Skip to content

Comment

The Future review: Doom is booming in a wild tale with a major twist

This science fiction novel shows that its author, Naomi Alderman, is well up to the tough job of satirising end-stage capitalism – and swerving an obvious ending, says Sally Adee

8 November 2023

A Armageddon type scene after a war or a natural disaster; Shutterstock ID 3272394; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: - — Is there a way out in a world obsessed with prepping for doom?
shutterstock/Mark Plumley

The Future
Naomi Alderman (Simon & Schuster)

YOU may have heard this old story. Two mid-20th-century satirists, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller, walk into a hedge-fund party thrown by a billionaire. Vonnegut, probably holding a drink, tells Heller that the host made more money in a single day than Heller has from every sale of his novel Catch-22. Heller shrugs. “Yes,” he replies. “But I have something he will never have: enough.”

Fifty years later, no one…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 28th October 2023.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Is artificial intelligence about to free us from the curse of Babel?

Technology

Is artificial intelligence about to free us from the curse of Babel?

Comment

Subscriber-only

Young woman, wearing a orange jacket, is reading a book on an ebook reader during sunset over Himalayas. She is sitting on the top of a mountain and holding the e-reader.The afternoon sun on the background. Mount Everest National Park. This is the highest national park in the world, with the entire park located above 3,000 m ( 9,700 ft). This park includes three peaks higher than 8,000 m, including Mt Everest. Therefore, most of the park area is very rugged and steep, with its terrain cut by deep rivers and glaciers. Unlike other parks in the plain areas, this park can be divided into four climate zones because of the rising altitude. The climatic zones include a forested lower zone, a zone of alpine scrub, the upper alpine zone which includes upper limit of vegetation growth, and the Arctic zone where no plants can grow.

Comment

20 non-fiction and popular science books to look forward to in 2024

Culture

Subscriber-only

Life

Monkeys in Thailand took up stone tools when covid-19 stopped tourism

News

Subscriber-only

Life

The microbes that give cheddar cheese its distinct flavour

News

Free

1

Much of North America may face electricity shortages starting in 2024

2

Vast submerged area near Australia may once have hosted 500,000 people

3

The best new science fiction books of January 2024

4

Extreme close-up of Jupiter’s moon Io captured by Juno spacecraft

5

Aloe vera plants turned into energy-storing supercapacitors

6

Probiotics help treat recurring urinary tract infections

7

Human cells have a resonant frequency – and it’s just barely audible

8

Why do people get postnatal anxiety and how can we treat it?

9

Get ready to see a total solar eclipse in 2024 – here's how

10

Mathematicians found a guaranteed way to win the lottery in 2023