Saturday, March 7, 2009

Daemon


What can I say about Daniel Suarez's Daemon. It is a book about war on a completely different level.

Matthew Sobel, the head of CyberStorm entertainment, is the developer of many on-line computer games. The games are warlike, one of which gamers work together to defeat the German army in WWII settings. Sobel has died from a brain tumor, yet hid a daemon (a computer program that runs in the background) to take over the world. The Daemon is autonomous and enlists the help of people who essentially sell their soul to obtain their dreams. One person is a reporter who desperately wants to be one of the top investigative reporters. The Daemon contacts her and uses her to achieve its goal. The Daemon also reaches out to a gamer and a prisoner and uses them to kill people who get in the way. As it takes over businesses the weapons and technology used to take over becomes more and more complex, as gamers walk around with glasses that allow them to see the 3D world in real time and space.

Sounds a little far fetched but not that far off. Certainly plausible that the next war could be fought over the internet, hacking in and taking over. Money makes the world go round and what people will go to, will sometimes make us wonder how trusting we should be of big business.

Some of the scenes in the book were disturbing to say the least. Also, not being tech savvy, some was over my head. It was entertaining though and made me think about how computers can expand and be used to take over. How do we regulate the internet to make sure things do not go to that extreme. The book follows several different story lines and brings us to a climax at the end that is not resolved. Promises of a sequel??? I certainly hope so. I was really upset when I got to the end though. It didn't just leave me thinking "what now?" it let me thinking, "WHAT?!?!" It just stopped, mid-story. So much happened in the book, I wonder if and when the sequel comes out if I will have to go back and reread this one. Far warning would have been nice. It kinda of leaves me perplexed. While it was a thrilling and relatively new ride, how can you end it with not one thing resolved?

I give this a 3 1/2 out of 5, mainly because of the ending.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband read this book too and thought it was very good. Here's what he says about it:
This Book is Awesome! 10 stars

I read an article about this book in USA TODAY and thought I would give it a shot. I'm so glad I did. This book grabs you from the first page and does not let go! The twists and turns in this book are fascinating. You do not need to be computer literate to enjoy this book. The only downside to this book is that you have to wait until next year for the sequel. I'll be reading that for sure. If you want to start the year off with a terrific book, this is the one to read! I highly recommend it.

C said...

I glad you liked it and shared with me. Most of the time when I review books I wonder what other thought, or if the read a book I recommended if they liked it.
I certainly agree the book was a great book. I was really put off by the ending. I kinda wish I would have had a warning that it would leave you hanging like it did!!