
The next book [b:Kill Decision|13542606|Kill Decision|Daniel Suarez|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1332376530s/13542606.jpg|19106895] is already on my to-read list, but I will wait till the price drops and also because reading 3 books in a row from the same author is not my style. Check out the talk about automated Drones from Suarez (Youtube, TED or Vimo?).
If you like the gaming part of this, I suggest reading the (arguably lighter) [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One|Ernest Cline|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333576871s/9969571.jpg|14863741].
And of course, the already mentioned Brunner, Shockwave Rider (Good Ending), [b:Stand on Zanzibar|41069|Stand on Zanzibar|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1360613921s/41069.jpg|2184253] (Open Ending), [b:The Sheep Look Up|41074|The Sheep Look Up|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327999238s/41074.jpg|900514] (dark ending, high body count). All 3 could be considered a trilogy, although they have no people or story-parts overlapping. A fourth book [b:The Jagged Orbit|470186|The Jagged Orbit|John Brunner|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1175028806s/470186.jpg|2202667] goes in the same direction but I have not finished it yet. The books by Brunner were sometimes out of print, I do not know now, if printed editions are available as new or used for a reasonable price, but the ebooks are mostly cheap.
Other books from Brunner differ greatly in style and story and from those I read I did not like all, some just felt to be written to cover a certain theme, like time-travel. These 3 I finished and mentioned I consider among his best, Jagged Orbit probably also very good.
cutenanya's review against another edition
5.0
I love technological thrillers and the Daemon series (rather than series I think this is just one book split into two halves) is an excellent read, with brilliant and creative world building, not to mention the ambition to address a problem many of us who live in the digital age worry about but never
quite gather enough courage to face: the power technology has over us. Technological revolutions and advancements were intended to make life more comfortable and convenient but nothing comes without a price and privacy, freedom, and control seem to be price we humans paid for a higher standard of living.
Though at times the technological details are too complex for people not working in the tech industry (a.k.a. yours truly), and the gore may be a bit too much for casual readers to swallow, the plot structure, depth of the world, and fast pace makes this a book that's worth my time. In fact, I feel I'm fast becoming a Suarez fan :D
Daemon & Freedom enables the reader to look at the same phenomenon from two different perspectives. Daemon paints the dark side of the reality the daemon script has created while Freedom depicts a brighter side of what the daemon script allows humans to achieve. I think the two perspectives compliment each other greatly and let the readers judge whether the world is better off with or without the daemon. This plot structure injects objectivity into a subjective reading experience, but the transition from one perspective to another is simply too abrupt, leaving the reader feel "off" at times. Maybe narrating this story in the first person POV rather than third person POV would correct this problem (because then the narrator will allow the reader to know why the dark net may not be as bad as it looks).
This brings us to a problem in this book: the POV. I think 3rd person POV good because it allows us to look at the daemon infested world from multiple angles, but that also diminishes the fun because it is hard to connect with any one single character. Still, it's hard to really stick with a 1st person POV because no any character alone is so adorable or fit for being the character the reader can synchronize with. If only told from Sebeck's POV, I think he is too clueless to allow us to explore the world deeply. John Ross is a perfect character (but then he's supposed to be the mysterious guy that keeps readers guessing whether he's a friend or foe). Loki... would be too difficult to comprehend or sympathize with so that leaves Natalie Philips (who would be great but she's too stuck on one side to let us explore the other side of the post-daemon world. Perhaps creating a pillar character (with enough tech knowledge but not too heavily lingered on one side) is the solution to this problem.
P.S. I listened to the audible version and I must give my praises to Penguin Audios as they have done a fabulous job! Jeff Gurner is great but the music at the end/beginning of each chapter, the robotic and female voices just add life to the whole book! I think this series should be adapted into a movie (best if it's a R rated movie) because I don't want to see the movie without its gore!
quite gather enough courage to face: the power technology has over us. Technological revolutions and advancements were intended to make life more comfortable and convenient but nothing comes without a price and privacy, freedom, and control seem to be price we humans paid for a higher standard of living.
