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2084
A gripping drama and chilling prophecy about the possible path to war for a planet devastated by climate change
In their novel 2034, decorated military officers and award-winning authors Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis imagined a war between the US and China. In their follow-up novel, 2054, they envisioned a breakdown in American politics fueled by a radical advance in AI. Now they make their boldest, most astonishing, and arguably most necessary leap—imagining the consequences of a climate war.
By the year 2084, the world is divided into the equatorial countries that bear the brunt of the climate crisis—led by Nigeria, Brazil, and Indonesia—and wealthier countries like China and the US, beset by their own problems after a series of civil wars. Tensions between the two sets of countries have reached a breaking point, until finally the so-called Reparationist nations of the equator decide that only military force can bring them justice.
A fascinating and disturbingly plausible extrapolation from current realities, 2084, like other classics of the genre such as Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future and Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock, deploys a global cast of characters, all protecting their interests as the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance. Individuals often seem small in the face of the forces that drive global change, but in the end human agency proves surprisingly decisive. Big doors can swing on small hinges. We have it within ourselves to write a different destiny, if only we can imagine it.
In their novel 2034, decorated military officers and award-winning authors Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis imagined a war between the US and China. In their follow-up novel, 2054, they envisioned a breakdown in American politics fueled by a radical advance in AI. Now they make their boldest, most astonishing, and arguably most necessary leap—imagining the consequences of a climate war.
By the year 2084, the world is divided into the equatorial countries that bear the brunt of the climate crisis—led by Nigeria, Brazil, and Indonesia—and wealthier countries like China and the US, beset by their own problems after a series of civil wars. Tensions between the two sets of countries have reached a breaking point, until finally the so-called Reparationist nations of the equator decide that only military force can bring them justice.
A fascinating and disturbingly plausible extrapolation from current realities, 2084, like other classics of the genre such as Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future and Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock, deploys a global cast of characters, all protecting their interests as the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance. Individuals often seem small in the face of the forces that drive global change, but in the end human agency proves surprisingly decisive. Big doors can swing on small hinges. We have it within ourselves to write a different destiny, if only we can imagine it.
- GenresFiction
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2026
About the author
Elliot Ackerman
19 books780 followersELLIOT ACKERMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Halcyon, 2034, Red Dress In Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, as well as the memoir The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan, and Places and Names: On War, Revolution and Returning. His books have been nominated for the National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and nonfiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and Marine veteran who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 25, 2026
The worst of a declining series
2034 was reasonably good and relied on valuable Navy insights. The characters on the Chinese side were contrived, but the American characters felt real. The scenario felt grounded.
2054 started well and had moments but went off the rails towards the end with wild technical claims about AI and unrealistic actions by main protagonists.
2084 is divorced from reality. It is absolute trash that is neither internally consistent nor realistic. The book has exceptionally bad science, worse political analysis, and awful narrative. It's not worth reading
Save your money.
2034 was reasonably good and relied on valuable Navy insights. The characters on the Chinese side were contrived, but the American characters felt real. The scenario felt grounded.
2054 started well and had moments but went off the rails towards the end with wild technical claims about AI and unrealistic actions by main protagonists.
2084 is divorced from reality. It is absolute trash that is neither internally consistent nor realistic. The book has exceptionally bad science, worse political analysis, and awful narrative. It's not worth reading
Save your money.
May 27, 2026
I saw more promise in this book than in the second, but it still failed to connect with me like the first. I often like generational books that follow the same characters (or their children) but that didnt really work for me here. I thought the premise was interesting for how conflict might evolve into the future due to a changing climate, but beyond that...
