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The Fantasies of Future Things
A compelling and timely debut novel following two Black men tasked with overseeing the destruction and gentrification of the predominantly Black neighborhoods surrounding Atlanta before the 1996 Olympics.
The Fantasies of Future Things follows two Black men working for the real estate development company responsible for the revitalization of Summerhill in Atlanta, Georgia, for the 1996 Olympics. But Summerhill is a predominantly Black neighborhood, and real estate agents Jacob and Daniel know that “revitalization” is code for “gentrification”—which means they will be tasked with displacing people from their own community.
Brooklyn-born Jacob, a recent Morehouse graduate, is armed with the hopes of his parents and has big dreams about the life he should be living. Daniel, a native of Atlanta, is tired, angry, and disillusioned with his career and ready for a change. While different in many ways, Jacob and Daniel are coming to grips with many of the same accepting their sexuality, dealing with the pressures of family, wrestling with the conflicting morality of their jobs, and coping with the daily trauma that comes with being Black in America. As we follow the parallel journeys of these two men, and in the face of towering obstacles, Jacob and Daniel must decide what they are willing to do for themselves and for their communities.
This lacerating, bold, and moving novel deftly explores our need for intimacy and the harm of internalized homophobia, the relationships Black men have with family and each other, and the restrictive masculinity so often required of them.
The Fantasies of Future Things follows two Black men working for the real estate development company responsible for the revitalization of Summerhill in Atlanta, Georgia, for the 1996 Olympics. But Summerhill is a predominantly Black neighborhood, and real estate agents Jacob and Daniel know that “revitalization” is code for “gentrification”—which means they will be tasked with displacing people from their own community.
Brooklyn-born Jacob, a recent Morehouse graduate, is armed with the hopes of his parents and has big dreams about the life he should be living. Daniel, a native of Atlanta, is tired, angry, and disillusioned with his career and ready for a change. While different in many ways, Jacob and Daniel are coming to grips with many of the same accepting their sexuality, dealing with the pressures of family, wrestling with the conflicting morality of their jobs, and coping with the daily trauma that comes with being Black in America. As we follow the parallel journeys of these two men, and in the face of towering obstacles, Jacob and Daniel must decide what they are willing to do for themselves and for their communities.
This lacerating, bold, and moving novel deftly explores our need for intimacy and the harm of internalized homophobia, the relationships Black men have with family and each other, and the restrictive masculinity so often required of them.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published April 22, 2025
22 people are currently reading
3921 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
May 5, 2025
One of the strongest works of literary fiction I’ve read this year. I really enjoyed how Doug Jones portrayed the intimate emotional lives of two gay Black men – their complicated family dynamics, friendships with fellow Black men, and romantic and sexual relationships. In this debut Jones shows the racism enacted by white people, especially white women, though he thankfully does not center white people/white gay men in his characters’ lives. Jones focuses firmly on our gay Black male protagonists and how they hurt and eventually find healing with one another. An interesting plotline that runs through this novel is that our two protagonists are part of a housing project that is complicit in the gentrification of 1990’s Atlanta. This element of the novel invites reflection about our complicity in displacement and injustice and what boundaries we set or do not set in making a living.
There were a couple parts of this book that didn’t exactly work for me. I wish there had been more room for Jacob and Sherman’s relationship to develop as opposed to it feeling a bit insta-lovey, however, I respect that the ending of the novel more or less addresses that. I also found the section where Marty dialogues about his family for a long time to be an odd stylistic choice. Still, Jones’s writing was engaging and I’d recommend this book for those interested in queer realistic fiction.
There were a couple parts of this book that didn’t exactly work for me. I wish there had been more room for Jacob and Sherman’s relationship to develop as opposed to it feeling a bit insta-lovey, however, I respect that the ending of the novel more or less addresses that. I also found the section where Marty dialogues about his family for a long time to be an odd stylistic choice. Still, Jones’s writing was engaging and I’d recommend this book for those interested in queer realistic fiction.
April 21, 2025
About 15% of the way into it, I put The Fantasies of Future Things aside. I wasn't sure where it was headed and didn't know if I wanted to go along for the ride. I am SO glad I picked it back up again.
