bookkat's review against another edition
3.0
Really a 3.5. I enjoyed the book, although Suarez's writing tends to have a very macho edge to it. I think guys who like action books would love it.
manuelte's review against another edition
4.0
I was not sold on the idea at the beginning of the book, Daemon seemed more like a right around the corner type future. However as you progress the concepts get more and more believable. Another thing that helps you get immersed in the story is that the protagonist is fighting EVIL guys. Not bad, not lowercase evil, all-caps puppy-kicking lets-torture-that-sweet-old-pie-baking-grandma EVIL characters. Very enjoyable read.
djhobby's review against another edition
3.0
Ehhh.
I LOVED DAEMON and FREEDOM. Two of my favorite books ever, but this falls a little short.
This book started out OK, but I always felt like I was missing something. The CTC at times seemed all knowing and unstoppable, then in the next chapter, they would seem like incompetent goof ups. I liked the story, but the writing was not that great, and at times seemed pretty cliche. It was still entertaining, but I would only hesitantly recommend this book to a friend.
I LOVED DAEMON and FREEDOM. Two of my favorite books ever, but this falls a little short.
This book started out OK, but I always felt like I was missing something. The CTC at times seemed all knowing and unstoppable, then in the next chapter, they would seem like incompetent goof ups. I liked the story, but the writing was not that great, and at times seemed pretty cliche. It was still entertaining, but I would only hesitantly recommend this book to a friend.
jugglebird's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
namulith's review against another edition
2.0
An OK read. Very fast-paced but also a bit too ludicrous and hollow.
graff_fuller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This story/book is the most different from the ones that I've read so far (Change Agent & Kill Decision).
The amount of techno-babble (or actual science talk) in the book...almost was too much for me...but I trusted the author to make it worth my while, to just "go with it", so I did.
Some of what was done to Jon Grady was TRULY horrific. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to brush off the idea of Hibernity (the prison for intellectual geniuses). Ugh. The idea of constant and persistant questions AND what they did to memories...is too much. Much, too much.
An alternate storyline dealing with Alexa was VERY interesting...when thinking about Alexa and the frustration of being a beautiful woman and being smart. Is she effective because she is smart, or because she incapacitates everyone through he sheer beauty, making her doubly effective (ultimately distancing her from EVERYONE). It is a tragic story...that was well thought out and revealed within this story.
Also, the idea of corporations (or government agencies) guiding and managing what is acceptable for the general public (and what they can "handle" is scary as hell). We know a little of this happens, but what if it keep broadening from a little to a LOT (like a frog being lulled into complacency of cool water...while being slowly boiled). this IS happening, but I hope, NOT to this scale. Let this story be a warning and admonishment for the future.
We need to be able to be truthful and still strive for improvement. Not everyone will be able to understand the new frontier, but they should NEVER be left behind. The smarter, should always help those of lesser understanding to achieve and understand the future.
Loved the way the end this story. Well done. Cotton was a jerk, but there always has to a foe...but was it a wrong thing?
This was a great story. Going to be picking up my next Daniel Suarez book, soon. Three down, more to go.
The amount of techno-babble (or actual science talk) in the book...almost was too much for me...but I trusted the author to make it worth my while, to just "go with it", so I did.
Some of what was done to Jon Grady was TRULY horrific. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to brush off the idea of Hibernity (the prison for intellectual geniuses). Ugh. The idea of constant and persistant questions AND what they did to memories...is too much. Much, too much.
An alternate storyline dealing with Alexa was VERY interesting...when thinking about Alexa and the frustration of being a beautiful woman and being smart. Is she effective because she is smart, or because she incapacitates everyone through he sheer beauty, making her doubly effective (ultimately distancing her from EVERYONE). It is a tragic story...that was well thought out and revealed within this story.
Also, the idea of corporations (or government agencies) guiding and managing what is acceptable for the general public (and what they can "handle" is scary as hell). We know a little of this happens, but what if it keep broadening from a little to a LOT (like a frog being lulled into complacency of cool water...while being slowly boiled). this IS happening, but I hope, NOT to this scale. Let this story be a warning and admonishment for the future.
We need to be able to be truthful and still strive for improvement. Not everyone will be able to understand the new frontier, but they should NEVER be left behind. The smarter, should always help those of lesser understanding to achieve and understand the future.
Loved the way the end this story. Well done. Cotton was a jerk, but there always has to a foe...but was it a wrong thing?
This was a great story. Going to be picking up my next Daniel Suarez book, soon. Three down, more to go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Torture, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Slavery
srsanderson's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Influx is smart.... maybe a little too smart. For the first third of the novel I was utterly lost in techno lingo. Technological innovations that are destined to change the course of human history, and Suarez proceeds to explain them in detail to us. How they work, the physics behind it. It's brilliant yes, but I majored in History, and I felt somewhat stupid while I was trying to read a book for pleasure.
