Change agent
by Daniel Suarez · first published 2017
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Fast techno-thriller about near-future genetic engineering that readers say exposes them to gene editing and CRISPR ideas; a quick, movie-like read for sci-fi fans who like a paranoid hook.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"On a crowded train platform, Interpol agent Kenneth Durand feels the sting of a needle-- and his transformation begins. In 2045 Kenneth Durand leads Interpol's most effective team against genetic crime, hunting down black market labs that perform "vanity edits" on human embryos for a price. These illegal procedures augment embryos in ways that are rapidly accelerating human evolution--preying on human-trafficking victims to experiment and advance their technology. With the worlds of genetic crime and human trafficking converging, Durand and his fellow Interpol agents discover that one figure
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If you want a good sci-fi thriller to really stoke the ol' paranoia, Change Agent is actually a pretty decent read. https://www.amazon.com/Change-Agent-Daniel-Suarez/dp/1101984...
on “$200 retail whole genome sequencing now available” ↗…Commonwealth Saga and the Altered Carbon books and show have it. As does the previously mentioned Old Man's War series by Scalzi. Daniel Suarez's book (his near-future hard science fiction books are quite good) Change Agent involves lots of serious genetic engineering, including changing one's entire appearance (rather dangerously) with a virus. I think if we can manage to stay alive long enough as a species, we will be…
on “Saturn's largest moon may be the only place beyond Earth where humans could live” ↗Great techno adventure book on this subject by http://daniel-suarez.com/ "Change Agent" This guy has more insightful ideas in his first 20 pages than most authors have their whole lives.
on “Forecasts of genetic fate just got a lot more accurate” ↗There's a bit of a callout to the handed chirality of life on Earth in Daniel Suarez' "Change Agent" https://www.amazon.com/Change-Agent-Daniel-Suarez/dp/1101984... Like all of his books, it's a quick read that feels a bit like a movie screenplay. Fast and fun, each book of his has a well-enough-developed…
on “The Chiral Puzzle of Life” ↗You may -or may not, of course- enjoy Daniel Suarez's Change Agent [1]. Probably not his best but still entertaining and interesting. [1] https://isbn.nu/978-1-101-98466-6
on “CRISPR gene-editing breakthrough opens door to treating broad array of diseases” ↗Written about as sci-fi in "Change Agent" by Daniel Suarez. Which is a good book in my opinion
on “A U.S. Strategy to Prevent the Creation of Mirror Life” ↗re: #30 "where is my mirror life science fiction" Change Agent by Daniel Suarez
on “Underrated reasons to be thankful” ↗It exposes me to viewpoints, warnings, or subjects I wouldn't have learned otherwise. For example, I've never given time to reading about gene editing, but after reading Change Agent I've been reading about gene editing and Crispr. I also have some minor understanding of the dangers and benefits of where that could take civilization. I hadn't thought about what would happen in doomsday…
on “Summer Reading List” ↗Change Agent is great. I read it after finishing The Windup Girl, which is a book someone on HN recommended to me. I do second The Windup Girl - in particular, I liked the exploration of technologies in a society…
on “Summer Reading List” ↗A mirrored chirality human is a major plot point of Daniel Suarez' "Change Agent" book.[1][2] It has interesting use in the story as mirrored chirality gives the character the ability to be immune to many toxins that would normally harm humans. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_chirality_in_popular_...…
on “Mirror life” ↗In the book Change Agent by Daniel Suarez, the society of near-future was widely using projectors that beamed images directly into your eyes in lieu of physical screens. The concept has potential issues (some explored by the…
on “Apple Plans to Release a Cellular-Capable Watch to Break iPhone Ties” ↗Change Agent by Daniel Suarez is somewhat close: In 2045 Interpol's Genetic Crime Division grapples with a new type of crime: illicit genetic editing -- and it isn't long before the fight gets personal.
on “Malware Encoded in DNA Can Hack Gene-Sequencing Software” ↗Interesting... Started reading Change Agent by Daniel Suarez last week.. and it's in that book that I first heard about the nine-tailed fox
on “Japan’s ‘killing stone’ splits in two” ↗Not quite that plot, but Change Agent by Daniel Suarez is about genetically engineered humans and includes a “right-hand man” with that trait who was originally designed to withstand epidemics, etc., that might harm normal humans. Link: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/31396262…
on “Mirror-Image Life” ↗I remember that book; I think someone on HN suggested it when I asked for "biopunk" recommendations. It's definitely less bio than "Change Agent" by Daniel Suarez (which incidentally, IIRC, had more of genetically engineered animals for kids too) - but what I remember most about "The Windup Girl" is spring power. The book made me interested in…
on “Bioluminescent petunias now available for U.S. market” ↗