I had never read a Naomi Alderman book, despite "The Power" being recommended to me many times. So when I had the chance to grab an advance copy of her newest book, "The Future," I jumped on it.
"The Future" takes on the question of, if you were rich enough to predict the end of the world and save it, would you help or would you save yourself?
The story focuses on three tech billionaires (that seem to be allusions to the CEOs of Amazon, Apple and Meta) and the people who are part of their lives. It takes place in the 2020s, so is written like this "apocalypse" could take place in just a few years.
Alderman uses the story to tackles discussions about man vs. machine, survival of all vs. survival of the fittest, money vs. morality, hunters vs. gatherers, religion vs. radicalism and lots of other moral quandaries.
While the premise was interesting and the writing was as good as promised, this wasn't a perfect read for me. I prefer my dystopian reads to be more on the fantasy side. This was a little to real to be enjoyable in my opinion. I also did not like any of the characters. I don't think readers are really supposed to like any of them, but it would have made me invest more.
This probably would have been a four-star read for me, but I really did not like the ending. I think one of the main characters was way too forgiving and that everything was wrapped up in a neat little happily ever after bow when it should not have been based on the rest of the book.
Stars: 3/5
Busy Girl Ratine: 3/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader copy. The book is available to purchase as of November 7, 2023.
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