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Kill Decision
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Science Fiction (2012)Unmanned weaponized drones already exist—they’re widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, bestselling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results.
Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned—and thanks to her research, automated—drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention.
Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the “kill decision” during battle has remained in the hands of humans—and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences. But as forces even McKinney and Odin don’t understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published July 19, 2012
324 people are currently reading
5687 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Suarez
20 books4,688 followersDANIEL SUAREZ is the author of the New York Times bestseller Daemon, Freedom™, Kill Decision, and Influx. A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, he has designed and developed mission-critical software for the defense, finance, and entertainment industries. With a lifelong interest in both IT systems and creative writing, his high-tech and Sci-Fi thrillers focus on technology-driven change. Suarez is a past speaker at TED Global, MIT Media Lab, NASA Ames, the Long Now Foundation, and the headquarters of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon -- among many others. Self-taught in software development, he is a graduate from University of Delaware with a BA in English Literature. An avid PC and console gamer, his own world-building skills were bolstered through years as a pen & paper role-playing game moderator. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 879 reviews
December 4, 2022
Pimping and optimizing one´s autonomous killing devices, with the help of nature's ingenuity at writing self auto learning algorithms into genetic codes, has hardly ever been such bloody fun.
Be aware of the flock
Swarm algorithms, be it birds, fish, insects, or just primitive orientation tools, for instance, used by fungi without any kind of conventional intelligence, can be adapted to improve robotics, automatization, food production, etc., and accelerate the way toward a fair, ecosocial, post scarcity, universal basic income future utopia. Just joking, of course, we will and are already using it to kill better, maybe, every general´s wet dream, even once better than nature. But let´s start small and modestly.
Wait a few years if it isn´t already here
Suarez uses the known abilities of some of the mentioned natural examples to construct a very close, or secretly already there, future, in which the hardware isn´t really the problem, because we are already, with official tech, able to construct fast, miniaturized, and deadly. The secret lies in the software algorithms, which once again shows the truth of the good old saying that WW1 was a war of the chemists, WW2 a war of the physicists, and that WW3, or the already warming current second cold war equivalent, will be or is a war of the mathematicians.
Is it more ethical to let a machine kill or to give it the command to do so
So the kill decision topic, related and given its name by the ethical question if still a human should push the killing button a few thousand kilometers, yes not miles, away to make it a more personal, intimate, and not so cold and loveless murder, or if a machine should have the autonomy and individual right to decide what it wants to kill, is just the tip of the iceberg. Because especially the most dangerous subspecies of mathematicians, software engineers, programmers, hackers, AI researchers with a focus on deep learning algorithms, etc. are not just playing around with simple armies of drones, but with automating any decision, using any kind of mathematical principal to find the best and most effective attack, tactic, and strategy at any moment, quicker and better than any general, or thousands of them, ever could. Sorry general, you´re retired now.
At least it´s cost saving
The good thing is that much money is saved that way, because less expensive military specialists and high ranking generals and conventional strategy experts are needed and, thanks to the perfection, less precious war machine material, and with more and more automatization and self driving tanks and stuff, also humans, are lost. The darker side is that any wealthy nation with a strong industrial background could already now start producing tens of thousands of different killer robots, ships, airplanes, etc., which will inevitably, during the 3rd millennia, lead to the real life example of the golden sci-fi trope of a few despotic lunatics controlling an output of potentially millions and billions of perfect extermination devices every day.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_e...
Be aware of the flock
Swarm algorithms, be it birds, fish, insects, or just primitive orientation tools, for instance, used by fungi without any kind of conventional intelligence, can be adapted to improve robotics, automatization, food production, etc., and accelerate the way toward a fair, ecosocial, post scarcity, universal basic income future utopia. Just joking, of course, we will and are already using it to kill better, maybe, every general´s wet dream, even once better than nature. But let´s start small and modestly.
Wait a few years if it isn´t already here
Suarez uses the known abilities of some of the mentioned natural examples to construct a very close, or secretly already there, future, in which the hardware isn´t really the problem, because we are already, with official tech, able to construct fast, miniaturized, and deadly. The secret lies in the software algorithms, which once again shows the truth of the good old saying that WW1 was a war of the chemists, WW2 a war of the physicists, and that WW3, or the already warming current second cold war equivalent, will be or is a war of the mathematicians.
Is it more ethical to let a machine kill or to give it the command to do so
So the kill decision topic, related and given its name by the ethical question if still a human should push the killing button a few thousand kilometers, yes not miles, away to make it a more personal, intimate, and not so cold and loveless murder, or if a machine should have the autonomy and individual right to decide what it wants to kill, is just the tip of the iceberg. Because especially the most dangerous subspecies of mathematicians, software engineers, programmers, hackers, AI researchers with a focus on deep learning algorithms, etc. are not just playing around with simple armies of drones, but with automating any decision, using any kind of mathematical principal to find the best and most effective attack, tactic, and strategy at any moment, quicker and better than any general, or thousands of them, ever could. Sorry general, you´re retired now.
At least it´s cost saving
The good thing is that much money is saved that way, because less expensive military specialists and high ranking generals and conventional strategy experts are needed and, thanks to the perfection, less precious war machine material, and with more and more automatization and self driving tanks and stuff, also humans, are lost. The darker side is that any wealthy nation with a strong industrial background could already now start producing tens of thousands of different killer robots, ships, airplanes, etc., which will inevitably, during the 3rd millennia, lead to the real life example of the golden sci-fi trope of a few despotic lunatics controlling an output of potentially millions and billions of perfect extermination devices every day.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_e...
August 24, 2012
I never realized this before but when the machines finally become self-aware and Skynet launches its attack on humanity, I’ve got the perfect place to hole up nearby. So while you all are being enslaved by robots, I’ll be safe in SubTropolis with a lifetime supply of liquor and books. Don’t bother knocking. I won’t let you in, and I’ll just turn up the music to drown out your screams.
I knew from Daniel Suarez’s previous books, Daemon and Freedom (TM), that he gives good techno-thriller with some very cool ideas, and he continues that in this story where America’s use of remote controlled drones comes back to bite us in the ass when someone develops their own private air force of pilot-less aircraft and starts using them against targets on U.S. soil. Even scarier, these aren’t just remote controlled killing machines, someone is starting to use software and tech to allow them to act autonomously.
A shadowy special forces operative who leads a covert team and has a pair of trained ravens saves a female scientist who studies behavior patterns in ants when she’s targeted by the mysterious enemy. (Just go with it.) As they desperately try to track the increasingly sophisticated drones back to their source, a campaign is being mounted to scare the American public into drastic measures.
This could have been just sci-fi with a Tom Clancy twist, but Suarez does an exceptionally nice job of looking at what’s possible with today’s technology and then comes up with some terrifyingly plausible thoughts on what comes next. I also liked a sub-plot involving a couple of PR experts who use a variety of methods involving both mass and social media to herd the public into the direction they want it to go. (Enjoy this election year, my fellow cattle!)
While the characters are pretty much thriller archetypes, they’re relatable enough, and the action is fast and furious. If you’re looking for something that will make you think while getting your pulse rate up, this will fill the bill nicely.
I knew from Daniel Suarez’s previous books, Daemon and Freedom (TM), that he gives good techno-thriller with some very cool ideas, and he continues that in this story where America’s use of remote controlled drones comes back to bite us in the ass when someone develops their own private air force of pilot-less aircraft and starts using them against targets on U.S. soil. Even scarier, these aren’t just remote controlled killing machines, someone is starting to use software and tech to allow them to act autonomously.
A shadowy special forces operative who leads a covert team and has a pair of trained ravens saves a female scientist who studies behavior patterns in ants when she’s targeted by the mysterious enemy. (Just go with it.) As they desperately try to track the increasingly sophisticated drones back to their source, a campaign is being mounted to scare the American public into drastic measures.
This could have been just sci-fi with a Tom Clancy twist, but Suarez does an exceptionally nice job of looking at what’s possible with today’s technology and then comes up with some terrifyingly plausible thoughts on what comes next. I also liked a sub-plot involving a couple of PR experts who use a variety of methods involving both mass and social media to herd the public into the direction they want it to go. (Enjoy this election year, my fellow cattle!)
While the characters are pretty much thriller archetypes, they’re relatable enough, and the action is fast and furious. If you’re looking for something that will make you think while getting your pulse rate up, this will fill the bill nicely.
April 26, 2017
This is my fourth by Daniel Suarez and I'm constantly surprised at how versatile he is.
