I'm Reading this for Spite

Much as Jerry Seinfeld returned his jacket in the episode The Wigmaster, like I said last week, I'm reading Daemon by Daniel Suarez out of spite.

Thankfully, although I'm reading it out of spite, I'm really enjoying it.

The first few lines got my attention and Mr. Suarez has kept my attention so far through chapter 4.

What the hell just happened? That was all Joseph Pavlos kept thinking as he clenched a gloved hand against his throat. It didn’t stop the blood from pulsing between his fingers. Already a shockingly wide pool had formed in the dirt next to his face. He was on the ground somehow. Although he couldn’t see the gash, the pain told him the wound was deep. He rolled onto his back and stared up at a stretch of spotless blue sky. 

His usually methodical mind sped frantically through the possibilities— like someone groping for an exit in a smoke-filled building. He had to do something. Anything. But what? The phrase What the hell just happened? kept echoing in his head uselessly, while blood kept spurting between his fingers. Adrenaline surged through his system, his heart beat faster. He tried to call out. No good. Blood squirted several inches into the air and sprinkled his face. Carotid artery… 

He was pressing on his neck so hard he was almost strangling himself. And he’d been feeling so good just moments before this. He remembered that much at least. His last debts repaid. At long last.

Suarez, Daniel - Daemon