I'd requested a review copy of The Fantasies of Future Things because the context in which it takes place seemed so ripe with possibilities. The novel is set in Atlanta after the city was chosen to as host for the 1996 Olympics. The central characters are two young, gay, Black men working for a real estate development company that sees an opportunity to make some quick money by "revitalizing" a neighborhood—in the sense that seizing property by eminent domain, razing the homes on that property, and throwing together new homes that can be rented or sold at much higher profits counts as "revitalization."
Jacob is a recent graduate of Morehouse College, originally from Brooklyn, interested in a career in real estate, but not interested in spending his initial time out of college cold-calling people to see if they're interested in selling their homes. Daniel is a local boy who was never destined for college. To the white developer trying to put this project together, they seem like exactly the kinds of faces that should be facing toward the community to lead to—$$$—success. Maybe if the company looks Black enough it won't actually have to provide real support: job training, small business incubators, job training—for the community that's being displaced.
Originally, the book felt too didactic, a "tale of good and evil" with a predictable narrative arc and ending. But when I picked the novel back up after my hiatus, it quickly grew richer and less predictable. Both Jacob and Daniel are wrestling with conflicts emerging within their own families. They're attracted to each other in alternating pulses of hot-hot-hot and hoping-for-something-more. They're also so preoccupied by issues in their own lives that they have trouble seeing one another as anything other than means to an end.
Doug Jones, the author of this debut novel, doesn't tie things up neatly at the end—for which I am deeply grateful. The novel ends with possibilities, not certainties, and those possibilities have a shakiness at their hearts that makes these characters' futures difficult for readers to imagine with any confidence.
If you enjoy problem novels that wrestle with larger issues while exploring the specifics of individual lives, you're in for a treat here. You'll feel both affection for and exasperation with the central characters—and the cliff you're left at the edge of will feel like the most genuine resolution that's possible in that moment.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
I'd requested a review copy of The Fantasies of Future Things because the context in which it takes place seemed so ripe with possibilities. The novel is set in Atlanta after the city was chosen to as host for the 1996 Olympics. The central characters are two young, gay, Black men working for a real estate development company that sees an opportunity to make some quick money by "revitalizing" a neighborhood—in the sense that seizing property by eminent domain, razing the homes on that property, and throwing together new homes that can be rented or sold at much higher profits counts as "revitalization."
Jacob is a recent graduate of Morehouse College, originally from Brooklyn, interested in a career in real estate, but not interested in spending his initial time out of college cold-calling people to see if they're interested in selling their homes. Daniel is a local boy who was never destined for college. To the white developer trying to put this project together, they seem like exactly the kinds of faces that should be facing toward the community to lead to—$$$—success. Maybe if the company looks Black enough it won't actually have to provide real support: job training, small business incubators, job training—for the community that's being displaced.
Originally, the book felt too didactic, a "tale of good and evil" with a predictable narrative arc and ending. But when I picked the novel back up after my hiatus, it quickly grew richer and less predictable. Both Jacob and Daniel are wrestling with conflicts emerging within their own families. They're attracted to each other in alternating pulses of hot-hot-hot and hoping-for-something-more. They're also so preoccupied by issues in their own lives that they have trouble seeing one another as anything other than means to an end.
Doug Jones, the author of this debut novel, doesn't tie things up neatly at the end—for which I am deeply grateful. The novel ends with possibilities, not certainties, and those possibilities have a shakiness at their hearts that makes these characters' futures difficult for readers to imagine with any confidence.
If you enjoy problem novels that wrestle with larger issues while exploring the specifics of individual lives, you're in for a treat here. You'll feel both affection for and exasperation with the central characters—and the cliff you're left at the edge of will feel like the most genuine resolution that's possible in that moment.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
March 11, 2025
The Fantasies of Future Things does something absolutely beautiful, taking the historical 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games— and fusing it with commentary about housing, race, and queerness. It felt like a subject that hasn’t been tapped into through the lens of Black queerness. This was quite the ride, visceral and real at points, but also very satisfying.
July 21, 2025
Doug Jones debut novel, The Fantasies of Future Things, out now by Simon and Schuster was fantastic! I will admit that it took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did, it flowed so well! I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, the landscape and finding out about a not too distant time (1996) and what took place during the ramp up period of the Olympics in Atlanta, and the disaster that it created for many families.
