Freedom (TM) (Daemon Book 2)
Freedom (TM) (Daemon Book 2) book cover

Freedom (TM) (Daemon Book 2)

Kindle Edition

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Price
$9.99
Publisher
Dutton
Publication Date

Description

“ Freedom™ surpasses its smart, exciting predecessor. This concluding volume crackles with electrifying action scenes and bristles with intriguing ideas about a frightening, near-future world. The two books combined form the cyberthriller against which all others will be measured.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Suarez continues his popular technothriller, and Daemon fans will be well be pleased with the exciting conclusion.”— Booklist “An engrossing, fast-paced tale of speculative fiction.”—SF Site Daniel Suarez is the author of the New York Times bestseller Daemon , Freedom™ , Kill Decision , and Influx . A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, his high-tech and sci-fi thrillers focus on the impact of technology-driven change. He lives in Los Angeles, California. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Bestseller Suarez's sequel to Daemon (2009), in which the late, mad-genius game designer Matthew Sobol launched a cyber war on humanity, surpasses its smart, exciting predecessor. This concluding volume crackles with electrifying action scenes and bristles with intriguing ideas about a frightening, near-future world. Sobol's bots continue to roam the Internet, inciting mayhem and siphoning money from worldwide, interconnected megacorporations out to seize control of national governments and enslave the populace. FBI special agent Roy Merritt is dead, but still manages to make a dramatic comeback, while detective Pete Sebeck, thought to be executed in Daemon , rises from the supposed grave to lead the fight against the corporations. What the trademark letters affixed to the title signify is anyone's guess. Those who haven't read Daemon should read it first. The two books combined form the cyberthriller against which all others will be measured. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Praise for Daemon "This is a techno-thriller with a healthy dose of techno but absolutely no letdown on the thrill." -Slashdot " Daemon does for surfing the Web what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean." - Chicago Sun-Times "Riveting...for anyone who appreciates thrills, chills, and cyber- suspense...Will leave readers anxiously awaiting the promised sequel." - Publishers Weekly " Daemon is the real deal--a scary look at what can go wrong as we depend increasingly on computer networks." -Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist " Daemon is to novels what The Matrix was to movies. It will be how other novels that rely on technology will be judged." -Rick Klau, vice president of FeedBurner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist Picking up a few months after the end of Daemon (2009), Suarez continues his popular technothriller and SF saga. The computer program Daemon has taken over the Internet, and millions have joined its virtual world. Now the effect is spilling into the real world as Daemon assumes control of financial institutions, and the program’s real-life converts flock to small towns to re-create a sustainable lifestyle amid the agribusiness monoculture of the Midwest. Despite a slow start, Freedom picks up speed by the second half with Daemon’s supporters and detractors facing off for the control of civilization. Only readers who have also read Daemon will be fully able to enjoy and understand Freedom, as most of the characters and plot elements are drawn directly from the previous story, and only so much backstory is possible, given the elaborate premise. On the other hand, Daemon fans will be well be pleased with the exciting conclusion, as will anyone who enjoys lots of gaming elements and virtual worlds in their science fiction. --Jessica Moyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. In the opening chapters of Freedom(tm), the Daemon is firmly in control, using an expanded network of real-world, dispossessed darknet operatives to tear apart civilization and rebuild it anew. Soon civil war breaks out in the American Midwest, in a brutal wave of violence that becomes known as the Corn Rebellion. Former detective Pete Sebeck, now the Daemon's most powerful-though reluctant-operative, must lead a small band of enlightened humans toward a populist movement designed to protect the new world order. But the private armies of global business are preparing to crush the Daemon once and for all. In a world of conflicted loyalties, rapidly diminishing human power, and the possibility that anyone can be a spy, what's at stake is nothing less than human freedom's last hope to survive the technology revolution. --This text refers to the preloaded_digital_audio_player edition. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • The
  • New York Times
  • bestseller
  • Daemon
  • unleashed a terrifying technological vision of an all-powerful, malicious computer program. Now, our world is the Daemon's world—unless someone stops it once and for all...
  • The Daemon is in absolute control, using an expanded network of shadowy operatives to tear apart civilization and build it anew. Even as civil war breaks out in the American Midwest in a wave of nightmarish violence, former detective Pete Sebeck—the Daemon's most powerful, though reluctant, operative—must lead a small band of enlightened humans in a movement designed to protect the new world order.  But the private armies of global business are preparing to crush the Daemon once and for all. In a world of shattered loyalties, collapsing societies, and seemingly endless betrayal, the only thing worth fighting for may be nothing less than the freedom of all humankind.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(2.7K)
★★★★
25%
(1.1K)
★★★
15%
(670)
★★
7%
(313)
★
-7%
(-313)

Most Helpful Reviews

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And about face from Daemon

Daemon was a 5-star unexpected delight and I was certain that Freedom would not disappoint, no matter how far the story might stray from its original course. But I was wrong. This is a totally different book.

