2034: A Novel of the Next World War
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- Create Date：2021-03-10 04:16:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Elliot Ackerman
- ISBN：1984881256
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Summary
From two former military officers and award-winning authors， a chillingly authentic， geopolitical thriller that imagines a naval clash between the US and China in the South China Sea in 2034--and the path from there to a nightmarish global conflagration。
On March 12， 2034， US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is on the bridge of her flagship， the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones， conducting a routine freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea when her ship detects an unflagged trawler in clear distress， smoke billowing from its bridge。 On that same day， US Marine aviator Major Chris "Wedge" Mitchell is flying an F35E Lightning over the Strait of Hormuz， testing a new stealth technology as he flirts with Iranian airspace。 By the end of that day， Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner， and Sarah Hunt's destroyer will lie at the bottom of the sea， sunk by the Chinese Navy。 Iran and China have clearly coordinated their moves， which involve the use of powerful new forms of cyber weaponry that render US ships and planes defenseless。 In a single day， America's faith in its military's strategic pre-eminence is in tatters。 A new， terrifying era is at hand。
So begins a disturbingly plausible work of speculative fiction， co-authored by an award-winning novelist and decorated Marine veteran and the former commander of NATO， a legendary admiral who has spent much of his career strategically out maneuvering America's most tenacious adversaries。 Written with a powerful blend of geopolitical sophistication and literary， human empathy， 2034 takes us inside the minds of a global cast of characters--Americans， Chinese， Iranians， Russians， Indians--as a series of arrogant miscalculations on all sides leads the world into an intensifying international storm。 In the end， China and the United States will have paid a staggering cost， one that forever alters the global balance of power。
Everything in 2034 is an imaginative extrapolation from present-day facts on the ground combined with the authors' years working at the highest and most classified levels of national security。 Sometimes it takes a brilliant work of fiction to illuminate the most dire of warnings: 2034 is all too close at hand， and this cautionary tale presents the reader a dark yet possible future that we must do all we can to avoid。
On March 12， 2034， US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is on the bridge of her flagship， the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones， conducting a routine freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea when her ship detects an unflagged trawler in clear distress， smoke billowing from its bridge。 On that same day， US Marine aviator Major Chris "Wedge" Mitchell is flying an F35E Lightning over the Strait of Hormuz， testing a new stealth technology as he flirts with Iranian airspace。 By the end of that day， Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner， and Sarah Hunt's destroyer will lie at the bottom of the sea， sunk by the Chinese Navy。 Iran and China have clearly coordinated their moves， which involve the use of powerful new forms of cyber weaponry that render US ships and planes defenseless。 In a single day， America's faith in its military's strategic pre-eminence is in tatters。 A new， terrifying era is at hand。
So begins a disturbingly plausible work of speculative fiction， co-authored by an award-winning novelist and decorated Marine veteran and the former commander of NATO， a legendary admiral who has spent much of his career strategically out maneuvering America's most tenacious adversaries。 Written with a powerful blend of geopolitical sophistication and literary， human empathy， 2034 takes us inside the minds of a global cast of characters--Americans， Chinese， Iranians， Russians， Indians--as a series of arrogant miscalculations on all sides leads the world into an intensifying international storm。 In the end， China and the United States will have paid a staggering cost， one that forever alters the global balance of power。
Everything in 2034 is an imaginative extrapolation from present-day facts on the ground combined with the authors' years working at the highest and most classified levels of national security。 Sometimes it takes a brilliant work of fiction to illuminate the most dire of warnings: 2034 is all too close at hand， and this cautionary tale presents the reader a dark yet possible future that we must do all we can to avoid。
Reviews
David Todd
，
Patriarch T。 Clancy has some worthy competition。
Ryan Hillis
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A so-so thriller about war with China！！！
TC