Jones does a wonderful job painting his literary canvas with text that speaks to the reader. He brings them into a space and time and lets his writing become the kaleidoscope of color needed to narrate the story. The only downfall that I saw in this novel was the somewhat slow lead up, but as mentioned, give it a little time, and you will soon be swept up like I was!
Jones does a wonderful job painting his literary canvas with text that speaks to the reader. He brings them into a space and time and lets his writing become the kaleidoscope of color needed to narrate the story. The only downfall that I saw in this novel was the somewhat slow lead up, but as mentioned, give it a little time, and you will soon be swept up like I was!
January 13, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review. This beautiful debut novel explores the lives of two black gay men and societies expectations of them. Daniel and Jacob are both struggling with the morality of their jobs and their internalized homophobia all while simultaneously trying to overcome the obstacles they face. The writing in this book was so beautifully done with the past and present weaved together in a way that keeps you hooked. The only reason this was not a perfect 5 ⭐️ for me was because I felt like the ending was too abrupt.
May 20, 2025
The only way I'm gonna stop being pissed at Doug Jones is if he's already writing a sequel to this masterpiece because I needed so much more than what this ending gave me!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
March 12, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley, Summit Books, and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review
What a beautiful, moving story. This book weaves the story of two men at the intersection of major cultural changes amidst the preparations for the 1996 Olympics. Gentrification, family, and intimacy as experienced by Jacob and Daniel. I appreciated the author's writing style. Sometimes I felt like I was reading non-fiction; I even ended up reading some articles and looking at archived pictures of Atlanta homes in Summerhill prior to the Olympics. On the flipside, I felt a connection to the characters. These could be my brothers, my friends, my roomates, and even when they made mistakes I rooted for them.
There was a part at the end where it felt a bit rushed in its pacing, but it made sense in context to the larger story. The title is befitting because I'm left fantasizing about the future of these characters. There is so much to think about with this book. I'll be carrying this book in my heart for a long time.
What a beautiful, moving story. This book weaves the story of two men at the intersection of major cultural changes amidst the preparations for the 1996 Olympics. Gentrification, family, and intimacy as experienced by Jacob and Daniel. I appreciated the author's writing style. Sometimes I felt like I was reading non-fiction; I even ended up reading some articles and looking at archived pictures of Atlanta homes in Summerhill prior to the Olympics. On the flipside, I felt a connection to the characters. These could be my brothers, my friends, my roomates, and even when they made mistakes I rooted for them.
There was a part at the end where it felt a bit rushed in its pacing, but it made sense in context to the larger story. The title is befitting because I'm left fantasizing about the future of these characters. There is so much to think about with this book. I'll be carrying this book in my heart for a long time.
March 11, 2025
I loved this book overall it shined in every aspect of storytelling. Everything from the characters to the writing style was well done. And the different plot lines were very well balanced. Definitely a well-rounded book. However, the ending really disappointed me it felt like the book kinda just dropped of out of nowhere and left me unsatisfied.
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4/5⭐️
Thank you to net gally the publisher and the author for this arc copy.
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4/5⭐️
Thank you to net gally the publisher and the author for this arc copy.
June 6, 2025
4.5 rounded up to a 5. This was a really fantastic read. Not only did I feel that I connected to the characters (though I will say that I preferred Daniel's chapters), but I also felt like I learned a lot about what went down in Atlanta around the 1996 Olympics and the gentrification/displacement it caused. The latter was actually a big reason in why I chose this book for Goodreads' "Rainbow Reads" challenge (to learn more about the impact of the 1996 Olympics on the Black community in Atlanta), so I am glad that it lived up to my expectations in that way.
I'm not really sure the reason for why I'm feeling 4.5 stars, but it just felt like I was missing something story-wise. Because I can't quite put my finger on it, though, I decided that it wasn't big enough that it warranted rounding down to 4. Hence, I'm rounding up to 5.
Still a great book and one that I would recommend to others.
I'm not really sure the reason for why I'm feeling 4.5 stars, but it just felt like I was missing something story-wise. Because I can't quite put my finger on it, though, I decided that it wasn't big enough that it warranted rounding down to 4. Hence, I'm rounding up to 5.
Still a great book and one that I would recommend to others.
