Change Agent Is a Brainy Techno-Thriller with Wit to Match
Change Agent, the new novel from technothriller mastermind Daniel Suarez (Daemon), strikes a rare balance. On one hand, it’s a fast-paced dystopian action-thriller sprung from the furthest imaginings of existing technology. On the other, it’s a surprisingly cerebral, downbeat meditation on exactly how much of a given person’s identity comes down to genetics, rather than being built off of their conscious thoughts and decisions. In Suarez’s capable hands, the book is much more than the sum of its parts, combining an imaginative world, unsettling implications about the future of technology, and a twisted sense of humor into an original and compelling read.
By 2045, a genome-editing technology called CRISPR has made genetic engineering commonplace. Cars are grown out of the DNA of shells, criminals carry keratin switchblades, and an organized crime syndicate called the “Huli jing” offers designer edits so parents can have the wonder child they always wanted. Standing against these genetic black-marketeers is INTERPOL’s genetic taskforce, responsible for shutting down numerous Huli jing labs with the help of their top analyst, Ken Durand. One day, while waiting for a train home, Durand is ambushed and injected with a “change agent” as part of a botched hit; the substance genetically alters his body to resemble Huli jing leader Marcus Wyckes. Pursued across southeast Asia by law enforcement, INTERPOL, and a sociopathic Huli jing operative, Durand must find the change agent that will reverse the process and stop the real Wyckes before he uses the new technology to erode the fabric of human identity.
While Change Agent shares DNA with mainstream page-burning “chase” thrillers, Suarez has a talent for taking a concept to its furthest logical extremes while making it sound entirely plausible. Here, he builds on existing technologies, both fledgeling and already implemented, to create a world that feels familiar, but allows for science fictional elements like self-driving chitin cars and a creature engineered as the “mirror image” of humanity.
It is also a fascinating meditation on how much we are defined by what we are as much as who we are. Durand’s unwilling transformation doesn’t just alter his appearance, it changes his tastebuds and alters his neurochemistry. At every turn, he fights to remain himself, even as he looks, acts, behaves, and sometimes even thinks like Marcus Wyckes. It also colors the more standard plot elements in interesting ways, with the changed Durand horrified over the ease he in which he slips into moral grey areas, fights his way out of ugly situations, and kills people the longer he lives as Wyckes.
Prognostication aside, this is no grim, admonishing near-future thriller. Suarez displays a sense of irony and humor to rival Paul Verhoeven. This is a novel full of darkly comic delights: during a police chase, law enforcement regularly shouts out reminders to nearby citizens to follow along with the action using a designated hashtag. A black market gene demonstration features unsettling parallels to child beauty pageants. At a Huli jing party, the guests are edited to look like permutations of movie stars. Suarez is smart enough to keep the gags from distracting from the darker implications of his story, but they are great fun all the same, and keep the book from tipping all the way over into downbeat dystopian horror.
Change Agent is Daniel Suarez’ fifth novel, and he’s five-for-five when it comes to showing us the worst side of what the future might have on offer. Change Agent an essential read for anyone who likes their science fiction tense, witty, and set just around the corner from now.
Change Agent is available now.