A daemon is a computer program that runs in the background, unnoticed, while primary programs are running.  Though this is, mercifully, a work of fiction, the possibilities are frighteningly real.  However, the likelihood of a single human being able to conceive such a perfect program is slim.

In Daemon, the computer program was conceived by Matthew Sobol, a brilliant computer programmer who had written some of the most popular and challenging computer games ever conceived.  He had become ill with terminal cancer that eventually invaded his brain.  Before his death, he also wrote "The Daemon," a program that did absolutely nothing but read news reports—until Matthew Sobol's obituary appeared in the news.  Then, the killing started.

The first to die were two programmers who worked for the same company where Sobol worked. Detective Sergeant Peter Sebeck from the sheriff's office began to investigate what seemed to be two tragic accidents.  But Sebeck's gut told him these were homicides and they were connected.  But how could that be possible when the only connection between the two victims was that they worked for the same company?

Sebeck dug deeper.  He and Jon Ross, a computer consultant, went to Sobol's funeral after Sebeck received a video in which Sobol himself explained that there was a computer program on the internet that would soon be in control of the world's economic future.

This is a story that is rich in technological detail.  This detail slowed my reading speed, but its absence would have destroyed the story's chilling believability.  I didn't want to put this book down, but I frequently had to stop and digest what I'd read.

Daemon is Daniel Suarez's first novel and I sincerely hope it is the beginning of a long and illustrious career.  Read Daemon.  It will make you think of ways to keep this fiction from becoming reality.