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rae_swabey's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Relevant, insightful and utterly compelling, I devoured this book. It was on course to be the easiest five stars I've ever given, but the ending missed the mark for me in so many ways.
I think it's an understatement to say it stretched credulity. But the story centres on tech billionaires, survivalists and religious fundamentalists, so I can forgive some of the James Bond sex-suits-repurposed-as-survival-suits, fake plane crash shenanigans. It was a page turner and just about stuck to its own logic.
The revelation that one of the main point-of-view characters had been a mole and smashed up the communication equipment without us knowing was a bit annoying, but again, I can just about forgive it, because it made for an exciting story and just about made sense.
But spending 400 pages laying out why capitalism is the problem, and detailing its most problematic aspects in allegory, reason and in the story itself, to then present a change of personnel at three tech companies and people being marginally nicer to each other on social media as the solution to all our problems? Unforgivable.
In the acknowledgments, Alderman pays homage to indigenous philosophy, and you can see some of it resonating through the narrative, but to then give us a semi-utopian ending in which humans are excluded from huge tracts of the world (not capitalists; humans) is, to say the least, problematic.
Alderman weaves in a fox/rabbit dichotomy in which the rabbit, or Western agricultural, lifestyle is shown to be based on a mindset of dominion, control and greed that is destroying the natural world. But ultimately she seems to see complete rabbitification as inevitable. Foxes are honoured in her utopian ending, but are also disappeared. For someone who obviously understands enclosures and colonisation to the extent Alderman does, it was so disappointing.
They do say it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism, but to try and give us the continuation of capitalism without the end of Western consumptive capitalism really is pie in the sky.
This book asks all the right questions, and it explores them own some really thought-provoking ways, but ultimately chickens out of giving us a satisfactory answer.
I think it's an understatement to say it stretched credulity. But the story centres on tech billionaires, survivalists and religious fundamentalists, so I can forgive some of the James Bond sex-suits-repurposed-as-survival-suits, fake plane crash shenanigans. It was a page turner and just about stuck to its own logic.
The revelation that one of the main point-of-view characters had been a mole and smashed up the communication equipment without us knowing was a bit annoying, but again, I can just about forgive it, because it made for an exciting story and just about made sense.
But spending 400 pages laying out why capitalism is the problem, and detailing its most problematic aspects in allegory, reason and in the story itself, to then present a change of personnel at three tech companies and people being marginally nicer to each other on social media as the solution to all our problems? Unforgivable.
In the acknowledgments, Alderman pays homage to indigenous philosophy, and you can see some of it resonating through the narrative, but to then give us a semi-utopian ending in which humans are excluded from huge tracts of the world (not capitalists; humans) is, to say the least, problematic.
Alderman weaves in a fox/rabbit dichotomy in which the rabbit, or Western agricultural, lifestyle is shown to be based on a mindset of dominion, control and greed that is destroying the natural world. But ultimately she seems to see complete rabbitification as inevitable. Foxes are honoured in her utopian ending, but are also disappeared. For someone who obviously understands enclosures and colonisation to the extent Alderman does, it was so disappointing.
They do say it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism, but to try and give us the continuation of capitalism without the end of Western consumptive capitalism really is pie in the sky.
This book asks all the right questions, and it explores them own some really thought-provoking ways, but ultimately chickens out of giving us a satisfactory answer.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
bookwormcat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is amazing. So many twists and turns it gave me whiplash!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Religious bigotry, Cancer, Cursing, Death, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Another naomi alderman slay
The characters were well written and the plot was engaging, winding and answered all my little questions
Chefs kiss, live laugh love martha
The characters were well written and the plot was engaging, winding and answered all my little questions
Chefs kiss, live laugh love martha
‘How does trust build between people? It is an offering and a recieving, it is putting yourself in a position to be hurt, just a little, and noticing that they refrain.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide attempt
kitwhelan's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I would still rather read Psalm For The Wild Built to get my futurism from a less intense source, but this was compelling as heck.
I really wished we could’ve spent more time on the finale and what was happening in the world, and less on the island, as the ending felt a bit rushed. But, even though I have some critiques, I enjoyed the way this story was told and will probably keep thinking about it’s big ideas for a long time.
Honestly,if only it could be so easy as getting rid of three billionaires. In reality I’m not sure the forces of capitalism would allow anyone to so quickly change the world. Although I am 100% on board with social media platforms emphasizing the good rather than the anger and fear-inducing content. That would help.
I also saw the fact that they faked the apocalypse coming from the first chapters, I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a twist. But because of that I do wish we could’ve spent less time with the billionaires and more time with Martha & co actually doing the fixing of the world. (In truth, I would have rather had our heroes be more average individuals than second-in-command to the rich & powerful.) BUT I do think for the times we live in now coming at it from the perspective of tech bros was effective. Especially for those who are early in their anti-capitalist journey.
I really wished we could’ve spent more time on the finale and what was happening in the world, and less on the island, as the ending felt a bit rushed. But, even though I have some critiques, I enjoyed the way this story was told and will probably keep thinking about it’s big ideas for a long time.
