Thank you to the author Naomi Alderman, publishers Simon & Schuster, and also to NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of THE FUTURE. All views are mine.

I really really love A.I. and I'm a proponent of its development. So when I heard about this book and heard such good things about it, I was really excited to read it. Unfortunately, I think it just makes too many stylistic and narrative choices that kept me from engaging! I was excited when THE FUTURE started describing the differences between human and computer consciousness. I wanted this book to also explore the moral and intellectual tether humans have to A.I., the similarities between us, the responsibility we have to each other... but the narrative didn't go there. It's undoubtedly strange and wonderful, but I couldn't pay attention with this one.

DNF 68%
...
...

Rating: 🦊🐰👁 survivalist forum posts
Recommend? Yes, this just wasn't my jam
Finished: Nov 10 23
Format: Digital arc, Kindle
Read this book if you like:
☄️ dystopian stories
🤖 AI stories
😵‍💫 cult stories
🌈 queer rep
💻 coding

I loved Naomi Alderman’s The Power so I was really excited to read this. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. The evil billionaire(s) trope feels overdone and a little too real? Also it was clear that the characters and companies were based on real and existing people and companies, which felt a little lazy. She is a gifted storyteller though, which is why I kept reading and overall enjoyed the book. Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the free copy for review. All review opinions are my own.

What a compelling and engrossing read!

In a world driven by money and power, three tech billionaires plan their escape from a potential apocalypse. With climate change, political unrest, and the possibility of more pandemics on the horizon, they want to be able to control their futures.

But this story is not just about them. It’s about those in their orbit. It’s about modern day survivalists. It’s about the messages of a former cult leader and allegories and discussions on survivalist forum boards. It’s about all those tiny pieces that make up our everyday lives, our lives online, and our world. It’s about the impact made when those tiny pieces shift and change, when they are altered even the slightest bit. It’s about the repercussions a realignment of those pieces can cause.

Told through multiple points-of-view, across a nonlinear timeline, in settings around the world, The Future will grab and hold your attention. It will make you think.

SHORT VERSION:

Fun fast paced story telling. Despite some continuity issues and too much cult and Bible-ish references; really a fun kidnapping plot to disrupt socioeconomic systems by displacing billionaires and reshaping the world to avoid planetary collapse.

LONG VERSION:

In my quest to distance myself from the surplus of dark, dystopian fiction portraying grim futures, I've sought narratives with a more positive outlook. I chose to read this book to explore the author's vision of the future following the redistribution of power through the abduction of several influential figures.

Similar to Alderman's previous work, "The Power," this new novel delves into a critical examination of societal structures, power imbalances, and the impact of technology and greed on human behavior and the planet. The characters grapple with ethical dilemmas as they find themselves uniquely positioned to instigate substantial positive change.

In contrast to Shakespeare’s "Julius Caesar," the conspirators in this tale successfully counter tyranny, avert environmental destruction, and catalyze numerous positive transformations in the world.

A mixed chronology is employed by the author to establish multiple narrative hooks. If you're accustomed to a sequential chronology in your media consumption, this book may pose a challenge to your expectations.

Readers who enjoy the interactive nature of "Choose Your Own Adventure" or appreciate works like “Rayuela,” along with language enthusiasts treating books as tools, might relish the mental challenge of assembling the narrative pieces. For those who, like me, explore books as tools, skipping around and investigating, a rewarding discovery awaits at the end:


“Zhen, I found it. I know you loved up in secret fuck cave or whatever, love is great. When you want to know the truth, email me. mariuszugravescu@gmail.com"


An email to that address is rewarded with an auto response that is very gratifying in an old-school “multimedia” sort of way that fills in a partial “who dunnit” for those of us who don’t believe the concept of “spoilers” exists (see the end of my review).

Since I’m currently enrolled in a product development and marketing class, and I’m thinking in terms of score cards – here are some of the things that came to mind when reading this book over the weekend. Here are some of the archetypes that I ticked off my list for this reading:

Archetypes Explored:

The Hero's Journey: The inner circle orchestrating the disappearance of powerful figures embodies the hero's journey archetype, ushering in positive change.

The Trickster: Both conspirators and billionaires pursue specific outcomes, with differing goals—individualistic for the billionaires and pro-social for the conspirators.