This one is a straight Techno-Thriller, right down to the tight and crafty combat cell, nifty science-types, and even a great little section of programmers. But most of all, it's all about the explosions, the close calls, the gunfire, and the smells.
The smells? Oh yes. I won't give away anything plot related because learning and discovery is the name of the game for this novel... but suffice to say: swarming is a big thing. Whether computationally, socially, or otherwise.
Suarez is really great at seeing technology and taking the consequences one or seven steps further, grounding us in our world strongly, and then making us adapt or die. It's a blast.
But if I was to simplify the hell out of this novel, I'd just say, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! :) It's Drones!"
:)
This one is a straight Techno-Thriller, right down to the tight and crafty combat cell, nifty science-types, and even a great little section of programmers. But most of all, it's all about the explosions, the close calls, the gunfire, and the smells.
The smells? Oh yes. I won't give away anything plot related because learning and discovery is the name of the game for this novel... but suffice to say: swarming is a big thing. Whether computationally, socially, or otherwise.
Suarez is really great at seeing technology and taking the consequences one or seven steps further, grounding us in our world strongly, and then making us adapt or die. It's a blast.
But if I was to simplify the hell out of this novel, I'd just say, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! :) It's Drones!"
:)
October 24, 2016
Solid read, great ending and premise. Loved hugin and munin!!
This is one of those books that can easily be turned into a great film. One for any Crichton fans out there and I'll definitely be checking out more of Suarez.
This is one of those books that can easily be turned into a great film. One for any Crichton fans out there and I'll definitely be checking out more of Suarez.
January 5, 2015
This is the 4th book I've reviewed by this author. The other 3 I gave 5 stars and rave reviews.... I suppose you've already noticed the rating I have given this one.
So, what happened?
Here we have a great talented writer and a premise that should make a great book. If I had been asked (before I read this) what science fiction writers would i choose to deal with the idea of robots or AIs being given the ability to make autonomous kill decisions Mr. Suarez would have been on that list. This is an idea that has been used before and speaks to the place we "live" today. I hurried through the book I was reading before this one to get to it.
Then I ended up hurrying through this book. I considered giving a 2 star rating here but in the end I skipped forward (because I was starting to die from boredom...the paramedics didn't think that last call to wake me from a book induced coma would be covered by insurance, not even Obama Care).
What we have here is a book that opens up and snatches the interest. It drew me in right away and I was hooked, reading along with anticipation.
Then we met the female protagonist, Linda McKinney. (We had already met the male protagonist...Odin. Of course the 2 ravens flying around should have tipped us off I guess. Yes, you guessed it. A shadowy army intelligence type who works for a branch of Army Intelligence NO ONE KNOWS EXISTS code named Odin who has a pair of ravens). Anyway we had already gotten a whiff of political fertilizer for the book. That's fine many if not most authors tend to role their views into their work. It's usually no big deal. A given character express thoughts and opinions as the book goes along, events either prove them out, don't prove them out or end up having nothing to do with them.
Cool.
But sometimes authors fall into the Terry Goodkind syndrome. They beat the reader and sadly the story to death with said views. In this case it wasn't only political commentary by the character. From the time Linda McKinney is introduced she also ends up having the same conversation with "our hero" over and over.
"you lied to me."
"I had to."
"You lied to me."
"It was to protect you."
"You lied to me."
"I had no choice."
"You lied to me."
"some other nonspecific or esoteric reason."
She expresses outrage! He is stoic and manly.
Over and over and over again. We finally do get back to the actual plot somewhere past the halfway point in the novel but by then I just didn't care anymore.
And by the way so far as my opinion goes the said plot and its accompanying climax were decidedly "underwhelming".
Sorry. I truly like this writer and I see many high ratings for this book. I just can't go there. As noted I ended up too annoyed to even give 2 stars, it would be dishonest. I just wanted the book to be over so I could get on to something else. So again, sorry. If you like the novel I'm happy for you. I can't endorse nor can I recommend this one.
So, what happened?
Here we have a great talented writer and a premise that should make a great book. If I had been asked (before I read this) what science fiction writers would i choose to deal with the idea of robots or AIs being given the ability to make autonomous kill decisions Mr. Suarez would have been on that list. This is an idea that has been used before and speaks to the place we "live" today. I hurried through the book I was reading before this one to get to it.
Then I ended up hurrying through this book. I considered giving a 2 star rating here but in the end I skipped forward (because I was starting to die from boredom...the paramedics didn't think that last call to wake me from a book induced coma would be covered by insurance, not even Obama Care).
What we have here is a book that opens up and snatches the interest. It drew me in right away and I was hooked, reading along with anticipation.
Then we met the female protagonist, Linda McKinney. (We had already met the male protagonist...Odin. Of course the 2 ravens flying around should have tipped us off I guess. Yes, you guessed it. A shadowy army intelligence type who works for a branch of Army Intelligence NO ONE KNOWS EXISTS code named Odin who has a pair of ravens). Anyway we had already gotten a whiff of political fertilizer for the book. That's fine many if not most authors tend to role their views into their work. It's usually no big deal. A given character express thoughts and opinions as the book goes along, events either prove them out, don't prove them out or end up having nothing to do with them.
Cool.
But sometimes authors fall into the Terry Goodkind syndrome. They beat the reader and sadly the story to death with said views. In this case it wasn't only political commentary by the character. From the time Linda McKinney is introduced she also ends up having the same conversation with "our hero" over and over.
"you lied to me."
"I had to."
"You lied to me."
"It was to protect you."
"You lied to me."
"I had no choice."
"You lied to me."
"some other nonspecific or esoteric reason."
She expresses outrage! He is stoic and manly.
Over and over and over again. We finally do get back to the actual plot somewhere past the halfway point in the novel but by then I just didn't care anymore.
And by the way so far as my opinion goes the said plot and its accompanying climax were decidedly "underwhelming".
Sorry. I truly like this writer and I see many high ratings for this book. I just can't go there. As noted I ended up too annoyed to even give 2 stars, it would be dishonest. I just wanted the book to be over so I could get on to something else. So again, sorry. If you like the novel I'm happy for you. I can't endorse nor can I recommend this one.
October 12, 2012
I really wanted to like this - but it just didn't grab me. At 175 pages in I feel I've given it as much of a chance as I'm prepared to. It's disappointing because I liked both Daemon (my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) as well as its sequel Freedom TM (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...).
So what went wrong here? Unfulfilled expectations. The whole autonomous killing drone thing just didn't do it for me. For a start, I'm pretty sure we had an AI driven drone or two between his two other books. But in those books we also had a rampaging killer Humvee. And a fleet of dicing /slicing autonomous robot motorbikes. And Unmanned pursuit vehicles. We had FBI agents getting carved up by holographic sound waves. We had an insane Nazi game character breaking out of the machine. So where do you go from there? Sorry, but autonomous killer drones is cool but kind of a step back from what we saw the last couple books.
On top of that the action was basically people getting blown up from altitude. In other words, not very engaging. I suppose if you are into Tom Clancy style high tech military intelligence where everything is referred to by their acronyms - then you may like this. Just don't expect Tom Clancy style action or depth - then again I stopped just short of half way so maybe it gets better.
2 stars.
So what went wrong here? Unfulfilled expectations. The whole autonomous killing drone thing just didn't do it for me. For a start, I'm pretty sure we had an AI driven drone or two between his two other books. But in those books we also had a rampaging killer Humvee. And a fleet of dicing /slicing autonomous robot motorbikes. And Unmanned pursuit vehicles. We had FBI agents getting carved up by holographic sound waves. We had an insane Nazi game character breaking out of the machine. So where do you go from there? Sorry, but autonomous killer drones is cool but kind of a step back from what we saw the last couple books.
On top of that the action was basically people getting blown up from altitude. In other words, not very engaging. I suppose if you are into Tom Clancy style high tech military intelligence where everything is referred to by their acronyms - then you may like this. Just don't expect Tom Clancy style action or depth - then again I stopped just short of half way so maybe it gets better.
2 stars.
July 28, 2020
I would have given it 2.5 stars.
If you're like me, you were probably really excited to hear that Suarez was coming out with a new book. His first two novels, "Daemon" and "Freedom" were top notch tech thrillers that I read really quickly; I just couldn't put them down. When I heard that he had a new book coming, I was really excited.
Well, I finally got around to reading it, and I must say that I'm disappointed. Was it a bad book? No. Was it a smartly written book? You could say that. Was it compelling? Not really. I recall blowing through "Daemon" and "Freedom" in a day or so each. It took me about two weeks or so to read this one. I'd pick it up, read it a bit, put it down and repeat the cycle. It just was not the page turner that the previous two were and couldn't hold my attention for very long. I think part of the problem was just that I didn't care all that much about the characters. On top of that, it was not a very focused novel. It kind of meandered.
