This is a super fast read. Not a narrative with dialogue, it chronicles the rise and increasingly unstable success and future of a Silicon Valley startup called "The Future", through a series of primary sources such as texts, e-mails, reports, and transcripts of Congressional hearings.
A forward thinking and brilliant student of Computer technology and his equally ambitious friend cum business partner team up to create a machine which can access itself through time, allowing a user to retrieve information from a specific point in time in the future. Initial searches by the founders indicate enormous financial success. and they work hard to build and grow the company they have already seen. Set firmly in the present, we read as the protagonists communicate their navigation of fundraising, encountering various venture capitalists, y-combinator, and Elon Musk along the way. Also addressed throughout are fundamental ethical issues presented by time-travel and prescience. Periodic doses of religious and philosophical thought, as well as ruminations about popular Sci-Fi and Fantasy are also presented as blog posts, Again, a fun and quick read with some mysterious goings on.

Time travel is one of the most persistent and fun tropes in science fiction. The list of time travel books, TV shows and movies is staggering - from HG Wells to Doctor Who to most recently, the mind-bendingly bizarre movie Tenet,. Into this crowded but seemingly inexhaustible field comes The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey. As with much science fiction, though, the time travel element is not point here, or at least not wholly the point as Frey takes on Silicon Valley, the venture capital industry, social media and the tech giants.
The Future is Yours is based on an old science fiction premise. That is, that while physical objects cannot be sent back in time, due to quantum entanglement information can. This premise has been used in books like Gregory Benford’s 1980s award winner Timescape and more recently by William Gibson in Peripheral and its sequel Agency. But unlike those books, Frey takes a completely new angle. In The Future is Yours entrepreneur Ben and his genius partner Adhi discover technology that allows them to search the internet a year into the future and decide they want to monetise the idea. They want to create a desktop timescope that will allow anyone to peek into information from the future. To do this they need money, and money comes from venture capital and soon they find themselves swimming in the dark waters of unbridled capitalism.
The overarching narrative is provided by evidence that Ben is giving before a Senate Committee a month before his world changing product is going to launch. While at first the predictive capacity of the technology is seen to be infallible, as the hearing progresses the reader discovers that this premise seems to be falling apart behind the scenes. Over the course of the narrative, Fey deals with corporate malfeasance, the male-dominated culture of silicon valley, the pursuit of profit over ethics, the use of lawsuits as weapons of hostile takeover and the amount that all of this is underpinned by personal relationships.
So that in the end, The Future is Yours is more like a science fiction version of The Social Network with Ben as Zuckerberg and Adhi as Saverin. Only not quite. The relationship between the two is a little more complicated and involves a third party, Boyce’s wife Leila, who is also Adhi’s best friend and secret (and later not so secret) crush. It is the personal relationship and conflict that drives this story as much as the technological, ethical and legal challenges that keep coming their way. Along the way, through Adhi’s blog, Frey also gets to reference and geek out about some of the touchstones of science fiction – Star Trek, Blade Runner, Doctor Who, Frankenstein, Dracula and even A Christmas Carol – also used to ram home some analogies in the plot.
The Future is Yours is narrated in epistolary style. It is made up of a collection of emails, text messages, articles and transcripts. So reader’s patience with this will depend on their willingness to accept this style. Sylvain Nuevel used this approach to mainly good effect in his Themis Files trilogy, although the approach was a little forced by the third volume. The Future is Yours is a stand alone and so there is less chance of it outstaying its welcome. But it is difficult in this surface style of narrative to really get a feel for the characters.
The Future is Yours asks a very simple question – if you could know the future, particularly if you then know it can’t be changed, would you want to? Dan Frey bakes this ethical conundrum into a page turning take down of the tech industry and of Silicon Valley in particular. And while he has to resort, as all time travel tales ultimately do, to a little sleight of hand that asks readers to seriously suspend their disbelief, he does, for the most part, make it work.

This book is a very different concept about, well, a very different concept. Two computer/math whizzes come together to complete their baby- a machine that can move the operator into the future and back again. Genius, right? But they fail to consider that just because they can do this, should they?