May 24, 2025
It has taken me a minute to gather my thoughts after finishing this book. I initially requested this book via netgalley, and then to my joy I received a physical ARC as part of the Advanced Reader’s Club
This book was not really what I expected based on the cover and the reference to the movie Moonlight, but it turned out that this book actual does work and makes for an enjoyable read. You will either really love this book or hate it. The writing is very poetic and the imagery it paints is so beautiful. From an everyday drive in the city of Atlanta to a cozy night in with friends; I was mesmerized by the vividness of the words on the page. If you are a critical thinker this book is for you. It is full of literary elements and plenty of themes to think about. The characters are so well developed I had to ask myself is this story based on the author’s life. And a couple of times I had to go back and double check that Daniel’s mother who is white in the book, was really white; because whew when she gave out the beatings I was flashing back to “Rozelle” (IYKYK) and in that principal’s office she commanded the room. Mind you this book also has a dual timeline of 70’s then late 90’s which is always a win for me.The downfall of this book for me is the ending felt very subtle and anticlimactic, but all the ends were wrapped up or were they. But I also love when an author allows the readers imagination to fill in what hey desire the ending to be. I originally gave this book 3.5 stars, now upgrade to 4 stars after a powerful and insightful discussion with the group.
This book was not really what I expected based on the cover and the reference to the movie Moonlight, but it turned out that this book actual does work and makes for an enjoyable read. You will either really love this book or hate it. The writing is very poetic and the imagery it paints is so beautiful. From an everyday drive in the city of Atlanta to a cozy night in with friends; I was mesmerized by the vividness of the words on the page. If you are a critical thinker this book is for you. It is full of literary elements and plenty of themes to think about. The characters are so well developed I had to ask myself is this story based on the author’s life. And a couple of times I had to go back and double check that Daniel’s mother who is white in the book, was really white; because whew when she gave out the beatings I was flashing back to “Rozelle” (IYKYK) and in that principal’s office she commanded the room. Mind you this book also has a dual timeline of 70’s then late 90’s which is always a win for me.The downfall of this book for me is the ending felt very subtle and anticlimactic, but all the ends were wrapped up or were they. But I also love when an author allows the readers imagination to fill in what hey desire the ending to be. I originally gave this book 3.5 stars, now upgrade to 4 stars after a powerful and insightful discussion with the group.
December 11, 2025
THE FANTASIES OF FUTURE THINGS by Doug Jones
Thank you @simonbooks for the gifted copy!
📖 This powerful debut follows two gay Black men as they confront their roles in the displacement and gentrification of Atlanta’s Black neighborhoods ahead of the 1996 Olympics.
💭 Fresh. Moving. Unflinching. The Fantasies of Future Things is a character-driven historical lit fic that explores the complexities of identity, family, queerness, and the weight of complicity. Jones’s writing is poignant and engaging,making me wholly invested in his characters' lives and dilemmas. At under 300 pages, this was a quick read that I devoured in two days.
Overall, a strong debut! I look forward to reading whatever Jones writes next!
📌 Available now!
Thank you @simonbooks for the gifted copy!
📖 This powerful debut follows two gay Black men as they confront their roles in the displacement and gentrification of Atlanta’s Black neighborhoods ahead of the 1996 Olympics.
💭 Fresh. Moving. Unflinching. The Fantasies of Future Things is a character-driven historical lit fic that explores the complexities of identity, family, queerness, and the weight of complicity. Jones’s writing is poignant and engaging,making me wholly invested in his characters' lives and dilemmas. At under 300 pages, this was a quick read that I devoured in two days.
Overall, a strong debut! I look forward to reading whatever Jones writes next!
📌 Available now!
May 21, 2025
This is not a gay book or a Black book. It's not an Atlanta book or a social issues book. Nor is it a love story or a call for a more empathetic state. It's ALL of that and so much more! This novel was an absolute delight to read. The poetic prose, the relatable characters, and real life events made it easy to consume and left a lasting impression. I think everyone will get something different from it. I saw myself in a few characters and came away with countless 'nuggets' that I'm definitely referencing in my personal and social activism journeys for the foreseeable future. Admist an entertaining story of realistic charcters going through real day-to-day happenings, Doug Jones brought to light real social issues (particularly related to real estate, gentrification, and government involvement) AND gave realistic solutions. If the author does a 'Where are they now?' book about Jacob and Daniel 10 years in the future, I would NOT be mad.
