Before I started reading "The Future Is Yours" by Dan Frey, I was really looking forward to the promise of a good time travel story. Perhaps something philosophical, with some common enemies and uncommon friendships and unexpected twists and inevitable betrayals. Well, that's not how it turned out. 

"The Future Is Yours" is told in a quasi-epistolary manner, more like an eclectic collection of real-time testimony (literally), recollections of the recent past as emails and text messages, near-real-time conversations, and near-future news articles. The central conceit is somewhat novel, and the way of telling the story really does seem to fit well. It's what we actually get to see that turns out badly. This is not a sci-fi novel, nor is it fantasy: as far as I can tell, it's a snapshot of a deeply abusive relationship within the toxic brogrammer culture of Silicon Valley tech start-ups, with always-too-little venture capital flowing from only-God-knows-where into activities that no-one wants to account for, let alone remember. There are lots of triangles, both psychological and physical: Stanford/SF/DC, friend/friend/girlfriend, bully/developer/investor, money/ethics/morals.

So, trigger warnings: extended psychological abuse, narcissistic Silicon Valley douchebags, and a waste of a good sci-fi premise.

The Future Is Yours told epistolary style using emails, texts, blog posts, transcripts, and news articles.  I am a huge fan of this style of writing. It also includes photos and diagrams that really add to the novel. Depending on how the audiobook is done, I probably wouldn't recommend that route.

For the first half of the book, I was fully invested in Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry's story and invention. I really thought this book would rival Dark Matter or Recursion. It started to fall flat when I couldn't really see a need for the technology. The ending didn't work out for me. There were other story lines that I think needed to be fleshed out.

I also found myself wondering about the stereotypes being portrayed. Adhi Chaudry is a stereotypical Middle Eastern nerd who is uncomfortable with woman and is essentially being used by his friend and business partner, Ben Boyce. Ben Boyce is a black man who essentially ends up being a villain of sorts. I am wondering how people of color will feel about these stereotypes.

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.
...
If given the chance, I will always open Pandora’s box.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for sending me an ARC of The Future Is Yours in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always ready to read another time travel story. Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry have invented a quantum computer that can connect to the internet one year from now. Part of the story is traditional science fiction about the device itself and the potentially dangerous effects this technology might have on the world at large. Once you know what will happen in the future, do you have the free will to change that future? And why have some of the future reports started to change? This portion of the novel reminded me of the awesomely bad Ben Affleck|Uma Thurman movie Paycheck.

Beyond the more traditional themes and plot lines, The Future Is Yours focuses a surprising amount on other areas, such as how the two of main characters navigate Silicon Valley and the world of venture capitalists to try to bring their product to market. And the entire novel is told exclusively through written records—texts, e-mails, blog posts, and records of Congressional testimony—which requires the reader to sometimes have to read between the lines, ultimately uncertain about what truly happened between characters in a realistic way. But most of all, the novel is about these two men—Ben the ambitious, brash dreamer with the head for business, and Adhi the somewhere-on-the-spectrum genius programmer—and how their discovery changes each of them and their relationship. 

The Future Is Yours is a fresh take on a time travel story, and is all the more interesting for being an epistolary novel with an open ending. It’s a fun, fast read. Recommended.

In Dan Frey’s The Future is Yours, as two friends work to develop a quantum computer that can retrieve information from the future, the technology holds unintended consequences on society and their friendship. 

First things first, I have to point out is that this is an epistolary novel--meaning that it’s told through a series of emails, texts, court transcripts, Tumblr blog posts and the like. While I laughed at some of the several-page-long Tumblr posts, they varied in actual plot or thematic relevancy. I wish the posts had overall been shortened and connected better back to the plot since they seriously bog down the pacing.

Also, I’m not sure if this is strictly an issue with my digital ARC, but with all the different types of documents that make up the story, I wish the formatting had been cleaner. Some pages are cluttered and less easy to follow, so I wish that there had been one type of documentation source per page and that there had been greater line spacing between the Twitter retweets. 

All in all, I had high hopes for this one. Conceptually its sounds amazing. Execution-wise? It’s sloppy and the story unfortunately falls flat for me.

The book's format will work for some people. It is essentially epistolary with extra documents. Texts, emails, transcriptions, formal documents, etc. This format messed with the pacing for me. But the larger problem was that the ending didn't really deliver.

