Two best friends create a computer that can predict the future. But what they can’t predict is how it will tear their friendship—and society—apart.“An impossibly addictive brainteaser wrapped in a buttery popcorn kernel.”—Aneesh Chaganty, director and co-writer of Searching and RunIN DEVELOPMENT AS AN HBO MAX ORIGINAL SERIESIf you had the chance to look one year into the future, would you? For … had the chance to look one year into the future, would you?
For Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry, the answer is unequivocally yes. And they’re betting everything that you’ll say yes, too. Welcome to The Future: a computer that connects to the internet one year from now, so you can see who you’ll be dating, where you’ll be working, even whether or not you’ll be alive in the year to come. By forming a startup to deliver this revolutionary technology to the world, Ben and Adhi have made their wildest, most impossible dream a reality. Once Silicon Valley outsiders, they’re now its hottest commodity.
The device can predict everything perfectly—from stock market spikes and sports scores to political scandals and corporate takeovers—allowing them to chase down success and fame while staying one step ahead of the competition. But the future their device foretells is not the bright one they imagined.
Ambition. Greed. Jealousy. And, perhaps, an apocalypse. The question is . . . can they stop it?
Told through emails, texts, transcripts, and blog posts, this bleeding-edge tech thriller chronicles the costs of innovation and asks how far you’d go to protect the ones you love—even from themselves.
more
A fast, fun read about two college friends who form a start-up to sell a computer that can look one year into the future, but of course things don’t go as planned. Told entirely through emails, texts, Tweets, blogs, newspaper articles, and government documents. Each character is given their own distinctive voice so that they come across as totally authentic.
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love stories that explore time travel so this was on my reading short list. And it definitely delivered. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I understood all the science and theories woven through this plot. There are some very heady concepts within these pages and I stopped reading at one point to do some research, falling into a science vortex. It was fun!
Please don’t be put off by the time travel and the science. Keeping track of the timeline is not hard because it isn’t time travel in the traditional sense. It’s more like a computer doing a data query on a future version of itself. It was unique and certainly captured my attention. I had no idea how it was going to end.
The reason I didn’t give it more stars is because I don’t think this is the right medium for this story. I’m going to say something I never thought I’d say: this would make a better movie or TV show.
The style it was told in – found documents, emails, transcripts, and text messages – while interesting, meant the character interactions we the readers saw were a little flat. There was plenty of tension to keep the story moving but I think we missed out on a lot of the nuance of more subtle emotions that we would be able to see on a screen. The potential is there. It exists and when I stopped reading and envisioned it as a movie or TV show, I could see those quiet moments. The visual medium would elevate and enhance this story. And then of course I get to the end of the book and see that the author is a screenwriter and it all makes sense.
I recommend this to any and all science-fiction fans!
3 stars
The Future is Yours is one of those books that I am not really sure how to rate. On one hand, I really liked the unique way that Frey told the story, through a series of texts, emails, articles and a deposition. On the other hand, Ben was a truly unlikeable protagonist, but not in a “good” way. Honestly, he was an egotistical jerk and I just found it very difficult having the story told in his voice.
The concept of this novel is great and that is what drew me in. I have recently become of fan of what I would consider “light” sci-fi (Think Dark Matter, Recursion, 11/22/63) and this book falls right into that genre. I also enjoyed the plot and the pacing of this book certainly keep me flipping pages.
The book definitely starts out strong and the premise of being able to get information one year into the future was really intriguing. But as the story moves along, it gets more into the weeds and kind of starts to fall apart when you realize that this technology really has no point and the end just didn’t work for me.
Thank you to Random House for my copy of this book via NetGalley
Unique. Excellent! This is an intriguing new sci-fi tech time travel story by Dan Frey. An absolute page turner. I could not put it down. Ben’s and Adhi’s story is told through a serious of documents, court records, articles, texts and emails. The suspense created by this format is nail biting. The twists just keep on coming. A fascinating dilemma. If you could look 1 year into the future, would you? What would you do if someone told you, The Future is Yours?
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review.
The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey is a highly recommended tech thriller that explores the realm of time travel and the relationship between two entrepreneurs.
