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.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book! I downloaded the PDF and finished it within a day! This book is not typically in my genre but the way this book was written was so beautiful and capturing. This book offered a unique focus on family. Pearson Al and global crises were spoken throughout the chapters. The narrative spoke about relations with modern issues. It really makes you pause and think about our future society and the future advances in make. There was lots of emotional depth that kept us engage with the story. Definitely would recommend this book to my friends, 10 out of 10!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Loved this book. Absolu6 loved it. I was blown away.
Add it to the very top of your must be read lust.

Highly .highly recommend. Five stars!!

Thank you to RR Book Tour and Gary Bengier for a gifted arc of this book in exchange for this review.

This book hooked me from the very beginning, I would recommend it if you’re into intermediate or hard sci-fi (there is a glossary with hyperlinked terms if you are reading the ebook version which is helpful). I found the timelines very easy to differentiate from one another and the voice for each character well defined. The dynamic of interpersonal relationships and how humanity adapts (or doesn’t 👀) to deal with many obstacles throughout the story was an interesting concept to me. The fact that I read this in one sitting is a testament to how binge-able this is, all while being hard sci-fi, I flew right through it!

This story follows one family over a large period, 2033 to 2125. It is a mix of clifi, dystopian future. What if humans were banned from driving vehicles and only robots were allowed? What if your therapist was an avatar and there is likely no human connection behind the screen? What if guaranteed income existed and people received extra income for taking on less desirable jobs? What if a Big Mac costs $12?

I dove into this book head first and finished it in less than 24 hours. I highly recommend picking this up once it releases on September 30th!

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

I liked this; I didn't love it. The premise of a multi-generational tale following a family into the future, with the resulting changes (AI, robots, climate change, medicine, the new political world order) was interesting, but the personal dialogue felt unnatural, existing only to advance any new inventions in technology or social dynamics. So, I was half invested in the story. The author's view of the future felt in the realm of possibility, and helped my interest in the story.

This novel was a big swing - for the most part, it was pretty successful.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.