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Recommended。Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:https://www。tzerisland。com/bookblog/2。。。 Recommended。Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:https://www。tzerisland。com/bookblog/2。。。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for an advanced copy of this book。2034 by Eliot Ackerman and Admiral James G。 Stavridis shows a future that seems not as different as now， but one in which one global power can turn off the ability of another global power's ability to wage war。 This book is very reminiscent of the novel Ghost Fleet， both feature China and the United States in conflict， both have the US losing the technology war， but here the explanation of what the secret is， how the My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for an advanced copy of this book。2034 by Eliot Ackerman and Admiral James G。 Stavridis shows a future that seems not as different as now， but one in which one global power can turn off the ability of another global power's ability to wage war。 This book is very reminiscent of the novel Ghost Fleet， both feature China and the United States in conflict， both have the US losing the technology war， but here the explanation of what the secret is， how the technology works is never shared。 The book is also oddly written。 Where other writers would have large set piece battles and explanations many of the important scenes are told in conversations or in characters watching news reports。 I could understand if the technology was the star and not characters， but neither seem to stand out。 The politics seems more today than tomorrow。 Nations seem to be acting oddly， but future casting could be the reason。 The book might be marketed for the techno-thriller crowd， but it falls somewhere between， more a scenario for a role-playing or a article for Foreign Affairs。 。。。more
LordOfTheMorning
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The writing is good， but everything else is laughably bad。 Caught the first few chapters on Wired， I hope the authors continue writing because they can write， just make a believable story next time or better yet， write epic fantasy。
Ryan Swarts
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This was a pretty thrilling and scary look at a possible major war with China。 The authors are clear experts in the field， though the writing did remind me sometimes just slightly too much like a TV action movie。 I also thought it may have been anchored *too* much in the 2020/2021 world。 Being tied to events of today makes the warning all the more realistic， but it at times felt like a book about the future written in today’s world （which it is， so maybe that’s a little unfair）。Note: Based on ex This was a pretty thrilling and scary look at a possible major war with China。 The authors are clear experts in the field， though the writing did remind me sometimes just slightly too much like a TV action movie。 I also thought it may have been anchored *too* much in the 2020/2021 world。 Being tied to events of today makes the warning all the more realistic， but it at times felt like a book about the future written in today’s world （which it is， so maybe that’s a little unfair）。Note: Based on excerpt published in Wired 。。。more
J Todd wilkins
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READ MY FULL REVIEW AT Best Thriller Books2034 is an intriguing work of speculative fiction that requires anyone with a passing interest in geopolitics to pick up this book and dive in。 Set in the near future， Ackermand and Stavridis envelope readers quickly in the new world they envision and the events leading to its creation。 Make sure to check out the full review READ MY FULL REVIEW AT Best Thriller Books2034 is an intriguing work of speculative fiction that requires anyone with a passing interest in geopolitics to pick up this book and dive in。 Set in the near future， Ackermand and Stavridis envelope readers quickly in the new world they envision and the events leading to its creation。 Make sure to check out the full review 。。。more
Victoria
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Thanks Penguin Press and Netgalley for the ARC。 Great book。 If you were a Tom Clancy （Jack Ryan） fan， this will be right up your alley。 It’s a gripping story of a future world war and the intentional and somewhat accidental decisions leading to its escalation。 Definitely a cautionary tale。 Highly recommend this。
Brett
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I read the excerpt in Wired magazine。 Compelling spy thriller stuff。
Cullen
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Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC。I really enjoyed the first half of the book， despite some of the implausible technical leaps involved in order to kick the premise off。 Having multiple point-of-view characters can be tricky to pull off， but I think it is done pretty well here and helps give the conflict a sense of vast scope。I found the book much less compelling in the second half， though。 Some of the POV threads went off in directions I no longer found interesting （the Iranian guy， specifically）。 Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC。I really enjoyed the first half of the book， despite some of the implausible technical leaps involved in order to kick the premise off。 Having multiple point-of-view characters can be tricky to pull off， but I think it is done pretty well here and helps give the conflict a sense of vast scope。I found the book much less compelling in the second half， though。 Some of the POV threads went off in directions I no longer found interesting （the Iranian guy， specifically）。 Some of the scenes were downright bad and/or cringeworthy （the golf scene）。I also found the ending to be very anticlimactic: （view spoiler）[despite the fact that Beijing is knocked out by a nuclear weapon， a clumsy truce is reached through a sequence of events I found both implausible and confusing。 （hide spoiler）]。There were are a few points where the writing was jarring; at least two times when I hit a word and came to a screeching halt because it was just being used incorrectly。 。。。more
Alex Nagler
