“The only way to predict the future is to control it.” Naomi Alderman is so good at near-future speculative fiction and proves it once again with The Future.

This is less of a heist and more of an exploration of anxiety for the future and the ways we all get trapped within trying to be prepared, the difference between survival and society, of community and individualism, of the ways we are and are really not at all prepared for the future.

Through jumping POVs and time points, Alderman explores a future that looks very much like our own - the tech billionaires are easily traceable to companies we have now, disasters mentioned are familiar (the COVID pandemic gets a lot of play, understandably), and while no specific year is mentioned, it’s clear it’s the next twenty or thirty years, not some far-flung future. Some of it feels a little parable-y - there’s a comparison Alderman has that a lot of Western history gets passed through - but it fits together well enough and without any taking away from the energy of the story, which grabs you from the first page. While there’s not a lot of action to the plot, there’s always plenty happening that makes you think about where the past has been and where the future is going. I especially enjoyed the treatment of the uses of the internet, social media, and to my own surprise, AI.

Endings are usually the problem with speculative fiction, and this does falter a little towards the end - it’s such a sweeping generalization of an ending after such a lot of speculation and specific solutions, but it does leave you thinking and hoping for a better future, which is the appeal of speculative fiction for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

Wow, that was a lot. Biblical philosophy, tech overlords, strategies for avoiding and/or surviving the apocalypse, the nature of humanity, and a thriller and a romance to boot. This is an incredibly ambitious novel that Naomi Alderman has managed to pull off. I am not sure I agree with all of the philosophy, but that is kind of besides the point. The forces of entropy are strong with or without the internet. The tech lords are certainly destructive, but not by that much. And the idea that 4 good people would be adjacent to them is highly questionable, but. . . Still. It made me think about many different things in a new way. The one nit I have is that the nature of the pandemic was given away early. That is frustrating and took away a major twist. But I was so entertained by this powerful, propulsive novel by Ms Alderman.

Adventure/thriller that drew me in. Character development was solid. Author is masterful at identifying the myriad forces and the complex systems that define civilization and humanity and weaves them into a version of the future that feels almost hopeful.

I loved "The Future", which is no surprise since Naomi Alderman is probably my favorite author. I found myself absorbed by the story immediately.

This all seemed a bit like an alternate timeline, where people and circumstances were almost recognizable but slightly tweaked from our current reality. It seemed clear for the most part who the billionaires were based on and which of the top global companies were being mirrored in this story, and the inclusion of a religious cult story and a survivalist conspiracy community felt so timely. I had no idea where the story was going as it unfolded and definitely could not have predicted the end, although it was everything I wanted it to be. (Although I admit that the epilogue didn't make much sense to me… Or maybe I just didn't want to entertain the implications that it held.)

In short, from the first word to the last, I was absorbed by the story. I didn't want it to end. I'm so glad I was able to read this ahead of publication and I look forward to buying a hard copy once it's available.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I selected this book based on its dystopian premise..however I think I really only enjoy a fast paced dystopian novel. This was not for me, although from other reviews ,people have really enjoyed it.

I truly wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I was taken in by the hype and early word of mouth about 'The Future.' I have not read any Alderman's previous work, so I have nothing to compare to in that respect, but I was let down by this novel. I kept expecting it go somewhere (the future maybe?) more quickly than it did. The plot plodded and many of the story elements were very repetitive and at times preachy. I did enjoy the two main characters, and their background stories to me were far more interesting than the main storyline itself. In my opinion, the story could have been streamlined, some of the repetitive elements trimmed, and that would have made for a more effective novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Naome Alderman burst on the scene as the winner of the 2017 Baileys women's prize for fiction. In The Future, Alderman tackles the issues of unbridled greed, technology, and climate change. The first half of the book moves slowly, as we are introduced to a slew of both major and minor characters. But once past that, it becomes a page turner. The plot - three wealthy technology giants have prepared for the end of the world predicted by their AI and are able to hole up in their palatial bunkers while the rest of the world dies. Meanwhile each of them has someone close who wants to thwart their plans and instead use the technology to solve earth's problems. Highly recommende.

The Future is a freakishly plausible story about a bunch of tech billionaires stockpiling resources and building bunkers to survive the end of the world instead of using some of those billions to save it. This was really cleverly constructed - I loved the sections written as survivalist message board posts, even though I did start drifting and skimming a lot of the fox/rabbit/Enoch/preachy parts. There were lots of twists and turns, and the whole book had a real Neal Stephenson/Crytonomicon feel to it, which I really enjoyed!