The characters. Odin and McKinney were the male and female protagonists in this one. Neither one was really worth caring about. Odin was the black ops guy who had no personality and was fairly one-dimensional and dull; we knew he was looking to get to the bottom of the drone attacks at all costs and that's about it. McKinney was this anti-war, anti-military pacifist who was annoying and just not a character who I really cared for. These two characters were backed by a number of supporting characters whose codenames were more interesting than they were. You know you're in trouble when two of the most interesting characters in the book are actually not even human. They are two ravens.
The book basically addressed idea of autonomous drones and a frightening reality if these things are misused. This is current day stuff and how it was presented here was not entirely implausible; it just wasn't very compelling. Honestly, Michael Crichton(RIP) would have probably done a better job with this subject matter.
It's just too bad this topic could not have been presented in a more compelling way. This book reads like something he wrote prior to "Daemon" and "Freedom" that perhaps he dusted off, polished up, and released. I may actually reread those first two books. "Kill Decision" is a "One and Done." In other words, I'll likely never read it again.
Not trying to discourage anyone from reading it, just don't go into expect to be enthralled like you may have been with his first two books.
If you're like me, you were probably really excited to hear that Suarez was coming out with a new book. His first two novels, "Daemon" and "Freedom" were top notch tech thrillers that I read really quickly; I just couldn't put them down. When I heard that he had a new book coming, I was really excited.
Well, I finally got around to reading it, and I must say that I'm disappointed. Was it a bad book? No. Was it a smartly written book? You could say that. Was it compelling? Not really. I recall blowing through "Daemon" and "Freedom" in a day or so each. It took me about two weeks or so to read this one. I'd pick it up, read it a bit, put it down and repeat the cycle. It just was not the page turner that the previous two were and couldn't hold my attention for very long. I think part of the problem was just that I didn't care all that much about the characters. On top of that, it was not a very focused novel. It kind of meandered.
The characters. Odin and McKinney were the male and female protagonists in this one. Neither one was really worth caring about. Odin was the black ops guy who had no personality and was fairly one-dimensional and dull; we knew he was looking to get to the bottom of the drone attacks at all costs and that's about it. McKinney was this anti-war, anti-military pacifist who was annoying and just not a character who I really cared for. These two characters were backed by a number of supporting characters whose codenames were more interesting than they were. You know you're in trouble when two of the most interesting characters in the book are actually not even human. They are two ravens.
The book basically addressed idea of autonomous drones and a frightening reality if these things are misused. This is current day stuff and how it was presented here was not entirely implausible; it just wasn't very compelling. Honestly, Michael Crichton(RIP) would have probably done a better job with this subject matter.
It's just too bad this topic could not have been presented in a more compelling way. This book reads like something he wrote prior to "Daemon" and "Freedom" that perhaps he dusted off, polished up, and released. I may actually reread those first two books. "Kill Decision" is a "One and Done." In other words, I'll likely never read it again.
Not trying to discourage anyone from reading it, just don't go into expect to be enthralled like you may have been with his first two books.
April 8, 2017
It's the first audiobook that I finish !!!
I must admit that listening to the first chapter made me very enthusiastic about the book, Jeff Gurner made it sounds like it's a scene taken from a great thriller movie. The second and maybe the third chapters were great, but from that until the ~30% mark most of the chapters were a bit boring and not much happened. Only about 30% through the events started to pick up again. The second half of the book felt like a very good thriller.
Characterization:
The Characterization in this book is ok. While Odin was a great characters and very well-drawn, the other characters were just ok. Linda was much less convincing and most of the time she felt like a flat character. The other supporting characters were fine, and most of them didn't do much more than "support" the main characters. The ravens were great though, I really liked them :)
Plot:
As a tech-thriler, the book focuses a lot on technology, and the technology that is described here is not some super-futuristic technology, but more like an advanced modern technology. The issues that arises in the book are definitely relevant to our very present.
"The thriller part" of the book is the second half of the book, and some chapters in the first half, so keep reading if you're not satisfied at the beginning. No doubt that the 9/11 events influenced the writing of this book, you can sense it throughout the whole book.
All in all, I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The plot was good and Jeff Gurner did a great voice acting, but I have just one reservation - why is he doing the female voices ?? I think it would have been more convincing if an actress was hired to do the voice acting for the female characters.
The first half of the book worth about 3.75-4 stars, and the second half worth 4.5 stars,so my final rating would be -
4.25/5.
Recommended to anyone who can enjoy a smart thriller.
I must admit that listening to the first chapter made me very enthusiastic about the book, Jeff Gurner made it sounds like it's a scene taken from a great thriller movie. The second and maybe the third chapters were great, but from that until the ~30% mark most of the chapters were a bit boring and not much happened. Only about 30% through the events started to pick up again. The second half of the book felt like a very good thriller.
Characterization:
The Characterization in this book is ok. While Odin was a great characters and very well-drawn, the other characters were just ok. Linda was much less convincing and most of the time she felt like a flat character. The other supporting characters were fine, and most of them didn't do much more than "support" the main characters. The ravens were great though, I really liked them :)
Plot:
As a tech-thriler, the book focuses a lot on technology, and the technology that is described here is not some super-futuristic technology, but more like an advanced modern technology. The issues that arises in the book are definitely relevant to our very present.
"The thriller part" of the book is the second half of the book, and some chapters in the first half, so keep reading if you're not satisfied at the beginning. No doubt that the 9/11 events influenced the writing of this book, you can sense it throughout the whole book.
All in all, I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The plot was good and Jeff Gurner did a great voice acting, but I have just one reservation - why is he doing the female voices ?? I think it would have been more convincing if an actress was hired to do the voice acting for the female characters.
The first half of the book worth about 3.75-4 stars, and the second half worth 4.5 stars,so my final rating would be -
4.25/5.
Recommended to anyone who can enjoy a smart thriller.
September 8, 2012
Oh, dear. This is a mess. In my opinion.
I loved Daemon/Freedom. I eagerly opened this one and, well, yuch. It was awfully choppy, with too short and quick action scenes, no character development, or meaningful emotion. There were conversations that made no sense or were dropped with no explanation early in the first ten or so chapters. Then, about a third into the book, at first I thought I was losing interest because I've never been in the military and the toys were not clear to me. But when I went back and deciphered the acronyms and part numbers jargon, I realized it wasn't that I had to look up what the trucks, jeeps and airplanes looked like, it's that I was getting bored and the plot lagged with 30 pages of jeep love, in one part, and then another part and then another part. Ok, I'm exaggerating. A little. No, it wasn't all pages of Jeep love, or drone love, or weapon love or secret underground fort love. It was the endless pages and pages of part numbers and alphabet names without anything else there, like reading a Home Depot restocking order list for a long while.
Later, I realized I couldn't work up spit about these characters. Kill them all, I started to think. McKinney had no depth or warmth, Odin was a Batman missing a back story that would allow any sympathy, and no one had sufficient motivation beyond being some sort of lunatic. Now, Evans I liked. He was the deepest, best written character and he had maybe five paragraphs of walkon life.
But I finished it because the ideas were so great. Drones that function on programmed ant/swarming behavior? Cool! But then, as i finished the last three chapters, i realized to my disgust that there were plot holes you could drive a Forest Ranger pickup through.
Poo.
I loved Daemon/Freedom. I eagerly opened this one and, well, yuch. It was awfully choppy, with too short and quick action scenes, no character development, or meaningful emotion. There were conversations that made no sense or were dropped with no explanation early in the first ten or so chapters. Then, about a third into the book, at first I thought I was losing interest because I've never been in the military and the toys were not clear to me. But when I went back and deciphered the acronyms and part numbers jargon, I realized it wasn't that I had to look up what the trucks, jeeps and airplanes looked like, it's that I was getting bored and the plot lagged with 30 pages of jeep love, in one part, and then another part and then another part. Ok, I'm exaggerating. A little. No, it wasn't all pages of Jeep love, or drone love, or weapon love or secret underground fort love. It was the endless pages and pages of part numbers and alphabet names without anything else there, like reading a Home Depot restocking order list for a long while.
Later, I realized I couldn't work up spit about these characters. Kill them all, I started to think. McKinney had no depth or warmth, Odin was a Batman missing a back story that would allow any sympathy, and no one had sufficient motivation beyond being some sort of lunatic. Now, Evans I liked. He was the deepest, best written character and he had maybe five paragraphs of walkon life.
