The shocking techno-thriller that cements Daniel Suarez’s status as the heir to Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy—a terrifying, breathtaking, and all-too-plausible vision of the world’s near future. Unmanned weaponized drones already exist—they’re widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, bestselling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results. Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned—and thanks to her research, automated—drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the “kill decision” during battle has remained in the hands of humans—and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences. But as forces even McKinney and Odin don’t understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.
Download and start listening now!
"Despite the fact that this was a bit out of my preferred genre it was in many ways the perfect read for me. It was a nice blend of speculative scientific content and seat of the pants thriller, sometimes over the top but always in the realm of the possible. It made me think in unusual and creative ways and even inspired a bazaar dream or two."
— Jjasondaniel (5 out of 5 stars)
“Perfectly blending nail-biting suspense with accessible science, bestseller Suarez establishes himself as a legitimate heir to Michael Crichton with this gripping present-day thriller.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Suarez’s fiction is closer to reality than most people think.”
— Chris Anderson, editor in chief, Wired“A confident thriller that leaves us wondering not whether its fictional premise will one day become reality, but when.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Kill Decision is a fantastic techno-thriller. As someone who has designed combat robots myself, I found the technology depicted both accurate and chilling.”
— Alexander Rose, roboticist & executive director of The Long Now Foundation“A plausible account of how, and more importantly, why, the real ‘skynet’ might be created.”
— Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, Inc.“Compulsively readable…[Suarez] knows his stuff…Kill Decision is a beach read the world actually needs.”
— BusinessWeek" Read a little bit like it was meant to be turned into a screen-play. "
— Kendal, 2/16/2014" good suarez for 2/3 but then slides in to a less than scientifically interesting ending. Real outcome is probably more horrible, less likely to end happy and with broader implications "
— Frank, 2/7/2014" Read my review on bookreporter.com next week. "
— Ray, 2/3/2014" Not up to par with Daemon and Freedom. "
— Brian, 2/2/2014" Nice thriller in a believable near future where Drones are just a little bit more sophisticated than they are now. The social critique was a bit more "forced" than in the previous books by Suarez, but it was still enjoyable. "
— Collin, 2/2/2014" Didn't grab me as much as Daemon or Freedom. Still good for a 24-ish techno spec-ops foil the evil plot thriller, and imaginative use of cutting edge technologies and trends. Also still has vaguely racist and try hard moments that raise an eyebrow. "
— deep, 2/1/2014" The neat thing about this book is its realistic use of tech ology. I am an IT professional and the realistic use of tech ology differs from other techo-thrillers because they are so far fetched. This book was enjoyable and I recommend it to everyone. "
— Nate, 1/15/2014" Fun interesting characters with a plot covering autonomous drones and the dangers or such devices. "
— Mark, 12/27/2013" A fun techno-thriller, but it's kind of like literary junk food. Still, I did plow through it quickly. "
— Leo, 12/26/2013" An interesting worst-case-scenario for drone warfare. Liked the strong female protagonist! "
— Raedia, 12/21/2013" Absolutely riveting technological-action thriller. Suarez wove real drone technology with insect behavior programming seamlessly in a scary way - live in a bunker in Montana scary. "
— Dora, 12/16/2013" His best so far! Really enjoyed this book. "
— Scott, 12/9/2013" Shows that not all things especially in the media are what they seem. Good books by had a little trouble following the technical content. The Ravens in the book are definitely the best characters. "
— Audrey, 11/28/2013" Fantastic book, especially for people in the tech industry . "
— Matthew, 10/10/2013" This book had only pieces of the future-tech excitement of the previous two books. The plot was predictable, the selection of future-tech ideas didnt complement each other as in previous books. "
— Don, 9/29/2013" Very interesting piece about drone warfare, but not quite as good as his first book. Especially the passages where the characters show emotions are not very convincing. "
— Julian, 8/29/2013" Excellent techno-thriller. A little more serious and focused than Daemon and Freedom (TM). It's about a worst case drone scenario, ants, extra-special forces and some smart birds. Very good. "
— Robert, 6/15/2013" Would have loved to see a second part. The book seemed to accelerate as it went on, becoming less juicy, as it were. "
— Prescott, 5/8/2013" Not as good I think as his first book, but it's a good read. "
— Paul, 4/17/2013" Very enjoyable, fast paced with strong characters as Daniel's stuff usually is. "
— Lou, 1/14/2013" Worth a read. As with his Daemon and Freedom(TM), his imagination on the uses of technology, most of which is right on the horizon, is scary good. Writing is better than many -- not among my favorites, but I only winced a few times. But, again, the concept is fascinating and scary. Recommend. "
— Greg, 1/4/2013" enjoyed it. It is an easy read and an eye opener to the world of automated drones. "
— Antony, 11/15/2012" Greatly enjoyed this thriller. His writing has improved over the first two books. Fantastic to read a book about technology by someone who actually understands it. "
— Christopher, 10/27/2012" This is a thriller, not SF, so hard SF fans may be disappointed. It reads like a Tom Clancy story. It starts our well, theb races away with itself toward the end leaving a somewhat disappointing conclusion. "
— Karl, 9/24/2012" Pretty good up until the ending, where it coalesced in an increasingly unbelievable action sequence that wasn't very satisfying. "
— Philip, 9/14/2012" Daniel Suarez never fails to entertain - this techno-thriller, with its tie-ins to nature, is mind-boggling and a little frightening... the concepts explored seem plausible and that is not a comforting thought! "
— Monica, 9/9/2012Daniel 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.