2034

A Novel of the Next World War

By: Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis USN

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, P.J. Ochlan, Vikas Adam, Dion Graham, Feodor Chin

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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 March 12, 2034, US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is on the bridge of her flagship, the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones, conducting a routine freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea when her ship detects an unflagged trawler in clear distress, smoke billowing from its bridge. On that same day, US Marine aviator Major Chris "Wedge" Mitchell is flying an F35E Lightning over the Strait of Hormuz, 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 sea, sunk by the Chinese Navy. Iran and China have clearly coordinated their moves, which involve the use of powerful new forms of cyber weaponry that render US ships and planes defenseless. In a single day, America's faith in its military's strategic pre-eminence is in tatters. A new, terrifying era is at hand.

So begins a disturbingly plausible work of speculative fiction, co-authored by an award-winning novelist and decorated Marine veteran and the former commander of NATO, a legendary admiral who has spent much of his career strategically outmaneuvering America's most tenacious adversaries. Written with a powerful blend of geopolitical sophistication and human empathy, 2034 takes us inside the minds of a global cast of characters - Americans, Chinese, Iranians, Russians, Indians - as a series of arrogant miscalculations on all sides leads the world into an intensifying international storm. In the end, China and the United States will have paid a staggering cost, one that forever alters the global balance of power.

Everything in 2034 is an imaginative extrapolation from present-day facts on the ground combined with 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: 2034 is all too close at hand, and this cautionary tale presents the listener a dark yet possible future that we must do all we can to avoid.

* This audiobook edition includes an exclusive interview with co-author Admiral James Stavridis.

©2021 Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“It is hard to write in great detail about what ensues in this novel without giving away the drama of its denouement. Suffice it to say that there is conflict and catastrophe on a large scale, and it unfolds, as major conflicts tend to, with surprising twists and turns.... The strengths of the novel are anything but incidental to the background of one of its authors, Adm. Stavridis, a former destroyer and carrier strike group commander who retired from the Navy in 2013 as NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.... Adm. Stavridis not only understands how naval fleets work; he has clearly given a great deal of thought to America’s biggest strategic risks, and at the top of the list is war with China, which, as this book seems designed to point out, could occur quite by accident and at almost any time.... One of the messages of this book is that war is utterly unpredictable and that opportunist adversaries of the U.S. are likely to play important roles in any widening confrontation.... 2034 is nonetheless full of warnings. Foremost is that war with China would be folly, with no foreseeable outcome and disaster for all. 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)

"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)

“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.... In 2034, it’s as if Ackerman and Stavridis want to grab us by our lapels, give us a slap or two, and scream: Pay attention! George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-four: A Novel was published 35 years before 1984. Ackerman’s and Stavridis’s book takes place in the not-so-distant future when today’s high school military recruits will just be turning 30.” (The Washington Post)

Meh....

This book started off pretty well, a plausible scenario for a future conflict between two superpowers. However, the book quickly devolves into ill-explained science fiction cyber weapons that can completely shut down enemy technology and render systems defenseless. The only solution is for one side to attack the other with WWII technology and rely on the superior cunning of its service members. If you're into that sort of story, this is a good book for you. However, if you're looking for a Tom Clancy-style techno-thriller with accurate depictions of military technology, I'd pass on this one.

Interesting Gripping Read

I listened to this in one day. A very compelling read. I don't think in an actual real life situation things would pan out as portrayed in the novel.

I kept wondering what was happening in places like North Korea, and South America. Was there a resistance movement in Taiwan? What was Israel"s response to the war? Also missing was the state of the Sino Empire after hostilities ceased.

Despite certain omissions it's still one hell of a military thriller and an amazing cautionary tale.

Food for thought.

A nightmare of fiction. We can only hope that nukes never play a roll in global disagreements. The story is rambling but as one imagines the hell created it becomes a simple plea. Avoid WW III.

Disappointing

I expected more from a military author, especially a Naval one. Example - A ships Captain and her Commodore are the first to notice another ship on the horizon? The Commodore loses her flotilla and is not held accountable but instead is promoted? Hard to continue reading this one.

Sobering yet enthralling

The book harkens back to my love of Tom Clancy novels. In Tom Clancy’s novel, Debt of Honor, the author of the novel had the audacious imagination to imagine someone flying a jumbo jet into the US Capitol. This was 7 years before 9-11. The point is, we have to have imaginations that will envision a future that is frightening and unthinkable. That is what this book does. It is about a world war where the unthinkable happens. If we can wrap our brains around what the implications of this 2034, maybe we can start making the difficult decisions now of how to avoid a global conflict with a peer-adversary like China.

I have heard much better narrators. One good narrator could have done all of the voices in this book well. But instead they employed several narrators. This did not make the story more immersive. Still. The voices grew on me, and as I became attached to the character, the narrator’s voice was part of that.

Very highly recommended!

Scary

A great novel that portrays a plausible world war 3 scenario. Highly recommended for all military members and military enthusiasts.

Listen to interview first

This is a book written by a Navy admiral. Because of this, his expertise and bias is very clearly seen in a lack of Air Force presence in a conflict with China. If anything, that’s probably the biggest flaw. Outside of this, the story itself is outstanding. Both nations seek to avoid nuclear Holocaust but are also faced with a prisoner’s dilemma. The story follows the characters in key positions to make decisions on a grand strategic level. During this developing situation, opportunistic aggressors and aspiring great powers seek to achieve an advantage in advancing their own national interests. If anything, this is the most realistic “next war” when observed through the lens of two nations who prioritize prestige over survival and leave open an opportunity for rogue nations to exacerbate conflict.

A thought-provoking work of speculative fiction

Note: This review includes mild spoilers.

This was one of the best books I have "read" in a while (I listened to the Audible version). The book presents a chilling scenario of the near future when a conflict between the United States and China spins out of control. With Adm. Stavridis's extensive Navy and geopolitical experience, the book has an air of not just plausibility but potentiality. As the plot slowly develops the stages of the escalation and the accompanying tension, you remember that, while a work of fiction, something like this happening is not out of the question. The authors establish a stage setting that includes the division and dysfunction that beset America today and assign that as a contributing factor. However, the most chilling concern is the devastating cyber capabilities of Asian nations that outclass those of the United States.

The book is not perfect and these, flaws, while minor, do prevent me from awarding 2034 five stars. While the pacing is excellent and builds tension, its methodical nature had me convinced around the midpoint of the book that this was the first installment in a multiple-volume series, possibly a trilogy. However, this is not the case as the plot resolves itself with the epilogue skipping years into the future to tell the aftermath of the showdown. This rapid denouement seems rushed compared to the rest of the book. Also, I found it a little implausible that the U.S. had virtually no cyber capability in this book. While I can accept that global adversaries may be more advanced - and the authors provide context on this - I found it unbelievable that the U.S. seemed completely inept in this area.

Overall, this is an excellent work of speculative fiction. The characters, even those of our enemies, are likable and draw you into the story. They help you see the world from a non-US-centric perspective. The most important takeaway from the book is the near-term possibility of a conflict such as this. As was the authors' goal, this book stands as a wake-up call for the U.S. to begin to address our nation's shortcomings, politically and technologically, so that the events of this book remain a work of fiction.

Very good wake up call for All Americans

Should be mandatory reading for all US citizens. Well written, difficult to follow the four story lines at times, but overall a very good book!

Disappointing

After all the hype about this book, in turns out to be a disappointment.