I would highly recommended this book if you're filled with pessimism and anxiety about the future due to climate change and greed and corruption. Many thanks to the publisher and net galley for the ARC!
I understand and agree with the criticisms about the lack of depth in characterizations, that the story can feel pedantic at times, the occasionally muddling plot, etc. However, I thought this book was an engrossing and smart commentary about power and human connection. I didn't particularly enjoy the message board parts, and felt like there was too much going on for me to keep track of all of the moving parts, but I loved Lai Zhen and how the story was framed around and through her rather than solely focusing on the tech giants. I loved the multiple twists at the end, and did feel a bit less pessimistic about the future than usual--it's a good reminder that we as individuals have the power to resist the narrative that we will not survive the Future.

Thanks, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, for the digital review copy.

“The world was a boxer, unsteady on its feet, wavering, waiting for the final punch.”

“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.” (NetGalley)

Sadly, this one didn’t completely work for me. While the plot was compelling, the execution was too convoluted and complex. I was often so confused that it pulled me out of the story. In addition, Alderman kept bopping me on the head with her “MESSAGE.”

Even the characters’ names were complex. I felt like they were in some kind of code – I even put a couple of them through an anagram engine to check! (Zimri Nommik, Selah Nommik, Martha Einkorn, Lenk Sketlish, Albert Danrowski just to name a few.)

Once complete, I had to go back (using the Kindle Search feature) and re-read multiple sections just to wrap my head around what happened. I can’t imagine how lost I would have been in the audiobook.

I struggled through this novel. While I loved the themes that the author touches on (overreliance on tech, tech as a crutch, tech as the savior and doom of humanity, etc.), the execution was somewhat lackluster. It took me about 3 weeks to get through this arc when I'd usually breeze through a novel of this length.

I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style to the point where it distracted me at times from the actual story. There was so much grammatical tense shifting that it read like a first draft. It was written in past tense, but a lot of times, it would dip into present tense when it came to a scene where the author was explaining something that was either related or semi-related to what was happening on scene.

It was really strange, but maybe this is a recent trend that I need to get on board with because this isn't the only recently published book I've read that employs this back and forth tense shifting.

Anyway...

While I found the FMCs interesting (Zhen and Martha) and their narratives strong, they couldn't really carry the entire novel. There were a lot of characters and ideas that were varying degrees of interesting and boring, capable and incapable, but it didn't seem to mesh well enough to create a cohesive story.

The entire time I was reading the novel, I felt very disconnected from the story and characters (including the FMCs, who were given a lot of air time). I couldn't relate to anyone, and I definitely found it hard to sympathize with the characters. The entire novel felt very detached, emotion-wise. A lot of times, it felt like the author was talking at me or lecturing me, instead of telling a narrative story.

3 stars for the interesting situations presented in this novel (doomsday scenarios and tech as humanity's be-all and end-all), the mixed media format with the forum posts and responses, and interesting characters. But I was pretty meh on the entire novel as a whole because I couldn't vibe with the writing style at all.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley, and the author for a physical ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me.

2.5 stars

I enjoy books that force me to think about real world problems. This book’s main focus was supposed to be on climate change and how the rich/our reliance on tech are its downfall, but there were so many timelines/characters and no explanation of when they cross that it was hard to keep track of everything. I also thought it was an interesting choice that the only real disasters that happened in the book were those caused by the main characters supposedly trying to fix things.

Overall, the actual prose was great. The two main characters were interesting, and I am always drawn to books that mention cults. I just think this is a case of “it’s not you, it’s me.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this futuristic approach to billionaires, tech, and a pandemic.

I'll admit. There were times I had no idea what was happening in the book or something went over my head. But I still enjoyed the book. I came for the queer sci-fi vibes and this book delivered.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.

I love a good dystopia/sci-fi book! The Future does not disappoint. A connected group of people get together to save the world from itself. I read the book, thinking about some of the most influential people in today's world. It also made me think about our future with AI and GenAI and where our future will take us. Will one of the most influential people from today take down society as we know it? Will a mistake happen or by design, will something effect the world for better or worse? This book made me think about what the future holds for all of us.

The Power is a favorite book of mine and I was excited to read The Future. The book touches on many issues facing us today like cliemate change, economic disparity, power, I would recommend reading The Future if dystopia/sci-fi strike your interest.


