The Future Is Yours: A Novel
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- Create Date：2021-02-12 04:20:09
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- Author：Dan Frey
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Summary
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 Run
IN DEVELOPMENT AS AN HBO MAX ORIGINAL SERIES
If you 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。
“An impossibly addictive brainteaser wrapped in a buttery popcorn kernel。”—Aneesh Chaganty， director and co-writer of Searching and Run
IN DEVELOPMENT AS AN HBO MAX ORIGINAL SERIES
If you 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。
Editor Reviews
11/02/2020
Two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs discover that the future is in flux in this tightly braided if slightly overwrought tech thriller from Frey （The Retreat）。 Ben Boyce finds the investors that enable his business partner Adhvan Chaudry to build his dream: a quantum computer entangled with its future self， able to communicate from a year ahead。 Success and security concerns spoil the party， though， as the two move in different directions over ethical questions about how to use their glimpses into the future。 Ben wants a seat at the techie billionaire table and is willing to compromise his morals to get it， but Adhvan is concerned when the future the machine shows them starts to change as they get closer to bringing their invention to market。 Frey folds in a good amount of suspense by shaping the narrative around Ben’s testimony before a congressional committee set to decide on the legal and ethical implications of the technology， tantalizing readers with statements and documents that slowly reveal Ben and Adhvan’s past。 Adhvan’s climactic solution for Congress’s hostility to their company is a bit of a deus ex machina， but even in the bombastic finale the character dynamics ring true。 Sci-fi fans are sure to be entertained。 Agent: Zoe Sandler， ICM Partners。 （Feb。）
Excerpt
Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
Email
From: Ben Boyce
To: Ben Boyce， Adhvan Chaudry
My Dudes，
IT WORKS！ Seriously。 You did it。
This is so weird—I’m sending this on Feb 28， 2022， knowing that I’ll receive it （already DID receive it） on Feb 28， 2021。 Pretty trippy， right？
So listen up， Past Ben 。 。 。 First of all， high-five！ You were right to believe this whole time—in yourself， in Adhi， in all of it。 Your dream of becoming the first Black CEO to launch a billion-dollar company is gonna come true 。 。 。 and I can say that with certainty， because for me， IT ALREADY DID。
And Adhi。 Bro。 You’re the brilliance that makes it possible。 I always said you’d do something to change the world and I was right。 It’s crazy—you’re sitting across the room as I write this， but I still remember your face the day you read it。 Pick up your jaw and keep reading。
Now， I know you’re both about to flip out and start using the Prototype to look up everything you can， so lemme just save you a little suspense。
1: Stanford’s season is gonna be terrible， so just detach yourselves from that shitshow right away and save yourselves the heartache。
2: Stock tips–wise， yeah， of course， you COULD get into some foolproof investments today。 But I promise you’ll be better off not mucking around with all that， cause the main thing you gotta do is invest in your motherf***in SELVES。
I just wanna take this moment to say: everything is gonna be fine。 The Prototype works （obviously）。 And whatever happens， don’t trip。 Not about money or respect or prestige， any of it。 Just pop that cork and enjoy the best shitty champagne of your life， I remember it well。 From here on out—trust the process， enjoy the ride， and most of all， stick together。
Sincerely and eternally your friend，
Ben from the future
Excerpt from Transcript of Congressional Hearing—December 1， 2021
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: The Committees on the Judiciary and Commerce， Science， and Technology will come to order。 We welcome everyone to today’s hearing on the new commercial venture known as “The Future，” and the potential legal， ethical， and policy ramifications of its technology。
Though not unprecedented， this hearing is a unique opportunity to anticipate and address serious social consequences of a new consumer technology。 This legislative body has a history of playing distant catch-up to new innovation， as evidenced by last year’s hearings about social media and privacy issues。 The hope is that we can be ahead of the curve—especially in light of the recent whistleblower leak， which seems to suggest that this technology may pose an existential threat to our nation and our people。
BOYCE: Mr。 Chairman， I object to characterizing it as—
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: You have not been invited to speak yet， Mr。 Boyce。 And regardless of your objections， we have seen data， from your own company， which many reputable scientists interpret to mean that we are on a course toward the obliteration of civilization as we know it， on a time horizon of less than two years。 Now if that’s not an existential threat—
BOYCE: I just think it’s irresponsible to call it that， without proper consideration of all the factors。
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: Do not lecture me on irresponsible， Mr。 Boyce。 And if you will not adhere to parliamentary rules of decorum， you will be charged with Contempt。 Understood？
BOYCE: 。 。 。 Understood。
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: Good。 Now， the members of this body have called two witnesses， the founders of the company called The Future: Mr。 Benjamin Boyce and Mr。 Adhvan Chaudry。 However， let the record show， at the time of this hearing， only Mr。 Boyce has appeared before the committee。 Mr。 Boyce， can you answer for the absence of your colleague？
BOYCE: No， I cannot。 And I’m worried。 If Adhi’s not here， clearly something is wrong， and it would be best if we can adjourn for now。
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: This is not a meeting held at your convenience。 You are answering a subpoena before forty-four members of Congress。 Since one of you has failed to appear， a warrant will be issued for the arrest of Mr。 Chaudry， and he will be charged with Contempt of Congress。 Now， if you wish to avoid similar charges， are you prepared to proceed with the hearing？
BOYCE: 。 。 。 Yes， sir。 I would just like the record to reflect my request for postponement。
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: Duly noted， and we can all hope that at some point today， your co-founder will deign to join us。 He is certainly earning his reputation for intellectual hubris。
BOYCE: I just want to point out， it’s not really hubris if it’s earned， is it？ No offense or anything， but Adhi is smarter than anyone in this room。
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: That may be the case， Mr。 Boyce。 But this body is convened because trusting people who are ostensibly “smarter” has gotten us in quite a bit of trouble in the past。 No doubt the data scientists at Cambridge Analytica were very proud of their intelligence， as were the eugenicists of a century ago。
BOYCE: Come on， is that really a fair comparison？
SEN。 GREG WALDEN （D-OR）: We are dealing with a technology that apparently has the potential to end the world as we know it。 So excuse me if my comparisons offend， but it is well worth discussing how Mr。 Chaudry’s intelligence has created problems in the past。
Adhvan Chaudry’s College Admissions Essay
Submitted January 12， 2012， to Stanford University
Education is bullshit。
I know it may be ill advised to say so in this particular forum， but I hope that Stanford recognizes rigor and rewards honesty。 Allow me to explain how I reached this particular conclusion。
My parents came to this country shortly before I was born。 They were seeking to escape the caste system of India。 It had been formally abolished in 1950， but was， for practical purposes， still firmly in place twenty years ago。 Since my parents were Shudras （poor laborers）， they never had any hope of becoming Rajanyas （rich merchants）。 But they believed in America they could。
When they arrived in San Francisco， they tried their best。 But they were frustrated to discover it is just as impossible to move up in the world here。 Not only that， they learned that the Indian system had been preferable in a way—because no Shudra is ever made to feel guilty about being poor。 It is their lot in life。 But in America， poverty equates to failure。 It is a source of deep and abiding shame。
So they pinned their hopes on me。 They sacrificed and worked long hours。 They instilled the value of hard work in the hope that I would go to a great college and win for myself a job better than either of them had the privilege of having。 They saw education as the way out。
However， from my experience in the academic world so far， I have seen that it is all a facade。 A rigged game。 A system of smoke and mirrors， to separate the wheat from the chaff， and perpetuate an oligarchic system that rewards privilege generation after generation， just as much as the caste system did。 At the “prestigious” prep school that I attend （on a full academic scholarship）， the vast majority of my fellow students are from wealthy families。 And cheating is rampant among my peers。 Most parents are complicit in a system that values perfect grades， test scores， and a robust résumé of activities 。 。 。 but does not give a damn about integrity。