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I am not a military veteran。 Admiral Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman are。 I don't doubt the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea or use of new technologies to wage a primarily cyber war， but my thoughts and readings on traditional warfare and proportional responses is that since the end of the first stage of the Cold War （and the assumption that we are in the second stage， which feels even more evident with the acknowledgement of the depth of the hacks executed by the Russian government w I am not a military veteran。 Admiral Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman are。 I don't doubt the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea or use of new technologies to wage a primarily cyber war， but my thoughts and readings on traditional warfare and proportional responses is that since the end of the first stage of the Cold War （and the assumption that we are in the second stage， which feels even more evident with the acknowledgement of the depth of the hacks executed by the Russian government while Chinese soft power will be utilized extensively to reshape parts of Africa and South America in their image in post-COVID economic recovery）， wars have remained exclusively cold between nation states。 Espionage and cyberwarefare are the tools of the trade for contemporary warfare。 The remainder of this review contains spoilers。 With the resumption of traditional neo-liberal politics in Washington that seek a more conciliatory tone to Beijing， the prospect of a war going not only hot but nuclear in 13 years time is difficult to believe。 Especially to assume that the policies of mutually assured destruction are no longer the go-to。 A nuclear strike consisting of a single bomb on one mid-tier city does not feel like the retaliatory actions the United States would take in response to a fleet sinking and infrastructure attack。 Nor does a two city attack of cities， one the western seaboard that isn't LA， SF， or Seattle， sound like what would be done in response。 When Shanghai is nuked at the end of the book， there is no retaliation of any kind as the sides work to bring peace。 Mutually Assured Destruction means that the only winning move is not to play。 That said， the personal intrigue and multi-state negotiations and smaller acts of warfare were enjoyable to read。 I just personally find it difficult to believe that nuclear assaults on the nationstate level is something still hypothesized in today's thinking。 。。。more
Wells
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Techies: It is easy to criticize certain technical aspects of the information warfare in this novel。 Don't let that dissuade you from taking seriously the underlying purpose of the book。 We need to take this cautionary tale to heart。The authors write in the tradition of books and subsequent movies that helped us to abhor the thought of a nuclear war during the Cold War。 Author Admiral Stavridis said that the 1980s book， "The Third Word War，" by Sir John Hackett， was the source of the idea for th Techies: It is easy to criticize certain technical aspects of the information warfare in this novel。 Don't let that dissuade you from taking seriously the underlying purpose of the book。 We need to take this cautionary tale to heart。The authors write in the tradition of books and subsequent movies that helped us to abhor the thought of a nuclear war during the Cold War。 Author Admiral Stavridis said that the 1980s book， "The Third Word War，" by Sir John Hackett， was the source of the idea for this book。 His concern was， "How can we avoid a war with China？"Clearly Stavridis has deeply researched the Chinese military。 His recommended reading list includes: "Waiting，" by Ha Jin， "Destined for War，" by Graham Allison， "The Leavers，" by Lisa Ko， and "The Three-Body Problem，" by Cixin Liu。While events such as severing particular cables could not actually have the consequences that resulted in this book， please suspend your disbelief。 The consequences could realistically be brought about by other means。 Another quibble relates to a key event occurring at the outset of the story， the failure to promptly disembark from the rescued vessel and to continue sailing。 Yet while the course of that particular event strikes me as highly improbable， an escalating event with different facts strikes me as highly plausible if not probable given the ongoing developments and tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan。These comments are based on the February print issue of Wired that was entirely devoted to publishing a large part of the book scheduled for release on March 9， 2021。 I will definitely get the book and read the rest of the story！ I hope we all take the threat of war with China seriously。 This book paints a vivid picture of that possible future。 。。。more
Staś
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just ridiculous， I don't know why Wired did that to me。 I'm not subscribing it to be getting some mediocre political fiction， one more story about whole world against America。。。 ah apart from India， New Delhi 13 years from now will be modern metropolis with clean streets， how？ because they defeated Pakistan in 10 days， that solved all India's problems。。。 just ridiculous， I don't know why Wired did that to me。 I'm not subscribing it to be getting some mediocre political fiction， one more story about whole world against America。。。 ah apart from India， New Delhi 13 years from now will be modern metropolis with clean streets， how？ because they defeated Pakistan in 10 days， that solved all India's problems。。。 。。。more
Howard
