I still remember my mind being blown away after reading
Daemon and
Freedom TM, Daniel Suarez's two-part techno-thriller about a computer algorithm unleashed into the world by a brilliant software mogul, wrecking havoc by exploiting the vulnerabilities in today's highly interconnected technological expanse that's the Internet. That was more than three years ago. Now having read
Kill Decision and
Influx back to back, all I can say is that Daniel Suarez has all but steadily affirmed his position as a worthy successor to Michael Crichton.
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| Kill Decision |
However unlike the author of
The Andromeda Strain, whose works borderline on plausible yet unlikely, Suarez brings about an element of contemporary relevance that's at once compelling and even outright scary. Be it the rise of autonomous drones in warfare (the subject matter in
Kill Decision) or unregulated technological growth and their impact (in
Influx), these are grave matters that merit serious consideration, and Suarez ties them together to terrifying effect.
At a time when people are subjected to surveillance for the sake of national security like it's no big deal, is equipping drones and UAV's with capabilities to act on their own the right thing to do? Are warfare companies pushing for such intelligent killing machines to further their capitalist agenda? Is social media being abused to plant paranoia and fear among the masses? Is hoarding up scientific breakthroughs (such as a cure for cancer, for example) the best way to deal with societal disruption? If not, should it be shared for the benefit of all? If so, what what would be the unintended consequences?
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| Influx |
Daniel Suarez tries as much to not tread into the science-fiction territory and keeps the plotlines unnervingly realistic. While there's a lot of arcane scientific jargon involved, they don't hamper the pace and in fact it's not even necessary that you need to understand them to get through the story. The writing varies from good to downright cheesy, but one line in
Kill Decision brought a chuckle to myself. When a group of programmers find their visual recognition algorithms to have been posted publicly on online forums without their knowledge, it's "like finding the love of their life in a gang-bang porno."
As a Tom Clancy-meets-Michael Crichton roller-coaster,
Kill Decision also benefits from an interesting myrmecological subplot about the swarming behaviour and hive intelligence of weaver ants.
Influx, on the other hand, feels a little cinematic, as if it was conceptualized keeping a future movie adaptation in mind. The characterization is off-the-shelf and the awkward romantic sub-plot between the leads in
Kill Decision could have been done away with. These minor niggles aside, Suarez does a great job of stirring up your imaginations into a frenzy. Thought-provoking and engrossing, they leave you with a real possibility of fiction turning to a
reality. The only question is when.
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