May 17, 2026
Elliott Ackerman and James Stavridis’ “2084” reads like a dispatch from a future that feels uncomfortably close. Blending speculative fiction with the authors’ deep experience in warfare and strategy, the novel imagines a world shaped by the aftershocks of climate change, technological acceleration, and geopolitical fragmentation. At its core is Kasem Al-Jabari, a former U.S. military interpreter navigating a fractured globe dominated by corporate power and weakened nation-states. The authors use his journey—part refugee story, part espionage thriller—to explore how identity, loyalty, and survival evolve when traditional borders and institutions erode. Kasem is a compelling guide: pragmatic, haunted, and constantly recalibrating his moral compass in a system designed to strip individuals of agency. What sets “2084” apart is its credibility. Ackerman and Stavridis don’t indulge in flashy futurism; instead, they construct a world that feels like a logical extension of current trends. Surveillance capitalism, autonomous systems, privatized security forces, and environmental collapse are not speculative leaps so much as extrapolations. The result is a setting that feels less like science fiction and more like strategic forecasting wrapped in narrative form. The pacing is tight, with a steady accumulation of tension rather than explosive spectacle. Some readers may find the emotional register restrained, but that restraint mirrors the numbing effect of living in perpetual instability. Where the novel truly excels is in its ethical ambiguity: there are no clean heroes, only actors making constrained choices in a system tilted toward control and inequality. If there is a limitation, it lies in occasional underdevelopment of secondary characters, who sometimes function more as thematic devices than fully realized individuals. Still, this hardly detracts from the novel’s central achievement. “2084” is less a warning than a mirror held slightly ahead of us—reflecting not what might be, but what could easily become. It’s a thought-provoking, quietly unsettling read that lingers long after the final page.
May 16, 2026
Don’t Waste Your Money
Setting aside that the book is, in the end, essentially Third Worldist and environmentalist propaganda with the invaders from the Third World depicted in basically a uniformly positive fashion, it ends with essentially a Deus ex machina. For “a novel of future war” it has essentially zero insight into what that might actually entail, with scattered references to absurdly large ships and no explanations of actual systems, tactics, or strategy.
Setting aside that the book is, in the end, essentially Third Worldist and environmentalist propaganda with the invaders from the Third World depicted in basically a uniformly positive fashion, it ends with essentially a Deus ex machina. For “a novel of future war” it has essentially zero insight into what that might actually entail, with scattered references to absurdly large ships and no explanations of actual systems, tactics, or strategy.
May 18, 2026
This trilogy really grabbed me.
June 23, 2026
Better than the second, weaker than the first
July 2, 2026
2084 (A Novel of Future War), Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis USN, authors; Keith Szarabajka, Eric Yang, Pun Bandhu, Eunice Wong, Emily Woo Zeller, narrators
This is the third book in a series about a possible future in which enemies conquer each other with none actually achieving victory (shades of Iran and the USA), where violence, as an option, overrules negotiations because they often accomplish nothing when obstinate participants refuse to compromise, where political challenges and divisiveness have stalled the leaders ability to create policies to advance the needs of civilization, and where nature has overwhelmed the industrial world causing havoc with storms and other devastating results of the neglected attention paid to the obvious dangers of climate change.
Half a century has passed since Book number one, which was set in 2034. It concentrated on the conflict between America and China as each tried to assert its position as the reigning super power, eventually resulting in a devastating and deadly war. The second was 2054. It concentrated on the rise of Artificial Intelligence and achieving The Singularity. America and China were no longer the superpowers they once were, but the country that achieved this goal would rule the world because it would merge AI with a biological human brain, creating something formidable. India and Japan were actively competing, although many of the characters one would have thought would reappear and be more fully developed were abandoned in the third book. Often, the necessary information about a character or event is not fully developed or explained in this third book in the series, 2084. In essence, this concluding book is about the disastrous results of climate change on the entire world, causing much of it to become uninhabitable, leading to greater civil unrest and dissatisfaction and continued competition for world power. Essentially, the three books subtly cover the progressive ideas regarding immigration and borders, conversation and the divisiveness of current politics and political leaders, the lack of trustworthy allies and enemies, the civil unrest currently in America and the rest of the world, environmental issues, the ultimate danger of relying on Artificial Intelligence, and the tendency toward war as countries and their leaders vie for greater power and influence. Personalities seem to be the rule and therefore the outcome is not the best one. Because of this, the tendency is to rely on AI, which is supposed to be free of bias and personality, with decisions based on intellectual computation only, however, human beings defy reason, often, which means the AI results may be inaccurate with unexpected conclusions.