The book unfolds in a choppy mix of Congressional hearing records, private texts, meeting recollections, and letters.. It can be hard to follow but then that also reflects the chaos going on in these two young men’s minds and lives. The book is an interesting exploration of the conflict between progress and reality.

I felt like the memo/email/etc. technique was a bit gimicky. I also didn't like anything about the main characters; I didn't find them sympathetic.

THE FUTURE IS YOURS, by Dan Frey, is about Ben, a charismatic leader, and Adhi, a brilliant introvert, who have been close friends since college. They start a company based on a theoretical paper Adhi wrote in grad school about looking into the future. They build a Prototype, find investors and start to experiment with how to look into the future and how to relate to the present when the future is already written. As the company matures and Ben and Adhi become wrapped up in what will happen, the question becomes: Is it a good thing to know the inevitable result of a choice that has yet to be made? Does know the future affect the present, or is the present just a reflection of future knowledge already obtained?
Frey makes a really unique and fitting style choice in the writing of this novel. Ben and Adhi use the Prototype to cultivate news from the future to inform them and Frey crafts the novel completely through a mix of news articles, interviews, and text messages conversations. This style reflects the way the information is obtained from the future, constantly reminding the reader that reading these blurbs of information consistently fail to paint the whole picture. But that challenge, to fill in the blanks on what is going on and how everyone feels, is exciting and entertaining for the reader to do. I really like the ethical and legal challenges that Frey poses, along with a smattering of betrayal, loyalty (or lack thereof) and humbleness that all come out of this ability to know before you know.
I really enjoyed THE FUTURE IS YOURS and I would recommend it to anyone. Its a fast and compelling read where the stakes get bigger and bigger until the breathtaking finale.

I started this book thinking that I would not like it because of the style is written in. Normally I don't like books written in the form of memos and e mails. This book far exceeded my hopes. I loved it. The paradoxes inherent in the idea of time travel are very well thought out. Character development in this style of writing is very difficult but the author did a great job. You understand the characters and like or dislike them as you should. I highly recommend this book!

**5/5 Stars**

I’ll admit that I was going to put this down after the first few pages felt like it was yet another book about tech bros gone bad (or are they just all bad to begin with?!). But then I stuck with it for about 15 pages, and I was into it. And yes, I ended up giving this book a 5/5 stars rating despite my first few pages impression. Never judge a book by the first five pages!

What kept me reading Dan Frey’s The Future is Yours?

There are several things that kept me absolutely hooked to the point I read this in under 48 hours (and I have a busy schedule). For one, the structure of the book is just plain cool. I loved that most of the story is told via an archival, historical approach. The bulk of the book’s contents are texts, emails, newspaper articles, blogs, and a variety of other media. You would think the narrative would be hard to follow because of this piecemeal approach, but it isn’t. It’s actually insanely addicting.

Second, the premise of the book is interesting. I love how the genre of multiverses and time-travel is just exploding in recent years. It makes me feel like maybe we all just want to escape this world with all its problems and very real anxieties. This book is about two guys who meet at Stanford University (my alma mater, and yes, I loved the scenes involving campus and the dish for you insiders). Both characters are very flawed but motivated people. One character has a dream to engineer a machine that sees into the future. The other wants to market this concept and sell it to everyone to level the playing field when it comes to money and equality (or so he says).

If you love the story of Theranos (I loved the documentaries about the company and the book Bad Blood!), this book might be of great interest to you despite the fact it is fiction. Technology and innovation is moving at the speed of light in today’s world, but this book and the many sad stories of Silicon Valley’s start-up failures are really about the ethical and moral failures that arise due to technology. Just because you can invent a new technology doesn’t mean society is ready for it or even needs it at all. We need people in the humanities and social sciences thinking deeply about how new technologies will be used and implemented before they are rolled out. If this is a topic that interests you, I highly recommend reading Jaron Lanier’s books on social media and AI.

Thank you to the author, Dan Frey, the publisher, Random House, and NetGalley for the advance reviewer copy of The Future is Yours!

The Future is Yours is told in the form of emails, texts, and congressional hearings. It’s about a company called The Future, and their wild invention that allows people to see one year into the future.

