The Future Is Yours: A Novel

by Dan Frey

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.

“A fantastic page-turner and a future classic.”—Peter Clines, New York Times bestselling author of Paradox Bound

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.

• ISBN10: 0593158210
• ISBN13: 9780593158210
• Publish Date: 9 February 2021
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Del Rey Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593158210

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of The Future Is Yours in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Dan Frey's The Future Is Yours is a novel that merges mystery and time travel together for one massive science fiction novel.

Friendship 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.

That 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.

They didn't hesitate. They jumped down that rabbit hole, and it changed everything. Not just their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.

“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.”

Honestly, 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.

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.

In 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.

But 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).

Ironically, 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?).

Regardless, 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