2054

A Novel

By: Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis USN

Narrated by: Junior Nyong'o, Brian Nishii, Eunice Wong, Emily Woo Zeller, Vikas Adam

From the acclaimed authors of the runaway New York Times bestseller 2034 comes another explosive work of speculative fiction set twenty years further in the future, at a moment when a radical leap forward in artificial intelligence combines with America’s violent partisan divide to create an existential threat to the country, and the world

It is twenty years after the catastrophic war between the United States and China that brought down the old American political order. A new party has emerged in the US, one that’s held power for over a decade. Efforts to cement its grip have resulted in mounting violent resistance. The American president has control of the media, but he is beginning to lose control of the streets. Many fear he’ll stop at nothing to remain in the White House. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation. After an initial flurry of misinformation, the administration reluctantly announces his death. A cover-up ensues, conspiracy theories abound, and the country descends into a new type of civil war.

A handful of elite actors from the worlds of computer science, intelligence, and business have a fairly good idea what happened. All signs point to a profound breakthrough in AI, of which the remote assassination of an American president is hardly the most game-changing ramification. The trail leads to an outpost in the Amazon rainforest, the last known whereabouts of the tech visionary who predicted this breakthrough. As some of the world’s great powers, old and new, state and nonstate alike, struggle to outmaneuver one another in this new Great Game of scientific discovery, the outcome becomes entangled with the fate of American democracy.

Combining a deep understanding of AI, biotech, and the possibility of a coming Singularity, along with their signature geopolitical sophistication, Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis have once again written a visionary work. 2054 is a novel that comes across like a thriller even as it demands that we consider the trajectory of our society and its potentially calamitous destination.

©2024 Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis, USN (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[A] propulsive thriller. . . The authors have created an enjoyable, intelligent and ultimately frighteningly plausible vision of a future replete with new technological threats.” —Financial Times

“This taut, chilling, provocative page-turner is one part Crichton, one part Clancy, and might just make you think these truly are the good old days.” —Michael Hainey, AirMail

“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

Interesting follow up not what I expected but fascinating

Definitely a departure from the first book in the series, but very interesting direction taken by the authors. Worth checking out if you were a fan of the previous book.

Hit and Miss

This novel was solidly OK, but I did not find it enlightening or memorable. The best thing was the characterization. Some of the plot is a what-if extension of current politics (and I enjoyed this). The other part of the plot is an exploration of the “singularity” and AI (which I found very weak). Overall I found it worth my time. I had not read 2034, but have added it to my list.

The narration was clear and good.

Disappointing, as sequels often are 

Story was pretty anticlimactic, although, perhaps that’s the way the authors hope the future will play out; anti-climactic. Biggest complaint, they had both male and female voice actors, why would they have a female voice actor narrating a male part? Seemed cartoonish and silly to me.

Great follow up to 2034

I found this a great follow up to the prequel of 2034. The main characters oh once again representing some new characters and over 20 years, passed by the events taking place in 2034. Concepts projected actions denied within this story could be used as a warning for many leaders to consider.

Interesting idea not developed

The story referenced the author’s earlier work, but was pretty much new material. I was not interested by the storyline. Instead to pursuing the terrorist idea of remote gene editing, the author got bogged down in it’s origin. I found it boring. The use of multiple readers threw me off too. More difficult to keep track of who is talking.

Very Insightful

Great insight into how the future of technology can impact our world. Also could see how some of the political battles mentioned in this book could actually take place.

More insight, less drama

I felt 2034 had too much fiction and too little insight from the Admiral and this even more distant from what I would say is ideal. I normally don't read fiction, but this series peaked my interest because I was interested in what the Admiral's concerns were and felt it could be intelligently explored with this format, but alas I think the drama was overdone. AI and will play a much bigger role in the world by 2054 than portrayed in this novel. The fictional characters could have had more interesting dialogue if they had more subject expertise. There is also less tension and shock in this offering than the last.

Not as good as it predecessor

It wasn't a bad book, but it does not compare to 2034.
The story was OK, but not overly interesting.
It seemed like they were intentionally leaving some loose ends for a subsequent novel.
Oddly, some voice acting was kind of annoying. e.g. end statements in the upward pitch of a question.
Which is kind of weird, because I think it was the same narrates from 2034 (that didn't have that issue).

Not as good as 2034

I really enjoyed 2034 but this attempt to provide a sequel fell short….it’s difficult to believe that the authors were the same. The plot was contrived and thin….I’ve read “The Singularity is Near” and this attempts to capitalize on Kurzweil’s insights…albeit poorly.

Not as good as the first book, but still worth a read

Good story, lots to think about. But long time to get where the story is going.