Book Review of Daemon (2006) and Freedom™️ (2010) by Daniel Suarez
Just finished this series.
I originally heard about it when Andrej Karpathy mentioned it in passing in an AI podcast, and decided if one of the preeminent devs of our time is thinking about it, it might be worth the read.
Early on, I was skeptical the series would be any good. The characters seemed a bit one dimensional, and some of the plot lines were a bit pulpy for my taste.
However, I’m glad I stuck with it, because the second half of the first book, and the entire second book is gripping. Not only that, but it succeeds where most AI takeover novels fail, in that the AI is not entirely evil or benevolent, but somewhere in the middle. It leaves humanity room to choose how the future unravels, then makes that future possible.
I also like the gamified digital parallel world that arises alongside the legacy world. And the rise of dark net credits over dollars is reminiscent of Bitcoin and cypherpunk circular economies.
The ending is also phenomenal. I won’t give it away, but it’s one of those book narrative arcs that feels immensely satisfying once you turn the last page, even if you had hesitations early on.
Just finished this series.
I originally heard about it when Andrej Karpathy mentioned it in passing in an AI podcast, and decided if one of the preeminent devs of our time is thinking about it, it might be worth the read.
Early on, I was skeptical the series would be any good. The characters seemed a bit one dimensional, and some of the plot lines were a bit pulpy for my taste.
However, I’m glad I stuck with it, because the second half of the first book, and the entire second book is gripping. Not only that, but it succeeds where most AI takeover novels fail, in that the AI is not entirely evil or benevolent, but somewhere in the middle. It leaves humanity room to choose how the future unravels, then makes that future possible.
I also like the gamified digital parallel world that arises alongside the legacy world. And the rise of dark net credits over dollars is reminiscent of Bitcoin and cypherpunk circular economies.
The ending is also phenomenal. I won’t give it away, but it’s one of those book narrative arcs that feels immensely satisfying once you turn the last page, even if you had hesitations early on.
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