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2034

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

From two former military officers and award-winning authors, a chillingly authentic geopolitical thriller that imagines a naval clash between the US and China in the South China Sea in 2034 – and the path from there to a nightmarish global conflagration

On 12 March 2034, US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is conducting routine freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea. On that same day, US Marine aviator Major Chris ‘Wedge’ Mitchell is flying an F-35E Lightning, testing a new stealth technology as he flirts with Iranian airspace. By the end of that day, Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner, and Sarah Hunt’s destroyer will lie at the bottom of the ocean. A new, terrifying era is at hand.

So begins a disturbingly plausible novel, co-authored by an award-winning novelist and decorated Marine veteran and the former commander of NATO, a legendary admiral.

Everything in 2034 is an imagination extrapolation from present-day facts on the ground, informed by the authors’ years working at the highest and most classified levels of national security. Sometimes it takes a brilliant work of fiction to illuminate the most dire of warnings: this cautionary tale presents a dark yet possible future that we must do all we can to avoid.

‘I could not stop reading 2034’ Phil Klay, author of Redeployment

‘A rippingly good read’ Wired

©2024 Elliot Ackerman & James Stavridis (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

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”
New York Times
If you’re looking for a compelling beach read this summer, I recommend the novel 2034
The New York Times
This crisply written and well-paced book reads like an all-caps warning for a world shackled to the machines we carry in our pockets and place on our laps, while only vaguely understanding how the information stored in and shared by those devices can be exploited.
The Washington Post
Consider this another vaccine against disaster. Fortunately, this dose won't cause a temporary fever—and it happens to be a rippingly good read. Turns out that even cautionary tales can be exciting, when the future we’re most excited about is the one where they never come true
Wired
There is conflict and catastrophe on a large scale, and it unfolds, as major conflicts tend to, with surprising twists and turns . . . This is not a pessimistic book about America’s potential, but the picture of the world it paints before the central conflict will be a difficult one for many to accept, albeit one well supported by facts
Wall Street Journal
I could not stop reading 2034. With sharply drawn, vibrant characters caught in an all too plausible future conflict, the novel left me fascinated, moved, thrilled and, ultimately, haunted
Phil Klay, author of Missionaries
An unnerving and fascinating tale of a future . . . The book serves as a cautionary tale to our leaders and national security officials, while also speaking to a modern truth about arrogance and our lack of strategic foresight . . . The novel is an enjoyable and swiftly paced but important read
The Hill
Utterly engrossing . . . [2034] is incredibly well-written, deeply thought-provoking, and it makes for uncomfortable and sober reading—in the best of ways...Elliot Ackerman is one of the finest writers to come out of this generation of military veterans and officers
Diplomatic Courier
A frightening look at how a major-power showdown might race out of control. . . . This compelling thriller should be required reading for our national leaders and translated into Mandarin
Kirkus
Those seeking a realistic look at how a future world war might play out will be rewarded
Publishers Weekly
Author Elliot Ackerman & Admiral James Stavridis
Narrator Emily Woo Zeller, P.J. Ochlan, Vikas Adam, Dion Graham, Feodor Chin
Duration 10 hours and 50 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781405967228
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Political / legal thriller, Speculative fiction, War, combat and military adventure fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE

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