We are admonished to be scholars and gentlemen “at all times，” and students are threatened with expulsion for their conduct on the weekend。 Of course， when our school president’s son （one of my classmates） got so drunk at a school basketball game that he stumbled onto the court and vomited on the foul line， he was merely given detention， and the incident was swept under the rug。
With all this said， you are probably wondering—does this kid even want to attend Stanford？ And the answer for me is unequivocally yes。
I know that my low opinion of education will always sound like an excuse， unless it is backed up with experience。 I know my earning potential will be bolstered by the diplomas， even if they don’t mean a thing。 I intend to get the best schooling I can get， all the way through a PhD， so I can assert with utter confidence that education， top to bottom， is total f***ing bullshit。
Reviews
St22445
，
I thought The Future is Yours was a creative plot that was entertaining to read。 The story is relatively fast paced once it gets going and I finished it in a few hours。 This is an epistolary novel and while I think this makes for a unique reading experience and helps make it a quick read， it doesn’t allow for much character development or depth。 The characters are exactly who they started out as and the reader does not gain much insight into why choices are made。 This also made it a bit difficult to connect to any of the characters， there is only so much you can connect to over text， email， meeting note or memos。 The author did do a great job of creating a unique voice for each character - even without name labels， I would know exactly who was talking。 I also liked that while this is a science fiction book， there was also a lot of focus around human relationships and interactions。 There were some interesting moral questions raised and discussed。 I also appreciated that for the most part they keep things to a lay person level of understanding regarding what they build and how it worked。 I did find myself skimming the sections that did contain the science heavy documents and data。 With several timelines involved， you did have to pay attention to the dates on the media to understand when events were taking place but I didn’t find the plot overly complex or hard to follow。 I did have some suspicions on the way the plot would wrap up， but the ending was still a bit of a surprise。 I was definitely entertained by this book and would read another book by the author。 Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for providing me the eARC in exchange for an honest review。 3。5/5 stars rounded up to 4。
Jessica Higgins
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Mind bending and terrifying at the same time！When two friends create a quantum computer that can access data one year into the future， their own future seems limitless。 This device will be able to tell you anything from sports scores to stock market tips to if you will live for the next year！ With a start-up on the rise and knowledge of what will happen， what could go wrong？ Ambition， greed， and jealousy， that’s what！ This was an interesting approach for a futuristic quantum novel。 It is told th Mind bending and terrifying at the same time！When two friends create a quantum computer that can access data one year into the future， their own future seems limitless。 This device will be able to tell you anything from sports scores to stock market tips to if you will live for the next year！ With a start-up on the rise and knowledge of what will happen， what could go wrong？ Ambition， greed， and jealousy， that’s what！ This was an interesting approach for a futuristic quantum novel。 It is told through a series of emails， text messages， future articles， and transcripts from a Senate Exchange Committee hearing。 There is never any actual personal dialogue， but you just keep reading because you want to know what is going to happen next。 It’s a little weird in that you can never really gauge a visual representation of any of the characters。 Maybe a little from their backgrounds， but no descriptions are given throughout the book。 You can easily develop emotions for the characters based on their behavior through their correspondence。 Most readers will just loathe Ben by the end of the book， but he does have ambition。 I’m not a huge fan of Leila either， but I get she was just trying to save face in a bad situation。 I felt sorry for Adhi， but got frustrated with him at the same time。 I really want to comment on the story arc and concepts that Frey used， but I feel like I would be giving something away and want readers to discover this on their own！If you like futuristic novels of the like of Blake Crouch and Andy Weir， this will likely fit right in your wheelhouse。 There is a lot of foul language throughout the book， so I would recommend it to mature readers。I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher。 The views and opinions expressed within are my own。 。。。more
Kayla （krakentoagoodbook）
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Actual rating: 3。5 starsI really enjoyed the concept of this book， as well as how it goes into a bit of detail about things like quantum computing。 I absolutely loved the use of mixed media formatting here with emails， texts， transcripts， and more。 I think it's a really fun way to tell a story， and it makes the book just fly by。 This story definitely takes a darker turn and questions if we truly have free will or if everything is set in stone。 The story does end on an ambiguous note which I actu Actual rating: 3。5 starsI really enjoyed the concept of this book， as well as how it goes into a bit of detail about things like quantum computing。 I absolutely loved the use of mixed media formatting here with emails， texts， transcripts， and more。 I think it's a really fun way to tell a story， and it makes the book just fly by。 This story definitely takes a darker turn and questions if we truly have free will or if everything is set in stone。 The story does end on an ambiguous note which I actually liked since it seems to really suit the overall tone。 The main drawback for me was the characters。 I didn't particularly care for any of them。 They feel almost like stereotypical， terrible Silicon Valley people。 One of our characters is obsessed with fame and making as much money as possible。 Another is a somewhat reclusive genius who struggles to talk to girls。 The story became more focused on the arguments and drama between the characters instead of the more sci-fi elements， so I didn't entirely love this change of direction。 I can't help but wonder if all of this could have been avoided - but perhaps that's the point！ As a whole， I did enjoy my time with this book and would recommend it。 It's a really interesting exploration of time travel。 Again， the mixed media makes it even more fun！ I received a copy of this for review from the publisher via NetGalley - thank you！ All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Lauren Archer
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http://obsessedbookaholic。com/2021/02。。。 http://obsessedbookaholic。com/2021/02。。。 。。。more
Sean Randall
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Wow。 Intense， scarily believable and a single-session plough through。 I was compelled to carry on， even though the theft immediately spoiled the ending for me， but perhaps I’ve just read too much in the genre to be surprised。 But the format worked really well， the ramifications of the technology were explored in as much depth as the length and format allowed， the blog posts were authentic， existential and so very Human and the reaction of both big data and the US government utterly believable。 O Wow。 Intense， scarily believable and a single-session plough through。 I was compelled to carry on， even though the theft immediately spoiled the ending for me， but perhaps I’ve just read too much in the genre to be surprised。 But the format worked really well， the ramifications of the technology were explored in as much depth as the length and format allowed， the blog posts were authentic， existential and so very Human and the reaction of both big data and the US government utterly believable。 One to watch without doubt， there’s a new voice in the space and I want to read his other book now。 。。。more
Allie
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I started reading this book with the most tentative of expectations and was pleasantly surprised！ It's a convincing take on the modern epistolary format， superbly put together， and completely engrossing。I do feel like a clown for thinking the book was going to go a certain way regarding romantic entanglements but that's on me。 （view spoiler）[don't worry bros Adhi's strictly a bro （hide spoiler）]Thanks for the ARC， Del Rey/RH！ I started reading this book with the most tentative of expectations and was pleasantly surprised！ It's a convincing take on the modern epistolary format， superbly put together， and completely engrossing。I do feel like a clown for thinking the book was going to go a certain way regarding romantic entanglements but that's on me。 （view spoiler）[don't worry bros Adhi's strictly a bro （hide spoiler）]Thanks for the ARC， Del Rey/RH！ 。。。more
Lisa Wolf
