The Future

Nobel Prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska writes, “When I pronounce the word Future, / the first syllable already belongs to the past." How does our vision of the future impact the way we live now? Do we have any control over what the future holds, or is the future inherently unknowable? In this thematic collection we've gathered texts that address these questions and others as they imagine the future.

The Nine Billion Names of God

by Arthur C. Clarke

Publication year 1967

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Future, Science & Technology, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Science Fiction, Technology, Science & Nature, Religion & Spirituality, Cold War, Post-War Era, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

The Nine Billion Names of God is a collection of science-fiction short stories published in 1974 by the English author Arthur C. Clarke. Most of the stories in the collection were written in the late 1940s and ’50s. One of the most successful and prolific early science fiction writers, Clarke wrote about space exploration, scientific inventions such as satellites, and aliens long before humans even landed on the moon. His short story “The Sentinel,” which... Read The Nine Billion Names of God Summary

The Octopus

by Frank Norris

Publication year 1901

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Fate, Literature, Power & Greed, Justice, Science & Technology, Economics, The Past, Future, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Social Justice, Naturalism, Technology, Business & Economics, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

... Read The Octopus Summary

The Orchard Keeper

by Cormac McCarthy

Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Conflict, Environment, Future

Tags Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, American Literature, Southern Gothic, Classic Fiction

The Orchard Keeper is the 1965 debut novel of American author Cormac McCarthy. The story explores the relationship between a young boy and the man who killed the boy’s father; it explores themes of The Chaos of the Wilderness, Cyclical Violence, and The Encroachment of Modernity. The Orchard Keeper won a number of awards, while McCarthy’s later works would earn him a Pulitzer Prize. Other works by this author include No Country for Old Men... Read The Orchard Keeper Summary

The Other Boleyn Girl

by Philippa Gregory

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Future, Daughters & Sons, Family, Nation

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, Romance, Life-Inspired Fiction

The Other Boleyn Girl (2001) is a historical women’s fiction novel by British author and journalist Philippa Gregory. Gregory first reached bestseller status with her debut historical novel Wideacre (1987). The Other Boleyn Girl won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association and was adapted into a film. The novel is narrated by Mary, the Boleyn daughter whose more famous sister, Anne, has overshadowed her in the historical record. Mary... Read The Other Boleyn Girl Summary

The Passengers

by John Marrs

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Revenge, Mental Health, Death, Future, Environment, Teamwork, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Education, Globalization, Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Fame, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

... Read The Passengers Summary

The Peripheral

by William Gibson

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Appearance & Reality, Science & Technology, Environment, Future

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Climate Change

The Peripheral is a 2014 science-fiction novel by William Gibson. Gibson has been writing science fiction works since the 1970s and is considered one of the founding fathers of the cyberpunk genre. His debut novel, Neuromancer, is one of the genre’s foundational texts and is the only novel to win the Nebula, Hugo, and Philip K. Dick awards. Since then, Gibson has written several bestselling science-fiction trilogies. The Peripheral is the first novel of The... Read The Peripheral Summary

The Pivot Year

by Brianna Wiest

Publication year 2023

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Future, The Past, Self Discovery

Tags Business & Economics, Inspirational, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Self-Improvement, Psychology

... Read The Pivot Year Summary

The Postmortal

by Drew Magary

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Aging, Death, Future, Science & Technology, Marriage, Conflict

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy

The Postmortal by Drew Magary is a science fiction thriller that follows a man named John Farrell in the decades following the “postmortal cure,” a type of genetic engineering that stops aging. The novel grapples with the human experience amid technological advantages, religious zeal, and increasingly human-driven crises. Magary, whose legal name is Andrew Schuyler Magary, is a journalist, humor writer, and novelist. He has written for magazines such as GQ and is the co-founder... Read The Postmortal Summary

The Power

by Naomi Alderman

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Future, Femininity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Science & Nature, Politics & Government, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy

Influenced by the dystopian futuristic vision of Margaret Atwood’s landmark 1985 feminist work The Handmaid’s Tale, Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel The Power fuses genre elements of speculative fiction with the traditional historical novel. Part allegory, part satire, the novel depicts a near-contemporary world in which women move into positions of real power through an inexplicable genetic anomaly: they develop an extra braid of muscle along their collarbones that enables them to shoot devastating jolts of... Read The Power Summary

There Is No Antimemetics Division

by qntm

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Language, Mental Health, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Marriage, Teamwork, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy

... Read There Is No Antimemetics Division Summary

The Screwtape Letters

by C. S. Lewis

Publication year 1942

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Marriage

Tags Satirical Literature, Christian, Fantasy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

The Screwtape Letters, first published in serial format in The Guardian and then as a single volume in 1942, is an epistolary novel by British author C. S. Lewis; its epilogue, “Screwtape Proposes a Toast” was published in 1959. Like much of Lewis’s work, the novel is a work of Christian apologetics, using letters penned by a senior devil named Screwtape to expound on different elements of Christian theology and morality, exploring themes of Human... Read The Screwtape Letters Summary

The Sentence

by Louise Erdrich

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Death, Future, The Past, Perseverance, Love, Good & Evil, Justice, Community, Family, Friendship

Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Social Justice, Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Sentence Summary

The Shallows

by Nicholas Carr

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Literature, Future, Memory

Tags Science & Nature, Technology, Sociology, Philosophy, Information Age, Education, Education, Technology, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (2011) is a nonfiction book by writer, editor, and media critic Nicholas Carr. Carr is a prolific nonfiction writer known for his analysis of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and human society. A 2011 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, The Shallows combines elements of personal essay, journalism, and academic research to explore The Impact of the Internet on Cognitive Processes, The Nature of Learning and Media in the... Read The Shallows Summary

The Shoemaker's Wife

by Adriana Trigiani

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Joy, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Place, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Economics, Immigration, Politics & Government, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance

... Read The Shoemaker's Wife Summary