Thank for the opportunity to read this book Journey to 2125 by Gary F Bengier . This is my first review for Net Gallery . I will begin by saying that this book is not my usual genre . I t seemed to me to be an interesting combination or the meshing of those areas . For me I just couldn’t follow the story line .it would however be an interesting movie and audio book

Gary F. Bengier’s “Journey to 2125” is a compelling exploration of humanity’s future, brought to life through richly developed characters and their intricate conflicts. The novel follows the multi-generational saga of the MacGyver family, focusing on Max MacGyver and his grandson. Max’s internal struggle with the consequences of his scientific ambitions highlights themes of regret, redemption, and the ethical implications of progress. The intergenerational tension between Max and his grandson underscores themes of legacy and the clash between tradition and innovation.

Supporting characters, like Amina fleeing a climate-ravaged Africa and a couple fighting for privacy in a surveillance-heavy society, add depth to the narrative, exploring themes of resilience, displacement, freedom, and privacy. Bengier’s background in technology and philosophy enriches the story, making the futuristic challenges feel authentic and relatable.

Overall, “Journey to 2125” is a must-read for fans of speculative fiction and character-driven narratives, offers a profound look at the human condition through the lens of a rapidly changing world.

Journey to 2125
by Gary F. Bengier
Pub Date: Sep 30 2024

Journey to 2125 is a Science Fiction story. This story follows one family over a large period, 2033 to 2125. The story in this book is filled with stories that go through many generations, a timeless tale of unpredictable stories. I don't normally read science fiction but I must admit this book was very interesting at 422 pages long.

Synopsis: At its heart, Journey to 2125 is the story, told over a single day, of a young boy and his grandfather. Why did his parents decide to move to the Commune? What family secrets will his grandfather share? Parts political drama, family saga, and hard-science speculative fiction, Journey to 2125 is the story of how humankind might collectively weather the tragedy and chaos that we can expect from accelerating change. What will it feel like to live during these next one hundred years? Take this journey with Max MacGyver and his grandson, as they reveal their family history, and the road ahead for you and yours.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #ChiliagonPressLLC for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A future history of a grandfather telling his grandson, Grand, of family history and social history of their family and global society, starting in 2025. There is a family tree, and stories of each person in it – what they did, when they married, adherence and value of family name, where they came from, and where they went. There are people of all walks of life – from those who have solved humankind’s existential threats to criminals. How society handled the concentration of wealth and privilege, and what replaced the current system. Is it better though?

The story was a bit difficult to keep track of, especially at first, when the stories are neither chronological nor within the same person or sub-family line. I needed to refer back to my notes a good bit.

The ideas presented in this more-science than fiction novel are frightening possible. The author takes time to wind the basics of , for example, fusion energy into the 2125 world in a way that is simple. Controversial topics that will remain contentious are exposed: will we never get a clean energy supply or do we need it? That science is faced with saving the world is an ongoing theme in a novel that makes the reader think.

Pretty slow-going.

I’m likely to go DNF.

Apologies. The premise does seem so interesting. It hurts me to think of the future as I have no part in it.

In the vein of A Brave New World and 1984, this is a cautionary dystopian tale of what could happen if we don’t address some of the issues currently facing our nation and global community. Following one family’s history from 2033 through 2125 it deals with technology, the rise of AI, the increased use of robots and the resulting lo of jobs, climate change, and personal information security. The characters were well drawn, and the situations they find themselves in give readers pause to reflect on the good and not so good of technological progress. While there were some veiled political undertones it did not detract from the overall story. 4 stars.

Thank you to netgally for giving me a copy of this book, I read it on my kindle. Author did such a good job in story telling going across multiple generations.

Very innovative novel. I think you would have to be a true science fiction reader to enjoy the nuances of this far reaching novel. For me there was too much explanation and not enough human story. The novel did not grab me and I had to struggle to finish.
I am sure this novel will find an audience, unfortunately it was not me.

The structure of Journey to 2125 is creative, utilizing a flashback within a futuristic context, which offers a fresh take on time-related narratives. However, after reading up to Chapter 3, the pacing and overall direction of the plot did not resonate with me personally. I believe the novel may appeal to readers who prefer a more gradual development of themes and character arcs, but I was unable to maintain engagement with the story.

A compelling blend of family saga and speculative fiction, this novel explores a future shaped by climate change, AI, and the struggle for privacy in a hyper-connected world. The intergenerational dynamics keep the story grounded, while the hard sci-fi elements offer a chilling glimpse of what could be. Bengier’s vision of 2125 feels eerily plausible, making this both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.

This book felt like a story my grandpa would tell me about our family. It felt hearing about family, about like home, in the future, and I loved every second of it.

Family, technology and a big implication of what could be. This piece of speculative fiction hit home. Especially as an individual with mixed heritage.

With Journey to 2125, Gary F. Bengier wrote a beautiful piece of science fiction. I can’t wait to be able to get a copy for the fellow sci-fi enthusiast in my life.

