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    Freedom (TM)
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    Freedom (TM)
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    Freedom (TM)
    Audiobook11 hours

    Freedom (TM)

    Written by Daniel Suarez

    Narrated by Jeff Gurner

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The propulsive, shockingly plausible sequel to New York Times bestseller Daemon.

     In one of the most buzzed-about debuts, Daniel Suarez introduced a terrifying vision of a new world order, controlled by the Daemon, an insidious computer program unleashed by a hi-tech wunderkind, Daemon captured the attention of the tech community, became a New York Times and Indie bestseller, and left readers hungry for more.

    Well, more is here, and it's even more gripping than its predecessor. In the opening chapters of Freedom(tm), the Daemon is firmly in control, using an expanded network of real-world, dispossessed darknet operatives to tear apart civilization and rebuild it anew. Soon civil war breaks out in the American Midwest, in a brutal wave of violence that becomes known as the Corn Rebellion. Former detective Pete Sebeck, now the Daemon's most powerful--though reluctant--operative, must lead a small band of enlightened humans toward a populist movement designed to protect the new world order. But the private armies of global business are preparing to crush the Daemon once and for all.

    In a world of conflicted loyalties, rapidly diminishing human power, and the possibility that anyone can be a spy, what's at stake is nothing less than human freedom's last hope to survive the technology revolution.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 7, 2010
    ISBN9781101079690
    Unavailable
    Freedom (TM)
    Author

    Daniel Suarez

    Daniel Suarez is an independent systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies. He has designed and developed enterprise software for the defense, finance, and entertainment industries. An avid gamer and technologist he lives in the Western Hemisphere.

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    Reviews for Freedom (TM)

    4/5

    598 ratings37 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Sequel to Daemon. Seems like the kind of thing Cory Doctorow would love. I thought this was going to be a trilogy, but I guess it’s a dulogy. Hardly matters–I don’t think I’d read the third book anyway.This one’s more sludgy than the first one (like most sequels are), especially in the middle. Whereas the first one had a clear A to B to C storyline, this one is more like a series of vignettes. It lacks a coherent beginning and ending. For example, there’s this fifth-generation farmer who starts with a lawsuit with Big Agri over seed DNA patents and becomes a VR wearing, commune-living, self-sufficient man, all thanks to this computer virus that, somehow, one man was able to program well enough to penetrate Chinese, Russian, and American military defense systems autonomously and regardless of upgrades or patching. That was a long sentence.It reminded me of Peter Watts’s writing or Stephen Baxter’s Flood, which I didn’t care for. Too much milieu, characters that drop from and into oblivion as is convenient to the author, tone dissonance (is it science fiction or meant to be plausible). And here, same case — I didn’t like it. It has the trappings of the first book (see last entry) and the struggles of a sequel trying to finish a storyline.
    • 5/5
      Outstanding conclusion to Daemon. There's no point in deciding whether or not to read this book apart from Daemon. You need to decide if you want to read the first book and THEN you can decide if you want to read this one. If you read the first, you WILL want to read the second!
    • 5/5
      Absolute spectacular second part. A worthy sequel. soaked it up in hours.
    • 5/5
      love this author and narrator. Great reading on all the books I've listened to so far.
    • 1/5
      Daniel Suarez takes the egalitarian utopia fantasy of the Flower Power generation and repackages it as a sadistic revolutionary wet dream in this sequel to "Daemon" which pits slackers against plutocrats while a string of computer code calls the shots. How much you enjoy this story depends on how much you're willing to swallow, so here's a little quiz: do you believe that all things blue collar working class are GOOD and all things white collar corporate are BAD? Are you willing to accept ludicrous narrative gimmicks like scimitar-wielding ninja motorcycles and villains so cartoonish they should be twirling their (virtual) moustaches? Do you believe "the end justifies the means" no matter what? Was chairman Mao just a poor misunderstood visionary? If you answered "yes" to any of the above then give it a shot. Personally my head still hurts from all the eye-rolling.
    • 3/5
      Although I enjoyed very much the first book, there was something about this one that did not catch me, or at least the plot shifted to something I was not expecting and kind of disappointed me. Still, a good book to read and to make you think, in some extent, about our actual society.
    • 4/5
      Unabashed wish fulfilment fantasy, the first scene of which pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book by slaughtering a banker. A lovely feel good story wrapped around a techno-thriller that unlike all the other ones actually makes sense from the technical point of view because the author clearly knows what he's writing about. There's still hand wavy minority report augmented reality interfaces and other over the top nonsense but it's pretty rare to read something this technically coherent.
    • 4/5
      Really enjoyed this conclusion to the Daemon novel.
    • 5/5
      A great follow up book to Daemon. Your finally get to see what the actions taken in the first book are all about and how society is going to be thrown on it's head once the full picture is revealed. Daniel Suarez definitely has a way about him that gets you thinking about technology and how possible it is for the system we know today to be a thing of the past.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as I remember the first one. This one seem to have some sort of political subtext that isn't that useful and to me hurts the plausibility. And to be clear, it may be just my ignorance, but to consider this book any sort of realistic scenario, is silly. It is a quick mostly fun read, just don't think very hard about what you're being asked to swallow.
    • 5/5