But I finished it because the ideas were so great. Drones that function on programmed ant/swarming behavior? Cool! But then, as i finished the last three chapters, i realized to my disgust that there were plot holes you could drive a Forest Ranger pickup through.
Poo.
August 10, 2012
I started recommending Kill Decision to my friends before I was halfway through it. Now that I've finished it, I have a longer list of people to recommend it to. Suarez writes a knockout thriller, and yes, it really should be opening in theaters everywhere before long. It's more military, and less cyberpunk, than his previous books, so it's going to appeal to a somewhat different set of folks as a novel. However...
I'm recommending Kill Decision to people because it raises serious issues that deserve careful consideration. The black-hat PR folks astroturfing social media. The use, abuse, and proliferation of armed UAVs, persistent surveillance, and open-source intelligence. The attribution challenge of cyber warfare. By pushing these themes (and others--trying to avoid spoilers) to an extreme, Suarez creates an opening to think about where the limits are, and where they should be.
Kill Decision is a thrill ride of an adventure novel, the kind that keeps you up at night to finish reading it, before it keeps you up at night thinking about whether it could happen. For those who work anywhere near any of these topics, it's also a great jumping off point for getting into serious issues. Read it now, so you'll know what they're talking about when it comes up in conversation.
I'm recommending Kill Decision to people because it raises serious issues that deserve careful consideration. The black-hat PR folks astroturfing social media. The use, abuse, and proliferation of armed UAVs, persistent surveillance, and open-source intelligence. The attribution challenge of cyber warfare. By pushing these themes (and others--trying to avoid spoilers) to an extreme, Suarez creates an opening to think about where the limits are, and where they should be.
Kill Decision is a thrill ride of an adventure novel, the kind that keeps you up at night to finish reading it, before it keeps you up at night thinking about whether it could happen. For those who work anywhere near any of these topics, it's also a great jumping off point for getting into serious issues. Read it now, so you'll know what they're talking about when it comes up in conversation.
May 26, 2014
4.5 Stars
The drones are coming! The drones are coming!
OK, confession: I love techno thrillers. I absolutely love them. They can be uber-corny, with the worst, most unrealistic plot lines ever, and I would still consume the novel as if it’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever read. I think as readers, we all have that one genre that just rarely does no wrong. For me, it’s books like Kill Decision.
Luckily for me, every Suarez novel I’ve read has been freaking enjoyable, and this one is no exception. Suarez did a masterful job at creating a realistic, albeit frightening scenario showing how technology can be used for terror.
Kill Decision follows mainly two people: Odin a super secret special ops soldier who’s out to figure out the truth behind the autonomous drones attacking targets around the world (including the US) and who is controlling them. Once he finds the bastards, he has every intention of putting a stop to their plans - namely with a gun, possibly with torture. He’s that kind of guy. Also, the story centers around Linda McKinney, a myrmecologist (a scientist who studies the social structure of ants). When her swarming model is stolen and used by the people creating the drones, her living is a real issue for them. Rescued by Odin, she “teams” up with him and his group of merry military men and helps the team understand the science-y aspects of the drones and how to stop them.
Now as I said, I have thoroughly enjoyed Suarez’s other novels and Kill Decision is no exception. However, like in his other novels, the science and techno jargon are explained in extreme detail. It can be daunting, and I was confused at times. Personally, I had to re-read several sections to understand what they were talking about, and that pulled me out of the book a little bit. It didn't bother me enough where I disliked the book, but it was a noticeable distraction.
Overall, I loved Kill Decision, from all the techy scary stuff to the good (and bad) guys I met along the way.
If you enjoy reading thrillers and wanted to give Daniel Suarez a try...well, I’d recommend Daemon and Freedom™ first, but this is definitely worth reading.
The drones are coming! The drones are coming!
OK, confession: I love techno thrillers. I absolutely love them. They can be uber-corny, with the worst, most unrealistic plot lines ever, and I would still consume the novel as if it’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever read. I think as readers, we all have that one genre that just rarely does no wrong. For me, it’s books like Kill Decision.
Luckily for me, every Suarez novel I’ve read has been freaking enjoyable, and this one is no exception. Suarez did a masterful job at creating a realistic, albeit frightening scenario showing how technology can be used for terror.
"Technology spreads, Henry. That's what it does. That's why constant progress is necessary. Why we must always stay one step ahead. This is a teaching moment for those willing to learn."
Kill Decision follows mainly two people: Odin a super secret special ops soldier who’s out to figure out the truth behind the autonomous drones attacking targets around the world (including the US) and who is controlling them. Once he finds the bastards, he has every intention of putting a stop to their plans - namely with a gun, possibly with torture. He’s that kind of guy. Also, the story centers around Linda McKinney, a myrmecologist (a scientist who studies the social structure of ants). When her swarming model is stolen and used by the people creating the drones, her living is a real issue for them. Rescued by Odin, she “teams” up with him and his group of merry military men and helps the team understand the science-y aspects of the drones and how to stop them.
Now as I said, I have thoroughly enjoyed Suarez’s other novels and Kill Decision is no exception. However, like in his other novels, the science and techno jargon are explained in extreme detail. It can be daunting, and I was confused at times. Personally, I had to re-read several sections to understand what they were talking about, and that pulled me out of the book a little bit. It didn't bother me enough where I disliked the book, but it was a noticeable distraction.
Overall, I loved Kill Decision, from all the techy scary stuff to the good (and bad) guys I met along the way.
If you enjoy reading thrillers and wanted to give Daniel Suarez a try...well, I’d recommend Daemon and Freedom™ first, but this is definitely worth reading.
February 9, 2013
BOTTOM LINE/moved to the top: If this book has a sequel, I won't read it. But if Suarez writes another book that's not a sequel I'd buy it before it hits the shelves and read it as soon as I could.
This book was a let down. Deamon was great! I mean, I don't read books more than once usually but I read Freedom TM and Deamon more than once. They provide a fun window into a possible, even if not plausible, world of technology that was fun to explore.
This book has some uncovered plot holes the size of Texas. Whereas Deamon covered my major objections with a blanket so I didn't have to focus on them. It was also easy to suspend my disbelief in his previous work because he told a story I wanted to read, with characters I wanted to learn about, with technology and scenarios that made me curious enough to keep turning the page.
This book was none of that, the characters are underdeveloped, yet are somehow experts at everything. It reaches the point that when they know how to fly a helicopter and speak 30 languages, you say to yourself: sure I'd be more surprised if they didn't know how to do something. They have secret unstoppable resources that are never clearly explained.
Seriously, these guys go from not having anyone they can call or trust and having to save the world by themselves like a a bad Mission Impossible movie, to having snipers preordered and hiding in the exact place they'd need them as if the plan had been developed with the premeditation of a 12 year old with unrestricted resources.
I do have a suggestion if you have your heart set on making your own opinion of this book and you have to read it because you are a fan of the author. I'd suggest listening to it on audio. Jeff Gurner is a master orator and story teller. He made this book come to life even when I was begging Suarez to kill off the characters and let the story end early.
This book was a let down. Deamon was great! I mean, I don't read books more than once usually but I read Freedom TM and Deamon more than once. They provide a fun window into a possible, even if not plausible, world of technology that was fun to explore.
This book has some uncovered plot holes the size of Texas. Whereas Deamon covered my major objections with a blanket so I didn't have to focus on them. It was also easy to suspend my disbelief in his previous work because he told a story I wanted to read, with characters I wanted to learn about, with technology and scenarios that made me curious enough to keep turning the page.
This book was none of that, the characters are underdeveloped, yet are somehow experts at everything. It reaches the point that when they know how to fly a helicopter and speak 30 languages, you say to yourself: sure I'd be more surprised if they didn't know how to do something. They have secret unstoppable resources that are never clearly explained.
Seriously, these guys go from not having anyone they can call or trust and having to save the world by themselves like a a bad Mission Impossible movie, to having snipers preordered and hiding in the exact place they'd need them as if the plan had been developed with the premeditation of a 12 year old with unrestricted resources.
I do have a suggestion if you have your heart set on making your own opinion of this book and you have to read it because you are a fan of the author. I'd suggest listening to it on audio. Jeff Gurner is a master orator and story teller. He made this book come to life even when I was begging Suarez to kill off the characters and let the story end early.