Honestly,
I also saw the fact that they faked the apocalypse coming from the first chapters, I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a twist. But because of that I do wish we could’ve spent less time with the billionaires and more time with Martha & co actually doing the fixing of the world. (In truth, I would have rather had our heroes be more average individuals than second-in-command to the rich & powerful.) BUT I do think for the times we live in now coming at it from the perspective of tech bros was effective. Especially for those who are early in their anti-capitalist journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide
tinytrashqueen's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Sexual content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Religious bigotry
deedireads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
All my book reviews live at https://deedireads.com/.
This book was a bit of a gamble for me — tech apocalypse books are just not my favorite — but because I (and most of the world) loved The Power back when it first came out, I was willing to give it a shot. I didn’t hate it, but unfortunately, it still wasn’t really for me.
At the start of the book, the CEOs of the biggest tech companies in a near future all get the notification that it’s time to head to their apocalypse bunkers. A survivalist influencer who was dating one of the CEOs’ assistants also gets tangled up in the situation. That’s all I’ll say about the story for now.
The full cast audiobook was also fun and made for a good listening experience, except maybe for the sections written as the forum threads — those were easier to follow on paper. Speaking of which, those threads lost me a bit with their biblical analysis. I actually think that they worked in the sense that they served the book well, but I found myself zoning out. Plus, I’m not sure I loved the last page, lol.
Still, the book was definitely plotty and twisty, and if you’re looking for a slightly more sophisticated version of a dystopian thriller this might be your jam!
This book was a bit of a gamble for me — tech apocalypse books are just not my favorite — but because I (and most of the world) loved The Power back when it first came out, I was willing to give it a shot. I didn’t hate it, but unfortunately, it still wasn’t really for me.
At the start of the book, the CEOs of the biggest tech companies in a near future all get the notification that it’s time to head to their apocalypse bunkers. A survivalist influencer who was dating one of the CEOs’ assistants also gets tangled up in the situation. That’s all I’ll say about the story for now.
The full cast audiobook was also fun and made for a good listening experience, except maybe for the sections written as the forum threads — those were easier to follow on paper. Speaking of which, those threads lost me a bit with their biblical analysis. I actually think that they worked in the sense that they served the book well, but I found myself zoning out. Plus, I’m not sure I loved the last page, lol.
Still, the book was definitely plotty and twisty, and if you’re looking for a slightly more sophisticated version of a dystopian thriller this might be your jam!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Murder
jessdrafahl's review
4.0
Had a slow start, but I was captivated by the last third. Loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Death
zoeyzebra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
genevieve_and_her_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Pandemic/Epidemic
bekkah_co's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was a delight to read. It had such an interesting format, mixing standard prose with the stylistic choices of the message boards, that had no issue keeping me engaged. It was stylistically interesting and the point of view changes were done masterfully.
The Future combines notions of religion, anxiety around the current state of affairs of the world, and that there could be a chance for redemption into an exciting narrative filled with high-tension and thought provoking scenarios. Overall, this was a rich read. If you enjoy religion, Alderman's use of Sodom and Gomorrah as a framing narrative provides a useful frame to view the novel within. It hinges heavily on the ability to recognize the parallels to our own current world and how things could either get better or continue into absolute destruction. The Future is a perfect example of realistic fiction of what could be if our own world continues the way it currently is.
I wish we could have seen more of the relationships between the characters. This book felt very dependent on external factors and not fully on interpersonal relationships. Eventually some of the billionaires do merge together as they face the same chaos and anxieties. Yet, I think this was intentional. These are people living high rolling lifestyles with little concerns for those around them. Their lives become a routine of white-collar crime, fighting frivolous legal battles, and spending exuberant amounts of money. Out of all the characters in The Future, Zhen was by fair the most compelling. She was caught in a game for billionaires by falling in love with one and ultimately had her life severely disrupted. She was a survivalist trying to survive not just the apocalypse but navigating the world of money and power.
Two notes:
The Future combines notions of religion, anxiety around the current state of affairs of the world, and that there could be a chance for redemption into an exciting narrative filled with high-tension and thought provoking scenarios. Overall, this was a rich read. If you enjoy religion, Alderman's use of Sodom and Gomorrah as a framing narrative provides a useful frame to view the novel within. It hinges heavily on the ability to recognize the parallels to our own current world and how things could either get better or continue into absolute destruction. The Future is a perfect example of realistic fiction of what could be if our own world continues the way it currently is.
I wish we could have seen more of the relationships between the characters. This book felt very dependent on external factors and not fully on interpersonal relationships. Eventually some of the billionaires do merge together as they face the same chaos and anxieties. Yet, I think this was intentional. These are people living high rolling lifestyles with little concerns for those around them. Their lives become a routine of white-collar crime, fighting frivolous legal battles, and spending exuberant amounts of money. Out of all the characters in The Future, Zhen was by fair the most compelling. She was caught in a game for billionaires by falling in love with one and ultimately had her life severely disrupted. She was a survivalist trying to survive not just the apocalypse but navigating the world of money and power.
Two notes:
- It could be gayer.
I was very invested in the relationship between Zhen and Martha. I felt robbed when we didn't get more! - The ending was interesting and is really what prevents this from being a 5 Star for me.
The ending was almost too idealistic for me. Human nature is fickle. I would love to believe that everyone was good and wanted to promote a better future, but there is always going to be greed. Just because three billionaires disappear and their companies get broken up does not mean it will inspire a global "Let's Fix This" movement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts