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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I liked the idea of the book along with the plot and most of the characters. However, the entire story was bogged down my tech talk. This book
could have been a whole lot shorter or had way more action. There was a ton of explaining how the future tech worked. Which could have been interesting if not for the fact that it's made up tech to begin with. So really all of that could have been cut and this would have been a short story about what happens when things go to far.
could have been a whole lot shorter or had way more action. There was a ton of explaining how the future tech worked. Which could have been interesting if not for the fact that it's made up tech to begin with. So really all of that could have been cut and this would have been a short story about what happens when things go to far.
Great story, however Suarez misses an opportunity to develop characters further, specially during the second half of the book when the story begins to feel rushed and a bit unrefined.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A good hard sci-fi. taking place today, but with technology about 50 years from now. The main plot I find hard to acept as real, but ok enough.
Not very clear at the beginning who to root for.
Not very clear at the beginning who to root for.
Suarez's hits keep coming! This was as entertaining as FreedomTM/Daemon. Like his other novels, Influx is full of scientific and technical jargon ripped straight out of Wired and Ars Technica that make geeks like me squee.
Influx, the latest novel from Daniel Suarez is certain to be another smash hit. Daniel's first book, Daemon was a bestseller and foretold technologies that are only currently seeing the light of day. Modern tech like Goole's still-in-production Google Glass, and lesser altruistic advents such as the recently dismantled Silk Road. Part two of Daemon was titled Freedom™, and was another massive success. This was followed by Kill Decision which proved to be only moments ahead of its time since it dealt with drone warfare and posed a question that is becoming crucial at this very point in time: should automated systems or artificial intelligence be allowed to make critical life and death decisions?
Book number four from Mr. Suarez, Influx, deals with a fictional government agency who's mandate is to police leaps in technology that are deemed disruptive. The BTC, or Bureau of Technology Control, is proactive in its efforts, striking at scientist and innovators before they can bring key innovations to market— innovations that are certain to change the world in some profound way. When such a technology comes to the attention of the BTC, the innovator behind the discovery is offered membership into the unique and secret organization. But only if he or she agrees to keep their discovery from the world and continues development while working for the BTC. But what happens when someone refuses?
Enter Jon Grady, a brilliant young scientist who has just invented a gravity mirror. He's concerned. Should such innovations be kept from the world? Is the world unprepared for breakthrough technology as the BTC claims? These are questions that Jon must face before making a decision about joining the BTC. And it's this decision that forms the plot for the rest of the book.
Daniel Suarez made a name for himself when he published Daemon because he wrote a tech-thriller than was unique in that it managed to get technology right. He described cutting edge current technology correctly because he, unlike many modern authors, actually understood it. Furthermore, the futuristic tech he described was also plausible and well conceived because he had a grasp on where today's technology is headed. But with Influx, Daniel takes on not only technology, but physics as well. And while I'm no physicist, from what I can tell, he's done an equally exemplary job of extrapolating the future of scientific research. For the geek audience, Influx will be another techno-thriller masterpiece.
But in addition to his firm grasp on technology and science, Mr. Suarez is also a skilled and talented author. Once again, he's managed to take what might have otherwise been a bunch of techno jargon and scientific gobbledygook and put it in terms that most readers will understand. If you're a tech geek, you'll love the topics that are covered and you'll be fascinated on some of the ideas that are touched upon. But if you're just a fan of the thriller genre, there's more than enough action, adventure, thrills, and chills to keep to riveted from cover to cover. I don't expect most readers to be slowed down by the science or the technology described in this book. Mr. Suarez has done and amazing job of writing a high-tech thriller that doesn't get tripped up by the technology. Influx is, first and foremost, a great thriller.
Book number four from Mr. Suarez, Influx, deals with a fictional government agency who's mandate is to police leaps in technology that are deemed disruptive. The BTC, or Bureau of Technology Control, is proactive in its efforts, striking at scientist and innovators before they can bring key innovations to market— innovations that are certain to change the world in some profound way. When such a technology comes to the attention of the BTC, the innovator behind the discovery is offered membership into the unique and secret organization. But only if he or she agrees to keep their discovery from the world and continues development while working for the BTC. But what happens when someone refuses?
Enter Jon Grady, a brilliant young scientist who has just invented a gravity mirror. He's concerned. Should such innovations be kept from the world? Is the world unprepared for breakthrough technology as the BTC claims? These are questions that Jon must face before making a decision about joining the BTC. And it's this decision that forms the plot for the rest of the book.
Daniel Suarez made a name for himself when he published Daemon because he wrote a tech-thriller than was unique in that it managed to get technology right. He described cutting edge current technology correctly because he, unlike many modern authors, actually understood it. Furthermore, the futuristic tech he described was also plausible and well conceived because he had a grasp on where today's technology is headed. But with Influx, Daniel takes on not only technology, but physics as well. And while I'm no physicist, from what I can tell, he's done an equally exemplary job of extrapolating the future of scientific research. For the geek audience, Influx will be another techno-thriller masterpiece.
But in addition to his firm grasp on technology and science, Mr. Suarez is also a skilled and talented author. Once again, he's managed to take what might have otherwise been a bunch of techno jargon and scientific gobbledygook and put it in terms that most readers will understand. If you're a tech geek, you'll love the topics that are covered and you'll be fascinated on some of the ideas that are touched upon. But if you're just a fan of the thriller genre, there's more than enough action, adventure, thrills, and chills to keep to riveted from cover to cover. I don't expect most readers to be slowed down by the science or the technology described in this book. Mr. Suarez has done and amazing job of writing a high-tech thriller that doesn't get tripped up by the technology. Influx is, first and foremost, a great thriller.
Very exciting science fiction story about a secretive government agency, Bureau of Technology Control, that decides to quarantine (by co-opting the inventors or else kidnapping them) breakthrough scientific achievements, starting in the 1960’s, to prevent societal upheaval. The BTC is rapidly forgotten and becomes self-sufficient.
Over the years, incredibly important inventions such as Fusion, cures for cancer and energy independence are hidden by the BTC until they deem them appropriate for release to the public.
Inevitably, the BTC gets giddy with power and becomes an evil force. A new invention, anti-gravity, is stolen by them but the inventor resists being co-opted. The book outlines his struggle to reveal the BTC.
The book does a great job of describing technologies which are under development or at least in our imaginations. Highly recommended.
Over the years, incredibly important inventions such as Fusion, cures for cancer and energy independence are hidden by the BTC until they deem them appropriate for release to the public.
Inevitably, the BTC gets giddy with power and becomes an evil force. A new invention, anti-gravity, is stolen by them but the inventor resists being co-opted. The book outlines his struggle to reveal the BTC.
The book does a great job of describing technologies which are under development or at least in our imaginations. Highly recommended.