July 22, 2012
Just finished this and my first impressions are this is a super fun read. I was curious how Daniel Suarez was going to deal with this topic and he came up with some great material that was presented in a unique way. I also think that he is evolving as a writer as he had some better characters and in particularly I thought the character interactions where much better then his first two books, which I also liked a lot. I don't want to give to many plot details out but it is a fast paced techno thriller that has conspiracies, military action, secret agencies, and plenty of technology. Suarez does a master full job in all his books integrating tech into his stories and finds unique ways to show how our uses or mis-uses of tech impact our world. I like the fact that he lays out these impacts but he lets you judge the good or bad piece while he goes about telling a story with good guys and bad guys. I appreciate that subtle touch and the understanding of human nature with out coming off preachy in any way. I can't wait to reread this and to see what else he writes going forward. I think Daniel Suarez will be on my short list of must read authors going forward.
4.5 stars and a must read for any one who liked his previous works or techno thrillers in general.
4.5 stars and a must read for any one who liked his previous works or techno thrillers in general.
September 13, 2012
The elements are all here for a great thriller -- an interesting, tension-filled plot extrapolated from fundamentally sound scientific and technological ideas, plenty of action, and characters with believable motivations. I especially liked the interplay between the two leads, myrmecologist Linda McKinney and a Master Sergeant code-named Odin, who come together from opposing ends of the spectrum in an attempt to stop the autonomous drone threat. The only aspect that was somewhat lacking was the characters themselves, as the supporting cast was somewhat two-dimensional, and even the leads were on the shallow side. But for a break-neck paced thriller, I suppose character depth is a necessary casualty.
Here is a good blurb on this book from Publisher's Weekly: "Perfectly blending nail-biting suspense with accessible science, bestseller Suarez establishes himself as a legitimate heir to Michael Crichton with this gripping present-day thriller." However, Suarez reminds me more of Neal Stephenson, which I consider an equally high complement.
Here is a good blurb on this book from Publisher's Weekly: "Perfectly blending nail-biting suspense with accessible science, bestseller Suarez establishes himself as a legitimate heir to Michael Crichton with this gripping present-day thriller." However, Suarez reminds me more of Neal Stephenson, which I consider an equally high complement.
August 14, 2012
After reading this, all I can say is:
This book was incredible. It was so engaging on all fronts. Everything was described in detail and some times I mind that, but when it's something that helps me learn new things, I gobble it up like a chocolate cake. I don't think I can come up with a good review for this book right after I've finished it. Maybe later, if I can wrap my head around all that I read.
It wasn't a one-sitting read for me because it covered so much in a single chapter. There were some things that went way over my head, like all the talks of different guns and ships and aircraft, although I got the general idea. However, there were other things that were interesting and made more sense, like the talk of different chemicals, programming technology, algorithms.
Mostly, I was just like this:
I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this book and it's a dazzling 5-star read for me.
This book was incredible. It was so engaging on all fronts. Everything was described in detail and some times I mind that, but when it's something that helps me learn new things, I gobble it up like a chocolate cake. I don't think I can come up with a good review for this book right after I've finished it. Maybe later, if I can wrap my head around all that I read.
It wasn't a one-sitting read for me because it covered so much in a single chapter. There were some things that went way over my head, like all the talks of different guns and ships and aircraft, although I got the general idea. However, there were other things that were interesting and made more sense, like the talk of different chemicals, programming technology, algorithms.
Mostly, I was just like this:
I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this book and it's a dazzling 5-star read for me.
December 4, 2012
This is a solid thriller, sort of a next-generation Tom Clancy work, well grounded in some excellent and compelling science - not just about unmanned, weaponized drones and what they might mean for future warfare, but also about key characteristics of ant behavior (and how they might be modeled/mimicked for battle) and the intelligence of/symbiosis with ravens. I particularly appreciated the political science involved, from the acknowledgment that contemporary governmental power ultimately rests on coercive force to the discussion of how modern technology undermines/skews the democratic dialogue and process. I also applaud Suarez's ability to craft a truly multi-ethnic and global tale. This had more action sequences and less character development than I prefer, and a truly wince-worthy attempt at a sex scene, but Suarez's ultimate interest in questions of human liberty and its enemies made this an interesting, if not ultimately memorable, tale.
August 13, 2017
Kill Decision is 100% action. It is a tale of power, geopolitics, crowd manipulation, and secret warfare. The novel provides several insights into near-future military drones. If you are a fan of the military thriller sub-genre and you have a good understanding of technology concepts, you will enjoy this book.
April 21, 2021
Military/political action thriller, with an enemy to the US who is using technology to enable unmanned drones for a terrorist application. Liked the character of a professor who studies ants being incorporated into a covert task force to find the enemy.
October 25, 2019
Ein Roman, der eine sehr gute erste Hälfte hatte, dann aber immer weiter in einem übertriebenen Action-Feuerwerk zu einem durchschnittlichen Buch abdriftete.
Dabei beginnt der Roman mit einem absoluten Hammereffekt; Die, den islamischen Schiiten heilige Stadt Kerbela im Irak wird während eines religiösen Festes mit vermeintlich amerikanischen Drohnen angegriffen und tausende Menschen sterben. In einigen Zwischenkapiteln wird sehr schnell klar, dass nicht zwingend die USA dahinter stecken müssen. In einem weiteren Kapitel wird an einer amerikanischen Universität die gesamte Forschergruppe eines Startups, die sich mit visueller Intelligenz (fortschrittlicher Gesichtserkennungs-Software) beschäftigt, bei einem Drohnenangriff getötet. Gleichzeitig erforscht die Biologin Linda McKinney in Tansania das Verhalten von Weberameisen, einer extrem aggressiven und dominanten Ameisenspezies, deren Schwarmintelligenz weit über der anderer Ameisen liegt. Sämtliche Ergebnisse ihrer Recherchen und Erkenntnisse hält sie auf ihrem Notebook fest, der von Unbekannten und von ihr verborgen, gehackt wird. Auch auf ihrer Hütte wird ein Drohenangriff ausgeübt, vorher wird sie von einer, offenbar amerikanischen Geheimorganisation, aus der Hütte gelockt, so dass sie den Angriff überlebt. Diese Gruppe unter ihrem Anführer Odin, klären sie darüber auf, dass diese Drohnen gesteuert werden, von einer Software, die auf Ihre Forschungen mit der Schwarmintelligenz der Weberameisen basiert.
Sowohl das Startup der Universität als auch der Forscherin wurden durch hinterhältige Cyberattacken sensible Daten und Programmcode gestohlen, um sie für eigene Zwecke zu missbrauchen, um Unmengen von tödlichen Drohnen herzustellen und mittels künstlicher Intelligenz darauf zu programmieren, in den USA weitere Blutbäder anzurichten.
Man weiß nicht, wer genau dahintersteckt und welche Ziele mit diesen Angriffen verfolgt werden. Spielen wirtschaftliche Interessen eine Rolle? Vergeltung? Pure Destruktivität? Odin „entführt“ McKinney, holt sie zu seiner Spezialeinheit und versucht, sie zu einer Kooperation zu überreden, um die immer cleverer agierenden fliegenden Tötungsmaschinen zu stoppen – doch die Gegenseite tut alles Erdenkliche, um das Team zu blockieren und auf die falsche Fährte zu locken. Und produziert noch mehr Drohnen. Noch intelligentere. Noch tödlichere...
Der Roman fand ich bis zur Mitte spannend, mitreißend, erschreckend realistisch, erhellend und voller Informationen über die neuesten Abhörtechniken und Manipulationsmöglichkeiten von Social-Media bis hin zum Einsatz von Fake News.
Was nämlich den Roman, zumindest in der ersten Hälfte, über die Masse heraushebt, ist der technische Aspekt. Er liefert Kurzeinführungen in die Möglichkeiten visueller Software, Schwarmintelligenz, kriegerische Ameisenarten und einige anderen Themen mehr.
Man lernt den Stand der Drohnentechnologie (Predator, Reaper, Global Hawk, etc.) kennen. Die Gefahrenpotenziale dieser Maschinen liegen derzeit noch beim Bedienungspersonal, die weit entfernt in irgendwelchen warmen Kellern sitzen. Das ändert sich spätestens, wenn sie keiner unmittelbaren menschlichen Steuerung mehr bedürfen und über eine Qualität künstlicher Intelligenz verfügen, durch die sie zu autonomen Tötungsmaschinen werden. Können sie irgendwann auch noch chemisch miteinander kommunizieren und im Schwarm als kollektive Intelligenz operieren, ist der technische Stand aus "Kill Decision" erreicht.