I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Future in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #TheFuture #NaomiAlderman

3.5 stars
My first book by Naomi Alderman and wow this dystopian aspect of this book really got me instantly hooked. The book does have a lot of background information as well as many characters being introduced. The theme talks about futuristics thoughts, issues, and concerns which I though was interesting.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exhcange for an honest review

This was great! Thank you to S&S Book Club favorites for the gifted copy and the netgalley copy. I loved The Power when it was published, a surprisingly dark commentary on power and women and ... lots of important topics. The Future is similarly strong and I applaud Alderman's deft skill at telling interconnected stories so well, her ability to draw on large and abstract ideas about tech and our future/society and make then grounded and relatable stands out here as timely and important, without feeling preachy. What I like is that her writing invites us to not just read a good story but to think about the messages and ideas woven into the story, to reflect on ideas she raises... I leave feeling like I need to talk about the book without feeling like I was told what to think, how to react... just invited to think and ponder.
A great book, a favorite writer, and a strong recommendation for your 2024 book club lists.

Ugh, I wanted to love this. I even received a physical arc. But I'm 50% through it and I have no idea what is going on.😔

Not as good as The Power, but still loved it. It took me a bit to get into the writing, unlike her other book. But once I got used to it I was hooked.

I was so excited for this book, but it was sort of difficult to get into at first. It was more slower paced than I expected. Still a solid read but maybe just not for me. I’d still suggest others check it out as it seems to have a bunch of fans.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the arc.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all.
First, I found the writing style to be drawn out and difficult to follow. The long, drawn out religious passages were tedious and broke up the momentum of the book. I felt like I was being lectured and it often felt condescending and pointless to the story.
There were no times or timelines throughout the story so I was confused with time jumps and the relativity of the plot points were hard to keep straight. I couldn't tell if days, weeks, or years occurred between events.
All of the characters were under developed and unlikable. I found none of characters likable and they all lacked substance. They all felt like caricatures of people rather than actual people. Event the narrators, Martha and Lai, felt underdeveloped, despite spending time in their minds.
Overall, this was a tedious, overly drawn out book with boring characters. I would recommend picking up this authors first book, The Power, instead.

Naomi Alderman https://naomialderman.com is the author of five novels. The Future was published on 7 November 2023. It is the 107th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, mature situations, and mature language, I categorize this novel as R.

The plot is complicated. The principal characters are Martha Einkorn and Lai Zhen, though there are a few other significant characters. Lenk Sketlish is the developer and head of the company Fantail. A social media giant. Zimri Nommik created and heads Anvil. Anvil began as a product delivery company but has expanded into consumer goods, electronics, and robotics. Ellen Bywater heads Medlar, a computer and lifestyle electronics company. She didn’t start Medlar but took it over in a coup against founder Albert Dabrowski.

Sketlish, Nommik, and Bywater are among the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world. While they are competitors in some areas, they are of a like mind about society. The world is heading towards chaos. If they can hunker down in their private, secure bunkers and wait out the apocalypse. When they emerge, the world will be theirs for the taking.

Albert Dabrowski is hanging on, barely. He feels robbed of his company. Martha Einkorn grew up in a religious cult run by her father. After escaping it, she caught the eye of Sketlish. He made her his personal assistant, and she has excelled in the position. Selah Nommik is married to Zimri. She was a brilliant programmer but has fallen into her husband’s shadow. She fears he will soon try to replace her with a younger woman. Badger identifies as nonbinary and is the youngest child of Ellen Bywater. Lai Zhen is an internet-famous survivalist. She has a large following.

Albert, Martha, Selah, and Badger are aware of what is being planned. They want to take action of some kind to prevent the meltdown of global civilization. They are willing to do anything to save the world. Martha has met Lai, and they seem to have fallen in love. But Lai has a lot of questions about Martha and her boss.

Will the three billionaires be able to survive the expected apocalypse and emerge to take over what is left of the world? Can the four conspirators intercede and prevent chaos? Is the relationship between Lai and Martha real? Will Lai’s curiosity be her downfall?

