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catterwaul's review
Good but wasn’t feeling short stories at the time. Will return!
cook_memorial_public_library's review
4.0
A 2020 staff favorite recommended by Joe. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sa%20new%20history%20of%20the%20future%20in%20100%20objects__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
creativelifeofliz's review
3.0
An interesting speculative history of the 21st Century, as told by a narrator in 2082.
This book is a fictional transcript of a talk (?, it's not made fully clear what the format of the presentation of this is) given in 2082 looking back at 100 objects that defined the 21st Century. This is a very interesting topic and the author attempts to give some commentary on humanity and society through the selection and description of (currently) fictional objects and experiences.
The thing that I most struggle with is the timeline introduced by these objects. By the late 2070's, the book says that humanity will be living predominantly off-Earth and will be taking quick day trips to orbit Saturn. This seems a bit unbelievable, but I suppose that anything is possible in the next 50+ years. Even more so, I think that the objects of the 2020's show the most problems, probably because this book was originally written as a Kickstarter project in 2011. By 2025, the author says that governments will be using virtual reality technology to interrogate terrorists. That seems very plausible. However, by that same year, he also says that we will have a Sex Workers Union very well-established in New York City and having already developed an app that will allow sex workers to provide sexual experiences remotely for customers. This feels like much too fast timing for something like this, given the current political/technological/societal climate.
Overall, for people who enjoy reading science fiction and/or like speculating about the future, this would be a fun read. Especially if you just suspend disbelief for a while...
Thank you to NetGalley and MIT Press for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book is a fictional transcript of a talk (?, it's not made fully clear what the format of the presentation of this is) given in 2082 looking back at 100 objects that defined the 21st Century. This is a very interesting topic and the author attempts to give some commentary on humanity and society through the selection and description of (currently) fictional objects and experiences.
The thing that I most struggle with is the timeline introduced by these objects. By the late 2070's, the book says that humanity will be living predominantly off-Earth and will be taking quick day trips to orbit Saturn. This seems a bit unbelievable, but I suppose that anything is possible in the next 50+ years. Even more so, I think that the objects of the 2020's show the most problems, probably because this book was originally written as a Kickstarter project in 2011. By 2025, the author says that governments will be using virtual reality technology to interrogate terrorists. That seems very plausible. However, by that same year, he also says that we will have a Sex Workers Union very well-established in New York City and having already developed an app that will allow sex workers to provide sexual experiences remotely for customers. This feels like much too fast timing for something like this, given the current political/technological/societal climate.
Overall, for people who enjoy reading science fiction and/or like speculating about the future, this would be a fun read. Especially if you just suspend disbelief for a while...
Thank you to NetGalley and MIT Press for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
lizshayne's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Calling this a fiction just goes to show how much of genre is content rather than form and how little that is necessarily what is interesting about books.
Hon's speculation is fascinating (there's the "I expect this to become obsolete" and then there's no mention of the mRNA vaccine, which tells you everything you need to know about publication date). It's interesting to see where he's optimistic and where he's pessimistic, where he has faith in us and where he, instead, has DEEP skepticism.
I think he might be a bit optimistic when it comes to climate change and ALSO I don't think he was intending to be.
I have my own deep skepticism, about what he imagines growing and what he imagines fundamentally changing. But isn't that always the way, when it comes to the future. And, as someone who loves to imagine SFF AI, I am deeply skeptical any of us will ever see it.
Hon's speculation is fascinating (there's the "I expect this to become obsolete" and then there's no mention of the mRNA vaccine, which tells you everything you need to know about publication date). It's interesting to see where he's optimistic and where he's pessimistic, where he has faith in us and where he, instead, has DEEP skepticism.
I think he might be a bit optimistic when it comes to climate change and ALSO I don't think he was intending to be.
I have my own deep skepticism, about what he imagines growing and what he imagines fundamentally changing. But isn't that always the way, when it comes to the future. And, as someone who loves to imagine SFF AI, I am deeply skeptical any of us will ever see it.
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