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I read the adapted version that is in the 29。02 issue of Wired。 It is pretty realistic and scary。The divisiveness， self-absorbsion and short sightedness of our politics is creating vulnerability for the United States that could adversely affect us economically， technologically and even militarily in the near future。 And this could lead to war。As we've all studied， but mostly forgotten， many of the political decisions in the 1930s led to WWII。 Decisions made now could lead to the next world war。 I read the adapted version that is in the 29。02 issue of Wired。 It is pretty realistic and scary。The divisiveness， self-absorbsion and short sightedness of our politics is creating vulnerability for the United States that could adversely affect us economically， technologically and even militarily in the near future。 And this could lead to war。As we've all studied， but mostly forgotten， many of the political decisions in the 1930s led to WWII。 Decisions made now could lead to the next world war。 The authors have worked on the inside of the government and the military and seem to know what they are talking about。 Very detailed。 。。。more
Nathan
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Pretty fascinating novel about an hypothetical outbreak of war and the sociological underpinnings of war。
Garret Macko
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The principle subject of this month’s Wired magazine issue—seems fascinating。
Zeb Kantrowitz
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Imagine if the Red Chinese were able to block all relevant electronic emissions so that all communications in the US so that all plane avionics， naval communications and telecom control became useless。 What if you couldn't fly because all of your computer systems were dead， so that you had no working radar or sonar or satellite communication。 That's the premise of the start of this book。 The part about sabotaging all of our computers systems is plausible， the after effect has many iterations， th Imagine if the Red Chinese were able to block all relevant electronic emissions so that all communications in the US so that all plane avionics， naval communications and telecom control became useless。 What if you couldn't fly because all of your computer systems were dead， so that you had no working radar or sonar or satellite communication。 That's the premise of the start of this book。 The part about sabotaging all of our computers systems is plausible， the after effect has many iterations， this is just one。Just as the loss of any fuel would bring this country to a halt （all electrical generation and transport） the country would be plunged into the dark and food couldn't be delivered。 There would be panic and vigilantism across the country。 How would the US protect itself from attack by our enemies like China， Russia， Iran， etc。 Who would come to our aid after Trump and his followers have help to gut NATO and anger most of our friends。Ackerman follows through on the effect the government would have with the all-true saboteurs that are located in many top levels of the country。 They will prevent the country from reacting in a way like they did on Jan 6。 Reps and Senators still refuse to blame the Far Right， and continue to put out lies to complicate the truth and confuse people。 。。。more
Aaron Akbar
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A well thought out look at what WWIII would look like， with a specific focus on how different countries would react。 Surprisingly realistic， it feels more like an inevitable future than speculative fiction。Told through the lens of individuals， you get a good sense of both their personal values and how they clash in subtle ways with their countries， as well as how much it feels like no single person is to blame both for the start and the end。My initial thoughts were that the end happens too abrup A well thought out look at what WWIII would look like， with a specific focus on how different countries would react。 Surprisingly realistic， it feels more like an inevitable future than speculative fiction。Told through the lens of individuals， you get a good sense of both their personal values and how they clash in subtle ways with their countries， as well as how much it feels like no single person is to blame both for the start and the end。My initial thoughts were that the end happens too abruptly。 I was left thinking "wait， that's it"？ But as I sit with it， I realize that it's part of the brilliance of the book。 Whether nuclear war ends with a truce or a bang， it will always end with an uneasy incompleteness that feels more like silence than resolution。This bound to be an essential read for anyone studying geopolitical relations in the coming years， and I sincerely hope it gets read often for that reason alone。 。。。more
Amy Nicole
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This was such an interesting read - a speculative fiction about what may cause the next world war in 2034。 Several different narratives unfold following a US Navy Commodore， Marine aviator， the US president， and interrogators and leaders in India， Iran， and China。 I sometimes don't enjoy stories with alternative perspectives， but this was the perfect balance of viewpoints from a very large cast。 The background and personal perspectives were so well developed。 I could believe that these people we This was such an interesting read - a speculative fiction about what may cause the next world war in 2034。 Several different narratives unfold following a US Navy Commodore， Marine aviator， the US president， and interrogators and leaders in India， Iran， and China。 I sometimes don't enjoy stories with alternative perspectives， but this was the perfect balance of viewpoints from a very large cast。 The background and personal perspectives were so well developed。 I could believe that these people were completely real。 I felt tender hearted towards so many of these characters; I would easily pick up any one of their autobiographies if it existed。The only thing I wish was slightly different was that the war was slightly more complex and ended differently。 This was beautifully character-focused and an overall great story。 。。。more
Paul
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