Though at times the technological details are too complex for people not working in the tech industry (a.k.a. yours truly), and the gore may be a bit too much for casual readers to swallow, the plot structure, depth of the world, and fast pace makes this a book that's worth my time. In fact, I feel I'm fast becoming a Suarez fan :D
Daemon & Freedom enables the reader to look at the same phenomenon from two different perspectives. Daemon paints the dark side of the reality the daemon script has created while Freedom depicts a brighter side of what the daemon script allows humans to achieve. I think the two perspectives compliment each other greatly and let the readers judge whether the world is better off with or without the daemon. This plot structure injects objectivity into a subjective reading experience, but the transition from one perspective to another is simply too abrupt, leaving the reader feel "off" at times. Maybe narrating this story in the first person POV rather than third person POV would correct this problem (because then the narrator will allow the reader to know why the dark net may not be as bad as it looks).
This brings us to a problem in this book: the POV. I think 3rd person POV good because it allows us to look at the daemon infested world from multiple angles, but that also diminishes the fun because it is hard to connect with any one single character. Still, it's hard to really stick with a 1st person POV because no any character alone is so adorable or fit for being the character the reader can synchronize with. If only told from Sebeck's POV, I think he is too clueless to allow us to explore the world deeply. John Ross is a perfect character (but then he's supposed to be the mysterious guy that keeps readers guessing whether he's a friend or foe). Loki... would be too difficult to comprehend or sympathize with so that leaves Natalie Philips (who would be great but she's too stuck on one side to let us explore the other side of the post-daemon world. Perhaps creating a pillar character (with enough tech knowledge but not too heavily lingered on one side) is the solution to this problem.
P.S. I listened to the audible version and I must give my praises to Penguin Audios as they have done a fabulous job! Jeff Gurner is great but the music at the end/beginning of each chapter, the robotic and female voices just add life to the whole book! I think this series should be adapted into a movie (best if it's a R rated movie) because I don't want to see the movie without its gore!
klauern's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure if people didn't like this one as much because it seemed over the top or whether it seemed implausible, but it was a really entertaining read anyway. It had some moments I thought were a bit unrealistic or weird to go along with, but all in all I liked it quite a bit. There's like 10 books at the end of the book that I have put on my reading list that provide all sorts of tie-ins to this story, so I've got a bit of reading to catch up on.
hkaube's review against another edition
3.0
This gets a lower score than Daemon because I was starting to get bored of the story; not that it's "worse" than Daemon. The tech and politics are interesting. The characters not so much.
free_bawler's review against another edition
3.0
Would be better as a movie
I found this novel interesting and readable, but not as riveting as the first one. I only give 5 stars if I cannot put the book down. 4 stars if I go back to it at every opportunity. 3 stars if I use it to kill time.
I found this novel interesting and readable, but not as riveting as the first one. I only give 5 stars if I cannot put the book down. 4 stars if I go back to it at every opportunity. 3 stars if I use it to kill time.
robivy's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. A tad better than Daemon, the first book in the series, although a bit predictable in spots. Plenty of action, and a satisfying ending as well.
____j's review against another edition
3.0
interesting techno-thriller. I kind of like the idea of the world it presents.
greaydean's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent completion. I enjoyed this thoroughly and would highly recommend it. It will probably be discarded as a period piece, but as a consequence should be read sooner rather than later.
Certainly he has completely sketched out an all too possible future, but one that will probably never manifest as the "Major" has far too tight of a grasp and it is unclear that all the philosophy and inventions can actually function as predicted.
In an odd way, it presents a picture of hope albeit through an unlikely wormhole. It broadened my thinking and understanding of some of the technology that we have and how we use it.
Certainly he has completely sketched out an all too possible future, but one that will probably never manifest as the "Major" has far too tight of a grasp and it is unclear that all the philosophy and inventions can actually function as predicted.
In an odd way, it presents a picture of hope albeit through an unlikely wormhole. It broadened my thinking and understanding of some of the technology that we have and how we use it.
richardiporter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Better than the book: Daemon that comes before it. Important themes on
- corporate control
- corporate military state fusion and tyranny
-alternative societal politics and economics
- no perfect characters all flawed
-quite the antihero ultimate mastermind plot
- corporate control
- corporate military state fusion and tyranny
-alternative societal politics and economics
- no perfect characters all flawed
-quite the antihero ultimate mastermind plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, War, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Slavery
red_whiskey's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0