The Rebellion Against Tyranny: The classic archetype of rebelling against tyranny is explored, but the conversion of conspirators against billionaires raises skepticism about their altruistic motivations.

Character Development:
The Sacrifice: Characters compromise integrity for the greater good, exemplified by sending loved ones to a well-provisioned island for indefinite entrapment.

The Fall from Grace: Instead of proving the wrongdoing of billionaires, a scenario is staged for their disappearance, allowing societal and environmental changes in their names.

Narrative Elements:

Cultural Details: Attention to detail varies, with vivid scenes like the Singapore shopping mall contrasting with less engaging aspects such as the Enochite cult and message board descriptions.

Technology and Environment: Technology and environmental descriptions are mainly conveyed through "telling," with the notable exception of the engaging "happymeal" implementation.

Character Dynamics: Martha's character, portrayed as somewhat villainous, could benefit from more development. The challenge lies in the narrative primarily unfolding from Zhen's perspective, limiting insight into other conspirators.

Symbolism and Themes: The Fox vs. Rabbit concept is richly woven into the story, but the tale of Martha and the bear is symbolic, representing her "coming of age" rather than a literal event.

The Shortcomings:

Character Development: Overall development of the four primary conspirators was thin – and the billionaires were very thin. The majority of the character development was spent on Martha, followed by Zhen. As primary actors in the conspiracy – Selah, Badger and Arthur fell flat – while Zhen’s friend Marius had more sparkle and interesting development.

Forced Diversity: The author includes non-heteronormative characters, but the relevance of their queerness is not relevant to the plot. Aside from mentioning that Selah is straight, heterosexuality and gender binary are still the assumed default in this story. Although lip service is paid to non-heteronormative characters (they gay billionaire ousted tech CEO, the enby antifa child of a tech CEO, lesbian survivalist and lesbian child of a survivalist cult leader “gal Friday” of tech CEO) – I’m not getting a strong sense of how Arthur’s homosexuality really matters in this story.

I can’t imagine that the near future is still so accepting of gay billionaires, lesbian survivalists and enby Antifa activists that we have to mention their orientation or gender identity – without doing the same for heterosexual characters.

Cultural Details: Attention to detail was really fantastic in some areas – like the highly detailed scene in the Singapore shopping mall, but the Enochite cult and the message board details were so much “tell” and not show. The retelling of the Bible stories was entertaining but also felt a lot like filler.

Character Dynamics: I wanted to see more of Martha as a primary character so that I can cheer for her – but she’s still played off as a bit of a villain (even at the end, Zhen sees a “heavyset figure” – when her physical shape wasn’t mentioned earlier). Arthur “tells” us the tension for Martha (i.e., father figure issues). Zhen’s security / safety and mother issues are also narrated for us throughout.

One of the challenges of this book is that it’s told primarily from the perspective of a very interesting but non-primary character, Zhen. Yes, she’s an important part of the plot as she was used as a guinea pig to create a potentially fatal proof-of-concept demonstration for technology that was used to persuade the billionaires of its efficacy (and a critical part of the means of duping them).

Overall development of the four primary conspirators is thin – with Martha (the lover of Zhen) having considerably more character development, followed by Badger, Selah and Arthur. Their stories are often told in third person, not through Zhen’s perspective. Selah and Badger feel pretty “flat”.

Symbolism and Themes: In addition to the whole Fox (hunter gatherer) vs Rabbit (farmer) concepts spread thickly across the story – the story about Martha and the bear was not actually about a bear. Think about it: the “bear” didn’t exist. It was her “coming of age” and the bear with the rotten jaw represented her father.

Just a little bit of research (or talking to anyone who goes hiking in the Western US) would tell you: black bears are typically the least aggressive and smallest bears found in the US, any survivalist (or child in California) would know you don’t climb a tree to get away from a bear. Bears don’t typically suffer from dental disease. If the bear wasn’t scared by the arrival of two people in a pickup truck – and was really starving – why not attack those people?

The whole fantasy of climbing up a tree to evade and fatally wounding a skinny, young black bear before hibernation is just a weird detail that didn’t work for me unless you just look at it as symbolism.


The Strengths:

Unique Narrative Structure: The the mixed chronology and the use of multiple narrative hooks, was a lot of fun. I liked the inclusion of the chatboard content but maybe a bit less of that would have allowed for more character development. This narrative structure might challenge readers accustomed to a more sequential chronology.