Keeps the action pulsing with enough intrigue to make it hard to turn the virtual pages fast enough.  Thoroughly fleshed-out characters you tend to either like or dislike with enthusiasm.  A great bedtime read that'll keep you engaged till the very end.  Highly recommended!

*This book was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest review.  My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to participate in this program.*

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.

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.


Review:

One year.  How wonderful would it be to know what will happen one year into the future?  We would know the results of the presidential election.  We would know where the world stands with the COVID-19 crisis.  And yes, we would know the winning lottery numbers.  Yes, that would be wonderful!

But why can we only see one year into the future?  Has something happened?  Is it a glitch with the software?  Did we cause it?
Quantum physics is used to explain the ability of information to travel from the future.  Don’t let that worry you though.  There are only a couple of places where the science gets heavy and it does not disturb the flow of the story.  I am not a scientist.  I know the words/concepts they use, but I do not understand the science.  Not understanding did not disturb the flow of the plot at all.

Underneath what is a wonderful science fiction story is a slow building tension.  What really does happen in the future and does the “time machine” affect it?  Can it, should it, be fixed?

I never saw the ending coming, but I should have.  The clues were there.  I just didn’t put it together.

This is not just a science fiction novel, but a novel of human relationships.  There is jealousy, both professional and personal.  There is a fear of the future and how this science can and will influence that future.  There are politicians, scientists, and the common man.  Everyone is involved!

I generally don’t care for books that are not written in straight prose.  This one, however, makes the variety of styles work.  The only thing is you have to pay attention to the dates because they jump around and I found that confusing at first.

Would I recommend this book?  Definitely, but only to readers who enjoy science fiction.  I don’t think this is a book for the general populace.  I think that it would only be appreciated by readers who enjoy science whether they truly understand it or not.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was a super fun read and really got me thinking about the possibility of data traveling through time. If you could look one year into your future, would you do it? This story is told through correspondence via emails, texts, transcripts, and memos. It's told mostly from the perspective of the two friends who create the technology that would allow us to search the internet up to one year in the future. Don't steer away from this book if you're not a science fiction lover; it's an enjoyable read that focuses on their relationships and the "what if" of time travel.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book was interesting to read. It is told in letters and interviews form. It follows two friends who invented a time machine of sorts where they could log in into their computer a year from now and read what is going to happen in the world at the time. Interesting how they go about the issue of predetermination - can they change the future they read about and do you really want to know what will happen? It has interesting premise, and the story was quite exciting to read. It has good satisfying ending.

A strong scifi entry with time travel. There's a decent amount of suspense, and the pacing is good. I like the author's imagination and enjoyed this tale overall. A good bet for scifi fans.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

"The Future Is Yours" is a sci-fi/thriller book centered around two friends who build a computer that predicts the future. I found the concept of this to be very intriguing, as I love reading books centered around technology. The story did lose my attention a little bit later on, but I still thought that the plot was great and I still find it interesting. I think that the format of the story and the way it was written was partially the reason why I kind of lost attention. It is told through things such as emails and transcripts, and while that makes the story unique, I felt a bit confused at times while reading through everything that was exchanged between the various characters.

Rating: 3.5/5

Wow. This book is a banger, I tell you. There's a lot of themes crammed in these pages, from the dangers of technology, to mental health, friendship and human relationships in general, but it is done the right way.

Writing a book about two minority boys with several handicaps who not only excel at one of most prestigious universities but also endeavour to build a company that would change life and tech as we know it is a bold move. 

Dropping names like they do here is even bolder. As is telling the story through documents instead of a first person or outsider narrative. And that is certainly not my fave style, but it worked really well here, even if I did not pay attention to the dates like I should have.

The most impressive part of this all isn't even the sheer amount of knowledge pne has to have to qrite about quantum computing, scifi, Hinduism and all that. Neither is the ability to make every character have a distinct voice through documentation alone.

The most impressive part of it all is the twist at the end - mind blowing stuff there.

I'd say the future is very bright for this author.

