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Critical Mass

Delta-V #2 / 3
by Daniel Suarez
Critical Mass (Delta-V #2) by Daniel Suarez
★ 10.00 / 2
123456789210

In New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez's latest space-tech thriller, a group of pioneering astropreneurs must overcome never-before-attempted engineering challenges to rescue colleagues stranded at a distant asteroid--kicking off a new space race in which Earth's climate crisis could well hang in the balance.

When unforeseen circumstances during an innovative--and unsanctioned--commercial asteroid-mining mission leave two crew members stranded, those who make it back must engineer a rescue, all while navigating a shifting web of global political alliances and renewed Cold War tensions. With Earth governments consumed by the ravages of climate change and unable to take the risks necessary to make rapid progress in space, the crew must build their own nextgen spacecraft capable of mounting a rescue in time for the asteroid's next swing by Earth.

In the process they'll need to establish the first spin-gravity station in deep space, the first orbiting solar power satellite and refinery, and historic infrastructure on the moon's surface--all of which could alleviate a deepening ecological, political, and economic crisis back on Earth, and prove that space-based industry is not only profitable, but possibly humanity's best hope for a livable, peaceful future.

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Science FictionThriller
Release date: January 31, 2023

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Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez

In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, data trails, and invisible code, Daniel Suarez writes the fiction that feels like tomorrow knocking early. His thrillers don’t just imagine the future—they interrogate it. With a background in systems architecture and software development, Suarez brings a rare kind of authenticity to the techno-thriller genre—his plots aren’t conjured from thin air but pulled, often alarmingly, from the edges of real-world innovation.

His breakout novel, Daemon, wasn’t born from a writer’s workshop but from a technologist’s unease. What began as a self-published experiment quickly became a word-of-mouth phenomenon, praised for its chillingly plausible scenario: a powerful AI unleashed after the death of its creator, destabilizing global systems and quietly rewriting society’s rules. It wasn't just compelling—it felt disturbingly possible. That urgency became a signature of Suarez’s work: fast-paced, idea-driven fiction that blends high-tech thrills with deeply human stakes.

Read more ...

Across novels like Freedom™, Kill Decision, Influx, and Delta-v, Suarez explores themes of autonomy, surveillance, artificial intelligence, and the moral gray zones of progress. His protagonists often find themselves in a race against systems far larger than themselves—be they corporate, technological, or ideological. But rather than defaulting to dystopia, his stories tend to ask: What happens if we fight back? Can we steer the future rather than simply brace for it?

Born in Burbank, California, Suarez worked in IT before turning to fiction full-time—a pivot that feels less like a career change and more like an extension of the same mission: making complex systems understandable, and warning about their unchecked growth. His style is lean, precise, and deeply informed. He doesn’t waste time with fluff—he builds tension the way a coder writes loops: efficient, escalating, and impossible to ignore.

While he rarely takes center stage in the media spotlight, Suarez’s influence is felt among readers who crave speculative fiction with intellectual bite. He’s been praised not just for crafting sharp, gripping narratives, but for sparking debate around the real-life technologies that shape our world—from drone warfare to space mining to synthetic biology.

At heart, Daniel Suarez writes stories for those who understand that the future isn’t waiting on us. It’s already here. The question he keeps asking is: what are we going to do about it?

Delta-V

When Earth's resources begin to dwindle and political systems stall under the weight of short-term thinking, a private venture dares to look up—not in hope, but in calculation. This is the driving force behind Delta-V, a near-future science fiction series that doesn’t just speculate about space exploration; it interrogates the economic, ethical, and psychological costs of turning the final frontier into the next extraction site.

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At its heart is a handpicked crew of extreme risk-takers: cave divers, hackers, astronauts, and entrepreneurs, united not by loyalty or idealism but by the singular pull of a dangerous promise—asteroid mining. But this isn’t the glossy, utopian space travel of golden-age sci-fi. The journey is raw, grueling, and grounded in science, where every decision comes with life-or-death consequences and failure doesn’t just mean personal ruin—it could unravel a delicate geopolitical balance back on Earth.

The series thrives in that gray zone where ambition collides with human fallibility. Characters evolve not just through external challenges but through their own moral reckoning. What does it mean to pioneer a new era of civilization when the same power struggles that plagued Earth follow you beyond gravity’s reach? The silence of space in these pages feels vast, yes—but it also hums with tension.

Layered with themes of survival, trust, and the unchecked reach of corporate power, this story captures both the wonder and terror of becoming an interplanetary species. And while its scope is undeniably grand, the narrative remains intimate—focused on the fractured relationships, inner doubts, and quiet moments of awe that define humanity in the face of the unknown.

Equal parts space thriller and speculative cautionary tale, this is a series for readers who want their science fiction grounded in the plausible, shaped by real-world technologies, and deeply concerned with what the future asks of us. It's not just about reaching the stars—it’s about what we bring with us when we do.


Delta-V consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

Delta-V (Delta-V #1)
★ 10.00 / 1
Critical Mass (Delta-V #2)
★ 10.00 / 2
Delta-V Book 3 (Delta-V #3)
⧗ 9.66 / 9


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