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Book: Daemon

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If you read one book in 2009, read Daemon. 

It’s unusual for me to recommend a book so early in the year.  Daemon is only my fourth book of 2009.  It’s a first novel.  And it’s mental floss.  But it’s as close to flawless for a book of its genre.

I first heard about Daemon in December from Rick Klau.  I got to know Rick at FeedBurner; he’s now at Google running Blogger.  Rick told me that I had to read this book.  He pointed me to a blog post he had written in 2007 about it.

“I can remember the feeling I had, sitting in the audience as the credits rolled after seeing The Matrix on opening day. I knew I’d seen something that was different, important, and something that I’d want to see again. And again. When I finished Daemon this afternoon, I had that same feeling. Daemon is to novels what The Matrix was to movies. It will be how other novels that rely on technology are judged.”

I immediately one-clicked it on Amazon.  It wasn’t available for the Kindle so the hardcover showed up a week or so ago.  I devoured it this weekend.  Rick’s assessment was correct – this is by far the best techno-thriller I’ve ever read.

The author – Daniel Suarez (also known as Leinad Zeraus) describes himself as “an independent systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies … An avid gamer and technologist, he lives in California.”  He doesn’t mention that he is a magnificent writer and brilliant storyteller.

I won’t ruin any of it for you.  It’s got everything you’d expect in a fast paced book that will appeal to anyone that likes Crichton, Brown, Clancy, or my newfound friend David Stone.  The tech holds together well and is completely accessible to non-nerds and nerds alike.  It’s a page turner with very little wasted plot or character development.  And it sets up the sequel (Freedom) superbly.

Yum.

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January 18th, 2009     Categories: Books     Tags: , , ,
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  • http://intensedebate.com/people/bruce2096 Bruce

    I'll heartily second the recommendation. Picked it up last weekend, didn't go to bed until it was done. It sucks that there's a sequel (not done! wtf!); it's awesome that there's a sequel (more to come!).

    • http://www.decorkitchens.com.au kitchen renovation

      I read Daemon the other week,
      Could not put the silly thing down. Yawning in bed thinking I will be dead tomorrow and work but nooooooooo I had to
      Worth every bit of sleep I missed out on

      • http://mmohut.com MMORPG

        same. I couldn't stop reading it!!!

      • http://www.uzoom.com.au/about-us Campervan Hire

        Have to agree but did get some sleep as I'm a fast reader.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/jlongtine Joel Longtine

    I'll third the recommendation. I went on a science fiction kick about 1.5 years or so ago, and one of the books I picked up was Daemon. Hadn't really heard much about it, but I think I found it on an amazon list of best sci-fi, or something along those lines. Daniel Suarez does an incredible job of weaving an amazing story with technological components that are not really that far-fetched. We have much of the infrastructure we need now. And the writing is superb. Go read it!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/jim_pollock555 Jim Pollock

    Just 1-clicked it per your recommendation. Amazon is showing a Kindle version now available. Thanks for the pass-along.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/todd_sampso5628 Todd Sampson

    Couldn't agree more Brad. I picked up the original release (listing Leinad Zeraus as the author) last year. One of my favorite books EVER!

    I learned about the book from a talk the author gave at The Long Now Foundation. I highly recommend taking a look at his talk as well:

    http://fora.tv/2008/08/08/Daniel_Suarez_Daemon_Bo…

    I liked it so much that I wish a publisher hadn't purchased the rights to Damon and its sequel; since the second book in the series is already written and should be out now. As far as I know, there is no word on a new release date yet.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/ElaineEllis ElaineEllis

    That was too strong of a recommendation to ignore. I picked up the book last night at Tattered Cover and have just started on it.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/dgcohen David G. Cohen

    I read this and said "no kindle, no way". then bought it with 1 click once i saw that it was now available on the kindle! yay!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/tomhigley tomhigley

    Like David I checked to see if this was now Kindle-ready; it was; I bought it. Looking forward to it!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/steve_bergs2127 Steve Bergstein

    I picked Daemon up at the library over the weekend. I'm really enjoying it – I used to read a lot more sci-fi. I just haven't found much that's captured my attention in recent years. It's nice to be "re-united" with an old love. Thanks for the recommendation!

    I don't think that the technology described is as impossible as we might think (though, from half-way through, Sobol's ability to predict the way events would unfold approaches incredible).

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/steve_bergs2127 Steve Bergstein

    It dawned on me this mornng that Matthew Sobol seems a lot like Harry Seldon.

  • http://venturehacks.com Nivi

    Check out the movie Primer if you haven't seen it already. If you like techno-thrillers and the Matrix, I think you'll like it. It's an engineering-driven sci-fi movie: http://bit.ly/7IOD.