Interactive Element:The inclusion of private messages added an intriguing layer to the narrative, revealing character motivations and potential conflicts.

Thematic Exploration: The book successfully explored themes of societal structures, power imbalances, and the impact of technology and greed on human behavior and the planet.

Engaging Scenes: Scenes like the one in the Singapore shopping mall had a ton of details and played really well as an action film scene (leave it to a Doctor Who fan!). As a great example of “showing” rather than “telling” -- the implementation of the "happymeal" worm in various social media platforms was well executed.

This one jumps around a lot, but never gets hard to follow. You just have to meet each character as they’re thrown at you, and see where it goes.

Some of the first ones we’re introduced to are billionaires Lenk, Ellen, and Zimri. We can easily see similarities to real people – and real companies – that exist in our real world today. I’ll leave that alone for now, except to say that reading this book may inspire some to take a “social media” break.

Then we start going a little deeper on some of the other people in their orbits: Lenk’s assistant Martha bubbles up to become one of the real main characters here. And, about a third of the way into the book, she makes allies with Zimri’s wife, Ellen’s youngest child, and an ousted founder of the company Ellen took over. They all know how the companies in question are ruining society, and start contemplating if there’s anything they can do to turn the tides.

But also, we meet one other character who isn’t initially tied to any of them: Lai Zhen. She’s an online guru who reviews and discusses survival methods and new survival tech. A growing and fervent portion of the population believes the end is near, and are actively prepping for it. Lai Zhen is one of their minor celebrities.

Lai Zhen eventually becomes entangled with this bunch through Martha, and a very quick dalliance that the two women strike up. Unbeknownst to Lai Zhen, Martha uses her to test out one of the technologies her secret cohort is working on. Later, when they enact their master plan, they don’t realize Zhen still has a working version of the technology… which then forces her to become part of the plan.

There are a few big twists in the rest of the book, but most of them are really just learning who knew what and when. Needless to say, there’s a lot of mistrust amongst the billionaires, as they all see each other as competitors. And Lai Zhen doesn’t fit into their circle at all.

So, this is a sci-fi book, but the future here seems not too far from our own time. And all of it seems very plausible. Some of the context – and even some of the plot – is told through posts on a message board.

There are also a lot of Bible references, with one character being fairly obsessed with the story of Sodom. The idea that Abraham negotiates with God to save the city for 50, 40, and even just 10 good people becomes something that our second set of main characters really toys with. The idea that the world, for all the bad it includes, is still worth saving.

If you like science fiction, or hating on tech bro billionaires, this book is probably for you. It’s a fun read – pretty fast-paced with a lot of locale changes.

This book was intense in the best way! I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for all of my friends to read this book, so we can talk about it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I spent a long time trying to get into this and read about half but ultimately decided to spend my time elsewhere. I thought this would be right up my alley, but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't connect with the characters and it was a little too gloom-and-doom, I think.

Naomi Alderman celebrated for her previous work, The Power, returns with a compelling and thought-provoking novel, The Future. This book delves into a world where the ultra-rich hold sway over technologies that could either save or doom humanity. Alderman's narrative, weaving through the lives of Martha Einkorn and Lai Zhen, creates a tapestry of suspense and intrigue that keeps the reader hooked.

Martha's escape from a cult-like compound into a world dominated by powerful corporations sets the stage for a narrative rich in themes of power and control. Lai Zhen's character, an internet-famous survivalist in Singapore, adds an international dimension and a touch of the thriller genre to the story. The intersection of their lives, driven by technology and shadowy corporate interests, makes for a gripping read.

Alderman's portrayal of a world where billionaires manipulate technologies to shape the future is timely and chilling. Her exploration of how power corrupts and the ethical dilemmas faced by those at the helm of such power is brilliantly executed. The novel's pace is exhilarating, with moments of humor and tenderness that add depth to the characters.

However, the book has its challenges. The narrative drags at points, losing some of its initial momentum. While intriguing, the focus on billionaire machinations sometimes feels overdrawn, leaving the reader wondering about the practicalities and realities of such scenarios.

In summary, The Future is a mixed bag of brilliant ideas and occasional lapses in engagement. For speculative fiction fans and readers interested in the intersection of technology and power, this novel offers a fascinating, though sometimes uneven, journey. Alderman's skill in creating a vivid, possible future is undeniable, and the book, despite its shortcomings, is a worthy addition to her body of work.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing an e-Arc of The Future by Naomi Alderman for my review.