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If I had the technology of this book back in February 2020， then I could have found out a year ago that I would end up reading The Future Is Yours this week — compulsively， start to finish， taking a break just for the bare necessities。 （And work。 Because work waits for no woman。 Or book。 But I digress。）The Future Is Yours is just so freakin’ cool。 Two friends， former college roommates now stuck in the workworld grind， invent a technology that can change the world。 Ben is charming， charismatic， a If I had the technology of this book back in February 2020， then I could have found out a year ago that I would end up reading The Future Is Yours this week — compulsively， start to finish， taking a break just for the bare necessities。 （And work。 Because work waits for no woman。 Or book。 But I digress。）The Future Is Yours is just so freakin’ cool。 Two friends， former college roommates now stuck in the workworld grind， invent a technology that can change the world。 Ben is charming， charismatic， and dreams of success。 Adhi is brilliant， introverted， and not particularly socially adept。 Adhi leaves Stanford before finishing his Ph。D。 in Computer Science， frustrated that the dissertation advisors can’t see the possibilities of his complex thoughts on quantum entanglement。But Ben gets it — sure， maybe he doesn’t get the physics， but he gets the potential， and convinces Adhi that they can make his dream a reality。 The dream is seeing the future， using quantum entanglement （no， don’t ask me to explain） to create a connection between a computer in the present and itself in the future， so that someone using the device will be able to access the Internet for information that hasn’t happened yet。Armed with a dream， Ben and Adhi set out to take Silicon Valley by storm。 And while they get laughed out of plenty of rooms， they finally find a VC investor who’s willing to bet on them。 From nobodies， they’re suddenly at the helm of The Future， a company that’s getting billion-dollar buyout offers from the likes of Google。One of the basic principles of The Future is that the future it sees， one year forward， can’t be changed。 Everything is connected， everything is already determined。 This of course opens up all sorts of debates about free will and human nature， and also leads to The Future’s first scandal — a prototype user who takes his own life after reading about his future death。 But did The Future simply report on inevitable events， or did it somehow cause what happened？Told through memos， emails， texts， hearing transcripts， and other written communications， The Future Is Yours takes us on a journey through Adhi and Ben’s friendship and the crazy trajectory of their company。 The deeper they get into The Future， the darker their lives become， and their friendship and closest relationships are all on the line… and if certain dire predictions turn out to be true， the future of human life might be at risk too。This book is one crazy ride。 At first， it feels like putting together a puzzle with pieces missing。 We jump straight into Congressional hearings， then go back to Ben and Adhi’s college days， moving forward with the story while also seeing how such an incredibly messed-up situation came into being。Through their texts and emails， we get to know Adhi and Ben’s personalities， their values， and how they view life， and see how very different they are。 Adhi won my heart by virtue of a being a closet pop culture geek， making references to everything from Star Trek to Doctor Who to Twilight （yes， really）。 Quite awesome。As I said at the start of this review， I just couldn’t put The Future Is Yours down。 It’s fast-paced， exciting， weird， and challenging， not to mention funny and just a wee bit scary in a cautionary tale kind of way。 I didn’t really know what to expect when I picked it up — and I think that was a big piece of the fun。 A great read for when you want to get away from the real world for a while。Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley。 Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies。 。。。more
Nicole
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“The Future is Here” by Dan Frey is an engrossing， brisk， well-plotted novel that draws the reader into the personal and ethical implications of an imaginary technology that can provide information from the future。 The hypothetical technology at the heart of the novel expectedly elicits questions of free will versus determinism， and Frey artfully engages with the inevitable paradoxes that arise as a result。While much of the book focuses on teasing out the tangled philosophical and moral conseque “The Future is Here” by Dan Frey is an engrossing， brisk， well-plotted novel that draws the reader into the personal and ethical implications of an imaginary technology that can provide information from the future。 The hypothetical technology at the heart of the novel expectedly elicits questions of free will versus determinism， and Frey artfully engages with the inevitable paradoxes that arise as a result。While much of the book focuses on teasing out the tangled philosophical and moral consequences of peeking into the future， the true soul of this book is the relationship between the two friends who embark on a business enterprise to market this new technology together。 Frey adeptly interweaves their personal struggles into the science fiction storyline。 Gradually， we learn about the backstory behind their relationship， and as we figure out what makes these men tick， we see both their virtues and emotional failings。 Their conflicts are expertly crafted with a realistic sensibility and dynamic arc。In terms of structure， the narrative is told through emails， text messages， blog posts， and other “archival” media， and this epistolary format makes the novel entertaining， economical， and breezy。 You can easily read it in a single sitting and feel gratified at the end of it。 。。。more
Dave
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I am the target audience for this -- grounded sci-fi， Silicon Valley boardroom drama -- and I absolutely devoured it in about two days。
Laura Kehoe
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This was such an interesting and thought-provoking story！ At first I had a harder time getting into this story because of the style it was written in。 But once I got used to it， I found it worked really well with the story。 I also had a harder time connecting with the characters。 But， I think some of that might have been because of how the story was told。 Because it was told via text messages， emails， and other written documents， it was harder to really get into the character's heads。 After a wh This was such an interesting and thought-provoking story！ At first I had a harder time getting into this story because of the style it was written in。 But once I got used to it， I found it worked really well with the story。 I also had a harder time connecting with the characters。 But， I think some of that might have been because of how the story was told。 Because it was told via text messages， emails， and other written documents， it was harder to really get into the character's heads。 After a while， I started to figure out the characters better， but it took a bit。 That being said， I still really enjoyed this book！ The concept was so interesting and really got me thinking。 Time travel/predicting the future isn't always my favorite themes in a book， but I thought the way it was handled in this book was well done。 It made sense and felt a lot more realistic than some other stories。I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of speculative science fiction。 It's not as action-packed and exciting as some stories， but I really appreciated how thought-provoking and engaging it was。 Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the chance to read The Future is Yours in exchange for an honest review！ 。。。more
Reading Our Shelves
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Full review at: https://readingourshelves。com/2021/02。。。This is sci-fi at its simplest。 There is literally no world building， as the story takes place in 2021。 It’s told entirely in texts， emails， blogs， etc。， making it super easy to tear through quickly。Two Stanford grads create a computing system that can connect with itself in the future， thereby letting them “see” what will happen before it happens。 The enthusiastic Ben wants to market the technology to the public， and become the next Steve Full review at: https://readingourshelves。com/2021/02。。。This is sci-fi at its simplest。 There is literally no world building， as the story takes place in 2021。 It’s told entirely in texts， emails， blogs， etc。， making it super easy to tear through quickly。Two Stanford grads create a computing system that can connect with itself in the future， thereby letting them “see” what will happen before it happens。 The enthusiastic Ben wants to market the technology to the public， and become the next Steve Jobs。Then the inevitable troublesome issues start coming up: can the future be altered？ Does just knowing the future make it inevitable， or changeable？ Does knowing， in fact， cause these future events to happen？ And ultimately: is it possible to send more than just data back？Our two main characters， Ben and Adhi， have differing views on these issues， and on the morality of using their technology。 As their views diverge further and further， so does their friendship and the world around them。Since this story takes place in our current world and time， it is also peppered with plenty of pop culture references – especially， but not only， sci-fi ones。 We see the dilemmas presented be compared to those faced by previous fictional characters such as Kirk & Spock， The Doctor， and Rick Deckard。If you knew those characters by name， you would probably enjoy this book！This book comes out today， February 9， 2021。 I was able to read an ARC through Del Rey Books and Netgalley。 。。。more
