The Future is Naomi Alderman’s 5th novel follows the kind of sci-fi speculative nature of her previous, The Power. I read The Power back in 2017 and it left an impression on me that was strong enough for me to be intrigued by Alderman’s latest novel and what she would focus on next.

In The Future, we follow three of the world’s richest people as they receive an advance warning that the world is about to end. As they scramble to make their escape route and survive catastrophe, we also follow two non-billionaires - a survivalist who finds themselves suddenly hunted by an assassin, and the PA of the tech moguls.

At times, this was a very pacy and almost electric novel (assassin-involving scenes in particular) where it was clear Alderman has a lot to say about the current state of our world and where the path we are on is leading us. I enjoyed the thinly veiled references to our own world’s billionaires and the depth of knowledge Alderman has about the world of tech made the futuristic elements of this feel more grounded in reality.

At other points the pacing felt far slower and more jumbled than perhaps Alderman intended, with bouncing between past and present sometimes making things more complex than it needed to be. I also wasn’t completely sold on Alderman’s overall approach to the novel’s ending; it felt perhaps too ‘both sides’ for me when there was a real chance for it to be more radical.

I’d recommend this one if you also read and enjoyed The Power, and if tech-based speculative fiction is your kind of thing!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster publishing for an eARC of this book.

Was really looking forward to this one, but could not get past the first 30pages as I am lost with the complex terminologies and it's difficult to keep track of what was happening. I couldn't see where the plot was going and couldn't invest in the characters. It's a shame as I really was looking forward to this one...

This clever look at how our world could easily be quite a dangerous place in the future, Alderman in turn sucks you in slowly, making you contemplate not-implausible scenarios, and then spins you around quickly, leaving you not quite sure if you picked up the point quite right. Both compelling and disturbing, this kept me turning the pages.

A very clever dystopian novel that kept me gripped all the way through.

The end of times is coming, and a few of the world's richest people have prepared for the future. How many are they willing to sacrifice?

The different threads of the story gradually come together as the past, present and future are revealed. With well-written characters and a story line that keeps you wondering, I felt all the emotions as I read this book. Highly recommend!

Naomi Alderman is an immediate read for me. I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I went out and bought a hard copy 😅

I absolutely loved The Power back in the day so I was really excited to read The Future. It didn't live up to the expectation, for me. The concept wasn't as exciting, the storyline not as pacy.

It dives into tech, power, and dystopian themes, with her signature sharpness and wit. The story explores a world where tech moguls are reshaping society in dark, sometimes terrifying ways, challenging ideas of power and morality. Alderman does a great job of making it thought-provoking while keeping the plot thrilling. It’s a bit unsettling but absolutely gripping—a smart, fast-paced read if you're into speculative fiction with depth.

Really loved the Power by the same author and that this science fiction tale is really going to make you think about technology and how we use it and how it could be used. Really recommend.

I tried really hard to like this book but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

The writing style is good, the plot is there but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

So i have this on my shelf a lovely hardback signed edition so when its time to read then ill be that version

Having thoroughly enjoyed Naomi Alderman The Power I’m quite sure this will be well written and characters ill love and most likely hate

Can not wait to read but the book has not called to me yet but it will let me know when its their time

Loved loved loved this. Have recommended it to everyone and got my whole family reading it. It's very clever, highly believable yet still so imaginative.

I previously loved Naomi Alderman's 'Power' novel, so when I saw that this author had written another (semi) dystopian, futuristic novel, I knew I needed to pick it up. I loved the callbacks to recent history - including actors such as Ryan Reynolds, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would say that the ending was predictable but it was more like the author set it up to lead the reader to the ending without confusion. Extremely well written and excellently researched, I would really recommend this to anyone who is worried about the future, who enjoys reading about technological advances - real or fictional - and who loves a dystopian read.

End of the world books are my kind of thing and this did not disappoint, everything I love with a futuristic twist .

Naomi Alderman has done it again. I'm starting to believe she may be the voice of our generation. This story is so hyper-realistic, I'm still thinking about it months later.

The Future is an enjoyable read. Slightly disconcerting at times as you know in the back of your mind that everything being discussed and imagined within the book is something you know could possibly happen in real life.

Lots of twists and turns as we have come to expect from Naomi who is a great storyteller. This story does involve themes of 'end of the word' scenarios but I absolutely loved it. I had to know what was happening next and what the characters were doing. Naomi is definitely up there on my favourite authors list.
Thank you to Netgalley, Naomi and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you for offering me the opportunity to read this book, I enjoyed it very much. It was thought-provoking and full of a lot of fascinating characters. To top it all, there were some really unexpected changes throughout the story. I can definitely recommend this!

How far would you go to save humanity?
A thought provoking and twisty story from Naomi Alderman.
Three tech billionaires are planning their escape from an impending apocalypse, but not everything is as it seems. In a world where technology runs everything, and you can't trust anyone, what would you do to save the world?
I really enjoyed the themes of this book, the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, and the introspective nature of the content was a great reminder of how we as a society are influenced by social media and greater powers.
I also loved the addition of a little email easter egg at the very end. It adds yet another twist and reminds you that everyone works to their own agenders.

Naomi Alderman's "The Future" had an intriguing premise but ultimately fell short for me. The plot felt scattered, it took me a long time to get into it and the pacing was inconsistent. Whilst there were interesting additions on technology, especially AI and society, they were overshadowed by a lack of cohesion. I struggled to stay engaged through it.

I went into this expecting The Future to be a fast paced and suspenseful dystopian tale - I just didn’t see that. Ultimately I did really enjoy this book but it took me an absolute age to get into it, and even when I was invested I just found it so incredibly easy to put down.

What I did love was the premise and the whole plot line. I absolutely loved this twist on a dystopian future and it really didn’t feel like this was set too far in the future which was perfect. This felt like such a realistic take on how things could turn and I loved that.

I also really enjoyed how many twists and turns this story went on - the betrayals, the lies, the deception - just brilliant.

For me the characters in general didn’t have the depth I wanted and I really felt like this could have been a much stronger read if it had gone through a really good edit - I’m convinced a third of the chapters could have been cut and it wouldn’t impact anything.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC