When I started this book and realized its unusual structure, I almost stopped. I'm glad I didn't. By 'unusual structure,' I'm referring to the fact that the book has no traditional narrative prose. The story is told completely via text messages, emails, articles, and congressional transcripts. Despite my early doubts, the story quickly engrossed me and I plowed through it in a couple of late-night sessions.

It's the most accessible "time travel' book I've read in a long time. Unlike so many of this type of book, the technology seems far more plausible and thus it's easier to suspend disbelief. The characters are well developed and the protagonist in particular has a really strong character arc that unfolds believably throughout.

I recommend this one!

Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Del Rey for allowing me to review an advance copy of Dan Frey’s debut novel, The Future is Yours.

The Future is Yours uses a compilation of Congressional testimony, text messages, Twitter responses, Reddit, emails, and various tech news articles to tell this incredibly thought-provoking story. Although this format is not unique and has been done many times before by countless authors, it somehow seems to work better for this particular novel since its central focus is technology.

Business partners, Adhi Chaudry and Ben Boyce, have created “The Future.” The Future is the name of their company as well as the computer they invented, which allows them to see the Internet one year from the present. Set in Silicon Valley, the novel guides the reader through the stages of a tech startup, including the ethical concerns that tech innovators face on a regular basis.

The novel is a fast, genuinely entertaining read. I can’t say too much without spoiling the main events, but if you love tech, ethical debates, the notion of time traveling, and want to experience a less conventional method of storytelling, I’d say this is a pretty great find.

Also, if you work in tech, it may feel as if the information provided throughout only scratches the surface and is too simplistic (probably so that the average reader can understand it), but it does provide a familiar account of what it is like to work in Silicon Valley's Startup culture, and you will definitely be able to commiserate.

Pros: The premise is interesting and the plot moves along at a quick clip and occasionally does cool things with that premise. Due to the format it is also extremely easy to skim.

Cons: Reading the email exchanges of tech bros is just not very interesting. The main character, Ben, is especially annoying to read. Both for stylistic reasons (his voice in emails is a lot of <i>This is going to be <u>sick</u>; the train is moving so get out of the way!</i>) and deeper reasons, like being completely unable to grapple with the implications of his technology in ways that seemed implausible.

This is a novel told in a series of emails, memos, transcripts, other similar documents but excluding all conventional dialog or narration. It follows to some extent a pioneering novel by Dos Passos and a classic from the ‘60s by Brunner with e compiler is finally revealed in the last few paragraphs. The book suffers from this format because the needed narrative threads then have to be contained within the reproduced documents which is often awkward. One example is a husband and wife sending business-oriented memos to each other instead of chatting in person or over the phone. This is a format that can enhance a novel but not become one.

The author decided to use this format and stuck to it religiously even when it stopped working. That point was when a re-thinking should have taken place but it didn’t. Another issue is placing a novel about the immediate future using real people and events. For example, the novel (or the version I got) has Justice Ginsburg alive in 2021 – something that I know to be false making suspension of belief, for me at least, impossible through the rest of the novel.

I found no likable major characters. Each one was stubborn refusing to listen to reason as well as unwilling to evaluate the consequences of their actions. However, the overall problem is that this is a time travel or time-shift plotted book. Like almost all of them, Split Second by Richards and Hawksbill Station by Silverberg being exceptions, the time travel or time peeks raise so many questions and paradoxes that they crush the book.

Here the initial explanations raised more questions than they answered. Further piling on along with added discoveries only added to the mess. In the end, we have self-centered people we’re told are intelligent acting persistently stupidly and wreaking havoc both personally and universally as they blunder along.

I really enjoyed this’ time travel with a twist’ book. I really would have given it 5 stars if not for some coarse language. I’m usually not a fan of the way it’s written in memos, texts and etters but you get used to it after a while and it pays off in the end.

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