Lauren loves llamas
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Content warnings: （view spoiler）[death of parents （off-page， one from cancer and one from suicide）， absent parent， gambling addiction （in the past， of MC’s parent）， bipolar disorder （description of episode that led to self-harm and hospitalization）， anxiety， grief， mention of suicidal ideation， infidelity， ableism （MC’s mental illness is outed disparagingly） （hide spoiler）]“So an antisocial introvert doing everything in his power to avoid the world … may have created a technology that will end u Content warnings: （view spoiler）[death of parents （off-page， one from cancer and one from suicide）， absent parent， gambling addiction （in the past， of MC’s parent）， bipolar disorder （description of episode that led to self-harm and hospitalization）， anxiety， grief， mention of suicidal ideation， infidelity， ableism （MC’s mental illness is outed disparagingly） （hide spoiler）]“So an antisocial introvert doing everything in his power to avoid the world … may have created a technology that will end up destroying it？” Ben and Adhi were college roommates who bonded over shared trauma – the death of a parent – as otherwise they couldn’t be more different from each other。 Ben’s charismatic and driven， someone who sees himself as a Steve Jobs visionary type。 Adhi， on the other hand， is an introverted engineering genius。 Dissatisfied with their lives after college， Adhi uses knowledge from his Google day job to create a time travel machine， albeit one with very specific limitations。 It’s a quantum computer that connects with itself exactly one year in the future， giving them access to everything on the future internet。 They quickly come up with a startup to turn it into a consumer device， but as the year progresses， can their friendship – let alone the world – survive knowing the future？ After all， why wouldn’t you want to know about the future？“I do not intend to pin my fate and success to chance， or investment。To the roll of the dice， or the rise and fall of the market。I intend to bet on myself。” While some of the possible benefits – and pitfalls – of being able to see a year in the future are explored， the focus of the book was more on Ben and Adhi’s relationship rather than the technology itself。 Adhi compares them to Kirk and Spock， though I think that’s a bit idealistic （and rather indicative of Adhi’s way of thinking）。 While they may see themselves as idealistic visionaries and even superheroes， there to bless the world with their invention （or at least the part of the world that can afford to buy it）， they both have a lot of morally grey moments。 Understandably， they’re quickly swept up into the VC echo chamber and find themselves pulled between the allure of making money or “bettering the world。” There’s a lot of hubris， and the addition of a love triangle with Ben’s wife Leila adds another level。 The author does a good job of laying out the solidity of their friendship before things went wrong and then each incident that fractures it。“Is “playing God” so wrong， in a world that seems devoid of meaningful divine interventions？Someone needs to do it。” Though I found the plot itself predictable， the format was fascinating。 I love epistolary novels and this is definitely the modern version of one。 The story is told through blog posts， press releases， emails and text messages， within the overall frame of the transcripts of a Congressional hearing。 Even in these formats， each character has a certain style， from Ben’s rambling to Adhi’s staccato sentences。 I would’ve liked a few more red herrings in terms of the plot， but I suppose it really says something for the characterization that I kept reading even though I was pretty certain how it would end after a chapter or two （and yeah， I was right）。 As for other cons， the author is white， while the characters are people of color – Ben is black and Adhi is Indian。 For the most part， it’s not much reflected in text， besides Adhi’s mom emailing him and telling him to come visit to have saag or daal。 There is one moment， when a female employee accuses Ben and the company in general of being a boys’ club， where Ben throws their diversity around， like it somehow absolves them of misogyny。 That felt off to me， but it could’ve just been the general ickiness of the whole exchange。Overall， three and a half stars， and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this author。I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley。 This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review。 。。。more
Ann
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I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy of The Future is Yours to review。 If possible I would give this story 2 and a half stars， seeing I cannot do this I am upping it to 3 stars。 At times my eyes glazed over reading about the technology and the hearings in Congress。 I love time travel stories but this book basically isn't one of those。 I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy of The Future is Yours to review。 If possible I would give this story 2 and a half stars， seeing I cannot do this I am upping it to 3 stars。 At times my eyes glazed over reading about the technology and the hearings in Congress。 I love time travel stories but this book basically isn't one of those。 。。。more
Susan
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So。。。。。。who wouldn't want to see one year in to the future？ Stock prices， lottery numbers， and whether you are still married are all things you would know。 The first two would be of no benefit as everyone would have access to the same information。 At least that is the plan when Ben and Adhi start working on The Future。 And， I will say right here， Adhi did the work。 Ben got funding and did the promotion stuff but Adhi did the brain stuff。 And， as is the case a lot of the time， they got equal cred So。。。。。。who wouldn't want to see one year in to the future？ Stock prices， lottery numbers， and whether you are still married are all things you would know。 The first two would be of no benefit as everyone would have access to the same information。 At least that is the plan when Ben and Adhi start working on The Future。 And， I will say right here， Adhi did the work。 Ben got funding and did the promotion stuff but Adhi did the brain stuff。 And， as is the case a lot of the time， they got equal credit。 That never makes sense to me！ But， back to the book。 The story is told through letters， texts， and newspaper articles。 This method keeps the story moving at a quick pace。 Character development is not a strong part of the story， despite attempts to include it。 The reader learns enough to complete a 4th grade biography project on the main characters， but that is about all。 The ramifications of the machine is the main focus of the story， as it should be and Mr。 Frey gives us some interesting and fun little turns as The Future makes its way to market。 As long as you don't let yourself get bogged down in tech details or try and actually solve the whole issue of being able to manipulate a future you know about， this makes for a fun read！Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a copy of the book。 This review is my own opinion。 。。。more
Liz （Quirky Cat）
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I received a copy of The Future Is Yours in exchange for a fair and honest review。tDan Frey's The Future Is Yours is a novel that merges mystery and time travel together for one massive science fiction novel。tFriendship can change the world。 That is what they say。 However， this omniscient 'they' probably didn't see this twist coming。 Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry have been best friends since college。tThat part of the story is nothing new， not really。 However， through technology and intelligence， th I received a copy of The Future Is Yours in exchange for a fair and honest review。tDan Frey's The Future Is Yours is a novel that merges mystery and time travel together for one massive science fiction novel。tFriendship can change the world。 That is what they say。 However， this omniscient 'they' probably didn't see this twist coming。 Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry have been best friends since college。tThat part of the story is nothing new， not really。 However， through technology and intelligence， they've been given the opportunity to get a glimpse into the future。 One year into the future， to be exact。 tThey didn't hesitate。 They jumped down that rabbit hole， and it changed everything。 Not just their lives， but the lives of everyone around them。 t“So an antisocial introvert doing everything in his power to avoid the world。。。may have created a technology that will end up destroying it？ Interesting。 I have no further questions。”tHonestly， I'm a bit torn about The Future Is Yours。 On the one hand， it is certainly one of the most unique novels I've read in quite some time。 On the other hand， I really did struggle to find that emotional connection with it and the characters。t The Future Is Yours is told through alternative writing styles。 By that I mean it's mostly made up of e-mails， transcripts， text conversations， blog posts， articles， the works。 It's a clever concept， and one that I've only seen used a few times here and there。tIn a way， I really did love the writing format for this story。 It fits so perfectly！ It makes the focus all about the science and what was done。 It removes the human element in a way， and forces a step back。 In that sense， it feels almost empirical。 Something that fits rather nicely here。tBut it does come at a cost。 Naturally， it's harder to get into the narrative for Ben and Adhi。 It's hard to know whether we should be invested in their stories， and harder yet to cheer for them （or to hate them）。 tIronically， I'm not so certain that's a bad thing， in this case。 Hence why I'm so torn。 I almost feel like that distance was intentional here， playing a very important role in the way the entire story unfolds over time （see what I did there？）。tRegardless， I do think that The Future Is Yours gave me a lot to think about， and for that alone， I really do appreciate taking the time to read it。Check out more reviewers over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks 。。。more
