Member Reviews
S I finis one of my least read genres, and I didn’t fall in love with this. It didn’t hold my interest and the characters were not my favorite.
Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Future is Yours by Dan Frey. This book brings up a great question, if you could, would you want to know the future? I know a lot of people would just jump at it and say yes, a knee jerk reaction. They would think of how they could prepare better and invest smarter, but it really be a good thing? What if knowing ruined the life you are living today? What if it helped end the world?
Using digital communication points as a means of storytelling worked for this book. I disliked the ending, it took away from a lot of the character building earlier in the story and would not make sense upon rereading the book knowing the ending.
The Future Is Yours is a speculative fiction about two college friends who create technology that lets you look into the future. It is told through text messages, emails, transcripts, and blog posts and it jumps back and forth between present time and the past. While this could be confusing for some, I found it very well done here and it made it very difficult to put down. It was just so compulsively readable that I read in less than two days, I can't say too much because of spoilers, but if near future sci-fi is your jam, definitely pick this one up.
Thank you so much to Del Rey Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!
The Future is Yours is an interesting look into the minds of people who develop groundbreaking technology, and all the questions they have to deal with about how and if to bring it to reality....with the added twist in this case that the technology is the ability for a computer to communicate with the version of itself that exists 1 year in the future.
The novel is a reconstruction of congressional testimony (very timely given the frequent hearings on Facebook, Google, and other dominant technologies that have complex impacts on society and limited governance), as well as messaging between the two founders and the wife of one who is of course a love triangle of sorts as well as eventually the company's attorney. It rehashes the journey from college friendship to eureka moment, ditching corporate jobs to form a startup, and dealing with growing a company, going to market, and everything in between -- as well as interesting experiments to test that the machine is really seeing the future, and the moral dilemmas that go along with that.
This is a quick read but also thought-provoking on many levels around the responsibility/relationship between those who create and market technology with the actual users and how they repurpose it. There are interesting national security implications for this particular technology, of course; and those clash with the founders' goals to make this available to everyone more or less equally.
I really loved the premise of this book, but did find the description on some of the physics to be difficult to read and get through. Overall the story grabbed my attention and I didn’t expect the ending!
Unique take on time travel. A computer that is linked to the internet one year in the future. Would you want to see what happens? It's not written as a traditional book but instead is composed of emails, texts, blogs and testimonials. Unfortunately this style leaves connections to be desired. It was left open ended making the novel feel incomplete.
Because I enjoy more of a literary narrative, the format of this book did not grab me, and I put it aside. The concept is interesting.
Loved the premise of this book.
Pretty technical in descriptions (love physics?)
The two main characters, Ben and Adhi, were well developed. What was even better was the way their relationship was described and how it developed over time. Ben's wife, Leila, was also fleshed out as a character.
Although there were surprises along the way, you could pretty much see the problem coming from far off.
Unexpected conclusion.
I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.
The Future is Yours is a medium sci-fi story told in media entries (texts, emails, articles, interviews) of what happens when a machine that can see 1 year into the future is invented.
I had to take breaks from this book when my brain was too tired for the sci-fi but dang was it a solid read. I’m not a huge sci-fi reader so there were times when things were a tad over my head but that’s ok! Characters were well developed. Story was easy to follow. I was interested in the outcome the whole way through. I like the open ending.
Thank you to Netgally for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Strong vibes of Ready Player One with some Neal Schusterman made this a perfect fit for the reader who enjoys genre-twisting plots and themes.
When you have the chance to look into the future, and to offer that gift to anyone who wants it....should you? The answer to that question comprises the stakes in the book, but it is far from the only decision society faces.
The only thing that put me off a little is the structure of the novel. It is told entirely through excerpts from different text sources--government documents, email transcripts, court proceedings, text messages, etc. Although at first it added layers and layers of meaning and character development, eventually it got exhausting trying to keep track of who was talking about what when and where and in front of whom....
Really enjoyably different read due to the format, and a fast paced sci fi story. It kept me turning the pages and read in one sitting as I had to know what was next!!
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.
The Future Is Yours is about two friends, Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry, who develop a technology that allows users to see the future. It follows these two friends as they create a technology that has the ability to change the world, if they can handle the truth it reveals.
I really enjoy the multi media formatting of this book. It works really well with the premise in my opinion and makes it a quick easy read. The plot is fast-paced but I think the characters are the best part of the story. Some of them I love (Adhi) and some of them I love to hate (Ben). I will say the ending was lackluster and knocked my rating down about a half star, but the tension leading up to the climax was very good.
DNF - Did not finish. I decided not to keep reading this title because I did not connect with the writing or plot. Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for the early copy!
I loved that this book was told through mixed media (emails, texts, Tweets etc). This was a very fast enjoyable read. I'm still not sure if I liked the ending.
Don’t be fooled by the page count because this science fiction work will pull you in and keep you there until you’ve reached the end. I am not the biggest sci-fi reader, but this is one of those stories that can appeal to anyone looking for a story of friendship and possibilities.
I don't read a lot of sci-fi, especially technological sci-fi so this was a refreshing read. I enjoyed the sciency bits, but sometimes wanted a little more plot and character development. I never really felt like I knew Ben or Adhi. It was definitely thrilling, and I loved the pacing. I'll definitely be picking up more from this author in the future.
What if time travel was real? Best friends Adhi and Ben explore the answer to this question in THE FUTURE IS YOURS. They've made a machine that can let you view the internet one year in the future. Outcomes of sporting games, stock changes, and will be available at your fingertips once their prototype launches in 2022. But will Ben and Adhi's company make it to 2022?
The messy, unglamorous side of time travel becomes real as Ben and Adhi go from a start up to a billion dollar company in the span of a few months. Culminating in a fascinating twist, THE FUTURE IS YOURS is an underrated gem. This book did not get enough attention when it launched. If you're a science fiction lover or you lover court procedurals, then you need to read this book.
Review to come. Thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date February 9, 2021
#TheFutureIsYours #NetGalley
The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey is a unique and thrilling read with a format unlike any other; it is told through text messages and emails. Overall, I thought it was very enjoyable but felt the characters should have been fleshed out more. It was a good read with an unexpected ending.