Get the book and ENJOY!
Get the book and ENJOY!
June 26, 2025
Beautiful story of black gay men in Atlanta navigating gentrification and dynamics of sexuality
June 30, 2025
The budding relationship between Jacob and Sherman confused me a bit. It felt more like the two liked the concept of being in a relationship then actually liking one another, so many of their interactions we are shown are negative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2025
In this beautiful, heart-rending work of historical fiction, Jones weaves together themes of love, longing, identity, and exploitation with extraordinary grace. His characters—living at the intersections of Blackness, queerness, and social class—are rendered with tenderness, vulnerability, and profound humanity.
Jones’ literary style is remarkable: deliberate, meticulous, and deeply attentive. He gives his characters space to breathe and unfold, inviting readers into their inner worlds. Jacob and Daniel linger long after the final page—you feel for them, you hope for them, and you are swept into their aching fantasies of future things.
Jones’ literary style is remarkable: deliberate, meticulous, and deeply attentive. He gives his characters space to breathe and unfold, inviting readers into their inner worlds. Jacob and Daniel linger long after the final page—you feel for them, you hope for them, and you are swept into their aching fantasies of future things.
April 23, 2025
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the eARC of The Fantasies of Future Things by Doug Jones.
When I started reading this novel, I honestly had no idea what to expect. However, it was beautifully written. The story addresses issues such as internalized homophobia, and Doug does an excellent job of weaving together the intersectionality of Blackness and queerness. This is an outstanding work of historical fiction that highlights the need for more Black LGBTQ literature in this subgenre.
As I reached the end of the last chapter, I found myself wanting more. I wanted to know if Daniel ever accepted himself and if Jacob got his happy ending. In my opinion, this novel is simply beautiful, and I hope to read more works by Doug in the future. If you haven't yet, add this book to your TBR today!
When I started reading this novel, I honestly had no idea what to expect. However, it was beautifully written. The story addresses issues such as internalized homophobia, and Doug does an excellent job of weaving together the intersectionality of Blackness and queerness. This is an outstanding work of historical fiction that highlights the need for more Black LGBTQ literature in this subgenre.
As I reached the end of the last chapter, I found myself wanting more. I wanted to know if Daniel ever accepted himself and if Jacob got his happy ending. In my opinion, this novel is simply beautiful, and I hope to read more works by Doug in the future. If you haven't yet, add this book to your TBR today!
July 8, 2025
This story is set in Atlanta, referred to as the “Black Disneyland”, as it undergoes a major wave of gentrification due to the 1996 Summer Olympics. Jacob and Daniel, two young, Black gay men, reckon with the fantasy of the work they thought they would be doing to “revitalize” the Summerhill neighborhood with the reality of what their company actually does - displacing Black residents for profit.
Doug Jones’ writing is deceivingly simple and has a loving gaze - I found myself feeling the warm, humid Atlanta nights, envisioning lush neighborhoods, and hearing the voices of the characters in my head. Despite the title, I found the characters’ journeys through grief, resentment, disappointment and confusion so realistic. I was especially invested in Daniel’s exploration of his mother’s secrets and faults upon her death, and the compassion with which he viewed her longing while coming to terms of the pain he endured in her home.
Four stars because I wanted to go even deeper with Jacob and Daniel’s inner worlds. I feel that too much time was spent creating their circle of kin/friends/multitudes and thus the protagonists’ stories felt rushed. I didn’t sense a connection between Jacob and Daniel that I think I was meant too.
All in all, I recommend this book and I’m very glad I read it. I’ll look forward to Jones’ next project!
Doug Jones’ writing is deceivingly simple and has a loving gaze - I found myself feeling the warm, humid Atlanta nights, envisioning lush neighborhoods, and hearing the voices of the characters in my head. Despite the title, I found the characters’ journeys through grief, resentment, disappointment and confusion so realistic. I was especially invested in Daniel’s exploration of his mother’s secrets and faults upon her death, and the compassion with which he viewed her longing while coming to terms of the pain he endured in her home.