Victoria
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I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this title at all - it's my first experience with the author， but the premise sounded quite intriguing。 Adhi and Ben are roommates at Stanford - both scholarship students and both share some interests in common， despite their major personality differences。 Their bond， though， is strong - and Ben supports Adhi's genius， and his dissertation thesis in quantum computing that allows for data to travel in time。 This ends up becoming the foundation of their star I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this title at all - it's my first experience with the author， but the premise sounded quite intriguing。 Adhi and Ben are roommates at Stanford - both scholarship students and both share some interests in common， despite their major personality differences。 Their bond， though， is strong - and Ben supports Adhi's genius， and his dissertation thesis in quantum computing that allows for data to travel in time。 This ends up becoming the foundation of their start-up， succinctly titled: The Future。 They plan to sell special computers that allow users to see one year into their futures。The unconventional format of the book itself - through emails， text chains， blog posts with memes， and Congressional hearing transcripts - really adds to the fun （and plausibility） of this one。 The multimedia approach with plenty of namedropping and product inclusion really makes this feel immediate and real and not like science fiction at all。 Though， like all books dealing with time travel， there are some headscratching gaps that you have to set aside， but overall it's very well done！ It's impressive how much the relationships shine through the various formats。 It just feels fresh and unique！ I am definitely curious to check out more from Frey！ 。。。more
JennyReadsBooks
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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 N 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。 。。。more
Kaili （Entertainingly Nerdy）
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So I’m not really sure how I feel about The Future is Yours。 Love the concept。 The idea of being able to see one year in the future through a computer seems like a cool idea。 But I wish the story didn’t focus on the business aspect of selling the computer。 Also I’m not exactly a fan that this was written through emails， texts， and news articles。 It kind of makes you feel like you don’t get the whole story but it did make the story quick。 Despite what I didn’t enjoy the story was still pretty goo So I’m not really sure how I feel about The Future is Yours。 Love the concept。 The idea of being able to see one year in the future through a computer seems like a cool idea。 But I wish the story didn’t focus on the business aspect of selling the computer。 Also I’m not exactly a fan that this was written through emails， texts， and news articles。 It kind of makes you feel like you don’t get the whole story but it did make the story quick。 Despite what I didn’t enjoy the story was still pretty good！ 。。。more
Michael Cook
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4。5/5 starsI received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher。I often find epistolary novels to be a bit hit or miss。 Sometimes， they get too bogged down with exposition and never manage to coalesce into anything compelling。 Other times， there’s not enough exposition， and the reader is left flailing about， trying to catch up with what’s going on。 Modern epistolary novels have the additional problem of feeling gimmicky—Romeo and Juliet retold through text messages will always feel li 4。5/5 starsI received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher。I often find epistolary novels to be a bit hit or miss。 Sometimes， they get too bogged down with exposition and never manage to coalesce into anything compelling。 Other times， there’s not enough exposition， and the reader is left flailing about， trying to catch up with what’s going on。 Modern epistolary novels have the additional problem of feeling gimmicky—Romeo and Juliet retold through text messages will always feel like a cash grab。 These kinds of books walk a fine line between being enjoyable and unbearably kitschy。 Luckily， The Future is Yours perfectly walks that line。 It utilizes its various textual sources not as a gimmick but as a way of further exploring its themes。 There’s a transcript of a congressional hearing that acts as a throughline for the book， allowing various congresspeople to interrogate Ben about the various potential ethical and societal issues that might come with using the technology his company’s created。 There are news articles gathered from the novel’s future， elaborating on the societal reaction to the technology being widely available。 What results is a book that doesn’t just feel like a gimmick。 All of the in-universe sources feel grounded in the world Frey’s created。 Each piece coalesces into a story that feels like it couldn’t have been told any other way。A lot of praise should be directed towards how well Frey structures the book。 It would have been very easy to overload the reader with too much exposition at the beginning of the book—like including an in-universe biography of the characters or something like that。 But that’s not what Frey does here。 Instead， we learn background information about the characters and the world as they become relevant。 The plot is conveyed naturalistically through the characters’ communications—research reports handle explaining how the technology works， emails between the duo and their business partners explain how the business works， etc。 The whole thing results in an experience unlike any other。 As the story unfolds， it becomes clear that someone has gathered all of these documents together and is presenting them in a way where each one builds off of the previous ones。 For a book that’s about time travel， there’s a surprising amount of linear storytelling that happens。 As you read the book， Frey lays out all of the information in such a way that you can kind of predict where the story is going—but not in a disappointing way。 The book never feels derivative or too predictable。 Instead， everything just feels fully developed and well-explored。 The ideas explored within The Future is Yours aren’t ones that have been previously explored， which is why it is sometimes easy to see where things are going。 But the way they’re explored in this book feels wholly unique and I was enthralled from beginning to end。The book’s greatest strength is probably its characters—specifically how realistic they feel。 From page one， Ben and Ahdi feel fully formed and three-dimensional。 Naturally， much of this is due to great swaths of the book being comprised of communication between the two characters， in the form of emails and text messages and research reports written by one to the other。 Through these writings， Frey expertly brings readers into the minds of these characters。 We understand who they are， what they want， and why they want it。 Their realness helps keep the book grounded， which helps the broader sci-fi elements land better。 And the more we get to know the characters， the easier it is for us to guess what they’re going to do。 Again， this ability to predict aspects of the story never feels disappointing。 After all， the book is largely about the inevitability of the future and whether or not it can be changed。 Frey simply explores his characters so well that it’s easy to understand their mindsets。 And when you understand a character’s mindset， it can be easy to predict what they might do。 And， honestly， there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in making predictions that end up being correct。 I adored getting to know these characters in such a deep way。 For as much as the book is about the technology created by these two friends， it’s even more about their friendship—how it leads to this incredible invention and how that invention impacts their friendship。