Both of the authors have served in America’s military, so they are very familiar with the political atmosphere that leads to controversy and the destruction and death of war. In their final depiction of our world, the waistline of our earth, the equator is an area that is growing more and more uninhabitable to the north and south, creating an area like that of a life preserver, only having the opposite effect. Countries vying for power and divisive politics in their nations have led to power struggles and warfare. Although I did not find it very clearly expressed, in 2084, India and Japan have gained great power. China and the United States have become allies and formed the Consortium to stabilize their power which has been so diminished from their past atomic war. Nigeria, Brazil, and Indonesia are part of what is called the Reparationists, those who seek land that is more inhabitable than their own which is becoming less and less able to support life. They blame the industrial former superpowers for this and demand that those places provide them with a viable place to live. Confusing this mix of disorder and dissatisfaction in the United States and the rest of the world, is the rest of the world with non-aligned new nations either supporting or abandoning one of the groups, the Consortium or the Reparationists, depending on the outcome promised bur generally unachieved. Florida has seceded, although it has lost a good deal of its peninsula due to flood waters (it seems that Vice President Al Gore’s unrealized predictions may have finally come true, decades later). Texas, Washington state and other areas seem to be acting independently, remaining unaligned but leaning toward one group or another when the mood or need suits them. There are several non-aligned countries and states that operate independently realigning depending on their needs.
The major themes of the book become a bit too obvious without the necessary development of background that would lead all readers to the conclusion the authors prefer. The borders of the safer and more productive areas are closed to what can be called immigrants. They are not welcome since their added needs will threaten the survival of those already living there. Those who are desperate blame those very people for their situation. As tensions grow, so does civil unrest. Lawlessness spreads as citizens blame those in authority for failing to provide what they demand. Alignments with each other change, and it seems deception and lies are the order of the day as each competing faction vies for power. When the dissatisfied gain the microphone, they are able to take matters into their own hands and the unrest explodes leading to a violent war. Nation rises up against nation, new tool of war are used. Drones, rather than atomic weapons are the method of choice and the most successful. Negotiations go no place as they are riddled with lies and false promises to accomplish selfish goals (It brings to mind the current negotiations with Iran which are in a constant push and pull in one direction or another as promises are made and broken). The allusions to the current day political divide often feels less subtle than perhaps intended, as they seem deliberate.
When war breaks out in 2084 an AI program called Beginner’s Mind is in play. This program supposedly predicts the behavior without the use of any bias. Thus, it supposedly can help to design a failsafe appropriate strategy and defense to use against an enemy. However, since people are not programmed, and since they do react with bias and do break the accepted rules of expected behavior, the outcome of Beginner’s Mind, which was thought to be and intended to be completely predictable, becomes unpredictable in the end, causing unexpected results.
When the book ends, life is supposedly beginning again after the disastrous results of an unpredictable, devastating war in which all sides suffered massive losses in human capital and their ability to defend themselves. Who won? In certain places, the people return to basics, planting things and attempting to find new ways to produce goods that will not continue to destroy the earth. They are hoping to right the ship that some will think has already sunk.
Unfortunately, I did not find this book very satisfying as there were so many holes in the narrative that I was not able to fill in, although I had read the previous two books. Definitely don’t attempt to read the third without reading books one and two first. Too many characters and situations are introduced without fully describing the background story on each, the story that would explain why the character is there and what led to the event. Without those details, the book becomes more and more confusing, and perhaps, less and less plausible. There is no rational explanation offered when a character disappears, other than when they die. Why was Sarah Hunt’s influence so diminished and so unhinged to book three? Why was Ashni Chowdhury’s influence just dropped into the mix without explaining her actions as she rose to a more powerful position in India. Why was the Japanese Admiral’s life so briefly explored when he was carrying a grudge that was typical of so many and was the reason that led to so many uprisings worldwide. People suffered and blamed everyone else for their suffering. The same behavior got the same results. The extreme divisiveness, the inability to make the necessary changes in behavior and leadership, the failure of negotiations and compromise simply led to the same old, same old, further unrest and further destruction and death as the most unfit and intractable were often in charge . The extraneous technical and technological details were often incomprehensible. The inserted theme of romance between Julia Hunt and TikTok seemed to have been introduced simply to fill up pages for it didn’t really seem relevant except to create a trite ending. It reduced the novel to chick lit, at times, rather than a military thriller about the future which was more important as a warning than the relationship between two sixty year olds willing to commit treason for their own personal need.
