I've heard some people say that Daemon and Freedom are full of errors typical of a novice author, which may well be, but takes nothing away from my enjoyment if so.

I appreciate the way the book takes no time to explain to me what DNS is, or what online gaming is. I am expected to understand basic computing and networking. This means the story feels written for an audience who understand the concepts of the book and how realistic they could be.

The story is bloody and violent, technical and detailed, interesting and thought provoking about the potential future we are heading towards with such a focus on technology and capitalism driving us.

I'm often not able to get into these books, but this author had hooked me from chapter 2 of Daemon. What he described as 40,000 dollar HUD glasses in 2006 are the Google Glass of next year. Most topics in the book appear to have been researched, based on real world developing technologies and then extrapolated to their logical end. And frequently the predictions in the book are modern day consumer products at this point.

If Kill Decision is anything as accurate as these books have been, we are facing trouble. But I love that thought.

Only one comment: Make sure you read "Daemon" (from the same author) first, otherwise it's a bit difficult to understand the characters and the dynamics.

I don't think it was as good as Daemon. A bit more graphic too.

Freedom™ is a direct continuation of the themes begun in the author's debut novel, Daemon, and reading that title first is essential. Once again, the cast are all players in the world-changing plans set in motion by deceased on-line game guru, Matthew Sobol. The character continues to appear periodically as an avatar, reacting to events in the manner of what gamers know as an NPC; non-player character. In other words, the author resists any temptation he may have had to resurrect Sobol as a ghost in the machine, and always makes it clear that any thoughts or actions attributed to him are of the pre-recorded kind. Neither does Sobol's Daemon achieve any kind of unrealistic sentience. Indeed, one of the great strengths of the book is the restraint shown, creating an engrossing, fast-paced tale of speculative fiction, which occasionally veers close to the edge of credibility but never falls over. It's a tricky balance that Daniel Suarez manages with aplomb.

As the story opens, the Daemon has the upper hand in global commerce, and is facilitating the rise of Darknet communities across the world. These are run by tech savvy folks who want to rebuild civilization from the ground up, using sustainable methods for the production of food and energy, and manufacturing locally. An interesting slant on democracy comes from the way majority decisions are reached; the entire interaction of Darknet members, locally and across the connected world, is influenced by personal standing. Reputations are displayed in D-Space for all to see, and people react accordingly. It's an element taken from on-line gaming, and made to work in a real world setting. For now, Suarez avoids the thorny issue of rogue Darknet members deliberately hacking their own stats, the system, etc., but that may be dealt with in a future adventure. This time around the focus is on what the powerful elites of the world are doing to combat the Daemon, as they assemble private armies and concoct murderous strategies to snatch back power. A major part of this -- overseen by a character called the Major -- is to begin a civil war within the United States, against Darknet communities, which are branded as terrorist factions by the state controlled media. The ruthlessness and brutality with which the old guard tries to reclaim its influence is something that the author depicts very realistically, at times using graphic violence. Running alongside the vast and sweeping changes wrought by this enforced information revolution, is the story of former detective Pete Sebeck, now the Unnamed One, and on a quest imposed by the Daemon. His purpose is to determine whether humanity is worthy of being allowed its freedom.

IT specialist Jon Ross, cryptography expert Natalie Phillips, Loki Stormbinger and even a version of Roy Merrit, are all back for more, and dabbling with the kind of tech guaranteed to make any fan of near future gadgetry drool. In most cases the character development was less than I'd hoped for, yet sufficient, due to the fact that, as with Daemon, the story is the true star. Most intriguing, for me, was what Suarez does with his infamous, advanced AI character, SS officer Heinrich Boerner, which blurs the line between true sentience and mere code. Ultimately, whether someone like Sobol and his Daemon could actually set in motion a seismic shift in the global economy and social structure, is debatable. But as the author demonstrates, it is not beyond possibility. Indeed, it might be argued that what is depicted could form the basis of a new world order run by the masses. Whether humanity is able to lead itself is another open question. Back in grubby reality the geeks may not quite be ready to inherit the Earth, but Suarez shows that they could be our best hope against corporate enslavement. Freedom™ and its predecessor are not a blueprint for techno revolution, but they do provide abundant food for thought, cracking entertainment, and a glittering view of what might be the shape of things to come.

