Kill Decision

Suarez is dedicated here to both scaring the pants off readers and sharing more data than you'd believe about the capacity of drones. The latter goal sometimes interferes with readability, but this is definitely a suspenseful, fast read once it gets going I love that a woman who supposedly researches ants in the jungle has such amazing survival skills. Funny thing is I thought I'd picked up a volume from the Gabriel Allons series by Daniel Silva. This is not nearly as well written nor does it make as much sense as Silva's books, but it's definitely great for those who like the genre.

This is a fairly average thriller, as far as writing goes. The good part is where Suarez pulls in a lot of realistic bleeding-edge technology to make a believable plot. Early on in the book there is a description of human image processing that is actually up to date and accurate! If I have a complaint it's that the obligatory hetero romance is really forced and the book would have been stronger without it.

Excellent thriller set in the present day, following a entomologist whose research into ant behavior is stolen for use by the mysterious makers of a drone army. We follow her and the secret military team as they track the drones and attempt to stop a move to drone warfare.Suarez spins tech tales that sound very plausible, and he seems to grasp well the technology about which he's writing. This isn't as good as Daemon, but very few books are.

A terrific thriller from an author who has yet to disappoint me in any way. And as is always the case with a Suarez book, I learned some cool and geeky things as I read, and in the most entertaining of ways. I highly recommend it--and all Suarez titles--for fans of intelligent technothrillers.

Loved this thriller. A mix of the best Chrichton and the best Clancy. Extremely interesting topics, from ants behaviour to modern warfare to automated drones (by the way, very current as I think official discussions about the danger of drones flying over US territory are taking place right in these days). Suarez never gets too long or boring with his science and technology knowledge, but he still manages to infuse a lot of it in this book. It's great when you can learn something new from a book, right? I felt I did with this one. For example, I now know what "astroturfing" means!

If you don't expect fine prose, or convoluted psychological issues, or absolutely perfect science, but you like action, mystery, and serious speculation on the possibilities of modern technology, this will be a great read for you.

This was my first book by Suarez so I guess i will pick up his previous books soon.

Really nice concept, ending felt bit to 'easy' but never the less a rock solid book again by mr. Suarez.

Fantastic, but then again I've loved every Daniel Suarez book I have read.

The departure from his acclaimed 'Daemon' and 'Freedom' books. It is targeted more towards current environment even though some of the stuff still belongs to science fiction. As far as various ideas and technologies dispersed throughout this novel I would give it 5+. Otherwise, the novel is not that great, the characters are not very well depicted, the book flow sometimes slows down (as it was in his previous two novels). Nonetheless, it is for those ideas that this book should be read. I have to add that author is definitely doesn't like modern corporations, which are presented as evil in this and in his previous novels. It's quite simplistic.

Daniel Suarez hits another home run with "Kill Decision," this time with the subject of military drones. More precisely with autonomous drones, which are drones programmed to operate without human input and potentially able to determine when to deploy its weapons. Couple this with the increase of drone production around the world and this makes a very real scenario and scary novel.Professor Linda McKinney was a myrmecologist studying African weaver ants. They were one of the few extirpator species on earth (along with humans) - meaning they sought out and destroyed rival organisms, even their own species, to maintain absolute control of their territory. McKinney had written an algorithm to predict the swarming action of the weaver ants, a technique that had enabled them to survive for thousands of years. Someone with nefarious intentions wanted that software and when it was stolen, professor McKinney became expendable. Rescued from a drone attack by a man known as Odin, McKinney was whisked away to safety.Odin was an operative in a secret branch of the special operations delta force unit. He was tasked to uncover the source of a series of drone attacks perpetrated on US soil by an unknown entity and bring those attacks to an end. The government was covering up the nature of the attacks to prevent widespread panic, and was passing them off as terrorist bombings. But someone inside the government didn't want Odin to succeed in his mission, and soon Odin's group and professor McKinney were under drone attack also. The race was on to stay one step ahead of the drones while toppling those responsible for their actions.This book was scary because drone technology is already here, and is increasing in its scope every day. The case made for autonomous drones is a compelling one - all our enemies would need to disable a human operated drone is a good jamming device to disrupt the signal. The next logical step would be to incorporate a "kill decision" into the drones to ensure their missions were completed. The technology exists for such actions to occur. The only thing standing in the way are the politicians (and we know how reliable they are) and the general public who elects them. Daniel Suarez has raised the alarm to the dangers in this book. It is up to us to use this information wisely.This book was a very exciting read, as well as being technologically informative. Full of military special forces action, political intrigue, and cutting edge science, it is reminiscent of Tom Clancy novels. If that is your cup of tea, then you will enjoy this read as much as I did.

I won an ARC through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.Awesome book. I couldn't put it down. It was thrilling, action packed and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Daniel Suarez is definitely being added to my to-read author list! I will also be recommending it to some family members that I know love this type of military, techno thriller.

