Daniel Suarez’s Daemon is a kick in the head akin to Neuromancer or Snow Crash. But unlike those two, it is set in essentially the present day and can be realized with today’s technology or close to it. Prepare to open your eyes to a whole new vector of malevolent computing. No doubt the book will inspire a whole new generation of bot-net creators. It is a good thriller and even gets into some deeper political and philosophical issues without being trite the way most techno-thrillers are. Some fine throwaway lines like:
“Anyone who has ever tried to share pizza with roommates knows that Communism cannot ever work. If Lenin and Marx had just shared an apartment, perhaps a hundred million lives might have been spared and put to productive use making sneakers and office furniture.”
Highly recommended and there is even a sequel due next year. And if you do dismiss the book as just fiction, listen to Suarez’s speech on the true extent of today’s bot-mediated reality.
UPDATE: WSJ interview with Suarez.