I had several problems with Freedom. First there is the reversal of the heroes and villains in the first book. That would not have been a dealbreaker except I didn't buy into the author's apparent rationale. All the brutal killings from the first book as well as the further terrorist acts in this book are glossed over and presented as a necessary evil in order to save humanity. But it really was never clearly stated what humanity is being saved from. I think Matthew Sobel's soliloquies from beyond the grave are meant to explain it all in Yoda-like fashion, but fail to make a compelling or clear case. Corporations and government are the real bad guys now apparently, the misunderstood daemon is really just an agent for sustainability, and most people don't have a problem with joining a group that murders thousands of people it sees as an obstacle to its goals for society and a green earth. The boobytrap mansion, death machines and wizard-tech are much more believable than the actions of the characters in this book.

The writing itself is entertaining which is why I gave it three stars. Unfortunately the characters I enjoyed in the first book are different people in the book, Freedom, which was the biggest disappointment for me.
21 people found this helpful
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Good new writer, fun cyberpunk. Been a while since I could say that.

I'm a distributed systems expert, so this was right up my alley. The tech was basically solid, though in reality unworkable. Suspending disbelief is generally pretty easy for me, so I was enjoying the ride. The character development was weak, but I blame the complexity of the story line for that. This book reads more like a movie than a book.

I think if the author returns to the theme after developing his writing skills this could be a truly amazing work. For now, it's fun and a great beach read. Or commuter read. Whatever. I recommend the read to anyone who enjoys Neal Asher, William Gibson, or Neal Stephenson. This is a fairly accessible read from my perspective but I am not sure how it will play for a neophyte in the technology world.

So four stars. Enjoyed the read, will keep an eye on the author. Even took the time to write a review.
14 people found this helpful
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totally unbelievable anti-free market tripe

While the mechanics of the prose are well executed, the anti-business and anti-government cliches that pervade the dialogue are so trite that I was unable to suspend my disbelief. The book reads like it was written by a progressive occupy Wall Street protester who has never spoken with a government security professional or businessman, much less actually sat in meetings with either. If you find it believable that our government and businesses are solely populated with stupid, heartless, evil people, then you will probably love this book. If not, save your money.
8 people found this helpful
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Characters, plausibility and entertainment go out the window in this unworthy sequel

I devoured "Daemon" in an evening and immediately bought "Freedom." But I was stopped cold by Suarez's shabby writing, his unwillingness to give both battling sides their due and, most of all, the characters who spout dialogue that seems to have been cut and pasted from back issues of Wired.

Was the author in a rush to follow up his first book? Was he held hostage in a "Misery"-type situation and forced to pound out an instant sequel?

My suggestion would be to pretend that there was no sequel to "Daemon" and give this one a miss.
7 people found this helpful
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Really disappointed

Given the initial promise of Daemon, I am sorely disappointed in this sequel. Daemon started as an entirely plausible near-future story with a great premise, but the latter third of the book becaume increasingly disjointed and implausible. I had hoped that Freedom would recapture the promise of Daemon's beginning, but Suarez focuses on feeding prepubescent gamers a pseudo-intellectual pablum instead of telling a compelling story. Oddly enough, this descends into an oddly agrarian, anti-biotech rant that is particularly striking given the protagonists' dependency of mystical levels of technology.

Suarez devised a great premise and I believe he has the chops to write a compelling, fast-paced story. Instead of a taking us on a heady white-water rafting experience, though, Freedom is more like a babbling brook (with the emphasis on babbling).
7 people found this helpful
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Solid Sequel in an Interesting Tale

This is the sequel to Suarez' book "Daemon." While the first book began with very plausible science "faction" (to borrow from T. Leary), as the story evolved into "Freedom," the tech advanced to become very advanced. That's fine of course, and I thought that the evolution of the tech was in itself interesting.

Also interesting is the overall theme of the two books, namely, the erosion of democracy in the face of wealth and influence. It's a theme that seems to be attracting many authors these days. Right or wrong, it's a sign of our times that the concept has worked its way into the consciousness of so many writers.

"Freedom" was violent in places, and the level of graphic violence can be off-putting. At the same time, the book is essentially a war story, and so the violence is reasonable. I never had the sense the violence was gratuitous, however. One cool detail was how Suarez put a sociopath on both sides of the conflict. Although sociopaths, by their nature, are sort of "flat" characters, I found it interesting that, in at least a couple of instances, one of the sociopaths saved the day for the good guys.

