The Sword and Laser discussion

So, anyone read this one yet? How does it compare to Daemon/Freedom(TM)? I haven't picked it up yet but loved the other 2 books of his, especially Daemon. Just curious how well he did with a new story in a different universe from those.

I'm just finishing off snow crash and then i'm going to dig deep into this one. I read pretty rapidly, especially these shorter thriller types so i'll post back in a few days and let you know if you haven't started yet :)

Really soaking up this quick read! Afterword I plan on grabbing his other two. Enjoy!

Just finished it and it was a good, quick, fun read. In comparing to his previous books, I would say this one was more singularly focused with the science focused on the drones and not as speculative. I felt that this one was more closer to happening right now, where I felt Daemon was something possible, but further down the road.

If he wanted to continue with these characters/type of books, I could see a James Rollins type of series of books with his Sigma Force series but with the focus being future science related events instead of archaeology focused as Rollins books tend to be.

I would consider Daemon/Freedeom and Kill Decision to be different kinds of stories so if you're looking for something along the lines of Daemon, you might be disappointed.

Also I could see the same argument being made that was made with Reamde, that this isn't really a science fiction book. The thriller tag is definitely more accurate.

I haven't even read his others yet, they are on my tbr. But this does sound pretty good. And he seems like a cool dude in the interview.

I have to give Kill Decision a Meh. Before you say, hey this guy is just a hater, I loved Daemon/Freedom(TM). Loved the twist and turns of the books. Kill Decision is fluff, good concept, but I didn't care about the characters or if they complete their mission. It is a good thing that it was a short book or I would have Lemm'ed it. Conclusion: The characters are one dimensional, the story pretty straight forward...meh

Please give me a villain I love to hate, a hero who I hate to love and a story that smacks me in the side of the head.

I went into it looking for a Hollywood blockbuster-type of novel, which is what the blurb at the back advertised and which is precisely what I got. In that sense, it's a pretty decent novel, but if you're looking for something deeper and more scientific, well... That's definitely not what this novel is.

I agree with Rob wholeheartedly. This was very poor compared with Daemon/Freedom. There were many infuriating storyline problems the worst being (view spoiler)[ the totally irrational "escape" of the heroine, the subsequent springing of the heroine from the clutches of the FBI by the mysterious Ritter and ending the book without revealing who was behind all the nastiness was unforgivable, sequels bedamned. (hide spoiler)]

I liked the book a lot. Did it have some problems? Yes.
Did I have fun reading it? Yes as well.

If you look at the book in the terms of a critique of the future of drone warfare, it is really pretty frightening. Who was in charge of the drones? The book does not say, but that is the point. If more and more groups (governmental and otherwise) can get drone tech, how do you discover who is attacking you? I loved it, and I had fun along the way.

I think that Daemon and Freedom(TM) had more depth to the characters, and that those stories told a broader tale, this was a focused look at one topic and I could tell that the author put time into research and thinking through his point.

There is a great interview with Daniel Suarez on the TWIT network, here is the link. If you like his work you will enjoy the video. Warning, it is about 90 minutes long. http://twit.tv/show/triangulation/64

this was my review...

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Loved Daemon/Freedom. I eagerly opened this one and, well, yuch. At first I thought, it's because I've never been in the military and the toys were not clear to me. But when I went back and deciphered the acronyms and part numbers jargon, I realized it wasn't that I had to look up what the trucks, jeeps and airplanes looked like, it's that I was getting bored and the plot lagged with 30 pages of jeep love. Later, I realized I couldn't work up spit about these characters. Kill them all, I started to think. But I finished it because the ideas were so great. Drones that function on programmed ant/swarming behavior? Cool! But then, the last three chapters had plot holes you could drive a Forest Ranger pickup through.

Poo.