2054
A Novel
Published on 5. December 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-4059-6646-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Don't venture into the future without having read this book' ANDREW ROBERTS
It is twenty years on from the nuclear war between the US and China that brought down the old world order, and the American president has held power for over a decade. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation. A cover-up ensues, the administration announces his death and the country descends into civil war.
Everything points to a remote assassination made possible by a radical leap forward in artificial intelligence. The trail leads to an outpost in the Amazon rainforest, the last known whereabouts of the tech visionary who predicted this world transforming breakthrough. As the world's great powers struggle to outmanoeuvre one another in this Great Game of scientific discovery, an American crisis threatens to spiral into a global one.
2054 is an explosive thriller and a real-world cautionary tale about the path we are on, from two former military officers and award-winning authors who have seen the future.
'A compelling, terrifying and totally plausible thriller of future world history and calamity' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
'This kind of fiction can induce a kind of sublime awe at the complexity of the global networks in which we're enmeshed' HARI KUNZRU, THE NEW YORK TIMES
'A satisfying combination of two very different things: "chilling vision of things to come" and "page-turning beach read"' DAILY TELEGRAPH
It is twenty years on from the nuclear war between the US and China that brought down the old world order, and the American president has held power for over a decade. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation. A cover-up ensues, the administration announces his death and the country descends into civil war.
Everything points to a remote assassination made possible by a radical leap forward in artificial intelligence. The trail leads to an outpost in the Amazon rainforest, the last known whereabouts of the tech visionary who predicted this world transforming breakthrough. As the world's great powers struggle to outmanoeuvre one another in this Great Game of scientific discovery, an American crisis threatens to spiral into a global one.
2054 is an explosive thriller and a real-world cautionary tale about the path we are on, from two former military officers and award-winning authors who have seen the future.
'A compelling, terrifying and totally plausible thriller of future world history and calamity' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
'This kind of fiction can induce a kind of sublime awe at the complexity of the global networks in which we're enmeshed' HARI KUNZRU, THE NEW YORK TIMES
'A satisfying combination of two very different things: "chilling vision of things to come" and "page-turning beach read"' DAILY TELEGRAPH
Reviews / Votes
This kind of fiction can induce a kind of sublime awe at the complexity of the global networks in which we're enmeshed . . . 2034 and 2054 are near-future tales, extrapolating from the present to a carefully imagined next five minutes, designed to elicit a little spark of recognition, the feeling of being shown a possible path from "here" to a utopian or dystopian "there" -- Hari Kunzru * New York Times * This book tells us more about the present than the future, it does so with dry wit, and offers philosophical insights into our relationship with technology . . . a satisfying combination of two very different things: "chilling vision of things to come" and "page-turning beach-read" -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph * As well as being a pacy, gripping page-turner of a thriller, 2054 has the advantage of being written by two men who have seen the future, and have thought profoundly about it. It would make a sensational sci-fi movie, with powerful modern-day overtones. Don't venture into the future without having read this book -- Andrew Roberts 2054 is a compelling, terrifying and totally plausible thriller of future world history and calamity - not so far away - crafted into a sophisticated geopolitical narrative superbly handled by this unique partnership of retired admiral/NATO supremo, and a prize-winning literary writer of beautiful novels who also happens to be a decorated Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Excellent - and a worthy sequel of their thriller 2034 -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World: A Family History In 2054, the US President dies unexpectedly, the 'Dreamers' and 'Truthers' are at odds across America and a second Civil War beckons. A terrifying glimpse into the near future -- Lawrence James Another top-shelf thriller about near-future geopolitical turmoil . . . Ackerman and Stavridis paint a sweeping and resonant portrait of a world faced with a powerful technological advancement it doesn't fully understand. The results are genuinely chilling * Publishers Weekly * Gripping and imaginative . . . an enjoyable techno-thriller that explores the chaotic, self-destructive potential of human ingenuity An enjoyable, intelligent and ultimately frighteningly plausible version of a future -- James Crabtree * FT *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
216 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4059-6646-7 (9781405966467)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2024
Penguin Books Ltd
€8.99
Available for download
Persons
ELLIOT ACKERMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Halcyon, 2034, Red Dress In Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, as well as the memoir The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan, and Places and Names: On War, Revolution and Returning. His books have been nominated for the National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and nonfiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and Marine veteran who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C. Admiral Jim Stavridis, USN (Ret.), spent more than thirty years in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of four-star admiral. He was Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and previously commanded U.S. Southern Command, over-seeing military operations throughout Latin America. At sea, he commanded a Navy destroyer, a destroyer squadron, and an aircraft carrier battle group in combat. He holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he recently served five years as dean. He received fifty medals in the course of his military career, including twenty-eight from foreign nations. He is the author of ten other books, including Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans and Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character, and is Chief International Analyst for NBC News and a contributing editor of Time magazine. He is currently the vice chair, global affairs, and managing director of the Carlyle Group and the chair of the board of the Rockefeller Foundation.