Daemon by Daniel Suarez

Gregg mentioned this book on his blog and it was a great break from the serious reading I'd been doing. Since reading Cuckoo's Egg as a teenager, I have enjoyed technology-based thrillers, and this was a great one. I had some trouble finding it at first since it was initially pulished under the psudo-psuedonym 'Leinad Suarez'.

This book is about a world-famous techie who dies and appears to be controlling events from the grave. The characters quickly find out that it is a set of computer programs (known as daemons) that he's written that begin a set of events upon his death. A World of Warcraft-type online game plays a central role in the execution of his plan.

I read this book quickly, and enjoyed the combination of action, technology, and philosophy. Unlike the drivel about technology we often see on television (what's that Lassie? someone's hacked the blowfish algorithm and the router is launching an attack on the firewall?), this was well-researched and imaginable. While some reviewers see it as a cautionary tale about the dangerous future of a world run by machines, I just found it to be a fun read. Hopefully I won't regret that sentiment in 2060!