Daniel Suarez’s New York Times bestselling debut high-tech thriller is “so frightening even the government has taken note” (Entertainment Weekly). Daemons: computer programs that silently run in the background, waiting for a specific event or time to execute. They power almost every service. They make our networked world possible. But they also make it vulnerable... When the obituary of legendary computer game architect Matthew Sobol appears online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events that begins to unravel our interconnected world. This daemon reads news headlines, recruits human followers, and orders assassinations. With Sobol’s secrets buried with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed, it’s up to Detective Peter Sebeck to stop a self-replicating virtual killer before it achieves its ultimate purpose—one that goes far beyond anything Sebeck could have imagined...
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"Fantastic book. Not just a great sci-fyish thriller, but it really also says something deep and terrifying about our society and the scope of the systemic challenges we face to get to the next level. I'm going to rush right on with the sequel, Freedom, as soon as it arrives. "
— Flemming (5 out of 5 stars)
" A cross between Tom Clancy (multiple story lines masquerading as a complex plot) and late Michael Crichton (technology is bad and out of control!). Not terrible, but I wouldn't recommend it. "
— Scot, 2/16/2014" This book was slow to begin with and kind of boring until half way through. I didn't want to stop reading it and I'm glad I kept reading. It had an interesting turn of events and I'm debating whether to read the second one. All in all I'm glad I gave it a chance. "
— Tessie, 2/14/2014" Very good book about computer programs taking control over the world. A very quick read because you will never want to put it down. "
— Brad, 2/2/2014" Great concept that I enjoyed up until part 3. After that it succumbed to Hollywooditis and become a shoot 'em up action movie er book, almost in the vein of Transformers. Then the last chapter became intriguing again. So almost a four star but it kind of blew it in the climax. I'm interested enough to read Freedom however. "
— Lisa, 1/31/2014" If I hear "The technology is commercially available" one more time... "
— Chuma, 1/27/2014" Fun, plausible and genuinely entertaining. "
— Nullstream, 1/16/2014" great story with a twist and interesting details. best AI novel "
— Asad, 1/9/2014" Interesting concept of technology playing a role in changing the course of humanity. A bit wordy at times, but overall a good read. "
— Rachel, 1/6/2014" Excellent plot with enough identifiable real-life hacking scenario to make nearly plausible. "
— Prashant, 11/18/2013" Excellent book, looking forward to reading the next. Ending was a bit sudden. "
— Steven, 11/11/2013" Fantastic first book in a 2 bk series. If you enjoy Sci fi/speculative fiction at all, I'd recommend this book. Jared read it first & insisted that I read it as well. "
— Katie, 10/12/2013" Fantastic, though I hope it doesn't give a crazy tech genius any ideas, or else we are all doomed. "
— Jamie, 8/26/2013" Cover to cover this was a unique read that I can't recommend enough. If you play games, love tech, and wish you could change the world, your cheating yourself by passing this up. "
— Bush, 8/21/2013" Nice first outing, looking forward to reading more from this author. "
— Eric, 6/15/2013" Incredible techno-thriller. Great heroes and villains, cool tech, can't wait to read Freedom(TM). "
— Ryan, 10/30/2012" Recommended by Rick Excellent, Thank you Rick. "
— Howard, 8/30/2012" One of the better modern SciFi books currently available. All the technology and sociologically ideas are sound and realistic. There's a little bit too much action for my taste though... "
— Collin, 7/15/2012" Too technical. Too long. Too unrealistic. Too many characters. Too much going on, and not all of it made all that much sense. "
— Lori, 6/3/2012" This is the first book for a long time where I've come to the end and immediately had to order the sequel. It hooked me very early on and never let go. Can't wait to find out what happens next. "
— Denis, 4/12/2012" The best example of someone talking about technology in a way that is not far fetched or simplified... "
— Mmmbacon, 12/28/2011" A fast paced and very entertaining read that presents the possibility of an alternate type of terrorism that may start appearing in the near future. "
— Greg, 11/5/2011" Best techno-thriller I've ever read (and I've read a lot). "
— Kevin, 11/2/2011" Fast paced and fascinating..Bit too much murder and mayhem "
— bette, 9/18/2011" Great cyber thriller - think more technical William Gibson. Action/adventure - will amke a great movie (it just got optioned by the guy who made Wargames) "
— Temking, 9/16/2011" Good story but you need a little more computer savvy than I have "
— Brent, 6/17/2011" The ending wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. Other that that it was pretty cool. "
— Leticia, 6/14/2011" Really fun book about video games, hacking and what computers can do if given advanced enough A.I. Loved all the references and how the author explained them. Great twist ending ready for a sequal.<br/> "
— Paul, 5/31/2011" Fantstic book, and very accessible to non-technies, but with a lot of insight I think they need to understand the world we're living in, but in a candy-coated easily-digested way, and cleverly disguised as a more-or-less typical techno-thriller. "
— Brian, 5/26/2011" Interesting and scary take on what technology can do in our world. Have to get the sequel now. "
— Beth, 5/20/2011" A deadly network malware is released by a dying man who can no longer be punished. "
— Chet, 5/15/2011" Listening to this on audiobook. Moves at a fast pace -- an exciting cyber sleuth sci-fi story. This is an action packed cleverly done computerized artificial intelligence creation (designed by a dead gaming genius). What is the daemon? Creepy AI that's what it is. "
— Peg, 5/11/2011" Highly recommend especially if you like techno-thrillers. The sequel "Freedom" is also very good just as addcitive. "
— Alix, 5/9/2011" A definite page turner. It creates and throws away far too many characters, preventing me from getting particularly attached to anyone, but I did enjoy the premise and following along with the evolution of the Daemon. "
— Dean, 5/4/2011" Good book, recommended read. Found a little bit of a slog in parts and some of the concepts are overblown, but overall I enjoyed it. "
— Chris, 4/27/2011Daniel Suarez is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Daemon, Freedom™, Kill Decision, and Influx. A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, he has designed and developed software for the defense, finance, and entertainment industries. He is a past speaker at TED Global, NASA Ames, the Long Now Foundation, and the headquarters of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. An avid gamer and technologist, he lives in Los Angeles, California.
Jeff Gurner created the title role in the American premiere of A Prayer for Owen Meany at Playmakers Rep. He has appeared in productions on and off Broadway such as The Lion King, Five Course Love, The London Cuckolds, and Harrigan & Hart. His film and television credits include Law & Order: SVU, Third Watch, and Hey Joel!, an animated series for VHI.