Books: Daemon and Freedom

I don’t normally do book reviews – and this isn’t one either – but I just finished a couple books that I figure some of the readers here might also enjoy.

A year ago I happened to spot a book review on slashdot about a book called “Daemon.”  The review was interesting and I thought the book looked good so I made a note to check it out — and then promptly forgot about it. Fortunately, I found the note last month and picked the book up at my local library to give it a try. (I’ll admit, I’m often nervous about trying out new authors.)

I was hooked within the first dozen pages.

If you like “near future” science fiction, you’ll like this. Social fiction? Same. Have interest in  MMORPGs? Yep, this is a good fit. Do you like to read about tech in your fiction – and have the author get it right (or at least posit something that could be plausible?). Give this a shot.

The technical aspects of the book were kind of the icing on the cake. While there are certainly some stretches (it is fiction) you don’t ever smack your forehead and groan. Author truly seems to know what he’s writing about, and I like that. As a geek, I hate when they just start stringing tech words together…

From one review:

Suarez’s riveting debut would be a perfect gift for a favorite computer geek or anyone who appreciates thrills, chills and cyber suspense. Gaming genius Matthew Sobol, the 34-year-old head of CyberStorm Entertainment, has just died of brain cancer, but death doesn’t stop him from initiating an all-out Internet war against humanity. When the authorities investigate Sobol’s mansion in Thousand Oaks, Calif., they find themselves under attack from his empty house, aided by an unmanned Hummer that tears into the cops with staggering ferocity. Sobol’s weapon is a daemon, a kind of computer process that not only has taken over many of the world’s computer systems but also enlists the help of superintelligent human henchmen willing to carry out his diabolical plan.

I was fortunate in having read it after the second book was released. I was able to go from first to second with just a week or so in between.

In fact, I finished the second, “Freedom (TM),” just last night – kept me up a bit late because I just couldn’t stop reading. A bit different than the first but an excellent follow-up that once again hooked me in early and kept me up late reading. More action and more about the MMORPG aspect of Daemon – but not overwhelming and actually some very intriguing ideas are fleshed out.

I highly recommend both books – so much so that although I read library copies I look forward to buying them to have on my shelves at home. Anyone else read them? What did you think?

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