      Do not agree that this was not as "dark" as Daemon. It was as good though, or possibly even better, and the end wraps up more satisfyingly as well. Quite happy to have read this.
    • 4/5
      Continuing the story he started in Daemon Daniel Suarez has written an even better novel of the near future. In a Science Fiction techno-thriller he highlights some of the potential dangers and risks involved in the mix of economic dysfunction and evolving technology that we already are experiencing. Imagining a future that moves in a dystopian direction Suarez creates some of the most vivid good and bad characters to battle with the aid of the next generation of cyber-technology.Freedom continues the world of Daemon, and suspense builds as it becomes less clear as to the true nature of the Daemon; which players are the most ruthless in changing the world becomes an issue that keeps you on the proverbial edge of your seat. Freedom pushes the concepts of Daemon further into a future in which civilization itself seems to be dissolving with changes that bring its viability into question: members of the guerrilla resistance fight against copyrighted DNA and for sustainable next-generation energy. They also share a private augmented reality. The new members of the “darknet” also share an interesting reputation system and the result of it all is worth the reading trip. Suarez is an author with an imagination that will challenge even veteran readers of speculative literature.
    • 4/5
      better than the first one!
    • 2/5
      Not sure what to say about this one. It was an enjoyable story and I suspect it could be turned into a decent scifi/thriller in either movie of high-budget TV show form. But it also felt just a bit too similar to so many other stories I've read in the last few years while not really adding much to the genre (except perhaps a bit more of the "underground network quietly brings about utopia" theme). I certainly wouldn't say it's a bad book, but it's also not one I'd likely find myself reading again.
    • 4/5
      Found it to be a little better than the first book (I guess it's not surprising for the debut novel). I don't share author's political views that are clear behind the premise of the novel but he does raise plenty of interesting philosophical issues. It is a 'smart'' book. Started somewhat slower but was compensated by the action towards the end.
    • 4/5
      Excellent. Fell off a bit from "Daemon", but still a great story with (I believe) some loose ends that may get resolved in "Darknet" coming out in 2011
    • 5/5
      very good cyberpunk story, filled with not-so-distant technological perils and wonders. the narrator does a great job with the voices, as well.
    • 3/5
      I'm really disappointed. Not because Freedom™ is a bad book, just because I didn't think it was better than "not bad". Considering that the prequel, Daemon, was one of my favourite books this year I really wished, hoped, and expected Freedom™ to blow me away.This sequel incorporates all of my least favourite elements of the first book, and completely leaves out most of the stuff I loved. The first book was a clever, somewhat subtle, "look at how technology can be twisted into doing really mad but ultimately cool things", kind of story that was built up at a pace which really made the climaxes impactful. In Freedom™ technology has already gone completely mad, and just keeps getting madder. And madder. Where the first book managed to balance on a fine line between realism and fantasy, this book not only steps off the line, but runs perpendicularly to it for the duration. It is turned up to 11 throughout, and the attempts at inter-personal moments between the characters drown in the blood of limbs being cut off. There is a lot of great action, sure, but it is so frequent and expected that none of it really becomes exciting.What this book does do is make a rather solid point about the world we live in, the people who control us, what defines a free society, whether a society can really be free, and so on, and so forth. However, the point is made so frequently, and in so many different ways, that even one of the most interesting perspectives on a global, connected society I have read in a long time starts to become tedious. Nevertheless, the "world view" part of the book is very much there, and it does hold up.Finally, the ending. Without spoiling anything, it seems apparent that the ending relies on the reader feeling a certain way. I didn't. Not because I necessarily disagreed with what the book wanted me to feel, but because I just didn't care anymore. At the end of the first book I could relate to the universe, to the characters in it, and the situation they found themselves in. The story was told so meticulously that I was forced to have an opinion. After all, the situation seemed plausible. Unlikely, but plausible.At the end of this second book I feel like I might as well have read a story about the alien mining industry on the planet Jupiter. It has become too distant for me to care. That's a real, real, pity.I know I'm being a lot harsher than the book deserves, and had I read Freedom™ without first reading Daemon I would probably have accepted Freedom™ as a fun, but somewhat predictable and overdone, tech-inspired read. But I was hoping and wishing for a new Daemon, and I didn't get it.