Firstly, thank you to Gary, to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. What a whirlwind of a book!! This is JUST outside of my typical genre, but I read the description and thought it looked interesting. So glad I gave it a chance, I'm pleased to say that I loved it!
This book manages to combine ideas of the future, a strong sense of family, and time travel, into a very intriguing tale. It left me in a real state of thought, gratitude, and even a little worry at times. Now that it's been written and read... What a shame that the majority of us will not be around to see the year 2125.

This is a must-read!

4.25/5.00

This book is unlike anything I've read lately. It's a mix of genre, but it's also a fictional account of how a family's history COULD be in the next century. Every advance is followed with a change that leaves a family member looking for a new way ahead, while mourning the loss of what they thought would be a bright future. As this grandfather reels the family history into a film, the grandson will see how his personal history has been written. A very interesting book that will have you wondering how your grandchildren's future will look 100 years from now.

Thank you to Chiliagon Press LLC, NetGalley and Gary F. Bengier for the eARC in exchange for a review.

This book was absolutely amazing! Definitely did not expect to love it as much as I did. I have rarely dove into science fiction but I am so glad I was given this opportunity! The generational saga, family drama, politics, technology and its consequences… absolutely sucks you in!

One thing that really impressed me about this ebook was the hyperlinks that take you to the glossary. This was incredibly helpful and I wish this were an option for a lot of fantasy books as well! Pick this book up. Read it. You will not regret it!

This was an interesting look at the potential future, following the current tech advances and political unrest the world is experiencing. It comes off as a well developed thought experiment of what the future could hold, and a warning. The realism was jarring, in a good way, with all the lines followed from current events. I do love that this is set up as a grandfather telling his grandson the story of their family and the world! This story did not ignore that faults that humans have, including mental health and greed.

The character dialogue seemed to become a bit like a history recitation to keep the reader up to speed on events and timeline, as opposed to a more natural conversation between the characters. This improved towards the later chapters as we got closer to "current time" in the book.

The unusual formatting of this book really intrigued me as it kept me engaged along the way. This was a dense read and it made me stop and think several times about current society and how I feel about the topics being presented and the predicted evolution of them in this world. From AI to climate crisis, to personal health and future politics and robots. It is all interconnected and I feel like as of today, people are still not grasping that the climate crisis is tied to social justice and this is tied to a million other things. This family story is reflecting that interconnectedness through their actions and the impacts of it. A drop in the water makes ripples and changes the environment because everything is connected. Overall, a very compelling read and I recommend this to anyone who wants to see a potential future and think about how we can impact our world future.

A generational, speculative story imparting wisdom and experience through the long view of cause and effect. Dialogue is a bit stiff as the author’s focus is on the message over character building. It gets better about halfway through as the pace picks up and the characters get more interesting.

Journey to 2125 is a novel that explores a multi-generational family at the heart of social and technological changes during the next half of the 21st century. It asks us to think about what our future will look like in the wake of climate crises and our increasing reliance on technology, and to consider what role individuals have in changing this future for better or worse.

I’m always a fan of speculative science fiction that explores what the world could look like with futuristic technology, and I thought the world Bengier created was grounded and realistic. Some people chose to use technology for the collective good, and some chose to use it for personal advancement, and this novel walked us through the potential pitfalls of both actions. I found the exploration to be interesting and engaging, and there was plenty of tech described in the book that I wouldn’t mind having now.

My one critique is that the dialogue sometimes felt stilted because it was doing a lot of the heavy lifting for world building. There is an enormous social and political shift that happens over the course of this book, and the characters will explain it by shifting more normal dialogue to give exact dates and stats for certain events. The characters would be talking to each other and all of the sudden it would feel less like a conversation and more like a recitation from a history book. There were many moments throughout the first half of the book where I felt like the author was talking to the reader rather than letting the characters talk to each other.

Overall, I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. I thought the frame story was a good choice to take the readers on a journey through time, and in my opinion the book stuck the landing. I would suggest this book for anyone looking for an easy read with a thought-provoking sci-fi backdrop. I give it a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Although this is a science fiction story, it is also a family drama that spans over many years, crossing generational lines, and that is what grabbed my attention. More than the science fiction part.

The book hooked me right from the start. There are some unknown and complicated science fiction terms used, but there is a very good explanatory glossary that is helpful.

Apart from that, the book is written in clear, easily understandable text and it was very easy to differentiate the timelines from each other and the voice for each character is well defined. I read the e-book and what stood out most for me, is that the figures of the family trees were clear and readable, which is mostly rare in electronic books.

The story is about the MacGyver family over the period of 2033 to 2125. It is a mix of science fiction, dystopian future and family drama. It focuses especially on robots making human jobs obsolete and how this can affect our world in the future. And how it affected the characters in the book.

There is the corrupt politician and the company owners that get rich and do not worry about the workers. Very real concerns, like climate change, are also addressed in the book. Al in all this is an eye opener about how our world is changing and where it could be headed.

I loved reading the book and at the end found out that it is a prequel to Unfettered Journey, which I then immediately found in my e-library and will be reading next.

Thank you Netgalley for this book in exchange for this review.