Overall, I think that unwittingly, the authors may have drawn comparisons to the politics and disasters of today with more realistically than they expected. We are engaged in unwanted warfare, our country is completely and irrationally divided, immigration has become a way for our enemies to take over our country, and we are powerless to stop it so the fear of civil war is rising. Although this book is a series, there is little continuity from one to the next. For me, this was not a hopeful end to the series, but instead is a sad commentary on what our country seems to be heading for, and I wish the book had condemned the frivolous and treasonous behavior that has currently led to so many destructive, foolish outcomes. There was little respect for authority in any of the books and almost no loyalty to one’s country, in the end. All of these countries and characters changed allegiance with abandon.
Neither a country nor a world cannot survive when individuals do not show good “character” and do not unite with a common goal for the greater good without harming others in their way. I honestly found the book a little pointless in the end. It was often incomprehensible, although it did succeed in promoting what is most probably the authors’ liberal support of our current divisive woke policies and politics as we all vie for world dominance.
This is the third book in a series about a possible future in which enemies conquer each other with none actually achieving victory (shades of Iran and the USA), where violence, as an option, overrules negotiations because they often accomplish nothing when obstinate participants refuse to compromise, where political challenges and divisiveness have stalled the leaders ability to create policies to advance the needs of civilization, and where nature has overwhelmed the industrial world causing havoc with storms and other devastating results of the neglected attention paid to the obvious dangers of climate change.
Half a century has passed since Book number one, which was set in 2034. It concentrated on the conflict between America and China as each tried to assert its position as the reigning super power, eventually resulting in a devastating and deadly war. The second was 2054. It concentrated on the rise of Artificial Intelligence and achieving The Singularity. America and China were no longer the superpowers they once were, but the country that achieved this goal would rule the world because it would merge AI with a biological human brain, creating something formidable. India and Japan were actively competing, although many of the characters one would have thought would reappear and be more fully developed were abandoned in the third book. Often, the necessary information about a character or event is not fully developed or explained in this third book in the series, 2084. In essence, this concluding book is about the disastrous results of climate change on the entire world, causing much of it to become uninhabitable, leading to greater civil unrest and dissatisfaction and continued competition for world power. Essentially, the three books subtly cover the progressive ideas regarding immigration and borders, conversation and the divisiveness of current politics and political leaders, the lack of trustworthy allies and enemies, the civil unrest currently in America and the rest of the world, environmental issues, the ultimate danger of relying on Artificial Intelligence, and the tendency toward war as countries and their leaders vie for greater power and influence. Personalities seem to be the rule and therefore the outcome is not the best one. Because of this, the tendency is to rely on AI, which is supposed to be free of bias and personality, with decisions based on intellectual computation only, however, human beings defy reason, often, which means the AI results may be inaccurate with unexpected conclusions.
Both of the authors have served in America’s military, so they are very familiar with the political atmosphere that leads to controversy and the destruction and death of war. In their final depiction of our world, the waistline of our earth, the equator is an area that is growing more and more uninhabitable to the north and south, creating an area like that of a life preserver, only having the opposite effect. Countries vying for power and divisive politics in their nations have led to power struggles and warfare. Although I did not find it very clearly expressed, in 2084, India and Japan have gained great power. China and the United States have become allies and formed the Consortium to stabilize their power which has been so diminished from their past atomic war. Nigeria, Brazil, and Indonesia are part of what is called the Reparationists, those who seek land that is more inhabitable than their own which is becoming less and less able to support life. They blame the industrial former superpowers for this and demand that those places provide them with a viable place to live. Confusing this mix of disorder and dissatisfaction in the United States and the rest of the world, is the rest of the world with non-aligned new nations either supporting or abandoning one of the groups, the Consortium or the Reparationists, depending on the outcome promised bur generally unachieved. Florida has seceded, although it has lost a good deal of its peninsula due to flood waters (it seems that Vice President Al Gore’s unrealized predictions may have finally come true, decades later). Texas, Washington state and other areas seem to be acting independently, remaining unaligned but leaning toward one group or another when the mood or need suits them. There are several non-aligned countries and states that operate independently realigning depending on their needs.
