Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez
Review by Bowden P. (Trey)
I’m the first to admit it – I enjoy near future ‘cyber’ thrillers where SF ideas play out among techno-thriller tropes. Books like Arctic Rising, Halting State, Rule 34, Rainbows End, Daemon, Freedom ™, This Is Not a Game and Deep State. This is also a book that snuck up on me. After Daemon and Freedom™ I watched for anything new from Daniel Suarez. When I saw this at the local Books-A-Million, I had to get it.
The book opens with a drone terror attack on thousands of Shiite pilgrims in Iraq with thermobaric weapons. After the drone self destructs leaving the US to blame for the attack. Then it moves to a forward operating base where a prisoner is brought in for something very unusual. Then to a team working on visual recognition algorithms in Berkely whose success is undermined by accusations of espionage. Finally, it arrives at Africa and Linda McKinney, the entomologist from the publisher’s blurb and our viewpoint character.
So, after all of that, the high tech espionage, move and counter move, conspiracies, high tech gear and drones, was it worth it? Sort of.
Characters carry the idiot ball (particularly Linda McKinney who’s mom never taught her to never sass folks with guns and badges, or just guns). Most of the characters lack depth and exist only to facilitate the plot. The only ones that get beyond this are one of the opposition and a unreliable ally sadly. In fact in a few spots, this shaded into “Why do I care about these characters?” (WDICATC) But as Suarez revs up the action, the question fades into the background. Mostly.
I particularly liked Suarez playing with the drones using swarming tactics and cheap enough to take advantage of them. The trick behind that – artificial pheromones – was clever even if it did suggest a major plot point later on.
All in all, it suffers more greatly from the flaws of Suarez’s previous works (lack of characterization) but has the same strengths (nifty ideas and technology).
Three and a half stars.
Likes: The idea of swarming drones; Paying attention to drone economics; Technology and software behind the drones; The concerns he raises, particularly, what happens when the decision to kill is taken out of human hands?
Dislikes: Two dimensional characters that carry the idiot ball to advance the plot; heavy didactic tone
Suggested for: Fans of Daemon and Freedom ™. Folks who enjoy the cyber thriller genre. Anyone who enjoyed P.W. Singer’s Wired for War.
Conflicted. I enjoyed the hell out of “Daemon” despite some tonal flaws; I thought “Freedom” was a major letdown. Not that you asked.