The Future
by Naomi Alderman
Pub DATE: Nov. 7, 2023
Simon & Schuster
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGAlley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A Most Anticipated Book of Fall at Associated Press, Booklist, Chicago Tribune, Goodreads, Good Housekeeping, Literary Hub, Time, The Week, and W Magazine

The bestselling, award-winning author of The Power delivers a dazzling tour de force where a handful of friends plot a daring heist to save the world from the tech giants whose greed threatens life as we know it.
I am not regularly a SCi-Fi reader but this one is really good!
4 stars

I am not familiar with Naomi Alderman’s other works, but heard good things about The Power. And I heard so much about this book that I decided to give it a chance. Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of the ebook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Like many dystopian fiction novels, the future looks grim for us. The survivalists are dominant on the web and social media, billionaires have contingency plans for when the world goes to pot, and it doesn’t include most of the rest of the world’s population. When “preppers” Martha and Zhen meet, they put together their knowledge and band together with some other survivalists to change things.

There’s some ultra-secret software that the billionaires have that tells them when and how to escape when civilization fails, and somehow the software shows up on Zhen’s phone. Who could have sent it to her? And why? Because with this knowledge, there may be time to fix things for mankind. It’s a race against time.

Overall, this was a really good speculative fiction story. In the middle section, there are quite a few descriptions of algorithms and how the software works that slows the story down somewhat. However, that did not detract me from enjoying the story overall as a break from my normal reading. I’d give it a solid 4 stars.

For more reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

The Future is grim for 3 billionaires and a sex partner survivalist in Naomi Alderman’s The Future. The first part of the book was interesting as I liked Lai Zhen’s story. The machinations of a few people to get a good future outcome. Maybe you might have to lead some people astray to save the world. It’s an interesting concept but it didn’t hit the mark with me, Thanks to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley and Naomi Alderman for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm not going to describe the plot because I don't want to give anything away.

The book is fast paced and follows a number of characters through a non linear timeline. The plotting and writing are excellent and the characters well formed and interesting. While it takes a bit to catch on, the book is very engaging and immediately pulls you in.

As its title suggests, this novel is set in the near future. Humanity has access to lots of really cool gadgets designed to make life easier. However, the planet is teetering on the edge of what seems like its inevitable extinction. Alderman’s focus is on the destructive marriage of technology and capitalism, a union that seems all too familiar to us today. She questions whether we can control rich and powerful tech moguls to save the planet. Of course, it is no surprise that the villains in this story are the tech CEOs. What is surprising, however, is that the heroes are also techies. I guess it takes one to know one.

The protagonist is Lai Zhen, a 33-year-old expert on survival. Her backstory qualifies her for this, since she survived the fall of Hong Kong to the Chinese. Through her lesbian lover, Martha Einkorn, she becomes involved with a group of disaffected activists, who have come to see the three powerful tech companies (Fantail, Anvil, and Medlar) as the main problem with the demise of the planet. This group joins in a clever plot to save the world from the three tech CEOs, who have been essentially controlling the world. Yet they have basically given up on the mess they have created and now plan to wait out Armageddon in secure and lush bunkers. Alderman shows this deeply flawed trio little mercy. She depicts them as brilliant, conniving, narcissistic, cowardly, and greedy. Ironically, they embrace the delusion that they are altruistic. This seems to be a witty and satirical skewering of today’s technological leaders.

The world Alderman’s characters inhabit is a believable extrapolation of what already exists. However, the world she depicts at the end of the novel is almost too good to believe. Clearly, she is more interested in ideas, satire, and wit rather than on giving her readers a coherent story. Her use of shifting points of view and multiple timeframes fragment her storyline. Likewise, multiple subplots about the parables of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife, Orpheus and Eurydice do little to enhance the narrative. Add in plot elements on survivalist cults and the historical tension between hunter/gatherers (she calls them foxes) vs. agriculturists (rabbits) and you get bit of a mishmash. Notwithstanding these flaws, Alderman does manage to maintain tension and intrigue to her ultimate and, indeed, clever conclusion.