The major themes of the book become a bit too obvious without the necessary development of background that would lead all readers to the conclusion the authors prefer. The borders of the safer and more productive areas are closed to what can be called immigrants. They are not welcome since their added needs will threaten the survival of those already living there. Those who are desperate blame those very people for their situation. As tensions grow, so does civil unrest. Lawlessness spreads as citizens blame those in authority for failing to provide what they demand. Alignments with each other change, and it seems deception and lies are the order of the day as each competing faction vies for power. When the dissatisfied gain the microphone, they are able to take matters into their own hands and the unrest explodes leading to a violent war. Nation rises up against nation, new tool of war are used. Drones, rather than atomic weapons are the method of choice and the most successful. Negotiations go no place as they are riddled with lies and false promises to accomplish selfish goals (It brings to mind the current negotiations with Iran which are in a constant push and pull in one direction or another as promises are made and broken). The allusions to the current day political divide often feels less subtle than perhaps intended, as they seem deliberate.
When war breaks out in 2084 an AI program called Beginner’s Mind is in play. This program supposedly predicts the behavior without the use of any bias. Thus, it supposedly can help to design a failsafe appropriate strategy and defense to use against an enemy. However, since people are not programmed, and since they do react with bias and do break the accepted rules of expected behavior, the outcome of Beginner’s Mind, which was thought to be and intended to be completely predictable, becomes unpredictable in the end, causing unexpected results.
When the book ends, life is supposedly beginning again after the disastrous results of an unpredictable, devastating war in which all sides suffered massive losses in human capital and their ability to defend themselves. Who won? In certain places, the people return to basics, planting things and attempting to find new ways to produce goods that will not continue to destroy the earth. They are hoping to right the ship that some will think has already sunk.
Unfortunately, I did not find this book very satisfying as there were so many holes in the narrative that I was not able to fill in, although I had read the previous two books. Definitely don’t attempt to read the third without reading books one and two first. Too many characters and situations are introduced without fully describing the background story on each, the story that would explain why the character is there and what led to the event. Without those details, the book becomes more and more confusing, and perhaps, less and less plausible. There is no rational explanation offered when a character disappears, other than when they die. Why was Sarah Hunt’s influence so diminished and so unhinged to book three? Why was Ashni Chowdhury’s influence just dropped into the mix without explaining her actions as she rose to a more powerful position in India. Why was the Japanese Admiral’s life so briefly explored when he was carrying a grudge that was typical of so many and was the reason that led to so many uprisings worldwide. People suffered and blamed everyone else for their suffering. The same behavior got the same results. The extreme divisiveness, the inability to make the necessary changes in behavior and leadership, the failure of negotiations and compromise simply led to the same old, same old, further unrest and further destruction and death as the most unfit and intractable were often in charge . The extraneous technical and technological details were often incomprehensible. The inserted theme of romance between Julia Hunt and TikTok seemed to have been introduced simply to fill up pages for it didn’t really seem relevant except to create a trite ending. It reduced the novel to chick lit, at times, rather than a military thriller about the future which was more important as a warning than the relationship between two sixty year olds willing to commit treason for their own personal need.
Overall, I think that unwittingly, the authors may have drawn comparisons to the politics and disasters of today with more realistically than they expected. We are engaged in unwanted warfare, our country is completely and irrationally divided, immigration has become a way for our enemies to take over our country, and we are powerless to stop it so the fear of civil war is rising. Although this book is a series, there is little continuity from one to the next. For me, this was not a hopeful end to the series, but instead is a sad commentary on what our country seems to be heading for, and I wish the book had condemned the frivolous and treasonous behavior that has currently led to so many destructive, foolish outcomes. There was little respect for authority in any of the books and almost no loyalty to one’s country, in the end. All of these countries and characters changed allegiance with abandon.
Neither a country nor a world cannot survive when individuals do not show good “character” and do not unite with a common goal for the greater good without harming others in their way. I honestly found the book a little pointless in the end. It was often incomprehensible, although it did succeed in promoting what is most probably the authors’ liberal support of our current divisive woke policies and politics as we all vie for world dominance.