    • http://venturehacks.com Nivi

      I also just found this list of "mindfuck" movies that I'm looking into:

      http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/reviews/mi…

      Primer is listed but be warned that the author writes that, "the first 20 minutes of Primer are among the most prosaic ever committed to celluloid." He might be right about that.

      • http://intensedebate.com/people/RohitK RohitK

        Sci-fi movies are good see but some times director makes it so bad that one can't see but this time I will say it is a very good movie….I must watch this…

      • http://www.intensedebate.com/people/RohitK RohitK

        sci-fi movies are good see but some times director makes it so bad that one can't see but this time I will say it is a very good movie….I must watch this…

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          That's a very good movie according to me, and you have to watch it !

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    Netflixed!

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/todd_sampso5628 Todd Sampson

      Awesome (semi-related) movie suggestion Nivi.

      I was actually lucky enough to be at the Primer premier — say that three times fast — at the Lake Placid Film Festival in upstate New York before they won at Sundance. The whole Cloudspace crew used to head to Lake Placid for the event each year while we were working on the event's website. We even lost an amazing graphic designer there one year who started dating a semi-pro snow boarder he met at Lake Placid. Anyway…

      Good times. Great movie.

  • http://toostep.com/profile/rohit_khanna Khanna

    Daniel Suarez did an incredible job of weaving an amazing story with technological components> the Scientists get ideas from books some times..(just thinking,not sure). New business plan also come from books sometimes.So i will say great book..Thank you for ur suggestion also.

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    I went on a science fiction kick about 1.5 years or so ago, and one of the books I picked up was Daemon. Hadn't really heard much about it, but I think I found it on an amazon list of best sci-fi, or something along those lines. Daniel Suarez does an incredible job of weaving an amazing story with technological components that are not really that far-fetched.

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    I liked this book a lot. The pacing and action were that of a popular novel — the action scenes were some of the best I've ever read — but the characters, descriptions and dialogue were much better than those in "airplane reads." The antagonists, both alive and dead, were particularly, fist-clenchingly nasty.

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    I'll have some available time around next week, reading some books would be a great choice. As of now, Daemon was ranked #18 in Technothrillers @ Amazon. Not bad, huh? This book seems to be a strong candidate. I love thriller stories. Thanks for the recommendation.

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    Have not had the chance to read this book or reviews.
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    I do love a good page turner, thanks for the suggestion.

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    This seems to be a nice read. I just hope our local bookstore here has a copy of this. Otherwise, I might need to buy it online.

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    Interesting post. I just haven't found much that's captured my attention in recent years. It's nice to be "re-united" with an old love. Thanks for the recommendation!

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    I have read Daemon twice already and have been very happy with it. It is a great sequal, and I look forward to the next installment.

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  • http://www.jugendherberge-berlin.com/ Julie Jugendherberge

    It’s unusual for me to recommend a book so early in the year. Daemon is only my fourth book of 2009. It’s a first novel. And it’s mental floss. But it’s as close to flawless for a book of its genre.

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  • Isumiko

    I went on a science fiction kick about 1.5 years or so ago, and one of the books I picked up was Daemon. Hadn't really heard much about it, but I think I found it on an amazon list of best sci-fi, or something along those lines.

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    I was looking for a book to buy with a barnes and noble giftcard i've had laying around so i think i'll give this one a shot.

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  • Johny

    I can remember the feeling HP0-J26 exam I had, sitting in the audience as the credits rolled after seeing E20-520 exam The Matrix on opening day. I knew I’d seen something that was different, important, and something that I’d want to see again. And again. When I finished Daemon this afternoon, I had that same feeling. Daemon is to novels what The Matrix was to HP0-J19 exammovies. It will be how other novels that rely on technology are judged.”HP0-J25 exam

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    It's probably a better investment than the hot chocolate and coffee i probably would of wasted the gift card on.

  • http://www.google.com/profiles/dotty.dotee Dotty

    I doubt we’ll see a scenario quite as terrifying as Daemon, but it was compelling and a real page turner.

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    I went to a sci-fi draft 1.5 years or so ago, and one of the books I picked up was Daemon. There really was not heard much about it but I think I found a list of the best science fiction amazon or something. Daniel Suarez does an incredible job of weaving an amazing story, with the technology components that are not so preposterous.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/leogoldwin2010 leogoldwin2010

    good conversation. well i would like to say that Check out the movie Primer if you haven't seen it already. If you are those among guy who likes a lot Matrix, i can assure that you will definitely like this movie. A thankful greetings to all from Montel Blender

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/leogoldwin2010 leogoldwin2010

    good conversation. well i would like to say that Check out the movie Primer if you haven't seen it already. If you are those among guy who likes a lot Matrix, i can assure that you will definitely like this movie. A thankful greetings to all from Montel Blender

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Brad Feld

Hi, I'm Brad Feld, a managing director at Foundry Group who lives in Boulder, Colorado. I invest in software and Internet companies around the US, run marathons and read a lot.