The problem, of course, is that this comes with major problems for the main characters. Is it all worth it? That’s something you’re going to have to decide for yourself because the book has an ambiguous ending.

A couple things to note: I read an ARC copy of this book, and the publisher will need to make a change. The book says RBG is still alive in 2021, but that’s sadly not the case. Also, there’s one thing that happens between A and Leila that’s never fully explained. A quick, one paragraph explanation would be great. Aside from these things, the book is a quick read and entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC. I must disclose straight off I am not a fan of Sci-Fi books though I keep trying! This was an interesting story told documentary style through news articles, texts and hearings. Two college buddies, Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry work together to create a company that will sell a machine that can see into the future. Adhi is the super genius who creates the machine and Ben has all the right skills to fundraise and market the idea. It was a brilliant plan only things begin to go wrong. The impact of their machine will be rock their friendship and society as a whole.
I would recommend to fans of Sci-fi, especially younger readers.

This is a story about if we should do things just because we can.

This book was a solidly enjoyable science fi trip, told in a mixed media epistolary format. I initially didn’t know if I would feel connected to the characters, but I was pleasantly surprised. I also love found it interesting that one character’s mental health was explored... but the blatant clinical presentation of the other was ignored- something that seemed like a purposeful nod to the way that society stigmatizes specific disorders, and reinforces others via perpetuating the traits that are deemed beneficial. Unfortunately, I didn’t love the end as much as I loved the rest. It made sense, and felt like a realistic conclusion... but I wanted more. So, I’m now hoping for a sequel!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thanks Netgalley & Random House for the e-ARC!

The future is a result of all the choices that you and others make; the idea of seeing a year in the future may be enticing but it has consequences in Dan Frey's The Future is Yours.

Seemingly unlikely best friends Ben Boyce, a charismatic, enthusiastic, and determined go-getter, and Adhi Chaudry, a hyper-intelligent, introverted, and inquiring mind, are struggling to make their mark in Silicon Valley as outsiders until they create a computer with the ability to connect with itself one year in the future. After Ben reads Adhi's dissertation that discusses an application for quantum computing the friends team up to create the device and form a business that aims to provide the device to consumers. In the course of doing so, the pair use the prototype they created to prepare and stay a step ahead of challenges they'll face, but using the device highlights the dark potential of the world's future, as well as the future of their friendship.

The large, sweeping topic of time travel, and the related causality and paradoxes associated with it, is explored through a speculated practical application of quantum computing processes presented within the pages of this novel; the discussion of a science-heavy topic such as time travel doesn't get bogged down in trying to be overly technical as the story looks primarily at the social and moral implications, and cost, of the technology. Ben and Adhi are provided with some interesting character backgrounds that help speak to who they are and how they behave, but it isn't satisfactorily delved into or addressed, particularly in relation to the start-up culture that'd likely provide experiences of adversity to them. The format the story takes includes transcripts of hearings, emails, text messages, blog posts (filled with pop culture), and various news articles, all of which provide variety that allows the narrative to progress rather quickly and make it a quick and entertaining, if cliché, read.

Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I really liked this book! It had science in it, but not too much to make it dull. It had intrigue, well developed characters, and a great story line! I will definitely be recommending this book when it comes out and I’ll be checking out the author’s catalog for more great reads!

If you could look one year into your future would you?
If it were me, I think me being as curious as I am that I would absolutely have to!

Wow, I can’t say enough how much I loved this book....and that fully took me by surprise because at first I honestly didn’t think I’d get into it. This book is written in exchanges of emails, texts, court documents, and even tumblr posts! That is something I haven’t seen in another book, so it took me a minute to get into but wow I got hooked strong.
I could not put it down because I just had to know what would happen.
The story is about two friends who join together to start a new kind of tech that could change the world. It takes us through their friendship as the struggles of partnership in a new start up tech company begin to weigh on them. I don’t want to give anything away because this book is best gone into blind!
Again, I can’t express how much I loved this and wished there were more pages for me to read! The ending leaves you thinking and makes you want to reread knowing everything you know at the end.
Thank you so much to Dan Frey and Netgalley for allowing me to read this wonderful novel before it hits shelves next year! If you love books like Dark Matter then you have to read The Future Is Yours.