Hier zeigt Suarez, dass er die Technik versteht und sie auch in die (nahe) Zukunft extrapolieren kann, denn schon heute sieht ein (professioneller) Drohnenangriff folgendermaßen aus: Spotterdrohnen kundschaften das Ziel eines Angriffs im Feinbereich aus, arbeiten mit Software zur Gesichtserkennung, ziehen sich zurück, übermitteln ihre Daten an eine Killerdrohne, die den tödlichen Angriff ausführt, während die Spotterdrohne ihn als Livefeed über W-LAN an einen Server überträgt.
Das ist das eigentlich gruselige an "Kill Decision", daß nämlich 90% des geschriebenen heute schon Realität ist und wenn die, oben kolportierte Qualität noch hinzukommt, dann leben wir in der Welt von "Kill Decision".
Im 2. Teil des Romans hat die Action die Oberherrschaft über den Plot übernommen, das Odin-Team, beschließt, die Unbekannten, die hinter den Angriffen steht, zu jagen. Es entwickelt sich ein Suspense-Thriller mit einem unwahrscheinlichen, übertriebenen Finale. Auch die kleine Liebesgeschichte hat etwas überflüssiges und für mich unglaubhaftes; Schade, sonst wäre es ein überragender 5-Sterne-Roman geworden...
Dabei beginnt der Roman mit einem absoluten Hammereffekt; Die, den islamischen Schiiten heilige Stadt Kerbela im Irak wird während eines religiösen Festes mit vermeintlich amerikanischen Drohnen angegriffen und tausende Menschen sterben. In einigen Zwischenkapiteln wird sehr schnell klar, dass nicht zwingend die USA dahinter stecken müssen. In einem weiteren Kapitel wird an einer amerikanischen Universität die gesamte Forschergruppe eines Startups, die sich mit visueller Intelligenz (fortschrittlicher Gesichtserkennungs-Software) beschäftigt, bei einem Drohnenangriff getötet. Gleichzeitig erforscht die Biologin Linda McKinney in Tansania das Verhalten von Weberameisen, einer extrem aggressiven und dominanten Ameisenspezies, deren Schwarmintelligenz weit über der anderer Ameisen liegt. Sämtliche Ergebnisse ihrer Recherchen und Erkenntnisse hält sie auf ihrem Notebook fest, der von Unbekannten und von ihr verborgen, gehackt wird. Auch auf ihrer Hütte wird ein Drohenangriff ausgeübt, vorher wird sie von einer, offenbar amerikanischen Geheimorganisation, aus der Hütte gelockt, so dass sie den Angriff überlebt. Diese Gruppe unter ihrem Anführer Odin, klären sie darüber auf, dass diese Drohnen gesteuert werden, von einer Software, die auf Ihre Forschungen mit der Schwarmintelligenz der Weberameisen basiert.
Sowohl das Startup der Universität als auch der Forscherin wurden durch hinterhältige Cyberattacken sensible Daten und Programmcode gestohlen, um sie für eigene Zwecke zu missbrauchen, um Unmengen von tödlichen Drohnen herzustellen und mittels künstlicher Intelligenz darauf zu programmieren, in den USA weitere Blutbäder anzurichten.
Man weiß nicht, wer genau dahintersteckt und welche Ziele mit diesen Angriffen verfolgt werden. Spielen wirtschaftliche Interessen eine Rolle? Vergeltung? Pure Destruktivität? Odin „entführt“ McKinney, holt sie zu seiner Spezialeinheit und versucht, sie zu einer Kooperation zu überreden, um die immer cleverer agierenden fliegenden Tötungsmaschinen zu stoppen – doch die Gegenseite tut alles Erdenkliche, um das Team zu blockieren und auf die falsche Fährte zu locken. Und produziert noch mehr Drohnen. Noch intelligentere. Noch tödlichere...
Der Roman fand ich bis zur Mitte spannend, mitreißend, erschreckend realistisch, erhellend und voller Informationen über die neuesten Abhörtechniken und Manipulationsmöglichkeiten von Social-Media bis hin zum Einsatz von Fake News.
Was nämlich den Roman, zumindest in der ersten Hälfte, über die Masse heraushebt, ist der technische Aspekt. Er liefert Kurzeinführungen in die Möglichkeiten visueller Software, Schwarmintelligenz, kriegerische Ameisenarten und einige anderen Themen mehr.
Man lernt den Stand der Drohnentechnologie (Predator, Reaper, Global Hawk, etc.) kennen. Die Gefahrenpotenziale dieser Maschinen liegen derzeit noch beim Bedienungspersonal, die weit entfernt in irgendwelchen warmen Kellern sitzen. Das ändert sich spätestens, wenn sie keiner unmittelbaren menschlichen Steuerung mehr bedürfen und über eine Qualität künstlicher Intelligenz verfügen, durch die sie zu autonomen Tötungsmaschinen werden. Können sie irgendwann auch noch chemisch miteinander kommunizieren und im Schwarm als kollektive Intelligenz operieren, ist der technische Stand aus "Kill Decision" erreicht.
Hier zeigt Suarez, dass er die Technik versteht und sie auch in die (nahe) Zukunft extrapolieren kann, denn schon heute sieht ein (professioneller) Drohnenangriff folgendermaßen aus: Spotterdrohnen kundschaften das Ziel eines Angriffs im Feinbereich aus, arbeiten mit Software zur Gesichtserkennung, ziehen sich zurück, übermitteln ihre Daten an eine Killerdrohne, die den tödlichen Angriff ausführt, während die Spotterdrohne ihn als Livefeed über W-LAN an einen Server überträgt.
Das ist das eigentlich gruselige an "Kill Decision", daß nämlich 90% des geschriebenen heute schon Realität ist und wenn die, oben kolportierte Qualität noch hinzukommt, dann leben wir in der Welt von "Kill Decision".
Im 2. Teil des Romans hat die Action die Oberherrschaft über den Plot übernommen, das Odin-Team, beschließt, die Unbekannten, die hinter den Angriffen steht, zu jagen. Es entwickelt sich ein Suspense-Thriller mit einem unwahrscheinlichen, übertriebenen Finale. Auch die kleine Liebesgeschichte hat etwas überflüssiges und für mich unglaubhaftes; Schade, sonst wäre es ein überragender 5-Sterne-Roman geworden...
April 19, 2025
An entertaining techno-thriller that explores military drones under the control of some nebulous well-heeled entity that can wield their abuse of power at large scale. I give it 3.69/5.00.
This was fairly entertaining and kept me engaged. I personally find most Suarez books somewhat geeky and immature, with rather simplistic single-track characters, but I’ve made it through a few. This was less far-fetched than the others, which were overly far-fetched. This story channels nefarious syndicate notions like Spectre from James Bond stories. Suarez has tapped into that vibe in all 5 books of his that I’ve read so far, which gives it a little bit of a not-to-be-taken-seriously comic book feel. I personally prefer my nefarious entities to be more plausible, like the bad actors in a Tom Clancy book.
This was fairly entertaining and kept me engaged. I personally find most Suarez books somewhat geeky and immature, with rather simplistic single-track characters, but I’ve made it through a few. This was less far-fetched than the others, which were overly far-fetched. This story channels nefarious syndicate notions like Spectre from James Bond stories. Suarez has tapped into that vibe in all 5 books of his that I’ve read so far, which gives it a little bit of a not-to-be-taken-seriously comic book feel. I personally prefer my nefarious entities to be more plausible, like the bad actors in a Tom Clancy book.
August 6, 2012
Like his first two books, 'Kill Decision' is a non-stop edge-of-your-seat thrill jam. Suarez's grasp of bleeding-edge technology and modern warfare coupled with his ability to develop likable (and despicable) characters gives the reader a great read. His story development and his ability to shock and surprise the reader often comes into play. Our story begins with a series of mysterious airborne drone attacks that appear to be the work of the US military - except the US military has no knowledge of the attacks. The attacks soon become very menacing: swarming autonomous drones that communicate with one another to coordinate their attacks - a frightening development that involves a young scientist who studies the habits of Weaver ants. A group of Special Operations warriors - along with a handful of 'volunteers' - combine forces in an effort to learn who is behind these attacks, and to stop them. They are stymied at every turn and the mystery deepens as they try to figure out how their enemy seems to know their every step in advance. I look forward to Suarez's next book - hope my wait is a short one. This guy is one of the top techno-thriller authors out there. 'Kill Decision' would make one hell of a film. I hope Hollywood is paying attention.
