Mystery & Suspense
Originally self-published in 2006 under the anagram/pseudonym Leinad Zeraus, Daemon quickly became a favorite of the tech sector and its bloggers.
Daemon brings readers on a harrowing journey through the dark crawl spaces of the modern world. It's a high-tech thriller that explores the convergence of MMOG's, BotNets, viral ecosystems, and corporate dominance—forces which are quietly reshaping society with very real consequences for us all.
Daniel Suarez's Daemon relies on cutting edge technology to drive the story of a legendary computer game designer who releases an artificial intelligence into the internet upon his death. Matthew Sobol, the architect behind half a dozen popular online games left behind more than a legacy: he left behind programs that move money, programs that recruit people, programs that kill.
Confronted with a killer from beyond the grave, Detective Peter Sebeck comes face-to-face with the full implications of our increasingly complex and interconnected world—one where the dead can read headlines, steal identities, and carry out far-reaching plans without fear of retribution.
Sebeck must find a way to stop Sobol's web of programs—his Daemon—before it achieves its ultimate purpose. And to do so, he must uncover what that purpose is. But Sobol has his own plans for Sebeck.
Daemon looks at what could possibly happen tomorrow by utilizing the power of voice recognition technology, artificial intelligence, game theory, sonic weapons, automated vehicles and zombie computers in conjunction with each other.
Read the first chapter from Daemon (continued...)
His usually methodical mind sped frantically through the possibilities—like someone groping for an exit in a smoke-filled building. He had to do something. Anything. But what? The phrase What the hell just happened? kept echoing in his head uselessly, while blood kept spurting between his fingers. Adrenaline surged through his system, his heart beat faster. He tried to call out. No good. Blood squirted several inches into the air and sprinkled his face. Carotid artery . . .
He was pressing on his neck so hard he was almost strangling himself. And he’d been feeling so good just moments before this. He remembered that much at least. His last debts repaid. At long last.
He was getting calmer now. Which was strange. He kept trying to remember what he’d been doing. What brought him here to this place. It seemed so unimportant now. His hand began to relax its hold. He could see plainly that there was no emergency. Because there was no logical scenario in which he would emerge from this alive. And after all, it was his unequaled talent for logic that had brought Pavlos so far in life. Had brought him halfway around the world. This was it. He’d already done everything he would ever do. His peripheral vision began to constrict, and he felt like an observer. He was calm now.
And it was in that cold, detached state that he realized: Matthew Sobol had died. That’s what the news said. And then it all made sense to him. Sobol’s game finally made sense. It was beautiful really.
Clever man . . .
Excerpt from DAEMON by Daniel Suarez © 2008.
Published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (
All Rights Reserved.
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