Four stars because I wanted to go even deeper with Jacob and Daniel’s inner worlds. I feel that too much time was spent creating their circle of kin/friends/multitudes and thus the protagonists’ stories felt rushed. I didn’t sense a connection between Jacob and Daniel that I think I was meant too.
All in all, I recommend this book and I’m very glad I read it. I’ll look forward to Jones’ next project!
June 12, 2025
I had a similar experience to a few of the other reviewers. The book was different than what I thought it would be based off the cover and description. Once I realized that I started to enjoy the book a lot more. I enjoyed being plopped into this world and learning a lot about a perspective I haven't experienced. Like a couple of other people have said this is not a super plot driven book but I still enjoyed the ride. It was beautifully written.
May 7, 2025
I have to give this book 4 stars because I'm always rooting for everybody Black. This was a really emotional and telling story that I know took Doug Jones on an extremely cathartic journey and for that I respect it. I honestly was expecting a little more "explicitness" with this novel but what I wasn't prepared for was its literary story telling. I think we dive deep into the inner thoughts of Daniel and Jacob, but I do think we could have gone a just a bit deeper. It felt like for the both of them there was still something just over the horizon of both of their character development that we just never reached.
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Sherman was too damn thirsty for Jacob. Jacob was literally paying him dust and at every instance Sherman was so willing to take him back. He was begging for Jacob to open up to him, to be honest with him and Jacob continually turned his back on him and Sherman quickly accepted the apology just because he tied his shoe? Cmon Sherman! Stand up! Choose yourself! That's setting the foundation for Jacob to treat you however he wants and blame it on how what he's going through. He's always going through something! FUCK!
Wait- did this take place in '96? People had cellphones like that? That could just call in the middle of the day that you remembered to take everywhere with you? News to me.
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Sherman was too damn thirsty for Jacob. Jacob was literally paying him dust and at every instance Sherman was so willing to take him back. He was begging for Jacob to open up to him, to be honest with him and Jacob continually turned his back on him and Sherman quickly accepted the apology just because he tied his shoe? Cmon Sherman! Stand up! Choose yourself! That's setting the foundation for Jacob to treat you however he wants and blame it on how what he's going through. He's always going through something! FUCK!
Wait- did this take place in '96? People had cellphones like that? That could just call in the middle of the day that you remembered to take everywhere with you? News to me.
July 20, 2025
A lot to unpack. Sometimes difficult to keep up with, but overall solid.
June 20, 2025
A beautifully written narrative on self-acceptance, gentrification, and self-discovery
July 4, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up
August 10, 2025
It took a little work for the story to settle down but once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. Well written, emotional and tender. It’s refreshing to read a book with raw emotions of the struggle between wanting to be true yourself, the expectations family and showing up for your community.
April 21, 2025
Daniel and Jacob's story was so well-crafted that I flew through this book. Loved the dual POVs, and the time period this is set on, I was very familiar with everything that was being discussed in the story, including the music!
Set in Atlanta in the 90's, Daniel and Jacob are employed by a developer who is trying to get government approval for new housing developments in the city in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics. These projects would mean displacement for the families in the area, who are mostly Black. In the story, we follow our protagonists as they navigate their values, ambitions and accepting who they are when it comes to their sexuality.
Wonderful debut!
Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
Set in Atlanta in the 90's, Daniel and Jacob are employed by a developer who is trying to get government approval for new housing developments in the city in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics. These projects would mean displacement for the families in the area, who are mostly Black. In the story, we follow our protagonists as they navigate their values, ambitions and accepting who they are when it comes to their sexuality.
Wonderful debut!
Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
May 24, 2025
This book is a reminder that I am a plot person. This is a character driven book and both the main characters in this dual narrative got on my last nerves. I left so irritated I had to do an emotional lap.
I REALLY wanted to like it. I trudged through for days just to feel like my time investment was worth it. It's a debut and the writing was beautiful but it was too overwritten and weighed down by all the big things it was trying to write to - gentrification, race, homophobia, power, desire, and how it's easier for men to shield themselves in anger and violence toward others than to be seen at their most vulnerable.
I wanted a resolution that felt in line with the investment made and didn't leave with that. It wasn't bad I just wasn't the right reader for this book.