I love the authors writing, it feels very immersive. I did not enjoy the biblical discussions, so I skimmed those sections.

The twists came as a surprise, but I’ve never been great at predicting those. It looks like there may be a sequel or series - looking forward to it! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy. I have read 50% of this book and could not continue reading it. I found it to be very boring. There was no development after halfway through the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. This book was poorly written and extremely predictable. There was no character growth and the results of the main cabal's coup were fantastical and unrealistic.

The near future is filled with huge tech companies, social media infiltrating daily life, growing AI, and people just can't stop buying stuff. AI might even predict a virus-induced apocalypse and alert only the richest people who've created post-apocalyptic havens. Alderman's latest novel explores the possibilities of all of this along with who's involved and who knows what. This story is a ride.

I really liked this author's other book, [The Power](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29751398.The_Power).

In this one, she looks at a different scenario, basically that the world is a mess and needs to be fixed. The head people running the largest corporations make plans for themselves and how to survive if the world as they know it ends. Their immediate subordinates look at the same scenario and look for ways to make the world better so that the entire world sorts itself out. Each group is planning for the future, but their goals are slightly different and also slightly opposing.

I would categorize this one as sci-fi, as the author is taking technology to a new level and not actually making things up out of their imagination.

I definitely encourage you to read this in order to find out how all of it resolves itself.

A long book, perhaps a bit too long in the middle, and it took me a while to catch on to what was happening. And that didn't happen until about 3/4 of the way through. But when it did, a switch flipped and it all made sense. And I had the feeling that in many ways, we're living the future now. Corporate greed is alive and well and the future holds no revelations there, just more ways for greed to be expressed. It wasn't evident at first, but Lai Zhen is by far the main attraction and she is a multitalented but very believable person. Set in the future (of course) we follow Lai Zhen's travels and trials as to how they relate to the three wealthiest humans on the planet, and how they deal with the end of the earth. The 'end of the earth' is by no means a clear cut event, and that is perhaps one of the frustrations I had when I began The Future.

I requested this book because I loved The Power (same author), and this one, although long, did not disappoint. Lest you think otherwise, I do not shy away from long books but when they start to drag I start to question my decision to read. The Future caught me in the nick of time.

My ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher, the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

3.5 stars

I read The Power by Naomi Alderman for my book club and that book took me a while to get into and this one was similar in that aspect.

Rich tech bros are ruining the world and also preparing for the demise of everything in secret. The premise is relatable to the world that we currently live in and there are so many parallels to our current situation.

I thought the synopsis sounded good and was excited by the dystopian world.
The timeline jumps around without much context so I found myself frequently confused as to what time I was in. The characters weren't very likable and I found myself putting the book down quite a lot.

I thought it was a unique story with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Overall I think this just wasn't for me.

I was really excited about this book so it’s a disappointment taht I just never really got into it. I have picked it up and put it back down many times over the past months and I have finally just realized it’s not going to grab me. There is something just not quite working for me - the author is very talented, the idea is cool, the narrative is well written, but I just don’t like these rich jerks and I don’t care about this world at all. So it’s going to be a DNF for me.

I do really appreciate the opportunity to have a review copy (thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!) and wish it would have worked for me. I still would def want to check out her next book - I absolutely loved her previous book and expect great things in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Future by Naomi Alderman!

Alderman once again puts us in a world that is falling apart, run by greedy billionaires who don't care what damage they do to the world as long as they keep making more money. What would happen if those three billionaires, think Amazon, Facebook and Twitter, were removed from the world and their money put to saving the planet and all of the people on it? Look into The Future and get an idea of how that might go....

This dystopian look at a future from multiple characters’ perspective had me on the edge of my seat. Make this a movie please!

Do billionaires really think about the end of the world like this? Should I start learning basic survivalist skills? I’m still spiraling with existential questions, and I finished reading this several weeks ago. All I can say is, if you liked The Power, you will likely love The Future. Different worlds but similar observations on humanity.

4.5 stars rounded up

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the early copy!

Naomi Alderman is so skilled at building a world that is simultaneously utopian and dystopian, and that feels so similar to the world we're inhabiting in our current reality. It took a chapter or two to let myself sink into the world she built in The Future, and once I did I was in too deep to stop reading until I reached the last page. The way this book took me from hope to despair to hope again was almost painful, and so intoxicating. I've already recommended this to several friends and can't wait to buy a physical copy for my personal shelves.