A clever and insightful book about the near future. For much of its length it looks dystopian, until suddenly it's not. There are clues at various places that things are not as they seem, but they are a bit subtle, and you might miss them if not paying close attention. I don't want to be a spoiler, but you really have to read it all the way through to fully appreciate what the author is doing here. The social commentary is sharp indeed.

Alderman always writes with brilliant verve. This dystopian novel reflects our own world back at us. It’s uncomfortable, but clever and thought provoking.

Naomi Alderman has the skill and craftmanship to put our greatest fears into a book and captivate the reader whilst she explores what might happen if things carry on along their current trajectory.

in 'The Future', money and power are focussed in a few people's grasp - billionaires are making choices that will make them ever richer whilst wilfully ignoring the impact on the planet and the rest of the world's population. When they have to go into hiding following a natural disaster, is it time for the rest of society to have their say?

Witty, sharp, scarily future-looking at times- well worth a read.

This is near future dystopian (sort of).

In a world not too dissimilar to our own, things are creeping towards disaster and 3 billionaires, running companies whose equivalents you could name, pretty much control things.

So of course they have a secret system to alert them to go into hiding once things tip over a certain level. But at the same time we have 3 people associated with those billionaires who see an opportunity.

How do they pull off this kind of heist, where does that take us and what happens to the regular person caughtbup between these 2 sides?

This was good, I didn't love it as much as the power but it's still a really strong read. I had assumed it was going to be more post-everything happening, but the bulk of the book is jumping about in the timeline to show how they got to this point.

I also like that it's kind of a rosy view of things and what it might take to fix where things are going - although the starting point is fairly extreme!

Naomi Alderman is a fantastic author and this story just goes to show this!

The Future is such a compelling and gripping story - I honestly could not put it down as I was reading.

As with her other books, the plot addresses some key issues in our society - it is very much a cautionary tale. The characters were so well written and I felt myself thinking of them even after I had finished the story.

I would definitely recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

Compelling dystopian science fiction from Naomi Alderman, author of the recent ground-breaking hit, The Power. High technology, social media and the end of the world.
Gaze into The Future. And shudder.

As an absolute fan of The Power, I was so excited to be given an arc of The Future by Naomi Alderman. Dystopian is my jam and Naomi knows how to write it.

In The Future, Naomi takes us slightly into the future where the world seems to be as it is now. It's just that people seem to think the end is coming. Tech giants, not unlike our real world tech giants, are not interested in saving the world. They're only interested in saving themselves and being part of whatever is next.

That's it. I'm not saying anymore. I'll ruin the surprise if I do. You know it sounds good though.

Read if you're into:
· Dystopia
· The apocalypse
· Technology
· Biblical references
· Travelling
· Chat rooms

An enjoyable read which cleverly entwines all the worst aspects of where we are now with climate change, AI and so forth, and wraps it up in a compelling tale. Sadly, I could not believe the premise that once three tech geniuses are out of the way the rest of the world would get on with doing what should be done to save the planet. We can but dream, I suppose…

Three leaders of the world’s biggest tech companies get an end-of-the-world code red warning, and immediately board a plane together, heading for their apocalypse-prepared bunkers. To say anymore would be to spoil this ingenious and sometimes terrifying novel. Alderman takes on big big ideas but without sacrificing plot - this is a propulsive, page-turner of a ride through Doomsday cults, worldwide networks of hackers, the prepper mentality of the uber-wealthy, and the idea that maybe there’s a hope of a better world. Wild and twisty genius.

In all honesty - it took me a while to get through Naomi Alderman's latest release "The Future". It was unsettling and eerie and bizarre and chaotic and realistic, and the unholy combination of this was at times a lot.

The Future sits somewhere between dystopian and speculative fiction. Set in a 'not too distant future' where the world continues turning and humanity continues careening down the path to self-destruction. A handful of millionaires and their big tech companies are seeming pulling the strings behind the scenes - influencing the masses and the governments while juggling complex algorithms, technological breakthroughs and the use (or misuse) or data.

The build up was complex and intertwined many different components of the story and character. The pay off and twists towards the end was both satisfying and thought provoking.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

As three CEOs prepare to save the world from destruction lives collide; the Future is here!

This was a fast paced and twisting novel which had me gripped from the first page. I loved the multi[le viewpoints and the speed at which events began to unfold; it was really a thrill a minute.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

I won’t lie, The Future by Naomi Alderman took me forever to get through. It was an extremely unsettling and disturbing read. Why? Because it’s so very feasible. Nevertheless, I’m glad that I read it and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

The Future is the world of a handful of billionaires who are able — through the various technologies they own and their algorithms — to control our lives. Doesn’t sound that far off, does it? In order to change our trajectory, a group of their closest allies, privy to the reality of what really drives these people, comes up with a plot to take the top three down in an attempt to better everyone else’s future.

This book is out there but then again it’s so not. The top three are very similar to three well-known guys living among us, and the problems they all face in their future world, well, we’ll be there before too long ourselves.

This is a book that really makes you think, disturbing in its verisimilitude, and an important one to read.