The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I found the concept of this book very intriguing and it opened up a lot of questions about what would happen if this was real. Those same questions are addressed in the book. The book is presented not in a novel format but as transcripts and notes. A unique way to tell the story but also the only flaw I found. It was a bit different to follow at times.
The story has two guys building a computer that could look into the future to exactly one year from the date. They want to market it. Government steps in. Friendships wobble. Very intriguing and imaginative! Trouble all the way!

Very quick read. I would enjoy a reread to capture the nuances of the plot. The structure of the novel is reminiscent of the writing of Max Brooks and Sylvain Neuvel, and FlashForward.. I always enjoy novels about time travel and this one was unique. Thank you

The Future is Yours was a fun read - all told in blog posts, emails, text exchanges, and news articles, Through the things shared you get a really good feel for the characters. Adhi and Ben are the epitome of startup guys - Adhi with the brains, the tech knowledge, the almost superhuman grasp of a complicated issue (quantum physics). Then you have Ben, the big schmoozer, the guy who sucks up to investors and gets so caught up in selling his GREAT THING that he lets his personal relationships suffer. The other characters are well done too - the wife, the investor, the consultant who comes in and writes a report on branding strategy.

Dan Frey has written a remarkably fun novel. Where I found it suffers a bit is that it's almost too clean, and some of the decisions made by the characters seem a little too in line with progressing the plot. I mean, come on, not one single dive into trying to make money with their sort of "time travel" device? Not one, "Let's test the lotto numbers" or "let's place one bet"? When you pull an article from the future to prove the device is real, why would you pull one about yourself or your company? It's the one thing you are trying to buy credibility for, and you bring out an article that just sings your praises?

So three stars overall. I enjoyed the ride.

I was drawn to the high concept premise and the story had a few entertaining twists and turns, but this title wasn't for me (for multiple reasons, chief among them that I was expecting something much more sophisticated, and more importantly because I loathed the two protagonists). But I did enjoy some of the dialogue and occasional moments of humor--the author is a screenwriter and the book reflects that--and it's at its best as a satire of startup culture.

If you could Email and talk to your past self to set yourself up to the future would you? If you had the knowledge of what to avoid and what to pursue would you give yourself the chance to make yourself better. Dan Frey, first of all the research you must have done to create this work is really amazing, I would put the research of this book on par with Ernest Cline, and that's saying a lot because RPO was jam packed. As a fan of WW Z I do appreciate the writing style. The perspectives and first person views on each situation were done very well. I do not agree with the other reviews that this panders to minorities. I think this is a fresh take on how intelligence is not raced based.

I could not put this down all weekend, I was so excited when I got the email and as soon as I started I was enthralled with the ideas and concepts. Not to give to much away but I would like a follow up on how the information Ben is given at the end changes what we just read.

Overall I would rate this book 5/5. I will actually be reading this again but at a slower pace, I tend to catch things I miss the second time around.

I found THE FUTURE IS YOURS to be entertaining. It took me a great while to get past the format. I couldn't get into the story due to the format. It's definitely different. I get that it's supposed to be like you're the one who has been handed all of the documentation of the past year and that it's up to you to decide whether or not to proceed with making the "time machine computer". Much like the ethical decision brought forth in the movie, Tomorrowland. I plugged through the book... skipping entire sections as it wasn't difficult to figure out where the story was going. Personally, not a book I'd ever re-read.

I love books written like this, in the form of, I suppose you'd call it a "World War Z" type of narrative, through the emails and texts of the people involved instead of an actual narrative. Overall, great read, very engrossing, I finished it in 2 days because I wanted to see what happened next and the twist at the end really sealed the deal. I'm only doing 3 stars because at times it could be a tad slow and cliché' but overall it was a great book and I look forward to his next book. My only other complaint is that I'd love an epilogue but then again, if you wrap everything up nice and neat you leave no room for imagination.

To address other's concerns, yes it does pander to the "American Dream" of 2 minorities from poor families being smart / good enough to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but overall it was an entertaining read.