I invested 11.5+ hours reading this 429-page science fiction novel. I was disappointed. I thought that the basic plot held a lot of potential. The result did not engage me as I had expected. There was little action, and the threat from the billionaires didn’t give me that edge-of-my-seat pending doom feeling. The plot has a couple of twists, but overall, I wish I hadn’t spent my time reading this novel. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 3 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

This book is on the double tragedy and idealistic. Like the Power, it proposes that power ruins yet dissimilar to it, here great can turn around the obliteration that merciless tycoons cause for the world.
The thoughtful person of Zhen ties the different characters and timetables together. I thoroughly delighted in perusing the Future for its bits of knowledge in the hazards of large tech and shrewdly developed plot that is frequently amazing. This makes it certain to be truly outstanding of the year. This book is on the double tragedy and idealistic. Like the Power, it proposes that power ruins yet dissimilar to it, here great can turn around the obliteration that merciless tycoons cause for the world.
The thoughtful person of Zhen ties the different characters and timetables together. I thoroughly delighted in perusing the Future for its bits of knowledge in the hazards of large tech and shrewdly developed plot that is amazing.

The story is set in some near future. The three billionaires that own the most important businesses in the world have a special software that is supposed to tell them when the world is going to end, meaning some kind of really bad disaster will strike, so they could be evacuated to the safe place where they can live comfortably while the society fights the disaster. Most of the book we get to see the preparations for the evacuations, bad signs that are happening, the three getting their alarms going off and them going to the place. That was all interesting and intriguing. Then the dystopian part ends, and the story ends with really saccharine coated utopian solution. Basically, the whole world holds hands and goes into the bright future together to the place of the endless love and plenty. Really cheap and uninteresting and kind of intellectually boring. Too much religious nonsense strewn all though the book. I couldn't care less about the characters. I regret wasting my time and finishing the book. The beginning was intriguing, but not the end

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley

Been mulling this review over. Not sure why I am having trouble writing it. I liked this book. I think I am still digesting it and putting it all together in my head. Like Alderman’s previous novel (The Power), this one deals with a world on a verge of crisis. I feel like saying too much about the plot may spoil the story. I do wish the storytelling was done in a more linear fashion - there were a lot flashbacks and viewpoints of minor characters that created some confusion. I look forward to the author’s next book! Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this one!

Billionaire corporate world leaders are taking us into the future -- with technology that humans seemingly can no longer live without. But a few people closest to these eccentrics see the harm they're causing and they vow to stand between them and the end of the world.

Naomi Alderman took me on a RIDE with this one. There were twists I didn't see coming and even the ones I did anticipate, I still wasn't prepared. As with The Power, Alderman has created a world just left of center. It feels so real, so possible, so connected to the one I sit here reading in. This book has everything I like. Dystopian themes. Mystery and thrills. Cult leaders and the eventual downfall of corrupt corporate/world leaders. Brilliant, powerful women. The Future.

And in case you were wondering ...

I'm a rabbit who longs to be a fox. Shouldn't we all go back to being foxes? Or should we find a way to embrace the world we have created as rabbits and figure out how to do so more sustainably? I don't think I'd survive long as a fox though there's something deep within me that longs for it.

I won't even tell you what any of that means, just trust me and read it!

I will read absolutely anything Naomi Alderman writes.

This book was so intriguing. Power and who holds it and how power corrupts. This book was told in segments by each character but tied together so well. What happens when you know the worlds going to end?
A dystopian tale told in parts and who survives and who doesn’t? Who makes those choices?

I really enjoyed this book. From AI to cults to online forums to life. This book encompasses a lot of different things and truly weaves a tale of dystopia and power.

I’m not sure if it is a thriller but it’s definitely worth the read and made me want to read more. I’d classify it more as science fiction but could be both easily.

Thank you so much Simonbooks and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting take on the dystopian fiction genre. It felt like it lagged at times for me, but the concept was fascinating. Aspects of it reminded me a lot of her previous novel, The Power.

After reading The Power, I was excited to receive an advanced copy of Alderman’s new work The Future. I did listen to her former work as an audio production and this may have been why I liked the book as much as I did. The Future is setup in a similar fashion. A story begins to unfold and is broken up with forum posts, these leading into end of the world predictions. Reading these passages in between the story was actually frustrating and seemed to take away from the overall picture. I enjoyed the character introduction of the beginning and found the middle to be a bit difficult to get through. The book did pick up in the end and I was fully invested in Martha and Lai Zhen’s stories.

Imagine the Future is upon us, but that Future is not a timeline that supports all people. Only the extraordinarily wealthy have the means to survive. Typical doomsday, fire and brimstone, plague and pestilence type stuff here. With the right tech more might be able to survive, but those in power are not willing to share. Is this the best way for the world to survive?

Overall, I would recommend reading The Future and it is possible to breeze past some of the heavier Enochite posts without bogging the story down.