Futura

By: Suzanne Fox

Futura by author Jordan Phillips an interesting book and concept pulled together into a short novella. I kept an open mind while reading this since my literary interests do not generally lean towards science fiction. That being said, I really wanted to like this book!

The story is set in Paris in 2050, openly referencing “The Jetsons” and includes brief plot lines inspired by love, family, friendship and relationships. The story definitely had a “big brother” (not the celebrity TV show) feeling as certain groups were referenced but never fully described or utilized. There are references to “Invisibles,” who initially seem to be overseeing this new world. In 2050 in the Futura world, everyday stressors in present life are now moot points. If everybody participates in a generalized financial system called Universal Basic Income (UBI) then there are benefits applicable to all people. Every person receives three meals a day, have very short work weeks, more time off and gets to attend University for free. As stated in the book, lousy jobs do not exist in 2025 due to automation. There is even an option to upgrade your UBI and receive more benefits (like most online apps available in our world today).

Paris in 2050 is in its own biodome where everything is cleaner. Even food service in restaurants is automated from ordering to cleanup. Traffic is not an issue since certain roads are designated for transportation and other roads are just for pedestrians. What a great idea considering how many accidents occur daily in our society today! Additionally, crime is almost non-existent and taxes are based upon people’s acts and not finances. These are all concepts that I would love to have in our present world.

Where Futura falls flat is in plot and character development. Considering this is a novella it is understandable that brevity is important. Yet I would have enjoyed learning more about the different locations in Paris that were referenced. If you have never been to Paris you would not know whether some of the names dropped were neighborhoods, museums or even made up since this is set in the future. A simple line explaining what was mentioned would have been helpful. Similarly, the few characters that were mentioned did not get fleshed out very well. Another few lines per character would make these individuals more interesting or relatable.

As for the plot, I felt the switching of narrator was not a smooth transition or seamless. Ruby starts off the story and is present throughout it; yet she is not very dynamic and seems detached from her own life. Her friends/boyfriends come and go and mention of Ruby wanting children is brought up periodically. A line from the book states, “The most emotionally intelligent people focused on living every day to the fullest.”

There are four categories of pursuits mentioned: pleasure, knowledge, health and wealth. Whether you live in 2050 or 2018, I have no doubt that most people would have similar pursuits. Without spoiling the end, I believe that there was a lack of consistency in narrative voice and continuity in theme. From the very first page, I really wanted to like the book. Unfortunately, I felt it was lacking in many areas despite being a very cool twist and interesting perspective on life in the future.