Epistolary novels often feel very slow， bogged down by lengthy diary entries or letters。 The lack of traditional prose in those novels ends up creating a more lethargic feeling。 The Future is Yours， however， is comprised of a variety of sources， all of which are mostly short。 This brevity helps establish the kind of faster pace that you might find in a prose-based novel。 In all honesty， I didn’t find myself missing the prose at all。 This isn’t the kind of story that needs a bunch of lengthy passages describing characters’ feelings， or exactly what a room looks like， or exactly what is happening in any given moment。 Instead， Frey allows the various pieces of writing to establish all that needs establishing。 The congressional hearings provide a narrative backbone， the emails and text messages provide the dialogue， the longer blog posts and news articles provide the backstory， etc。 The variety of sources largely bridges the gap left by the lack of traditional prose and it’s amazing how none of this ends up resulting in a slow， boring book。 I breezed through this book because Frey kept cutting between the various pieces of writing， interweaving between the various sources as needed。 There are moments of exposition， moments of philosophical discussion， and moments of tension and excitement， but none of these outweigh each other。 The Future is Yours is perfectly balanced， with pacing that could rival any of the best prose-based thrillers。All in all， The Future is Yours is a fantastic read。 It’s immediately captivating， holding the reader’s attention from its first page to its final one。 The characters are fully-formed， with each of them possessing believable backstories and relationships that carefully unfold over the novel’s length。 By writing an epistolary story， Frey invites his readers to feel like they are part of the book。 Reading The Future is Yours is like getting to be in the world of the story。 Readers get to read these documents and experience the book’s events from the vantage point of one living it。 The ending is a little abrupt， though， and quite likely too ambiguous for many readers。 But the rest of the book more than makes up for this。 Plus， I’ll always prefer an open-ended ending in stories like this。 At the end of the day， if you’re into near-future sci-fi thrillers， The Future is Yours is the book for you。 。。。more
Kat Dietrich
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The Future is Yours by Dan Frey is a science fiction/tech thriller。First， let me thank NetGalley， the publisher Random House Publishing， and of course the author， for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。My Synopsis: （No major reveals， but if concerned， skip to My Opinions）Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry， friends since university。 Ben， a social whiz who can talk his way in and out of anything， and Adhi， who suffers from social anxiety， but The Future is Yours by Dan Frey is a science fiction/tech thriller。First， let me thank NetGalley， the publisher Random House Publishing， and of course the author， for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。My Synopsis: （No major reveals， but if concerned， skip to My Opinions）Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry， friends since university。 Ben， a social whiz who can talk his way in and out of anything， and Adhi， who suffers from social anxiety， but has a brain that won't stop。Together， they create a computer that can talk to its future self one year from now。。。。ie a type of time machine。 So， this machine could look ahead and see what's happening。。。who wins the election or the big game， who's going to die， what the stock market is doing。Hmmm。。。that sounds promising， but is it ethical？ Can it work？ What more could they do？ But the first step will be getting it to market。 Ben handles the management side， while Adhi develops the programming。 They call their new computer "The Future"， and hope to have it in all consumers hands within a year。While the two are friends， they have very different outlooks on The Future， and those differences only escalate。My Opinions: First， let me admit that I don't know where my head was at when I requested this book from NetGalley。 I like Sci-Fi， but technical Sci-Fi。。。。not so much。 However， I didn't find the technical aspect of the book that difficult， because the characters were more interesting than anything else。The story is told through emails and texts， blog posts， transcripts， etc。 It was an interesting method of story-telling， and actually worked really well。 Surprisingly the characters， even with this method of relating their story， were deep。 Their back-stories got told， and their relationship ups and downs， and an emotional element clearly shone through。 Their anger， their frustration， their passion。Yes， the book is about technology， and the morality and ethical problems that could arise， but more importantly， the book is about friendship， and greed， and ambition。 It is about trust and betrayal。It was quite good！ If I sound surprised。。。I am。For a more complete review of this book and others （including author information and the reason I chose to read this book）， please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog。wordpress。com/ 。。。more
Sherwood Smith
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A popular narrative style these days， especially in YA， is a story told entirely in texts， e-mails， transcripts， etc。 This novel is told that way--and still manages to remain very cinematic as it extrapolates a computer start-up put together by a couple of college friends。 One is a brilliant computer geek， the other a marketing maven。 The computer geek unsuccessfully tried to pitch as his PhD thesis a computer that can tell the future 。 。 。 and when he's turned down by his academic committee， he A popular narrative style these days， especially in YA， is a story told entirely in texts， e-mails， transcripts， etc。 This novel is told that way--and still manages to remain very cinematic as it extrapolates a computer start-up put together by a couple of college friends。 One is a brilliant computer geek， the other a marketing maven。 The computer geek unsuccessfully tried to pitch as his PhD thesis a computer that can tell the future 。 。 。 and when he's turned down by his academic committee， he and his friends go off to the Silicon World。Unfortunately， at that point I began to lose interest， as their relationship deteriorates and they both turn into total lunchbuckets。 That might be super exciting for some readers， especially at the wild tech that glitters all through the pages。 I just don't want to spend my time with jerks， so my interest began to wane toward the end。So this might be just the book for you--the skiffy is certainly fun and glitzy。Copy provided by NetGalley 。。。more
Sacha
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I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review。 This was probably one of the more unique books I've ever read in terms of style。 'The Future Is Yours' is told through a series of emails， texts， and dictations from a Supreme Court case。 You don't really find out why until after the end and I was actually surprised as to how important the format actually was。 I completely enjoyed how the two main characters， Ben and Adhi， were both morally grey at times。 They both made dec I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review。 This was probably one of the more unique books I've ever read in terms of style。 'The Future Is Yours' is told through a series of emails， texts， and dictations from a Supreme Court case。 You don't really find out why until after the end and I was actually surprised as to how important the format actually was。 I completely enjoyed how the two main characters， Ben and Adhi， were both morally grey at times。 They both made decisions that were questionable and for their own benefit。 I think it is a lot more fun， especially in science fiction books， when there isn't any perfect angel-type character that plays into the trope of only being the voice of reason。 I loved how their relationship did evolve throughout the book because it felt more natural。 One thing I love about the sci-fi genre is that it does make you think。 This book definitely made me wonder what I would do if this technology existed。 Ben and Adhi created a tech called "The Future" that can see one year into the future by connecting to itself at that time point。 Of course this leads to a lot of moralistic type questions and what it can and can't actually be used for。 It was definitely one of those books that makes you question while at the same time being entertaining。 Overall， I highly enjoyed this book and I absolutely loved how it ended。 。。。more
MarilynW
