Daemon
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
“Daemon” is one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time. Its central character is a dead millionaire computer game designer who has left behind a hidden network of programs to wreck havoc on the world. His system, the “daemon” of the title, is manipulative, remorseless, and will be familiar to anyone who has even been defeated by non-player-characters in a computer game.
Some of Suarez’s characters fight the daemon and, as the book progresses, some choose to join it in what amounts to a world-wide cult . The plot shifts from a story about those who fight the daemon to one about the nature of the war that the daemon has been designed to wage. To say much more would spoil the fun.
Suarez, a computer consultant, knows his stuff. The security holes and hacker antics he uses are real or close enough to real to be plausible. Later in the story some of the technology he incorporates is a little over the top, but by that time the reader has been sucked into the story and everything seems authentic. Suarez may be to computer security what Tom Clancy is to submarine warfare.
If the book has a flaw, it’s the ending. After coming close to falling apart after a chase sequence that is too much like an action movie Suarez springs a couple of surprises but doesn’t give the reader much of plot resolution. This isn’t such a big flaw now that the sequel is available, but it’s rude of authors to leave their readers with so many loose ends.
Complaints about the ending aside, “Daemon” is a great read. It reminded me of “Neuromancer” in that they both create engrossing fictional worlds based on our current hopes and fears about technology. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