Adhi Chaudry is by all accounts a genius (and on the spectrum) and Ben Boyce has been his best friend since college. Adhi has the theory that a quantum computer can be made that will see into the future. Ben believes in his friend and the two join together to create a startup to deliver the device, The Future. Adhi’s job is to develop the technology, while Ben will hustle up the funding. And they do it. They create a prototype computer that can see one year into the future, and the future they glimpse looks bright. Ben is ready to be Silicon Valley’s next tech billionaire, while Adhi begins to see changes in the future and becomes concerned.
The narrative in The Future Is Yours is told through written records, mainly a transcript of Ben’s testimony before a congressional committee, but also text messages, emails, and blog posts. This epistolary technique works well in the novel as you need to read in-between the lines and infer what may be going on behind the scene that is not being shared. The sci-fi elements of being able to see one year in the future is very intriguing, but The Future Is Yours focuses more on the past and present relationship between the characters and the implications of the technology. (The concept of time travel paradoxes is introduced in a simple manner, especially the effect on free will as in Newcomb’s paradox.)
The characters are developed through their own words and actions. It becomes clear that Ben is focused on the wealth and prestige he plans to amass from The Future. Adhi clearly has a conscious and begins to question the moral and personal implications of looking ahead a year in the future and how this alters individual actions and thoughts.
This is a fast read and will hold your attention throughout. The novel does focus more on the human aspect of the story and the relationship between Adhi and Ben rather than the science behind time travel, or in this case glimpsing information from the future. I was fascinated with the idea of seeing information from one year in the future, but also questioned the implications of this information and Adhi does do this even though The Future is his technological invention. Personally, I would have liked to see the paradoxes explored a little more. Ben is all about “show me the money” and becomes increasingly reprehensible as you see he will do anything to see that big payout. This makes The Future Is Yours an interesting psychological and moralistic study of the friendship between two very different men.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House Publishing Group.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/01/the-future-is-yours.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3800563489
I have seen The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey categorized as science fiction, time travel, and as a techno-thriller, and there are aspects of all of these within this unique story set in California and Washington D.C. The key question in this book relates to seeing what is happening one year in the future. Would you take advantage of such an opportunity? Do you really want to know what the future holds for you?
Former college friends Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry answer this question with an overwhelming yes. Forming a startup called The Future, they want to deliver this technology to the world. Ben takes on the management, marketing and financial side and Adhi tackles the technical side. Will they make their dream into a reality where the device can predict everything perfectly? Will there be any downsides or long-term consequences? Would they be social, political, personal, or something else entirely? Can they overcome the technical, scalability, and ethical hazards of such a technology? What types of opposition and opportunities will they encounter?
The reader gains a strong sense of Ben and Adhi’s personalities through their texts and emails. Additionally, Adhi shows significant character growth despite his introversion while Ben seems to stay the extroverted entrepreneur that is out to conquer the world. How will their relationship change?
While I know other books have used similar formats, this is my first reading experience where the entire novel was told through written records such as emails, transcripts, blogs, text messages, incident reports, and letters. In this case, it worked well. Additionally, the reader gains some insight into venture capital and even board of directors’ office politics. Somehow, the format also managed to invoke a strong sense of suspense and tension which I didn’t expect, but made the reading experience pleasurable. I did think some of the swearing used wasn’t necessary to convey the mood and tension and could have been handled differently. Additionally, the use of stereotypes, if it was going to be used for the two main characters, could have been reversed and would have made the story more unique. Themes include friendship, ethics, love, business acumen, predictive accuracy, change, and consequences to actions.
Overall, this gripping, original, and steadily-paced book was entertaining and kept my interest. This novel was definitely thought-provoking. The ending? You’ll have to read it to find out if they are successful or not. Does the world change? What happens to Ben and Adhi?
Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine – Del Rey and Dan Frey provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 9, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
Adhi Chaudry had an incredible idea for his graduate dissertation. But because it was believed to be utterly unrealistic, it was not approved. However, Adhi knows it is, indeed, possible. When he tells his friend, the charismatic Ben Boyce, about it, they decide to use the idea to get rich. They plan to market Adhi’s special computer that can see one year into the future. After all, who would not want to see the future? This is Adhi’s story.
This story is told only through emails, articles, and other such forms of communication. This method seemed strange, at first, but it certainly makes the story feel very, very real! There is another reason for this format, too. An awesome one that you will discover at the end of this book!
Very realistic characters and this mysterious format really make this book an incredible experience! It truly makes you think!
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.