Imagine a world where three big tech companies hold sway, influencing individual and governmental behaviours through use/misuse of data and complex algorithms (ok so probably not much imagining needed here) - this is the starting point in the book 'The Future', a world much as our own, albeit slightly further down the track. Early on in the book we are told that the leaders of these companies have an algorithm which is going to enable them to identify when the end of the world is near ... a perpetuation of the premise that knowledge is power and that those with knowledge and power always win. But this book is so much more than this. There were, I have to admit, times when I felt that I'd rather it hadn't been a book of 475 pages, that I'd have preferred it to be a bit shorter, but when the twists were revealed at the end I completely got why Naomi Alderman had spent so much time introducing us to a whole complex cast of players, their backgrounds and thus their motives. I almost gave up just before the end as I wasn't sure where the book was going at that point but I am SO glad that I didn't. Reflecting back a couple of days after reading this book, my views are that actually it's a book that is worth reflecting on - rather than being treated as just another quick and easy apocalyptic dystopian text. I know I'll be thinking about this book for a while yet and I'm hugely grateful to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC in return for an honest, unbiased review.

Beautifully came together. Loud-and-clear messages, really well constructed not-even dystopia.

I wish I'd been able to read this over fewer days, it felt more disjointed than it actually was, and once the main story took over, really needed to be finished in one go.

Loved The Power, and saw the author's name and instantly went for this. It's an our-world-and-what-we-are-heading-towards story with the heads of the most powerful tech organisations at the heart of it. With the world heading speedily towards environmental ruin, humans in a consumer fug, a few individuals close to those at the very top of the global hierarchy weigh up the moral cost of doing something about it.

I really don't want to give much in the way of detail (available elsewhere anyway), as it would possibly ruin the experience. But this was so very worth it, and I came away from this almost disappointed that characters like Martha aren't really taking our Future into their hands and helping out the world. Maybe Alderman is too.

Lots of turns and extraneous information that you look back on and see the relevance of later. Alderman has spent a lot of effort in the creation and structure of this and it shows.

Fantastic story, I hope it makes it to a screen as well, though I hope fans who've only seen The Power on TV (I'm not one of them), will now pick up her books and see just what is possible if the world takes off its blinkers and looks long-term.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

A novel that can be broadly categorised as speculative fiction, The Future explores the role of tech billionaires in an ever spiralling society. When something catastrophic appears to be on its way to wreak havoc on humankind, three of these billionaires launch their already arranged plans, using their power and wealth, to save themselves and their loved ones. The story is told both through the eyes of the billionaires but mainly by those on the periphery of this very rich group. The thread through The Future appears to be exploring the types of roles that large corporations should and could have in protecting the planet and society.

I enjoyed Alderman's other book, The Power, immensely and really liked the sharp messaging it was aiming at. In that way, The Future is seeking to do the same thing: examine a highly sensitive political topic in a realistic, albeit fictional, way. However, even though I was interested and could see the value and importance of the ideas it was exploring, I didn't feel particularly invested in any of the characters. The book seems to hold you emotionally at a distance, and while that might be intentional given the topics at hand, to me it just came across as a rather sterile approach to the story. The narrative also had a severe slump in its middle section which made it rather a slog to read beyond the opening chapters and the last quarter where things get interesting again.

That said, even though the narrative wasn't as engaging as I wanted it to be, I liked the writing style and I would still be curious to pick up future Alderman books as I appreciate what she is attempting to do in her fiction work. This just wasn't one that overly worked for me.

I haven’t read The Power or any of the author’s other books so didn’t come in with any particular expectations! I really enjoyed this take on a dystopian novel, the layers of which continued to peel back right until the very end.

Incredibly impactful and thought provoking, this novel takes you on a real journey. Set in the not-too distant future, the world is about to end but a cluster of top tech entrepreneurs have ensured their path to the future. However, even the best-laid plans can be waylaid.

When you start to unpack it, this story is complex and multi-layered. This is not a short story that can be quickly enjoyed, and its filled with social and environmental commentary, but also hope. That its never too late to make a change. I loved the thoughtful technological advances, bordering on sci-fi but still believable. I enjoyed the careful thought behind each character. And I loved the intricate weaving of the plot, which is entirely unpredictable and makes so much sense in hindsight.

Although I have not read this author before, I'm in awe. So clever and complex on so many levels. This book has left an impact.

I liked the way that this was written and thought it was very thought provoking at time.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

The Future by Naomi Alderman is set any time in the near future and acts as a warning of what it potentially to come. Money, power and technology are controlling our everyday lives and the world is hurtling to disaster. Those with power and money need to act to help save the planet or will they just save themselves and hide in their billionaire bunkers. Can the tech giants be taken on and beaten at their own game and disaster prevented? I really enjoyed the twists and it's such a page turner with connectable characters. Would recommend this book. Thanks to Naomi Alderman, The Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Set in the not-so-distant future, this novel delves into the collective endeavor to improve life on Earth for both humans and their co-inhabitants. Despite the concerted efforts, the outlook appears grim.

The author skillfully introduces the protagonists, offering essential details to acquaint the reader with their complexities. These characters are far from simple souls, grappling with various forms of inner turmoil. Amidst the intricate web of relationships, the narrative weaves through complex technological information.

As the story progresses, clarity emerges – or does it? The novel unfolds, revealing a captivating tale that leaves readers pondering the unsettling possibility of its truth.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.