Review: The Future We Left Behind by Mike Lancaster

Thousands of years in the future the divide between humanity and technology has become nearly unrecognizable. Each thought, each action is logged, coded, backed up. Data is as easily exchanged through the fiber-optic-like cables that extend from fingertips as it might be through ordinary conversation. It's a brave new world: A world that the Straker Tapes say is a result of many human "upgrades." But no one is sure whether the Straker Tapes are a work of fiction or an eerie peek into an unimaginable past.

Nearly sixteen-year-old Peter Vincent has been raised to believe that everything that the backward Strakerites cling to is insane--an utter waste of time and potential. Since his father is David Vincent, genius inventor of the artificial bees that saved the world's crops and prevented massive famine, how could Peter believe anything else?

But when Peter meets Alpha, a Strakerite his own age, suddenly the theories about society-upgrades don't sound quite so crazy, especially when she shows him evidence that another upgrade is imminent. And worse, there may be a conspiracy by the leaders of the establishment to cover it up. A conspiracy spearheaded by Peter's own father.

I loved 0.4 by Mike Lancaster, it was an amazingly original take on the sci-fi, dystopian genre so whilst I was extremely excited to read the sequel I had a lot of fears about it. It's extremely difficult to describe this book without giving away spoilers so I'm going to keep this one short and sweet.

I really liked the characters in this book, the main character Peter was a little bit weedy and wimpy for me, constantly scared of his father's disapproval, though he did grow throughout the book. I really liked Alpha though, she was intelligent and witty and a fantastic character. The other characters were all great as well.

I loved how unpredictable the plot was. Lancaster kept us guessing all the way through and it was really entertaining. I actually really enjoyed this book just as much as 0.4, though in a different way. I can't wait to read more from Lancaster.

Book released 13th November 2012 by Egmont
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (eBook)

Other books from this author:
0.4/Human.4 (Straker #1)