In general, the rest of the characters were sufficiently vivid, though few of them resonated deeply with me. That happens a lot in science fiction -- there's so much plot & action that there's not enough bandwidth left for nuanced, sympathetic characters. That doesn't detract from the story too much in this case, however. I enjoyed both books enough to read them twice.
4 people found this helpful
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Who should have the power?

This is probably the tenth recent read resulting from Amazon recommendations. The themes of a superior force or intelligence taking over is an old one in science fiction. And while computers and AI have often played a (key) role, Daniel Suarez, starting with Daemon and its continuation, Freedom, takes it to another level. Daemon is not quite the evolving AI that some other writers have played with, but the results are the same. We learn early in the prior book that Daemon is based on a sophisticated game platform, responding to and learning from its players. Those players are playing in an overlaid world upon our own, bringing another reality forward. There are those that will fight this game, because they view it as destructive. There are those that want to control the game to gain power over others. And, there are those seeking both revolution and evolution towards a better, more sustainable life.

Without giving anything away, the best part of this current theme in science fiction is that all the current writers love to deal with the new economic paradigms presented by automated control of production, steady state "growth", and the initial consequences of the revolution. Freedom completes a great story with believable characters and fast paced story plots converging into a climactic ending. Although there are some surprises, if you have read other stories like this, lots seems familiar and predictable. That is not a bad thing, only a caution that if you are reading these types of stories like me, you may want to throw some other sci-fi in the mix to break it up a bit.

I liked Daemon and Freedom, and found them hard to put down, especially as the pace picks up.
The action makes you turn the pages, and the interesting economics may fascinate you.

If I may also recommend the following:

[[ASIN:B006ACIMQQ Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears (Singularity Series)]] --closely related and similar story
[[ASIN:B009U9S6B2 Nexus]] --a bit different in that the "intelligence" is really a collective human network--I LOVED Nexus and its followup Crux. Highly recommended and must read!
[[ASIN:B00EGMQIJ0 The Circle]] --again, slightly different and a little more contrived, but entertaining. The social network leading the revolution. This one really spooked me due to its very near future potential.
4 people found this helpful
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Grade: D+

Grade: D+

L/C Ratio: 20/80
(This means I estimate the author devoted 20% of his effort to creating a literary work of art and 80% of his effort to creating a commercial bestseller.)

Thematic Breakdown:
30% - Destruction of civilization
30% - Technology
20% - Action thriller
20% - Science Fiction

As a hater of big books, nothing annoys me more than when an author spoils a compelling premise by dragging it out to unnecessary lengths. Freedom (TM), Suarez's follow-up to Daemon, is one of the only books I've ever come across that suffers from the exact opposite problem. It's a wildly ambitious novel, and that ambition is both its greatest strength and biggest flaw.

Suarez depicts a frightening future that is plenty plausible, but the plot quickly loses its edge and becomes a little too convenient (like when he talks about "corporate data" as if every company in America keeps its financial records on a single Seagate hard drive). The book's relatively compact size (compared to other techno-thrillers) creates issues as Suarez attempts to develop characters within the dizzying cyber war that dominates the story. Everything feels rushed, and as a result, none of the emotional moments land with any effectiveness.

Freedom (TM) presents some fascinating societal dilemmas, but it's not a good sign when the entire human race is crumbling and you, as the reader, don't particularly care.

Noteworthy Quote:
"Fact and fiction carry the same intrinsic weight in the marketplace of ideas. Fortunately, reality has no advertising budget."
4 people found this helpful
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Wow 😲

The story of “Daemon” and “Freedom” portray an incredibly realistic account of how technology can be used to initiate a global revolution towards a more thriving, just and sustainable world. This story is relentless in how it comments on the “powers that be,” showing how pathological the worldview is of those in the “ruling elite” classes and how even in the midst of global transformation all they think about is greed. If one was “asleep” to the many truths coming out in our world right now then this book would be a fun wake up call bc it addresses, in this sci fi book, many real world problems we currently face from Monsanto’s GMO patents to Corporatocracy to the unsustainability of capitalism to how mainstream media could be and/or is already being used to sow confusion in the public (even shows the media being used to create a global false flag attack). So IMHO this book is a damn good read and anyone would benefit from it.
3 people found this helpful
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It's terrible

I read an earlier Suarez book, Kill Decision, and it was pretty good. Not great but okay. I figured this new book would be better, and the Wall Street Journal reviewed it.

It reads as though he phoned it in, or maybe dictated it. Cardboard characters, disjointed story, couldn't finish it.

Just not that interesting.
3 people found this helpful

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