Don't forget to read "Daemon" first!

I am not a computer nerd, and especially not a computer games nerd, but the theme and handling of this story is quite refreshing and gripping, I read it in record time for me - much to the detriment of chores etc.

Like any story it has its weaknesses, in this case perhaps too much use of the "deus ex machina" (in this story almost literally) where the heroes are plucked out of seemingly impossible situations by unlikely interventions. But don't let that spoil the fun!

Even as a non-computer nerd I can appreciate the use of the whole spectrum of electronics and software, and the inventiveness of the author.

I happily recommend this book.

When this was first published, i imagine it was outside the real by a fair bit, now, it’s terrifying in its prescience, and yet offers hope. Utterly in grossing, I read this and the first book in 4 days, look for Daemon by this author, you won’t regret it…

This was initially a good followup to the original Daemon but became more of a lambasting of the current global order levebed with a lot of game playing description. Frankly I found this a little bit of a cop out because the objective of the book seems to be to decide what system humans can thrive under - globalisation or a localism more again to make it local

The point was that the Daemon offered a choice to society and Freedom could have been describing how people chose - what it turned into was a book with mass game playing again the corporate warriors. So it just seemed easy way out ..

The book list at the back is interesting as it includes Naomi Klein ' Shock Doctrine' where this type of shock is used to generate further globalisation but in the end I think we never had explicit choices explained to the reader - which reflects real life in that how can you choose if you don't unserstand the options?

So a reasonable sci-fi story that impings on the real world but nothing on why Sobel thought he should do this ' other than corporatism is wrong .. when nationalism can be so much worse ..

This is, in effect, part 2 of Daemon. It challenges some of the ideas I had developed in the first book, about what internet security means, about how the future might work, about the capacity of humans to adapt and use technology. I've read a few books where characters end up 'in' a video game; this is an entirely different and more stimulating level. I'm not a geek, my boyfriend is and he recommended the novels. I had no trouble following the ideas, though. In this one, it was all slightly more spelled out and even repeated - perhaps the editor felt that Daemon was too niche. It does help that I've played a few video games, but anyone interested in ideas of multi-nationals, where the internet might take us, genetically modified crops and a good old bloody thriller would enjoy it. It is asking for a movie adaptation!

Strong characters, great tech and a poweful and entertaing story. Read “Daemon” first in order to follow the plot and the character development.

本作『 Freedom 』は、著者ダニエル・スアレースのデビュー作『 Daemon 』の続編。

前作で描かれたバーチャルリアリティの世界。現実の世界に寄生するだけの存在だったバーチャルリアリティが、リアルの経済にも影響を及ぼし始めます。

この世界を創造したのは天才的ゲームデザイナー、マシュー・ソボル。彼は何を思い描いていたのか。前作の主役はそれをなぞるように旅を続けるのが本作『 Freedom 』。

バーチャルリアリティの世界そのもには良し悪しはなく、使う人間次第。ツール/インフラをどのように使うのかを問い続けてくれる作品かもしれません。

「（民主主義）（資本主義）」ではなく、"民主的な在り方" が問われているようにも思うのでした。

２作目は世界が広がり、並び立つキャラクターたちはがっちりと物語の支えます。各キャラクターの心情まで描ききっていて、読後はさわやかさすら覚えました。

Such a good story on what could happen if a decentralized society took over. It’s worth the read. Great characters as well!

Stories don't get much better than this if you like techy imaginative thrillers, you need to read the first book 'Daemon' then Freedom that finishes the story, excellent read, trouble is you cannot put it down.

As good as Daemon, even spectacular at times. I felt like watching a movie every time someone fight took place.

Engancha desde el primer momento y la situación que plantea es bastante interesante. A mí me ha gustado incluso más que el primero. Esperando con ganas al siguiente...