June 30, 2012
Absolutely riveting and terrifyingly plausible, Kill Decision has ruined me several nights of sleep. There's more action and I would say an improved style from Suarez, it gripped me from several perspectives as he manage to somehow weave in fascinating topics. The lack of a top rating is due to compared to Daemon/FreedomTM, the autonomous drone topic carries more narrow implications, and I would have appreciated a slightly less Hollywood style drama. Having corresponded some with Daniel, I glance the person behind the book and I am absolutely amazed how he both can be a seasoned IT guy and write these books. My hat off for him, amazing work!
July 22, 2012
"A covert military operation with a wiki."
This is ultra-modern, sleek, and extremely intriguing. The technology is outstanding, the automated sniper stations rather impressed me, and the whole theory of behavioral swarming models influencing technological combat was really quite interesting.
21 was my favourite chapter, where the team have their first big run-in with a swarm, and although the ending was very predictable, the action was nevertheless very well done.
This is ultra-modern, sleek, and extremely intriguing. The technology is outstanding, the automated sniper stations rather impressed me, and the whole theory of behavioral swarming models influencing technological combat was really quite interesting.
21 was my favourite chapter, where the team have their first big run-in with a swarm, and although the ending was very predictable, the action was nevertheless very well done.
May 7, 2023
Disappointing. A cross between Sicario and Dan Brown. A fever dream of the 2010's, what if all the conspiracies were true? I'm no fan of the military industrial complex, but I'm also not a fan of simplified conspiracies that wars started to build a weapons system.
Read The Last Good Soldier instead.
Read The Last Good Soldier instead.
October 11, 2012
Technothriller. One of my favorite genres.
September 3, 2014
Weaponized unmanned drones are already here. But what if they were autonomous, swarming packs? Taking deadly technology to the next level, Suarez must be the King of technothriller
Read
July 28, 2014Really enjoyed this book.
Suarez has become a must read when ever new books come out.
Suarez has become a must read when ever new books come out.
December 16, 2015
Said it once, here I am saying it again: go read all of Suarez's books!
September 3, 2012
During January this year, I was witness to a most interesting event. It was a cool weekday morning, and I had just stepped out of the elevator onto the floor where the offices for my department are located when, lo and behold, I looked out the windows lining the hallway and watched as none other than Jeremy Renner dashed over the roofs of the residential area just behind my university, pursued by cameras. The sight, of course, would have been startling on any other day, but I already knew what was going on: shooting for The Bourne Legacy was well underway, and the chase scene was apparently part of the film. Social media and the news channels had been abuzz with the filming, which was a pretty big deal, really. Legacy was a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, and the Philippines was one of the more important shooting locations: a boon for those in the government who were trying their hardest to raise the tourist profile of the country. No one was entirely sure how negative or how positive the portrayal of the country would be on-screen, but back in January nobody really cared about that. It was about seeing Manila in a big-time Hollywood action movie, and the host of opportunities that presented, both while shooting was ongoing and in the future.
When the movie finally showed here in August, there was a mad dash to the cinemas to see exactly how the Philippines - Manila, more specifically - was portrayed. My father, who works with the airport administration and so had a hand in some of the scenes shot there, wanted to see the movie, and since my mother wasn't too interested, that meant he and I got to have a father-daughter date to see it. We did just that, and came out rather disappointed - not in the way Manila was depicted (though we did have a good laugh over certain aspects of it), but in the overall story. Despite the powerhouse cast, with Renner, Weisz, and Norton headlining the whole thing, there was nothing their combined enormous acting talent could do to save the movie from its ill-paced and poorly-told plot.
I suppose the reason neither my father nor I came to care for the movie was because of the lack of depth. The concept was fascinating, to be sure, but it had none of the tension we both had come to expect from the Bourne films. A certain predictability in the thriller genre is to be expected, but in such cases I want my thrillers to have at least two things: characters I enjoy, and a concept that is both fascinating and well-used in the course of the story. Legacy, unfortunately, had neither.
When I first learned about Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez, I thought it would be a near-future military/sci-fi novel, since it dealt with drone technology and the possible ways the technology could be used and abused. It was only when I'd read the blurb at the back that I realized that while it was true I would be getting some science and drone tech, I wouldn't be getting a military/sci-fi novel: instead, I would be getting a thriller the likes of which would make executive producers at Hollywood drool. That was precisely how I approached it, and it did not disappoint.
Kill Decision begins with a scene familiar to anyone who has already watched The Bourne Legacy: a group of military techs are monitoring a pilgrimage of Muslims to Karbala, on what's known as the Day of Ashura, an important day for Shiite Muslims who make the pilgrimage on foot to shrines at Karbala. The peace doesn't last, however, as a drone shoots a missile at the pilgrims - an attack that the Muslims blame on the United States, thus leading to a wave of terrorist bombings in the United States. Or at least, that's what most people think it is. The truth is that there's something far more complex, and far more deadly, going on behind the scenes - something that Dr. Linda McKinney, a myrmecologist, finds out the hard way when she's targeted by a drone attack and is rescued by a mysterious man named Odin.
The first thing I realized about this novel, after I'd finished the first chapter, was that my initial assessment was entirely correct: this is no military/sci-fi novel, but a thorough-going Hollywood thriller of summer blockbuster proportions. If I had gone in with any other notion, I think I may have well and truly disliked this book, but as is often the case with a lot of books, if one approaches it with the correct expectations, then one is usually only minimally disappointed.
The characters could all easily have been cut out of the typical military-thriller script with some alterations. McKinney is the damsel-in-distress in this tale, and would have been irritating were it not for the fact that most of her reactions are actually quite realistic. . Odin, though, is pretty typical for his role: brooding, isolated, great at his job but not with anything else outside of it. . I think I recall reading somewhere (or hearing Hope inform me at some point in the past) that extreme danger increases the sex drive of the human being: something to do with threats to one's life turning some primal switch on to full blast and creating a desperate need to procreate. I suppose in that light, McKinney and Odin make sense, but it was also to be expected, having seen it and read about it in other thrillers both onscreen and on the page.
The other characters are, I think, more interesting. Odin works with a talented group of people, and though they don't usurp the stage from their boss and McKinney, still manage to shine in their own way. There's Ripper, for instance, who first makes her appearance dressed in a sari and turns out to have earned her name because of her proficiency with knives. . And then there's Foxy, who looks Eastern European but plays a mean kora (a West African stringed instrument), and has some very clear ideas about how music can help heal the world. Mooch is the team doctor, described by McKinney as a handsome man in his twenties with South Asian/Middle-Eastern looks. Hoov, team tech, is described as Eurasian with a soul patch. Smokey is Latino, and Tin Man is described as having a red beard; McKinney speculates he has some Irish and/or Scottish in him based on that assessment. As I said, they're not given much screen-time, so to speak, but what the reader does see of them is intriguing and fun, albeit a little cookie-cutter.
And then there are the villains - or the supposed villains, I should say. . This leaves room open for a sequel, but I personally think that the ending of the novel stands just fine on its own.
Despite the cookie-cutter nature of the characters and some of the plot, it was the core concept of this whole thing that kept me reading. The US military is already making extensive use of drones in warfare, mostly for surveillance. There are weaponized drones, of course, but those aren't automated; the kill decision is still in the hands of a human being, instead of on the machine alone. But it seems logical that automation become the next step in warfare, and Kill Decision presents what could happen if that becomes the case. It's not a pleasant reality, to be sure, and it will certainly raise questions regarding what exactly the US is doing with the drone technology it has right now - and what other countries might be doing with their own drone technology, if they do have such a thing. Novels and stories are great for this sort of thing, in my opinion: asking "What if?" and then proceeding to explore the possibilities of that question.
Kill Decision asks a very relevant question: "What if military drones were automated, programmed so that they could take out targets on their own, with no one on the other end controlling them?" Suarez then proceeds to spin out a list of possibilities that are, if one considers them long enough, truly frightening. What makes the scenario presented in the novel even more chilling is how the technology to make an automated drone is actually quite cheap and readily available: just off-the-shelf stuff made to work for a more sinister purpose by someone with enough creativity to realize their potential. As for the software, any software needed to power it can be created based on readily-available research, or can even be stolen. This is precisely the sort of conspiracy that I find fascinating, and really, truly wish had been incorporated into The Bourne Legacy.