    • 4/5
      Lots of fun here for cyberthriller fans. Suarez does a decent job of holding his own in a genre known for names like Gibson and Stephenson, and this sequel to DAEMON proves that Suarez's first outing was no fluke. Yes, there's some over-the-top cinematic silliness that seems to have been written with a screenplay in mind, but the themes and underlying concepts here are just all kinds of fun for anyone with a decent geek streak, and there is no shortage of thought-provoking topics driving the action-packed narrative. A quote that sums up a particular favorite of mine: “Democracy requires active participation, and sooner or later someone ‘offers’ to take all the difficult decision-making away from you and your hectic life. But the darknet throws those decisions back onto you. It hard-codes democracy into the DNA of civilization. You upvote and downvote many times a day on things that directly affect your life and the lives of people around you--not just once every few years on things you haven’t got a chance in hell of affecting.” With solid hits in his first two outings, Suarez is already on my don't miss list.
    • 2/5
      It was okay, the original had more suspense
    • 5/5
      After completed the second book in the Daemon series, I really hope there will be a third. This is a complete nerdfest; much like the first. It mixed elements of MMORPG’s in with the standard Thriller genre to make an exciting and action packed Techno-Thriller. Once again the Daemon has still got control of the world; but is this a good thing or a bad thing. Taking away the power of the few and giving it to the masses; will this lead to civil unrest or total war. All the holes in the first book seem to make sense now that I’ve read Freedom TM, I think it was a stronger book than the first; but they go hand in hand.
    • 4/5
      The continuation of the story started in "Daemon," I didn't find this one to be quite as exciting. Maybe I was spoiled by the first book and had unfair expectations going into the sequel. However, "Freedom" was still a good book in its own way. The after effects of the massive cyber attack were quite believable. I certainly hope we never find out how accurate Mr. Suarez was in his futuristic vision. flag comment · see review
    • 3/5
      I'd thought the first book was dark, but wow, Freedom (TM) takes it even further. Anyway, high marks on the story, but downgraded to 3 stars because I can't say it was the satisfactory conclusion I expected. I mentioned in the review of Daemon that in the second half of the book everything seemed to wind down, and I had hoped Freedom (TM) would rekindle it again.It didn't play out that way, unfortunately. Mainly, it was because I felt many of the characters we met in the first book were relegated to the background in Freedom (TM). for example, characters like Ross disappear for long stretches at a time while new ones I didn't really care for were introduced. Natalie Philips, pretty much the only female character in these books, also felt completely useless and wasted. Even the presence of Matthew Sobol appears to have diminished, and it was the all powerfulness of his Daemon in the first book that made it such a thrilling read in the first place.What this sacrifice bought, however, was a more in depth look at the Darknet and in the lives of people living in these semi-cyber reality societies that we only got a glimpse of in the first book. The concept is kinda cool, actually -- sort of like living in an online game come to life.Speaking of which, the science and technology has also been dialed up big time. Despite the sci-fi nature of these two books, I find it very interesting how half of the reviews I've read talk about the plausibility of such a scenario, while the other half find it too farfetched and unrealistic. Admittedly, I fall into the latter group, but then again I'm no software designer or network systems expert. I suppose it all comes down to the reader, and his or her interests and knowledge in the novel's topics.If there's one big gripe I have about this book, it's that at times it could get very "preachy". I find this often happens with books involving groups of people trying to reconstruct civilization and build their own utopian societies. The author invests so much into describing the mission and trying to convince the reader, when really, I'm more interested in these ideas being shown rather than pounded in my face. In my opinion the time could also have been better spent, say, maybe developing the characters involving them more in the plot?In any case, these two books constituted a very unique techno thriller, well worth the read.
