Admiral Stavridis, and his co-author Elliot Ackerman look into the future and tell a riveting tale, a sequel to their best-selling novel, 2034.
It is twenty years after the catastrophic war between the United States and China that brought down the old American political order. A new party has emerged in the US, one that’s held power for over a decade. Efforts to cement its grip have resulted in mounting violent resistance.
The American president has control of the media, but he is beginning to lose control of the streets. Many fear he’ll stop at nothing to remain in the White House. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation.
After an initial flurry of misinformation, the administration reluctantly announces his death. A cover-up ensues, conspiracy theories abound, and the country descends into a new type of civil war.
A handful of elite actors from the worlds of computer science, intelligence, and business have a fairly good idea what happened. All signs point to a profound breakthrough in AI, of which the remote assassination of an American President is hardly the most game-changing ramification.
The trail leads to an outpost in the Amazon rainforest, the last known whereabouts of the tech visionary who predicted this breakthrough. As some of the world’s great powers, old and new, state and nonstate alike, struggle to outmaneuver one another in this new great game of scientific discovery, the outcome becomes entangled with the fate of American democracy.
Combining a deep understanding of AI, biotech, and the possibility of a coming singularity, along with their signature geopolitical sophistication, Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis have once again written a visionary work. 2054 is a novel that reads like a thriller even as it demands that we consider the trajectory of our society and its potentially calamitous destination.
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Reviews
“Former Marine Ackerman and retired Navy admiral Stavridis follow up 2034 with another top-shelf thriller about near-future geopolitical turmoil. The decade-long rule of American president Angel Castro, whose American Dream Party has weakened both the Democratic and Republican parties to the point of near-extinction, ends suddenly after he collapses during a public speech.
At first, Castro’s administration covers up the incident, digitally altering images to make it seem as if he only stumbled. When Castro dies a short time later, however, the deception is exposed, exacerbating political tensions across the country.
As the U.S. teeters on the edge of civil war, tech leaders privately struggle with concerns that Castro’s death—the result of a mysterious growth on his heart—may be connected to a nascent biotechnology that can alter human cells via remote gene editing software.
If so, the incident may mean that humanity is approaching “the Singularity” long predicted by technologist Ray Kurzweil, in which human and machine merge “into a single consciousness.” White House aides, doctors, tech experts, and military personnel attempt to track down Kurzweil for guidance while keeping the existing shards of American democracy intact.
Spreading the narrative’s focus over many characters and nations, Ackerman and Stavridis paint a sweeping and resonant portrait of a world faced with a powerful technological advancement it doesn’t fully understand. The results are genuinely chilling!” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Gripping and imaginative . . . an enjoyable techno-thriller that explores the chaotic, self-destructive potential of human ingenuity.” —Booklist
“A very thought-provoking read . . . Both [authors] are visionaries when it comes to their comprehension of national security affairs. They both bring relevant experience at the operational and strategic levels. They both possess an advanced interest in, understanding of, and appreciation for technology and how it can impact our lives and security. Most importantly, both are exquisite communicators and understand that a well-told story is more than just casual entertainment – it can be an allegory for how we think about more significant ideas. In this book – the allegory is about the future of our nation.” – The Cipher Brief
“The experience of Elliot Ackerman and retired Admiral James Stavridis as military practitioners, scholars, and statesmen really shines.” – Proceedings