Resident genius and particle physicist, Jon Grady, is ecstatic when his team achieves what they've been working toward for years: a device that can reflect gravity. Their research will revolutionize the field of physics and alter how the universe is studied. (Although listening to this being explained twice, I still didnt understand how significant it was.)
Instead of widespread acclaim, Grady and his team are ambushed at their lab by a shadowy organization whose purpose is to prevent the social upheaval that sudden technological advances may bring. This Bureau of Technology Control uses the advanced technologies they have harvested over the decades to fulfill their mission.
When Grady is presented with the opportunity to join the BTC and improve his own technology in secret, Grady balks, and is instead thrown into a nightmarish high-tech prison built to hold rebellious geniuses like himself. I liked the characters that were introduced and was instantly attached to them, both main and secondary. However, some of the horrendous things inflicted upon the Grady and the other prisoners made me want to shelve this on DNF. Torture scenes are not really my cup of tea, no matter how many political thrillers I read/listen to, I cannot accustom my stomach to such atrocities. BUT, I plowed onward.
****SPOILERS*****
Grady escapes from prison. Thank God. And after this point the novel takes a definitive turn from "what the hell is going on?" to "oh, hell yes."
While I believe this novel had a little to much science and not enough plot, I ended up liking the progression of the story. Once again Suarez proves he is ruthless with his characters. He shows no mercy in who will live vs. who will perish in a futuristic battlefield. The ending was a little rushed, but ultimately I was satisfied. To put it perfectly, this is a great beach read. Quick, thrilling, with no cliffhanger.
Influx is smart.... maybe a little too smart. For the first third of the novel I was utterly lost in techno lingo. Technological innovations that are destined to change the course of human history, and Suarez proceeds to explain them in detail to us. How they work, the physics behind it. It's brilliant yes, but I majored in History, and I felt somewhat stupid while I was trying to read a book for pleasure.
Resident genius and particle physicist, Jon Grady, is ecstatic when his team achieves what they've been working toward for years: a device that can reflect gravity. Their research will revolutionize the field of physics and alter how the universe is studied. (Although listening to this being explained twice, I still didnt understand how significant it was.)
Instead of widespread acclaim, Grady and his team are ambushed at their lab by a shadowy organization whose purpose is to prevent the social upheaval that sudden technological advances may bring. This Bureau of Technology Control uses the advanced technologies they have harvested over the decades to fulfill their mission.
When Grady is presented with the opportunity to join the BTC and improve his own technology in secret, Grady balks, and is instead thrown into a nightmarish high-tech prison built to hold rebellious geniuses like himself. I liked the characters that were introduced and was instantly attached to them, both main and secondary. However, some of the horrendous things inflicted upon the Grady and the other prisoners made me want to shelve this on DNF. Torture scenes are not really my cup of tea, no matter how many political thrillers I read/listen to, I cannot accustom my stomach to such atrocities. BUT, I plowed onward.
****SPOILERS*****
Grady escapes from prison. Thank God. And after this point the novel takes a definitive turn from "what the hell is going on?" to "oh, hell yes."
While I believe this novel had a little to much science and not enough plot, I ended up liking the progression of the story. Once again Suarez proves he is ruthless with his characters. He shows no mercy in who will live vs. who will perish in a futuristic battlefield. The ending was a little rushed, but ultimately I was satisfied. To put it perfectly, this is a great beach read. Quick, thrilling, with no cliffhanger.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Disappointing. Poorly written, poorly structured, poorly paced. There was one bit early on in which one character says something like - now your are just stringing scientific words together in a meaningless way, and I'm thinking exactly. But there were lots and lots (and lots) of interesting ideas and this book did eventually get going. But not well enough to rescue the book as a whole.
csdaley's review against another edition
3.0
For whatever reason this book didn't grab me. I sometimes felt like I was trudging through the science and it seemed to take forever to get started. I wanted to like it more than I did. Good techno thriller and once it gets going it really takes off.
eluse9's review against another edition
3.0
His worst work. It read almost like a Saturday morning cartoon with goofy incompetent, emotionally immature bad guys with comic relief (cloned) henchmen.
The story was very typical but the tech ideas were really cool and there were a few gutsy plot twists I didn't see coming * spoiler alert* I was sure that the FBI agent was going to be the love interest then she was killed.
The story was very typical but the tech ideas were really cool and there were a few gutsy plot twists I didn't see coming * spoiler alert* I was sure that the FBI agent was going to be the love interest then she was killed.