May 28, 2026
Interesting premise, and I enjoyed the reflection of how climate change will impact strategy and war fighting. Interesting political discussion as well, which I think all three books have kept. I had higher hopes for this since it didn’t leap into fancy tech straight away like 2054 did, but that didn’t last long. Once we got into singularity-level plot items, it was difficult to be interested, and I started skipping pages.
Interesting enough to finish, but just barely, and mostly because I knew the authors at least thought out an arc, even if it wasn’t one I would particularly enjoy.
Interesting enough to finish, but just barely, and mostly because I knew the authors at least thought out an arc, even if it wasn’t one I would particularly enjoy.
May 16, 2026
Kind of leaned too hard with REAL deux machina “solutions”. I was hoping for more insight into what (realistically) happens when the GlobalSouth gets pushed too far by climate change and sixth extinction.
June 4, 2026
What started out as a very interesting series has just kind of fallen off for me. I found myself just wanting to finish this one so I could be done and move on to another book. I felt disconnected with all the characters and just could not get into the story.
June 26, 2026
Ever since humankind embraced the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, we've lived with the unsettling realization that someday someone may decide to go MAD and push the button. Elliott and Stavridis imagine that possibility across three compelling novels—2034, 2054, and 2084—painting a future in which a world still divided by mistrust could ultimately render Earth itself uninhabitable.
What impressed me most is that these stories come from the perspective of one of the world's most accomplished military leaders. Admiral Stavridis understands war better than most, and throughout the trilogy he presents conflicts that feel frighteningly plausible because they grow from today's geopolitical realities rather than fantasy.
2034 remains my favorite of the three. It brilliantly balances strategy, technology, and human consequences while reminding us how easily miscalculation can escalate toward catastrophe. 2054 expands those themes and reinforces the idea that humanity has not yet learned the lessons of history.
By the time I reached 2084, I found myself hoping the story would take one more step—not away from realism, but toward the possibility that our greatest technological breakthroughs might finally help humanity break the cycle itself. Instead, the novel concludes with another war and another demonstration of the terrible cost of conflict in our world.
That isn't a criticism of the authors' vision; in many ways, it may be the most realistic projection of our current trajectory. Rather, it left me asking a different question. If artificial intelligence and future technologies become as transformative as we expect, shouldn't their greatest achievement be helping us prevent wars rather than simply fight them more effectively?
Perhaps that question lies beyond the purpose of this trilogy. Its purpose is to warn us where we may be headed if nothing fundamentally changes. On that point, Elliott and Stavridis succeed admirably. They have written a thoughtful, engaging, and unsettling series that reminds us the greatest threat to humanity has never been technology itself—it has always been our inability to trust one another before it's too late.
What impressed me most is that these stories come from the perspective of one of the world's most accomplished military leaders. Admiral Stavridis understands war better than most, and throughout the trilogy he presents conflicts that feel frighteningly plausible because they grow from today's geopolitical realities rather than fantasy.
2034 remains my favorite of the three. It brilliantly balances strategy, technology, and human consequences while reminding us how easily miscalculation can escalate toward catastrophe. 2054 expands those themes and reinforces the idea that humanity has not yet learned the lessons of history.
By the time I reached 2084, I found myself hoping the story would take one more step—not away from realism, but toward the possibility that our greatest technological breakthroughs might finally help humanity break the cycle itself. Instead, the novel concludes with another war and another demonstration of the terrible cost of conflict in our world.
That isn't a criticism of the authors' vision; in many ways, it may be the most realistic projection of our current trajectory. Rather, it left me asking a different question. If artificial intelligence and future technologies become as transformative as we expect, shouldn't their greatest achievement be helping us prevent wars rather than simply fight them more effectively?
Perhaps that question lies beyond the purpose of this trilogy. Its purpose is to warn us where we may be headed if nothing fundamentally changes. On that point, Elliott and Stavridis succeed admirably. They have written a thoughtful, engaging, and unsettling series that reminds us the greatest threat to humanity has never been technology itself—it has always been our inability to trust one another before it's too late.