I immersed myself in a white-knuckle exploration of a dystopian world molded by billionaires gearing up for an impending apocalypse. The narrative introduces three tech CEOs orchestrating their survival, weaving in elements of private weather control, technological prophecy, and covert weapons. A diverse group, including the daughter of a cult leader and a non-binary hacker, takes center stage, hatching a daring plan to counter the billionaire's destructive agenda. The book's swift pace, short chapters, and unexpected twists create a gripping experience with surprises at every turn. Alderman masterfully constructs a world rich in technological advances, avoiding predictability while offering a thought-provoking reflection on real-world economic power dynamics. I highly recommend this original and pertinent read.

Alderman’s books are always a wild ride of real life scenarios with a hint of science fiction or fantasy that propels the story into something more. She does tend to sit on a political line in her musings and while I absolutely love it, it’s not for everyone. Especially sitting at a hard 400+ pages, I can see people who tend to skim getting bored/missing important details with something like this. It won’t be to everyone’s taste but it was scrumptious for me and I have yet to be disappointed in Alderman’s books. I enjoyed the flipping of perspectives and adding in threads from social media apps included. She truly understands our society in a way that slightly disturbs me while also giving me hope that there are good people in the world. And to top it all off she gave me one of the loveliest “eat the rich” montages I’ve seen in a while. I highlighted SO much in this book and will be thinking of it for quite some time.

Favourite quotes:
“Never underestimate the crazy of the internet.”

“…the pieces can be enough to comfort in a broken world.”

…”a lot of rich people want to pretend to be poor people. Or comfort themselves that they could live like poor people if they had to.

I'm an absolute SUCKER for a Science Fiction narrative, and I am so thankful to Simon and Schuster, Naomi Alderman, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this behemoth before it came out on November 7, 2023.

I have a love/hate relationship with books in a dystopian future. I had that with just this book alone. Parts of it were really intriguing while others were hard for me to get through. I liked the plot and the setting. I could almost immerse myself in this world. I was bogged down by the writing style, which was always trying to be clever and only succeeding sometimes. I don't have to like the characters to enjoy a book. In this case not like the characters made me not care much about the story eventually.

Set in the (maybe) not so distant future, the Future tells the story of what it will take to fix all that humans have done to the earth and society. Will the three wealthiest and most powerful titans of industry protect the world or will they protect themselves?
I loved The Power and loved this book just as much. I found myself thinking about this story long after I finished it. I’m sure that some won’t love the dystopian theme, but to be honest, it seems to be where we are headed.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher and author for this ARC!

ARC The Future
By: Naomi Alderman
🐺🐰
I received an eARC through NetGalley and Simon & Schuster.

I don’t remember requesting the ARC since it was a total surprise when it showed up on my account. However, I was told there was no way to remove it, so I had to read it.

When I first started reading it, I was pleasantly surprised that I was enjoying it since it’s not really a book I would have picked for myself.

That being said, I ended up DNFing it at 50%. I enjoyed it at first, but then it lost me. It got too technical, which makes sense since it’s about technology and the 3 major technology companies - like a future version of Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (or maybe Apple).

The timeline goes back and fourth so it’s hard to keep track. We know something major is happening in the beginning of the book. Then it starts to give back stories of multiple characters before the big event happened. But even that timeline goes back and forth; the backstory to the backstory.

There are multiple POV on top of the multiple timelines. I was able to keep up with most of that until it got to the technical explanations - I don’t need to know the technicality of a computer “learning” or not. And I couldn’t understand what they were doing with Happymeal. It just completely lost my interest at that point.

I just don’t think this book was for me. I wanted to find out how they got to the big event without the exact details of technology involved.

Therefore, if you are a coder or a mechanic engineer, or if you like technological or “Big Brother” dystopians, or conspiracy/prepper stories, you might really enjoy this book. I wish it wasn’t as detailed on the technology parts or I probably would have tried to completed it.

I watched "The Power," and I loved it, so I was excited to check this book out. Sadly, it missed the mark for me. I struggled to get and stay engaged. The book could've benefitted from a tighter edit, as there were a lot of unnecessary details that pulled me out of the story. Characters were shallow and underdeveloped. From the Biblical standpoint, there were some inaccuracies (such as pertaining to Genesis 13).I didn't care for the Covid references. Too soon, and I read as a way of escaping things I hear about in my day-to-day life. As a whole, I found the story hard to follow without a clear timeline and, in general, boring.