Official Review: The Future Is by Carroll Grabham

[_Lindsey_]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Future Is" by Carroll Grabham.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Future Is by Carroll Grabham is a science fiction novel set two hundred years in the future. Humanity has become addicted to virtual reality. Barely anyone wants to live real life anymore. Instead, they spend their free time in online fantasy simulations. The whole of London is now controlled by a massive technology corporation named VoQue. The story follows Alexandra Brontay, a young insurance saleswoman, as she gets sucked into VoQue's conspiracies.

I really enjoyed this story. The author blended pop culture references with futuristic technology excellently. For example, characters could have a hologram of Elvis at their personal AI assistant. I loved how people could travel through tubes to get to work. The story also deals with gene splicing and genetic modification. There were so many really well thought out concepts like this throughout the novel.

The writing itself was well structured and exciting. Grabham had a unique style that included a lot of metaphors and dramatic sentences. One of the best parts of his writing was the way he showed the inner thoughts of his characters. There was a perfect balance of action and internal dialogue. His queer representation was excellent. There were several LGBT characters in lead roles, which was a refreshing change from the norm.

All of the characters in the novel were well developed. Alexandra was a unique and likable protagonist. Grabham described her as pear-shaped and imperfect. I liked how she wasn’t a stereotypical beautiful young female lead. A lot of the characters had really unusual names like ‘Deconstructed Man’ and ‘MannyCapra’ which tied in well to the futuristic setting. The antagonist MannyCapra was genuinely frightening. I loved reading chapters from his point of view because of his alarming megalomaniac opinions.

My only issue with the novel was that at times it was difficult to follow. The plot took a long time to get going. There was also a lot of information packed into very short chapters. At times I found myself having to reread some parts to understand what was happening. However, this didn’t ruin the story for me. The plot and characters were engaging enough that it wasn’t a serious problem.

I am giving The Future Is 4 out of 4 stars. I was torn between giving it 3 or 4 because of the difficulty I had following the story, but in the end, I chose to give it 4. It was a professionally edited, well-written story with some fresh and exciting themes despite the minor issues with pacing. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves science fiction. There was a fair amount of bad language, sexual content, violent scenes, and some characters used homophobic language that could be upsetting to some people. For this reason, I would only recommend it to older readers.

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The Future Is
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[Fernando222]

This book portrays the alarming but yet real reflection of what the future holds, considering the growing rate of visual reality. Your review was quite detailed.

[Dayodiola]

Is this the present world being portrayed as the future, or this is a show of a future we have a hand in.

[Elvis Best]

To be honest, I see the premise of this novel happenimg in real life. Most of us live mostly online already. The virtual world is just the next step. Great review!

[Gabrielle Sigaki]

Wow, this book sounds a lot like Neuromancer, one of my favourite books. I'm really into science fiction and this one seems to be a great one. Besides, the theme of virtual reality is something that interests me, we already have some VR videogames, but the one the author talks about in the book seems to be a lot more advanced. Thanks for the great review!

[kandscreeley]

I have a problem with plots that take so long to get going. Still, I could see this actually becoming reality. Sometimes virtual reality is much more fun than real life. Thanks!

[Usma Khann]

Although I am not into the sci-fi genre, the book's plot seems well-knit and I may save it for a rainy day. Appreciate the review.

[Sumaira_anar]

This book was amazing.. I am totally mesmerized by this book and of course i would love to suggest this book to all the people here.. A must read book

[Ballbender]

I like the plot in this story. It's an excellent read. I like the character Alex.

[LinaJan]

I am new to sci-fi, just finished my first sci-fi book, and I am looking for another one that would set me on the right track so I do not get put off before I even start This one sounds like a good one to pick up! The idea of people getting completely absorbed in the virtual world and so disconnected from the real one had my back hair up tight away! I like book that do that to me And who does not like a little bit of conspiracy too!

Thank you for such a detailed and informative review Onto my shelf this goes

[Prisallen]

It sounds like the author has a wonderful imagination and has good character-development skills. However, I'm not sure I want to read something that is difficult to understand at times. I will have to think about this. Thanks for your wonderful review!

[NetMassimo]

The online world enables us to be in touch with people all over the world, but if your physical environment is poor in human contact, the risk is that you live online. It's interesting to see the possible future consequences in a world where virtual reality is normal. Thank you for your great review!

[gelli_baranda]

I'm not that fond of sci-fi novels but since this includes an era of virtual reality, I'm quite inclined to read the novel. I hope to begin my line up of sci-fi novels starting with this book. Thanks for your excellent review! Worth reading.

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

This sounds mostly like our present reality so it’s not intriguing enough for me.
I appreciate the review. Great work.

[Priyanka2304]

I think if the story is well thought, the problem with pacing is often suspended. Anyways, the futuristic aspect of the book reminded me of The Future Family.