Influx

by Daniel Suarez

New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez imagines a chilling future where technological advances are held hostage by the government in this thriller that perfectly blends “nail-biting suspense with accessible science” (Publishers Weekly).

Physicist Jon Grady and his team have discovered a device that can reflect gravity—a triumph that will revolutionize the field of physics and change the future. But instead of acclaim, Grady’s lab is locked down by a covert organization known as the Bureau of Technology Control.

The bureau’s mission: suppress the truth of sudden technological progress and prevent the social upheaval it would trigger. Because the future is already here. And it’s rewards are only for a select few.

When Grady refuses to join the BTC, he’s thrown into a nightmarish high-tech prison housing other doomed rebel intellects. Now, as the only hope to usher humanity out of its artificial dark age, Grady and his fellow prisoners must try to expose the secrets of an unimaginable enemy—one that wields a technological advantage half a century in the making.

• ISBN10: 0451469445
• ISBN13: 9780451469441
• Publish Date: 3 February 2015 (first published 20 February 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Dutton
• Format: Paperback (US Tall Rack)
• Pages: 528
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451469441

Reviews

[remo]

Francamente, tras haber leído los espectaculares Daemon (con su continuación, Freedom) y el no menos espectacular Kill Decision, uno espera de Mr. Suárez sentirse absolutamente enganchado en un thriller de ciencia ficción. En este caso la idea original que reveló la editorial antes de la publicación ya me pareció sosa antes de leer el libro: [No es spoiler si está en la solapa del libro pero bueno: SPOILER] (show spoiler)[ una organización mala que roba descubrimientos científicos para que el mundo no avance tan rápido] (hide spoiler) . El autor parte de una idea que es muy sosa y que además le da absoluta libertad para sacarse de la manga lo que le dé la gana en cada momento. Las tecnologías nos van siendo reveladas según le hace falta al autor, lo cual es un Deus ex machina como un castillo y además trampa, y la historia nunca llega a ser interesante. No para mí al menos, que disfruté mucho con las dos anteriores. Una pena.

Influx, the latest novel from Daniel Suarez is certain to be another smash hit. Daniel's first book, Daemon was a bestseller and foretold technologies that are only currently seeing the light of day. Modern tech like Goole's still-in-production Google Glass, and lesser altruistic advents such as the recently dismantled Silk Road. Part two of Daemon was titled Freedom™, and was another massive success. This was followed by Kill Decision which proved to be only moments ahead of its time since it dealt with drone warfare and posed a question that is becoming crucial at this very point in time: should automated systems or artificial intelligence be allowed to make critical life and death decisions?

Book number four from Mr. Suarez, Influx, deals with a fictional government agency who's mandate is to police leaps in technology that are deemed disruptive. The BTC, or Bureau of Technology Control, is proactive in its efforts, striking at scientist and innovators before they can bring key innovations to market— innovations that are certain to change the world in some profound way. When such a technology comes to the attention of the BTC, the innovator behind the discovery is offered membership into the unique and secret organization. But only if he or she agrees to keep their discovery from the world and continues development while working for the BTC. But what happens when someone refuses?

Enter Jon Grady, a brilliant young scientist who has just invented a gravity mirror. He's concerned. Should such innovations be kept from the world? Is the world unprepared for breakthrough technology as the BTC claims? These are questions that Jon must face before making a decision about joining the BTC. And it's this decision that forms the plot for the rest of the book.

Daniel Suarez made a name for himself when he published Daemon because he wrote a tech-thriller than was unique in that it managed to get technology right. He described cutting edge current technology correctly because he, unlike many modern authors, actually understood it. Furthermore, the futuristic tech he described was also plausible and well conceived because he had a grasp on where today's technology is headed. But with Influx, Daniel takes on not only technology, but physics as well. And while I'm no physicist, from what I can tell, he's done an equally exemplary job of extrapolating the future of scientific research. For the geek audience, Influx will be another techno-thriller masterpiece.

But in addition to his firm grasp on technology and science, Mr. Suarez is also a skilled and talented author. Once again, he's managed to take what might have otherwise been a bunch of techno jargon and scientific gobbledygook and put it in terms that most readers will understand. If you're a tech geek, you'll love the topics that are covered and you'll be fascinated on some of the ideas that are touched upon. But if you're just a fan of the thriller genre, there's more than enough action, adventure, thrills, and chills to keep to riveted from cover to cover. I don't expect most readers to be slowed down by the science or the technology described in this book. Mr. Suarez has done and amazing job of writing a high-tech thriller that doesn't get tripped up by the technology. Influx is, first and foremost, a great thriller.