June 11, 2026
2034 wasn’t bad. 2054 was worse. 2084 is an abomination.
If you’re looking for something similar to Red Storm Rising, Ghost Fleet, or any other respectable current/near-future military fiction, look elsewhere.
An absolute slog to finish. Really baffling how two former military officers could produce such an underwhelming mess.
-Battle scenes make no sense. Clunky first strikes are what wins the day each time in a future 60 years from now where somehow navies can sail across the ocean undetected.
-“A novel of future war” —yeah right. Battle scenes are summed up in 2-3 sentences. No discussion of sensor capabilities, early warning for anything ever, weapons effects, battlefield tactics, etc.
-Civilian leaders inexplicably make crucial battlefield decisions. Some white collar finance bro is helping man the RTO station and tracking fighter sorties at the Floridians’ air base during the most crucial battle?
-The US allows its president to get mortally wounded and doesn’t do anything about it? “Oof got us really good. Let’s just sit back while you sail even more ships towards us.”
-Insane climate propaganda dripping with cynical takes of American declining power. The book even argues for America to cede its own sovereignty and territory. “If you don’t want thousands of Indonesians landing D-Day style and settling on US soil, you are racist.”
-AI-fusion lady creates a superstorm via a nuke and sinks America’s entire Navy while allowing her son to get vaporized by a bomb in doing so. But it’s ok because she is really sorry and also will make up the karmic difference by uploading a child cancer patient into her cool new AI. LITERALLY WHAT
-A strange shoe-horned romance between septuagenarians.
-An even worse deus ex machina ending than 2054.
Seems like just a cash grab to keep this awful series going.
If you’re looking for something similar to Red Storm Rising, Ghost Fleet, or any other respectable current/near-future military fiction, look elsewhere.
An absolute slog to finish. Really baffling how two former military officers could produce such an underwhelming mess.
-Battle scenes make no sense. Clunky first strikes are what wins the day each time in a future 60 years from now where somehow navies can sail across the ocean undetected.
-“A novel of future war” —yeah right. Battle scenes are summed up in 2-3 sentences. No discussion of sensor capabilities, early warning for anything ever, weapons effects, battlefield tactics, etc.
-Civilian leaders inexplicably make crucial battlefield decisions. Some white collar finance bro is helping man the RTO station and tracking fighter sorties at the Floridians’ air base during the most crucial battle?
-The US allows its president to get mortally wounded and doesn’t do anything about it? “Oof got us really good. Let’s just sit back while you sail even more ships towards us.”
-Insane climate propaganda dripping with cynical takes of American declining power. The book even argues for America to cede its own sovereignty and territory. “If you don’t want thousands of Indonesians landing D-Day style and settling on US soil, you are racist.”
-AI-fusion lady creates a superstorm via a nuke and sinks America’s entire Navy while allowing her son to get vaporized by a bomb in doing so. But it’s ok because she is really sorry and also will make up the karmic difference by uploading a child cancer patient into her cool new AI. LITERALLY WHAT
-A strange shoe-horned romance between septuagenarians.
-An even worse deus ex machina ending than 2054.
Seems like just a cash grab to keep this awful series going.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2026
(Audiobook) (2.5 stars) The conclusion (I think) for this saga that covers the 21st century. It does offer some intriguing possibilities, particularly the impact of climate change and how AI could possibly get used in conflict. However, the narrative and character development is all too much like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series, only without the good technical information. You can see where a figure like Admiral Stavridis made his inputs, noting military traditions and how flag officers might interact. I was curious about this series when it came out, and figured I would give it the ol’ college try. Now complete, it is one of those that has its moments, but once read, probably not worth dwelling upon. The ensemble cast did help with the rating, but overall, not exactly something that history will call a great literary series.
June 13, 2026
The third in the trilogy beginning with a nuclear war between Great Powers in 2034 and the emergence of the Singularity with AI and Quantum computing in 2054, 2084 tackles the other great crisis of the early 21st century: Immigration and the specter of climate change. Whether one supports or denies that climate change is occurring, it is impossible to refute the idea that major changes in the planet will be accompanied by conflict. 2084 brings that to the fore, continuing the stories of several of the characters who played leading roles in the first two novels. The inclusion of a rogue Florida, a China that may or may not be willing to work alongside the US, and climate-based weaponry makes this a great example of a "what-if" that nobody wants to see answered.