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The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry have been friends since their first days in college。 I never played too many of those old text based computer games but this story reminded me of them， in a way。 It's told entirely through emails， texts， blogs， and transcripts， with newspaper articles from the future scattered throughout。 Even though it's science fiction it came off as more of a character study with a "make up your own ending" surprise at the end。 I do not like to make The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry have been friends since their first days in college。 I never played too many of those old text based computer games but this story reminded me of them， in a way。 It's told entirely through emails， texts， blogs， and transcripts， with newspaper articles from the future scattered throughout。 Even though it's science fiction it came off as more of a character study with a "make up your own ending" surprise at the end。 I do not like to make up my own ending， so even though I was interested in the maybe world ending invention of Ben and Adhi， I was disappointed that the story didn't feel finished to me。 Ben Boyce is selfish， devious， after fame and fortune， hell bent on selling something to make his name in the world。 I think he'd be happy selling cyanide laced pacifiers to babies if it would give him the major kudos he wants。 His friend， Adhi， is a mentally ill genius and better off left alone than drawn into Ben's super sales pitched gimmicks。 But Adhi has the brains （and some data stolen from Google） to devise a machine that can go into the future and read computers， thus giving the present day person knowledge of what is going to happen a year in the future。 Ben sees the potential for billions of dollars if they can harness this ability and sell it to the everyday man and woman。 He justifies this all by claiming the responsibility of using future knowledge falls on the shoulders of the people that buy their device。As we watch all of this play out before us， the dysfunctional relationship between Ben and Adhi seems to drive the story。 I don't really understand the tech of the invention and I'm not sure it's explained well enough for me to understand it。 Then we come to the ending， the question of whether Ben and Adhi can pull back what they have unleashed to prevent the world from destroying itself。 And that's an ending you have to make up for yourself because that ending hasn't been written。 I enjoyed the presentation of the story but I prefer not to have to make up my own ending。 Publication: February 9th， 2021Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine/Del Rey and NetGalley for this ARC。 。。。more
Elisa
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The plot of this novel is very interesting and raises many questions about the ethics of technology and the reality of free will。 It also delves into some real science such as quantum mechanics。 The fictional way in which the characters are able to create a computer to see the future makes sense。 I loved the pop culture references and I really liked the ending， which was surprising and satisfying。 My problem lies with the execution。 The story is told through emails， texts and news printouts， pre The plot of this novel is very interesting and raises many questions about the ethics of technology and the reality of free will。 It also delves into some real science such as quantum mechanics。 The fictional way in which the characters are able to create a computer to see the future makes sense。 I loved the pop culture references and I really liked the ending， which was surprising and satisfying。 My problem lies with the execution。 The story is told through emails， texts and news printouts， present and future。 There is also an excerpt of a Congressional hearing with Ben， one of the founders of the company that can see into the future， which sounded so stilted as to be distracting。 The casual tone of the conversations may be the way people talk nowadays but it was repetitive and included too much information for my liking。 I also doubt that “bitching” is a term used in many Congressional hearings。 Younger readers may find this more amusing， but I was distracted by all the coolness。 I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased。 Thank you， NetGalley/Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine！ 。。。more
Tessa （Talks Books）
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The Future is Yours by Dan Frey is a creative sci-fi imagining of our world and what it would be like if we could digitally see into the future， even just one year ahead。When I first saw the book's format， I felt like it would either be a creative delight or a technical nightmare。 I was so happy to discover that the structure is an innovative and brilliant way to tell the tale。 I feel that it is a perfect way， as I can't even imagine that the story would have been nearly as intriguing or fast-pa The Future is Yours by Dan Frey is a creative sci-fi imagining of our world and what it would be like if we could digitally see into the future， even just one year ahead。When I first saw the book's format， I felt like it would either be a creative delight or a technical nightmare。 I was so happy to discover that the structure is an innovative and brilliant way to tell the tale。 I feel that it is a perfect way， as I can't even imagine that the story would have been nearly as intriguing or fast-paced if written using a typical exposition style。 Sure， some documents were so technical that they were like Charlie Brown adult speak but only a few。 Therein lies the brilliance – the real feel of the documents， from the technical to the charming texts from Adhvan's mom that showed an expected lack of technological know-how。 The characters' voices were very distinct in each text， tweet， and email， that there is never any confusion。I also loved how well developed the characters are， even though I wouldn't have thought they could be， given the format。 They are people I know， people I went to school with， and the teenagers I counseled along the way。 Ben， Adhvan， and Leila are friends who went to college together and are now trying to run a successful business。 The exploration of the many layers developed through these experiences is so beautiful and realistic that I could not help but celebrate and cringe at them at various points in the story。Though I could see bits and pieces that reminded me of other stories I read， the plot brings into focus a whole new disturbing concept- digital time travel or digital quantum physics。 That is both chilling and fascinating to imagine。 And the thoughts about what an ordinary person would do with such an ability is just as suspenseful as imagining what political systems would do with it。 Doesn't that send chills down your spine thinking about it？I think what I loved most of all， though， is the theme of the importance of friendship。 In this ever-shrinking digital world where possibilities seem endless， at the end of the day， what does it all matter if you have alienated all your friends while exploring it？ Would the future feel bright if your friends aren't there by your side， or would it be a dark world full of mass destruction and despair？ And how do you make sure that those bonds stay intact in a world where most of us communicate through texts， tweets， and emails？ I think perhaps that is the most chilling of all questions to ponder。 How much does digital communication erode our humanity？You wouldn't think that all of the aspects mentioned above could be contained in a collection of related digital footprints， but you will be surprised by what you take away from this story once you close it for the final time and can't help but reflect on it。 。。。more
Tammy
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The nitty-gritty: A computer with the ability to see one year into the future causes all sorts of problems in this thought provoking and twisty sci-fi story。I thought this book was a lot of fun！ If you enjoy twisty， mind-bending sci-fi stories with an emphasis on technology and how it shapes our lives， you’ll probably have fun with this too。 The Future is Yours is told in an epistolary format through a combination of emails， text messages， internet articles， blog posts， tweets and more。 I liked The nitty-gritty: A computer with the ability to see one year into the future causes all sorts of problems in this thought provoking and twisty sci-fi story。I thought this book was a lot of fun！ If you enjoy twisty， mind-bending sci-fi stories with an emphasis on technology and how it shapes our lives， you’ll probably have fun with this too。 The Future is Yours is told in an epistolary format through a combination of emails， text messages， internet articles， blog posts， tweets and more。 I liked this format a lot， although in my eARC the formatting wasn’t very good。 For that reason， I would recommend reading a physical copy if you can， which I’m sure is formatted better。The story revolves around Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaundry， who meet at Stanford as undergrads and decide to launch a technology start up after Adhi makes a startling discovery。 Based on theories of quantum computing， Ben and Adhi develop a prototype computer that can “see” one year in the future。 This opens up all sorts of possibilities， and they decide to call their company The Future and sell their revolutionary computer to the masses。 But things do not go smoothly， as they run into all sorts of roadblocks， including trying to lure investors into giving them loans， family squabbles， and the frustrations of coming up with a Prototype that actually works。 When they finally succeed they become overnight billionaires （on paper， at least。） But it turns out seeing a year into the future might not be a good idea after all， and that’s when things really start to fall apart。Ben and Adhi have been summoned to a Congressional hearing which begins on December 1， 2021， right before the company is due to open retail stores across the country and launch their product。 