I must admit to a bit of the technology being above my pay grade as far as what I want to or need to know, so I did skip over much of the quantum computing specifics, but I was still able to follow along with what was happening. There are some greedy people out there and Ben is one. When his friend comes up with a dissertation on time travel as far as accessing the future on a computer, Ben is all for getting the money together to launch the start up. When his friend has misgivings, he tries to push the friend out. By the way, the friend is also in love with Ben's wife, but Ben doesn't know.
It got a bit deep towards the end, which seemed to take a long time to get to, but then it got a bit confusing for a while until I caught on, but still the ending was a bit of a surprise.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

disclaimer – i received a copy of this book via random house publishing group - ballantine in exchange for an honest review.

make no mistake, dan frey is one of the authors to add to your to be read list in 2021. his new novel, the future is yours (publishing 02/09/2021), tells the story of ben boyce and adhi chaudry, friends since college, who can potentially change the entire world through the invention of a computer called 'the future'. with it, you can travel exactly one year into the future - see how your job interview went, see what stocks are a good investment, see which politicians are in power, see if your marriage will survive. the story details the creation of the computer, the friendship between its inventors, and the circumstances of its use.

an epistolary novel, ''the future is yours', uses the framework of emails, chats, texts, and congressional testimony to tell the story. reading these, we begin to understand the characters' motivations, wishes, desires, and maybe some some of their secrets. we get to follow along, practically step by step, as their journey to create 'the future' reveals the consequences of the choices they make in that endeavor. frey gives us well-rounded, complicated characters and as we get deeper and deeper into who they are, and who they want to be, we're able to connect with them and feel vested in their journey and its ultimate end.

five of five stars

five of five stars

I really enjoyed this book.  Reading the synopsis left me feeling like it could go one of two ways: Either the book would be really well done and I would enjoy reading it, or it could be overdone and cheesy in the time-traveling sense and ruin a really great premise.  Fortunately, the book was really well written and ended up being a great read.

The story is told through various forms of media (interviews, news articles, text messages, voicemails, emails, etc) which is something that I have not previously encountered.  It was fun and intriguing and left me curious as to how each of the various forms of media would all come together in the overall story.  There is still dialogue through emails, texts, etc., so there is still a bit of storytelling in a traditional sense.  It is just presented in a manner that plays into how the overall story is written.  

As for the plot and storyline, it was great.  It went about as I expected it would based on how the book synopsis read.  There were still plenty of twists and turns that left you guessing or wondering how things would play out.  The dynamic between the 2 main characters was engaging and strange at the same time.  It definitely plays well with "opposites do attract".  Their dynamic could be humorous on one page and infuriating on the next...which for me shows great character development.

The moral subtext throughout the book is a good one, even if it is pretty standard for time travel...just because we can see and possibly affect the future doesn't mean we should.  The 2 main protagonists fell on either side of this dilemma which impacted their decision-making and ideals throughout the story.  The author did a great job exploring this dilemma from both sides while developing and shifting the characters' thoughts and actions throughout.  

Highly recommended.

that was the perfect way to use scifi and computers to create a creepy atmosphere. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot.

The Future is Yours is my type of catnip a tech based thriller. My struggle was Ben and Adhi both are very intelligent but neither could foresee the disruption that the device would cause. I also can understand the motivation for money, fame, and power but they seemed juvenile in their for recognition (this is not a slam on the writer I think he did a great job portraying who they were)

I feel like something was missing but I can't put my finger on it. I look forward to the next Dan Frey he has a lot of talent.

Being a huge fan of Sylvain Neuvel’s Sleeping Giants, the format of this book as told in media form using transcripts, texts, emails, blogs, articles, etc., was familiar to me and I loved it. And being a huge fan of Blake Crouch, the futuristic sci-fi storyline was exciting as well.  

I’m going to venture to say that this book is my favorite read of 2020 so far!

Two best friends discover a way to look at the internet one year ahead in time and see what happens in the future.  This storyline takes them from idea to reality, to becoming billionaires, to building the computers, and through to marketing.  The government steps in and holds a hearing to determine if being able to see the future is a security issue.  Can the friendship survive?  

This was exciting stuff and I couldn’t get enough.  I got serious goosebumps at the ending, and I still can’t stop thinking about it.

Well done, Dan Frey!  I’m adding this author to my must read list of authors.

*Thank you so much to Del Rey Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy!*

I liked the idea behind this story. I thought it would be very interesting. The writing style did not work for me, I found it to choppy and lost interest in the story. I specifically disliked the text/email parts between Ben and Adhi, they were just hard to read through.

I do not think that this was the book for me. I couldn't connect with the mixed media format or the non-linear time line. No matter how many times I picked it up and tried to read it, I really couldn't get into it. The writing was broken up quite a bit by not giving any sense of atmosphere or setting. I do apologize for not being able to finish this one. I do see the connection to Andy Weir, but I did not like The Martian. I loved Artemis. Thank you for letting me give this book a go.