June 25, 2026
Inventive yet plausible-seeming scenario of the future. Overall, the course of events was well thought out, the plot satisfying. It would have been helpful if the authors had included a bit more of the back stories of legacy characters from previous books like Sarah Hunt or Lin Bao. It's been many months since I read the first two volumes of the trilogy, and I’d forgotten many details of the characters' family histories. It may have been the authors' intent to strengthen the narrative and the pacing of the story by omitting them; but I think this sequel would have been strengthened by an interweaving/reminder of those legacy stories. Somehow I felt that the construction of the characters was not as strong in this book as in the first two.
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July 12, 20262084 is probably the last book I'll read in this series. There's nothing terrible about it, but nothing really good either. The problem with the series now is that it's gotten so far out that it's basically just fantasy. None of the alliances or events that supposedly happen over the next 60 years seem remotely realistic—it just feels like a doomsday fantasy. It’s funny because the series started out interesting, but it has gone so far off track that it’s just not that interesting anymore.
May 30, 2026
I will never know
I am 76 in 1926, so it is highly unlikely I’ll ever know if any of this transpires, but it is a highly interesting tale and neatly closes the trilogy.
As a side note, I had the pleasure of having dinner with Ray Kurzweil, who features prominently in 2054. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility!
I am 76 in 1926, so it is highly unlikely I’ll ever know if any of this transpires, but it is a highly interesting tale and neatly closes the trilogy.
As a side note, I had the pleasure of having dinner with Ray Kurzweil, who features prominently in 2054. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility!
June 5, 2026
Some what interesting. A scary look into a possible future. I listened to the audiobook. WAY TOO MANY READERS, personally I found it hard to follow. I listened to it twice, trying to follow the story. Maybe I should have read the book.
June 23, 2026
An entire generation of events
A positive vieww to an extrremely possible distopian future. This book is engaging since the fkrst moment, even thou I felt the end was rushed a bit, like the deadline was close and just cut it short, I really enjoyed.
A positive vieww to an extrremely possible distopian future. This book is engaging since the fkrst moment, even thou I felt the end was rushed a bit, like the deadline was close and just cut it short, I really enjoyed.
July 9, 2026
Rating: 3.5
2084 is the final (I suppose) book in this series. My reaction to this one is the same as my reaction to the previous book, 2054. I'm intrigued by the premise, but the plot and the characters aren't as compelling as I'd thought they'd be.
2084 is the final (I suppose) book in this series. My reaction to this one is the same as my reaction to the previous book, 2054. I'm intrigued by the premise, but the plot and the characters aren't as compelling as I'd thought they'd be.
May 20, 2026
I really tried to read 2084, same effort as I gave for equally unreadable Sapiens.
May 20, 2026
Not my thing at all
May 21, 2026
I will miss this trilogy. It has been a while since I felt that way.
NOT for everyone!
NOT for everyone!
May 21, 2026
Suckier than ever
Can’t believe I bought this lousy book about the descendants of the main characters from 2034. The future really doesn’t look that brighht
Can’t believe I bought this lousy book about the descendants of the main characters from 2034. The future really doesn’t look that brighht
May 25, 2026
A great action packed book!
May 26, 2026
4.5 ⭐️/ 5 ⭐️
We should all read the cautionary fiction trilogy. Maybe we can spare ourselves more burden and fatigue if we think more about the future and our place in it.
We should all read the cautionary fiction trilogy. Maybe we can spare ourselves more burden and fatigue if we think more about the future and our place in it.
May 26, 2026
Pure climate activist propaganda
May 30, 2026
Well I hope this story does not come true. This book is great to listen to while working.
June 7, 2026
Interesting it I hope not a foretelling of what is to come
July 1, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
Now realize 2054 was to set the stage for the final installment of the trilogy. Best book in the trilogy is still 2034. Good book but did feel a lot like White Sun War.
Now realize 2054 was to set the stage for the final installment of the trilogy. Best book in the trilogy is still 2034. Good book but did feel a lot like White Sun War.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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