Audiobook comments on Daniel Suarez’ Daemon

Daemon by Daniel Suarez is a book that acknowledges that the world is learning about technology. I think the author is one of us, though, because he peppers the action with details about the underpinnings of the web and of security. I didn’t pick up on any glaring errors in the text but let me just say that this is not meant as a challenge to any of you. Also, his site for the book lists some of his influences as Homestarrunner, the Long Now Foundation, Skeptic magazine and xkcd so he can’t be all bad. This is a first novel and I think Suarez will be worth following. Plus, his website for the book has a tech news rss feed, so…
http://thedaemon.com/ by the way.

The upshot of the story is that a dead MMORPG designer has died and left behind a widely distributed daemon that watches news feeds and waits for signals to begin the takeover of the world with the goal of changing human civilization in fundamental ways. It contacts the principal parties from the news and manipulates them to shape future events. To the masses, this is like the magic referred to in Clarke’s 3rd law, in fact they simply refuse to believe that it is happening at all.

Everyone gets blurbs. Even for a first book, the publishers force established writers they have under contract to say nice things about their new stablemates. I was mildly impressed with this one, though.

“Greatest. Techno-thriller. Period. Experts have long feared the Internet doomsday scenario. Daemon is arguably more terrifying.”
— Billy O’Brien, former Director of Cybersecurity and Communications Policy at the White House

You know, the hyperbole is there so, old Billy O’Brien (he worked for Cheney’s steampunk level security team) probably didn’t write it but it still lends a feeling that someone was thinking about us when they chose their blurbers. (Slashdot and paste are quoted, too.)

This is the first of at least two books in a series. I should tell you that the story is nowhere near over at the end of Daemon. The sequel , “Freedom” is out there now and I like it’s subtitle: “Everything is under control. Everything…”

I audited this book. I use this term rather than saying I read it because I listened to an Audible recording of it. I make this distinction because I think that the experiences are very different although not as much so as those of reading and seeing a movie based on a book. The book was unabridged but I still think I missed some subtleties because of the actors’ interpretations of line readings an so on. The production was good. Characterizations weren’t distracting and there were some decent modest sound effects but only to end chapters not in the middle of battle scenes for example.
I’ll be picking up “Freedom” soon and hope that the sequel doesn’t veer into Matrix Reload territory. Until then, I’m just glad that at least one book without glittery vampires is out there for the kids.

-Alan Thornton for acc3l

Tags: audiobooks, books