This serves as the main framework for the book， as the judiciary committee questions Ben about data that has come back from the future， suggesting that civilization as we know it is coming to an end。 These sections are interspersed with emails and other communications between Ben， Adhi and a host of other characters， which show the progression of creating and testing the device。 Most of these communications are dated， which is very important， as Frey jumps around from past to future and back again。 I liked that he even mentions Covid-19， as Covid falls right in the middle of his timeline。 （I’m pretty sure the publisher made a decision to add this in before publication， since the author probably wrote his book long before Covid made an appearance。）Frey does a great job of exploring all the things that might go wrong when people are given a crystal ball of sorts that can see into the future。 Before the computer even hits the market， Ben and Adhi do lots of testing on the Prototype by googling themselves and the company to see if they will be successful。 When they are able to pull up and download future internet articles that prove their success， they start to get greedy in the present， which leads to all sorts of issues。 There’s also a very dark side to all this， as several deaths occur that directly link back to the use of the Prototype。 Ben and Adhi try to cover up all the negative aspects because there is so much money on the line， but you just know it’s coming back to bite them in the butt。I enjoyed the way the author shows the pitfalls and challenges of starting a business， from investors to marketing and having to deal with people who are trying to seize control of their ideas。 Ben and Adhi bring various friends and colleagues into the mix who ultimately muddy the waters and cause a lot of headaches for them。 Frey also namedrops famous companies like Apple and Facebook to make some of his points， which I liked。The actual idea of a computer that sees into the future was a lot of fun， and I loved how the characters react to certain revelations about themselves。 And of course， once they get their computer to work， they start to think even bigger—the big question of “can we change the future for the better？” is explored with interesting results。 Near the end， Frey introduces yet another futuristic device to bring his story full circle， and I actually thought it worked pretty well， although I’m curious to see what other readers think about it。But let’s talk about the characters， which is where this book falters a bit。 I really didn’t like Ben at all。 He’s sort of a jerk， not to mention he always seems to be lying about one thing or another。 His wife Leila is a corporate attorney and eventually joins the company—conveniently enough when The Future starts to run into legal problems。 There’s all sorts of soap opera-like melodrama surrounding Leila and Ben and Adhi， and Ben cheats on his wife at one point and tries to shrug it off as nothing。 Leila and her father have an odd relationship as well。 He’s trying to control Leila’s life and wants her to work at his firm， but of course Leila has other ideas。 The only character I really liked was Adhi， who is a sensitive， thoughtful man who uses his blog， The Black Hole， to muse over art as a metaphor for life—he talks about Star Wars and Star Trek， vampires and Krishna， and I thought these sections were a good way to dig deeper into his personality。 Adhi is also the only person connected with The Future who is smart enough to realize how it might actually destroy the future， and he takes steps to correct that。But ultimately， my issues with some of the characters didn’t really ruin my reading experience。 I finished The Future is Yours in only a day and a half， mostly because I wanted to find out how everything ended up。 I’ll admit I did not see that ending coming， but for me it worked。Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy。 。。。more
Bam cooks the books ;-）
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*3-3。5 stars。 Written in the form of texts， emails， transcripts of testimony， etc。， this novel tells the story of two college roommates who come up with an idea for how to access the future using the magic of quantum computing。 You can tell the author is a screenwriter because these characters are so stereo-typical。 I found it， however， to be a quick and entertaining read because I have a fascination for anything related to time travel。 One young man is an Indian-American named Adhvan Chaudry wh *3-3。5 stars。 Written in the form of texts， emails， transcripts of testimony， etc。， this novel tells the story of two college roommates who come up with an idea for how to access the future using the magic of quantum computing。 You can tell the author is a screenwriter because these characters are so stereo-typical。 I found it， however， to be a quick and entertaining read because I have a fascination for anything related to time travel。 One young man is an Indian-American named Adhvan Chaudry who is a painfully-introverted computer science genius who of course is the brains behind this scheme。 His best friend is an African-American guy named Ben Boyce who basically wants to be the first black billionaire and has the charisma and the moves to get there。 And the machine works--the idea being that your present-day computer can access your computer one year in the future and see what is happening in your life and the world。 Just think how that could be used！ But right away there are ethical questions， ie: does it take away 'free will？' The two partners don't always agree and then the money men weigh in and the government。。。and。。。well， what a mess。 According to Ben， 'It is not the scientist's responsibility to anticipate every eventuality his discovery may produce。' Or is it？ I found this to be pretty entertaining， a book that drew me back to reading more， but my husband， a big scifi fan， didn't care for the form in which it is written and abandoned it after just a few pages。 So it definitely is not for everyone。 But if you hang in till the end， there is actually a reason for this form that makes sense。 So you decide。 I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Many thanks for the opportunity。 。。。more
Doreen
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2/5/2021 Really had to think about whether to bump the actual 3。5 star rating up or down here。 Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium。net。 2/5/2021 Really had to think about whether to bump the actual 3。5 star rating up or down here。 Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium。net。 。。。more
Jennifer
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“The Future Is Yours” by Dan FreyThis sci-fi novel is an interesting take on time travel。 Frey does a good job with the science behind his idea。 His protagonists are both really annoying， though。 They are so stereotypes as to be almost caricatures。 Flat out， I don’t like the writing style。 The story is told through text messages， emails， letters， Congressional hearing minutes， etc。 In my view is a mess。Three stars is what I rate this book。 Good idea， not so good execution。 This book was a Netgal “The Future Is Yours” by Dan FreyThis sci-fi novel is an interesting take on time travel。 Frey does a good job with the science behind his idea。 His protagonists are both really annoying， though。 They are so stereotypes as to be almost caricatures。 Flat out， I don’t like the writing style。 The story is told through text messages， emails， letters， Congressional hearing minutes， etc。 In my view is a mess。Three stars is what I rate this book。 Good idea， not so good execution。 This book was a Netgalley gift from Del Rey in exchange for my honest review。 The opinions expressed in this review are my own。 。。。more
The Captain
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Ahoy there me mateys！ I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 So here be me honest musings 。 。 。This book just did not work for me。 I gave it a good whirl and actually finished it but was ultimately very disappointed。 The main premise is that two best friends have a start up company called The Future where they have a device that can pull internet data from one year in the future。 The story is told using emails， texts， articles， and transcripts。I did lik Ahoy there me mateys！ I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 So here be me honest musings 。 。 。This book just did not work for me。 I gave it a good whirl and actually finished it but was ultimately very disappointed。 The main premise is that two best friends have a start up company called The Future where they have a device that can pull internet data from one year in the future。 The story is told using emails， texts， articles， and transcripts。I did like the format。 But I read this book wanting to know how the device was used in a practical sense。 I was not satisfied with how it works or evolves。 I found one of the main characters， Ben， to be beyond horrible as a person and I almost stopped reading half-way through because of it。 Frankly his best friend and wife deserve better。 The subplot involving the two of them was irksome though。 Plus that ending was awful and cheesy。I do think this book can find a good readership。 I just wasn't in that group。 Arrr！ 。。。more
Paula Lyle
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