Daemon

I really loved parts of this book and I really disliked other parts. I should preface this by saying that neither Cyberpunk nor Crime Fiction are my favorite genres and “Daemon” is really a hodgepodge of both of these. However, I did enjoy the resulting lovechild which is much more supernatural thriller than either of its component part. Not having the technical expertise necessary to understand 90% of Sobol's plans, I was left pretty much trusting that the events in the story were entirely magical in nature.

The technical babble rarely bogged me down and faded more to the blur of a Star Trek explanation. At first, I really enjoyed seeing what new twists the daemon would pull next, and I thought the integration of the gaming worlds was incredibly fun. Towards the end, my suspension of disbelief started to fray, and I kept thinking “There really must be an easier way.” Sobol is the type of person I genuinely despise, which I suppose makes him a great antagonist, but most of the time I was just as irritated and flustered as the protagonist.

The ending really left me on a limb. I'm not sure whether or not I'll go ahead with the second book. On one hand, I'd like some closure on the story , but on the other it doesn't seem like there can possibly be any positive closure in the future.