2054: A Dystopian Future that Vaguely Mirrors Our Current Divide

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Penguin Press
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While this novel, by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis, is set in 2054, the premise of this futuristic telling of the fate of our world tackles some very now topics. I find that part of the book a worthwhile reason to check it out. You've got scientists chasing after the definitive discovery of the Singularity, where technology and biology will one day merge to create some utopia of existence that shouldn’t be ours to be had. It touches on political upheavals because two sides of a broken government system can’t find common ground. It touches on world domination and control, while racing to utilize this new technology in astounding, and also horrific, ways. It starts with the assassination of a controversial president, without clearly picking a political side. 

All of this is rolled into an intriguing idea for a futuristic story that doesn’t really stray far from current events and news, and yet the story itself—the characters within it— felt emotionally distant for this reader. It didn’t gel for me like I had hoped. Let’s be transparent, though. This book is a sequel, and I didn't read the first one. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I started with the first of the series, 2034. It still has some really intriguing setups, and it touches on the dangers within the new technologies of AI and remote gene manipulation, and that might be reason enough to give it a try. I’m a horror aficionado more than I am a sci-fi one, although sometimes the two genres cross over enough for me to fall in love. This one is more political thriller set in a futuristic world. If you’re deeply into sci-fi or political thrillers in general, this might be the read for you. Click the cover image above for where to buy it online.