Overall, Kill Decision is everything The Bourne Legacy could have been. Science and technology are not explored in-depth, but that's hardly the issue here: this is an unabashed Hollywood blockbuster of a novel that doesn't pretend to be anything other than a rollicking good read that could easily translate into a movie. As a matter of fact, this should be a movie - it has everything Hollywood could possibly want in a summer blockbuster: military conspiracies, evil politicians working in the background, exotic foreign locales, a pinch of romance and an enormous showdown that concludes with the biggest ship in the world going up in one enormous boom. I actually put together a fancast for this thing, that's how much I want to see this made into a movie. Readers looking for a more serious exploration of the question of automating war won't get what they're looking for with this novel, but for anyone who just wants something entertaining to read, then this is absolute perfection.
When the movie finally showed here in August, there was a mad dash to the cinemas to see exactly how the Philippines - Manila, more specifically - was portrayed. My father, who works with the airport administration and so had a hand in some of the scenes shot there, wanted to see the movie, and since my mother wasn't too interested, that meant he and I got to have a father-daughter date to see it. We did just that, and came out rather disappointed - not in the way Manila was depicted (though we did have a good laugh over certain aspects of it), but in the overall story. Despite the powerhouse cast, with Renner, Weisz, and Norton headlining the whole thing, there was nothing their combined enormous acting talent could do to save the movie from its ill-paced and poorly-told plot.
I suppose the reason neither my father nor I came to care for the movie was because of the lack of depth. The concept was fascinating, to be sure, but it had none of the tension we both had come to expect from the Bourne films. A certain predictability in the thriller genre is to be expected, but in such cases I want my thrillers to have at least two things: characters I enjoy, and a concept that is both fascinating and well-used in the course of the story. Legacy, unfortunately, had neither.
When I first learned about Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez, I thought it would be a near-future military/sci-fi novel, since it dealt with drone technology and the possible ways the technology could be used and abused. It was only when I'd read the blurb at the back that I realized that while it was true I would be getting some science and drone tech, I wouldn't be getting a military/sci-fi novel: instead, I would be getting a thriller the likes of which would make executive producers at Hollywood drool. That was precisely how I approached it, and it did not disappoint.
Kill Decision begins with a scene familiar to anyone who has already watched The Bourne Legacy: a group of military techs are monitoring a pilgrimage of Muslims to Karbala, on what's known as the Day of Ashura, an important day for Shiite Muslims who make the pilgrimage on foot to shrines at Karbala. The peace doesn't last, however, as a drone shoots a missile at the pilgrims - an attack that the Muslims blame on the United States, thus leading to a wave of terrorist bombings in the United States. Or at least, that's what most people think it is. The truth is that there's something far more complex, and far more deadly, going on behind the scenes - something that Dr. Linda McKinney, a myrmecologist, finds out the hard way when she's targeted by a drone attack and is rescued by a mysterious man named Odin.
The first thing I realized about this novel, after I'd finished the first chapter, was that my initial assessment was entirely correct: this is no military/sci-fi novel, but a thorough-going Hollywood thriller of summer blockbuster proportions. If I had gone in with any other notion, I think I may have well and truly disliked this book, but as is often the case with a lot of books, if one approaches it with the correct expectations, then one is usually only minimally disappointed.
The characters could all easily have been cut out of the typical military-thriller script with some alterations. McKinney is the damsel-in-distress in this tale, and would have been irritating were it not for the fact that most of her reactions are actually quite realistic. . Odin, though, is pretty typical for his role: brooding, isolated, great at his job but not with anything else outside of it. . I think I recall reading somewhere (or hearing Hope inform me at some point in the past) that extreme danger increases the sex drive of the human being: something to do with threats to one's life turning some primal switch on to full blast and creating a desperate need to procreate. I suppose in that light, McKinney and Odin make sense, but it was also to be expected, having seen it and read about it in other thrillers both onscreen and on the page.
The other characters are, I think, more interesting. Odin works with a talented group of people, and though they don't usurp the stage from their boss and McKinney, still manage to shine in their own way. There's Ripper, for instance, who first makes her appearance dressed in a sari and turns out to have earned her name because of her proficiency with knives. . And then there's Foxy, who looks Eastern European but plays a mean kora (a West African stringed instrument), and has some very clear ideas about how music can help heal the world. Mooch is the team doctor, described by McKinney as a handsome man in his twenties with South Asian/Middle-Eastern looks. Hoov, team tech, is described as Eurasian with a soul patch. Smokey is Latino, and Tin Man is described as having a red beard; McKinney speculates he has some Irish and/or Scottish in him based on that assessment. As I said, they're not given much screen-time, so to speak, but what the reader does see of them is intriguing and fun, albeit a little cookie-cutter.
And then there are the villains - or the supposed villains, I should say. . This leaves room open for a sequel, but I personally think that the ending of the novel stands just fine on its own.
Despite the cookie-cutter nature of the characters and some of the plot, it was the core concept of this whole thing that kept me reading. The US military is already making extensive use of drones in warfare, mostly for surveillance. There are weaponized drones, of course, but those aren't automated; the kill decision is still in the hands of a human being, instead of on the machine alone. But it seems logical that automation become the next step in warfare, and Kill Decision presents what could happen if that becomes the case. It's not a pleasant reality, to be sure, and it will certainly raise questions regarding what exactly the US is doing with the drone technology it has right now - and what other countries might be doing with their own drone technology, if they do have such a thing. Novels and stories are great for this sort of thing, in my opinion: asking "What if?" and then proceeding to explore the possibilities of that question.
Kill Decision asks a very relevant question: "What if military drones were automated, programmed so that they could take out targets on their own, with no one on the other end controlling them?" Suarez then proceeds to spin out a list of possibilities that are, if one considers them long enough, truly frightening. What makes the scenario presented in the novel even more chilling is how the technology to make an automated drone is actually quite cheap and readily available: just off-the-shelf stuff made to work for a more sinister purpose by someone with enough creativity to realize their potential. As for the software, any software needed to power it can be created based on readily-available research, or can even be stolen. This is precisely the sort of conspiracy that I find fascinating, and really, truly wish had been incorporated into The Bourne Legacy.
Overall, Kill Decision is everything The Bourne Legacy could have been. Science and technology are not explored in-depth, but that's hardly the issue here: this is an unabashed Hollywood blockbuster of a novel that doesn't pretend to be anything other than a rollicking good read that could easily translate into a movie. As a matter of fact, this should be a movie - it has everything Hollywood could possibly want in a summer blockbuster: military conspiracies, evil politicians working in the background, exotic foreign locales, a pinch of romance and an enormous showdown that concludes with the biggest ship in the world going up in one enormous boom. I actually put together a fancast for this thing, that's how much I want to see this made into a movie. Readers looking for a more serious exploration of the question of automating war won't get what they're looking for with this novel, but for anyone who just wants something entertaining to read, then this is absolute perfection.
July 16, 2020
Das Buch bzw der Autor wurde mir vor längerem von einen Arbeitskollegen empfohlen.
Ein Dystopie-Thriller im Militär/Guerilla/Kriegssetting mit Technik und KI sowie politischen Intrigen. Eine Interessante Mischung.
Das Schwarmverhalten der Weberameisen als Grundlage für eine KI von autonomen Killerdrohnen aller Art zu nehmen und sie eigenständig ihre Angriffe koordinieren zu lassen ist eine schreckliche, aber nicht unmögliche, Zukunftsvision. Das geht irgendwie in die selbe Richtung wie die Terminatorfilme. Ich denke sowas kann nur schiefgehen irgendwann.
Alles in allem ein tolles Bich aber auch recht schwere Kost. Die Charaktere sind alles in allem gut dargestellt und durchdacjt, doch für mich hätte es den Liebesschmalz in der zwwiten Hälfte zwischen den Hauptprotagonisten nicht gebraucht.
Von mir gibt es insgesamt 4 von 5 Sternen und ein "ja kann man lesen"
Ein Dystopie-Thriller im Militär/Guerilla/Kriegssetting mit Technik und KI sowie politischen Intrigen. Eine Interessante Mischung.
Das Schwarmverhalten der Weberameisen als Grundlage für eine KI von autonomen Killerdrohnen aller Art zu nehmen und sie eigenständig ihre Angriffe koordinieren zu lassen ist eine schreckliche, aber nicht unmögliche, Zukunftsvision. Das geht irgendwie in die selbe Richtung wie die Terminatorfilme. Ich denke sowas kann nur schiefgehen irgendwann.
Alles in allem ein tolles Bich aber auch recht schwere Kost. Die Charaktere sind alles in allem gut dargestellt und durchdacjt, doch für mich hätte es den Liebesschmalz in der zwwiten Hälfte zwischen den Hauptprotagonisten nicht gebraucht.
Von mir gibt es insgesamt 4 von 5 Sternen und ein "ja kann man lesen"
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