Daemon discussion

I really enjoyed this book the whole way through. But then, when the ending came, I was stumped for words. I couldnt say I liked it nor can I say I hated it.

The novel was great in the way it built up the character of Sebeck, but I was dumbfounded by how quickly the foundations of his character disintegrated at the end. He opposed the Daemon so much, only to welcome it with open arms at the end. I know, that it could show a side of human nature that is so easily manipulated, but still, the way it ended didnt quite satisfy.

Now, I welcome ambiguity in endings greatly. But questions still need to be answered, at least a few. Yes, the Daemon was slowly moulding itself into society, which is expected. Yes, there was the obvious link between Philips and Ross, and I was happy with enough with the ending. But what happened to Gragg and The Major?!?! I had suspected from the beginning that the Major wasnt to be trusted, for one, it was never in his POV, therefore he had lots to hide. But it still didnt satisfy.

Now, I know I'm not understanding things properly, so I would love to hear what everyone else has to say on this issue. I would just like some other theories to satisfy, so I can finally place this book in my shelf.

Well, I agree with a lot of what you said. I am wondering if the author just didn't know how to close this chapter - there is obviously a sequel. I enjoyed the first two thirds of this book much more than how it ended. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out and hopefully we will have all our answers.

Sebeck is an innocent man. He hates Daemon, but he loves being alive. His life has been utterly destroyed - no job, no career, no wife, no kid, he's the most hated man in the world, and he's innocent of any crime. No one likes him or wants him or cares about him. Except Daemon. When in prison and alone and friendless and hated he has time to think. He then realizes he was a lousy husband and father. It's terrible to be innocent and convicted of a crime you didn't do, it's awful to be hated by everyone, and worse thing of all, he died. He had no idea he would not really die. He thought he was dying, and people watched him die and were glad to be watching him take his last breath, and he had no choice but to die in front of people happy to watch. I can see how his personality went pffft.

I plan to read the sequel. It's a very good book.

After reading both "Daemon" and "Freedom" I have to say I was a little disappointed. The last book left a lot to be desired in that it spelled out a near complete reversal for most of the main characters, and wound up with a lame ending. . . ripe for a 3rd installment?
This seems to be the drift many authors are taking, one of semi-compromise instead of a grand-mal confrontation and specific finality.

Jademex wrote: "After reading both "Daemon" and "Freedom" I have to say I was a little disappointed. The last book left a lot to be desired in that it spelled out a near complete reversal for most of the main char..."

I enjoyed both books and wasn't disappointed. I think it was pretty obvious towards the end of Daemon that many of the characters were changing their opinions. The Major was shown to be just as ruthless and murderous a character as Loki/Gragg and the books raised some interesting issues. I've always wondered if a computer program could do a better job of governing, as it would remove the corruptible "greed" factor inherent to human government. I'm not expecting a third installment at all.

I have to say all I could think of was one word toward the end - "bazooka" - why didn't someone just use a bazooka to kill the Razorbacks? The fundamental assumption was that the daemon was unstoppable, but why were suddenly little machines also unstoppable? There's always a big enough gun, unless the key premise (e.g., as in Pacific Rim) is that there is no gun big enough. But that wasn't the premise of Daemon, it was that the bot couldn't be stopped. There's no reason its minions and their weapons couldn’t be, at least those - like the people defending the Alameda site - who aren't already beholden to the bot.