    • 4/5
      Ideas still decent; expression at times gratuitous.
    • 4/5
      Freedom (TM) picks up right where Daemon left off. The Darknet is thriving, Darknet credits are more valuable than the dollar and the line between good and evil continues to blur. The government is attempting to put a stop to the Daemon and restore status quo, whereas the followers of Sobol's Darknet are developing new technologies to improve society through advanced power management and agriculture. More than once you will be asking yourself "Should the Daemon be destroyed or are we better off now?"The reader's suspension of disbelief is stressed to a whole new level in Freedom (TM). A majority of society is ever-present in a "game-like" state. Members of the Darknet sport spiffy HUD sunglasses that project a layered visualization of the Darknet. All members have a callout with their name, a level and a rating. For Example, "Dr. No, level 15 journalist, 4.0 stars with 1,234 votes". In other words, a well respected journalist whom you can relatively trust based on other users interaction with this individual. This is very common nomenclature in the gaming world and it is clever to see this naming convention applied within a different space.Freedom (TM) did not pack the same punch as its predecessor, but is an enjoyable read just the same.
    • 4/5
      Solid book with a fun/"oh yeah/take that bad guys!" ending. My complaint about the first book, Daemon, was a couple cliché characters. One of the characters was not in this book. The other one was there, but was used in a much better way. A couple times the story dragged, and kind of got muddled. This author's bad is a lot better than most author's great though.
    • 4/5
      This sequel to Daemon by Daniel Suarez was just as engaging to read. Freedom(TM) is fairly gory, so if you can't handle that sort of thing, probably not the book for you. The concept was well thought out, and well executed in my opinion, and Suarez's easy to read style kept me turning the pages!
    • 4/5
      Freedom continues where Daemon left off, with the computer program Daemon building a new society. Freedom ups the ante on Daemon from the beginning with grander action sequences and fleshing out the heroes and villains of the story. Suarez appeases his fans of science fiction and fantasy with a plot in which the uprising new culture is firmly rooted in a world mirroring Massively Multiplayer games. The hero has a quest - and a glowing line in his HUD that only he can see, leading him to where he is required. Those who use the darknet have floating names and levels above their heads. It's all very World of Warcraft, EverQuest etc. With the millions of players now participating in such games, Suarez's readership is sizeable and those who have played such games will get more from reading this work.There's non-gaming future-tech in there too and at times the speculative future seems very plausible and threatening. This is sharp and dirty warfare and subsequently the feel to Freedom is more action orientated and more accessible than the first entry. At times Freedom does become complicated as it tries to ensure the reader cannot predict how the plot will develop, hindered further by the myriad of characters, some with little reintroduction from Daemon. Those small points aside, Freedom remains a well conceived piece of near-future fiction, a thriller worth investing time in.
    • 5/5
      Excellent followup to Daemon -- themes established there are developed expertly to suggest how technology may be the saviour of human society. A refreshing twist on the sci-fi theme of technology being the bad guy. In this book the bad guys are the bad guys, and the tech not only has the potential to defeat them, but to enrich life for everyone on the planet. The only problem is, the bad guys have tech too! In the end it's about the people and what they choose. Can the people rule? Not if the corporatocracy has its way.If you were a little disappointed with the wind up of Daemon, don't cheat yourself out of the payoff by skipping the exciting conclusion.
    • 3/5
      This book is a follow-up to the book "Daemon" and the first book was an an interesting fictionalization of what would happen if someone released a computer program, "daemon", on the world that alters everything. It was interesting and a bit scary as you start to really realize everything is now controlled by computers. This follow-up though is a maudlin political screed. It attempts to show how this "daemon" could actually better the world because it would have the ability to restructure how we do business and how we grow food. It allows for the redistribution of wealth that allows for the world to start to restructure in a way that emphasizes local based economies. The description of the technology and the future possibilities are interesting but the plot and characterizations fall flat.