Autonomous swarming killer drones set in motion by mysterious powers can only be defeated by crack super-competent semi-rogue commandos who first rescue and kidnap the dedicated young professor of mycology whose ant colony research provides the key to defeating these stealthy four-rotored mechanical threats to world peace.

I borrowed it for my son, read it for myself, and enjoyed it well enough. It's not great literature. It's a techno-thriller. A single love scene is as sensuous as a concrete block. Unresolved plot lines are rampant. Yet and all, it's a quick, "action packed", fairly well-written and provocative romp through a near-future dystopian world of omnipresent corporate/governmental surveillance and swarming, chemical sniffing, flying, autonomous, killing robots - close enough to reality, in a certain sense, to qualify as a pleasantly disturbing way to spend a few hours.

(I knew that home ant colony terrarium would enable me to save the world one day!)

Extra ridiculous but still a fun read. Boy gets girl and saves world, evil corporation rule the planet. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff here but has some nice touches in the tech involved. Having said that the whole pheromone based machine intelligence was really trying on my suspension of disbelief.

Entertaining but not as innovative as he'd like you to believe. It was interesting but there were unnecessary red-herrings and the good guy may be a little too good. I'll keep reading books by this author, but this wasn't my favorite of his.

Kill Decision is a non-stop action thriller featuring advanced technology and an all too plausible near future scenario. This book drops you right in the middle of the action with a high-tech drone attack and just keeps going. The first part of the book contains a lot of information on high-tech warfare and some background science, which was as fascinating as the action sequences. Once this information is established, the action comes even faster in an almost non-stop ride to the finish.This is a classic page-turner that doesn’t let you go until you’ve reached the end. Author Daniel Suarez does a great job making you feel that no one and nowhere is safe. This fuels the sense of danger and excitement. Paranoia, after all, is just smart when everyone really is out to get you.The heroes are convincing and dedicated while the bad guys are nebulous and operate in shadow. You could nit-pick on some characterization which isn’t really all that deep, but the concepts and the action are what this novel is about and it is more than worth it. If you like high-adrenaline action that doesn’t let up paired with plausible and frightening technology development, you are going to love this book. Highly recommended.

Nach einem Angriff einer amerikanischen Drohne auf eine Pilgerstätte im Irak, die Tausende von Menschenleben forderte, häufen sich scheinbare Terroranschläge in den USA. Die Rufe nach einer Aufrüstung des Militärs durch autonome Drohnen werden lauter und eine unbekannte Gruppe versucht unter allen Umständen und offenbar mit jeder erdenklichen Methode, eine Mittelbewilligung des amerikanischen Kongresses über mehrere Milliarden Dollar zu ihren Gunsten durchzudrücken. Doch während in der Öffentlichkeit noch über das Ob und ggf. Wie gestritten wird, ist die tatsächliche Entwicklung schon wesentlich weiter: Auf der Grundlage eines Algorithmus über Schwarmintelligenz der Weberameisen, die aggressivsten ihrer Art, wurde bereits eine ganze Armee von autonomen Drohnen erstellt - mit dem Ziel, Menschen zu vernichten. Und es funktioniert...
(IT)-Technische Fachausdrücke noch und nöcher - nach den ersten beiden Büchern DAEMON: Die Welt ist nur ein Spiel und DARKNET ist bei diesem Autor etwas anderes ja auch nicht zu erwarten gewesen. Doch hier wird das Umherwerfen solcher Spezial- und Sondertermini noch einmal in neue Dimensionen geführt (Ein Beispiel einer nicht ungewöhnlichen Seite: kinetischer Krieg, BIGOT-Liste, kompartmentalisiertes Geheimprojekt, CONUS-Angriffe). Aber selbst wenn man nur teilweise versteht worum es sich dabei handelt, tut es der Spannung keinen Abbruch. Denn obwohl sich die Geschichte um ein Thema dreht, mit dem Herr und Frau MüllerMeierSchulze normalerweise nichts zu tun haben, hat man doch ständig das Gefühl: Sooo unwahrscheinlich ist das doch alles nicht. Man steckt mitten drin in Verschwörungen bis in allerhöchste Ränge, wird mit den neuesten Abhörtechniken und Manipulationsmöglichkeiten von Social-Media konfrontiert, sodass wohl niemand ganz von Ansätzen von Paranoia verschont bleiben wird ;-)
Doch etwas Kritik bleibt: Manche Erklärungsversuche diverser Fachdetails kommen schlicht unglaubwürdig daher und die Liebesgeschichte ist wohl eher einer kommenden Verfilmung geschuldet ebenso wie das für mich etwas übertriebene Finale (das im Kino wahrscheinlich recht imposant daher kommt). Glücklicherweise gehen an diese Punkte nicht allzu viele Seiten verloren, so dass es alles in allem ein wirklich spannender Thriller ist.