There were some beautiful lines that stuck out to me:
" I want my chance at happiness. I'm going to live a life I can recognize, however different it might be from what we expected. I'm going to live a life I can respect."
" Daniel pondered how to answer Beth. thought about what it meant to live in this world among living, breathing, feeling people, who love and cry and shall and scream, who feel pain and completing get high when they laugh. who do not live in the fantasies of future things yet to be, because they are frightened of a chaotic present. who live with passion and intensity and know what it means when fear rest in the pit of the belly- but who must go and do the very things they fear anyway."
" Sherman was trying to prove they could be more joy than relief to each other. But Jacob was drunk and hurting and still hearing his parents. He needed the relief first before any joy could come."
I REALLY wanted to like it. I trudged through for days just to feel like my time investment was worth it. It's a debut and the writing was beautiful but it was too overwritten and weighed down by all the big things it was trying to write to - gentrification, race, homophobia, power, desire, and how it's easier for men to shield themselves in anger and violence toward others than to be seen at their most vulnerable.
I wanted a resolution that felt in line with the investment made and didn't leave with that. It wasn't bad I just wasn't the right reader for this book.
There were some beautiful lines that stuck out to me:
" I want my chance at happiness. I'm going to live a life I can recognize, however different it might be from what we expected. I'm going to live a life I can respect."
" Daniel pondered how to answer Beth. thought about what it meant to live in this world among living, breathing, feeling people, who love and cry and shall and scream, who feel pain and completing get high when they laugh. who do not live in the fantasies of future things yet to be, because they are frightened of a chaotic present. who live with passion and intensity and know what it means when fear rest in the pit of the belly- but who must go and do the very things they fear anyway."
" Sherman was trying to prove they could be more joy than relief to each other. But Jacob was drunk and hurting and still hearing his parents. He needed the relief first before any joy could come."
June 17, 2025
Intentionally and methodically paced, there isn’t a single moment in The Fantasies of Future Things where Doug Jones loses his fine control over narrative or characterization. Told through dual perspectives, each is unique—distinct in tone, language, and circumstance.
Even with the ever-present threat of displacement threatening an Atlanta community, so much of the tension resides in how the characters here grapple with their place or complicity in this cruelty, and how they consistently question where their moral compass lies—information on their pasts, and why they make the decisions they do, is carefully laid out at length throughout the story, building an investment and intimacy. The questions regarding the relationships and struggles in each individual character’s life is given as much weight as the dilemma of whether or not the direction of this real-estate project/development can be salvaged.
The only possible downside to how meticulously handled each story beat and line of dialogue comes across is that, at times, it feels like the reader can be at somewhat of a remove—being held at arms length, in a way. But it’s such a small criticism with how grand in scale and beautiful this novel is.
(Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the arc, allowing me to preview this title before its release.)
Even with the ever-present threat of displacement threatening an Atlanta community, so much of the tension resides in how the characters here grapple with their place or complicity in this cruelty, and how they consistently question where their moral compass lies—information on their pasts, and why they make the decisions they do, is carefully laid out at length throughout the story, building an investment and intimacy. The questions regarding the relationships and struggles in each individual character’s life is given as much weight as the dilemma of whether or not the direction of this real-estate project/development can be salvaged.
The only possible downside to how meticulously handled each story beat and line of dialogue comes across is that, at times, it feels like the reader can be at somewhat of a remove—being held at arms length, in a way. But it’s such a small criticism with how grand in scale and beautiful this novel is.
(Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the arc, allowing me to preview this title before its release.)
September 23, 2025
The Fantasies of Future Things was a novel that surprised me. What I love about reading is diving head first into different realities and getting a glimpse of how others experience life. This novel gave me an opportunity to see the nuance and beauty of queer, Black characters living in 1990’s Atlanta. The book deals with topics such as gentrification, identity, and complicated feelings around love and belonging. The author beautifully captures the heavy emotions and creates a world that all readers can relate to, one of which you root for the characters and hope they find their way.
November 24, 2025
Beautifully written, loved everything about it. Loved returning to this after putting it down. Sequel..??
July 24, 2025
I enjoyed this a lot. It has a lot of important commentary. The story itself is well-written and the characters are very distinctive. The author was thoughtful in his writing and that shows in every line. I'm glad I read this and I highly recommend others do, too.
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