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Empty Future
The world's population has taken advantage of the new matter teleportation machines to provide instantaneous travel. The problem is that it rips their souls from their bodies, leaving behind animated thinking corpses bereft of love, compassion, and empathy. They also do not tolerate the living.
CA Cranston, noted scholar and author of Along the from Troweena to Tasmania and The Littoral Australian Contexts and their Writers, is spot on in her review of Ali's novel.
. . . the central idea of Ali’s novel is serious power and compliance. New technology called M.T. machines transports cargo (a success), then humans (problematic) anywhere on earth, even (in a beautifully written, darkly disturbing chapter) to space. Trouble is the two Dutch inventors haven’t quite clarified the mysteries of quantum matter can be teleported and reassembled, but what about the immaterial aspects of being human? Not to worry. There’s a buck to be made people will use the M.T. machines because they love to travel and to shop – and the shopping trips are driving the economy. But there is a the cost of losing one’s ‘soul’ during teleportation. Says one “All the people you see in the street … are dead. They just don’t know it.” ‘Soul’ is shorthand for creativity, the immaterial part of what makes a human, such as humour, or artistic ability, without which there is only an economy-driven life.
CA Cranston, noted scholar and author of Along the from Troweena to Tasmania and The Littoral Australian Contexts and their Writers, is spot on in her review of Ali's novel.
. . . the central idea of Ali’s novel is serious power and compliance. New technology called M.T. machines transports cargo (a success), then humans (problematic) anywhere on earth, even (in a beautifully written, darkly disturbing chapter) to space. Trouble is the two Dutch inventors haven’t quite clarified the mysteries of quantum matter can be teleported and reassembled, but what about the immaterial aspects of being human? Not to worry. There’s a buck to be made people will use the M.T. machines because they love to travel and to shop – and the shopping trips are driving the economy. But there is a the cost of losing one’s ‘soul’ during teleportation. Says one “All the people you see in the street … are dead. They just don’t know it.” ‘Soul’ is shorthand for creativity, the immaterial part of what makes a human, such as humour, or artistic ability, without which there is only an economy-driven life.
- GenresFiction
383 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 8, 2026
i liked this book. as i started reading it and the plot began unfurling i thoughht it was a bit of an "on the nose" critique of cap[italism and consumerism. the more i read, the more i liked it! i loved the characters and found none of them tropey or gross theyre believable full humans. once it started moving towards the navajo i realized this author did his due diligence and research and treated the culture and rez life with care and made sure not to fall into stereotypes. i loved the "zombies" in this novel. it really brought up the ancient transpoprter zarguments from the early internet days of the 1990s aol chatrooms. what happens to your consciousness or "soul" in a transporter?
what a great novel with a satisfactory endinmg and magnificent worldbuilding!
it was a pretty quick read and i find myself disappointed to be finished and hope this author has more thoughtful books in the future for us!
what a great novel with a satisfactory endinmg and magnificent worldbuilding!
it was a pretty quick read and i find myself disappointed to be finished and hope this author has more thoughtful books in the future for us!
January 10, 2026
I really enjoyed this book, but about halfway in it transforms from theoretical and political sci-fi (which I was very excited about) to a typical and borderline-boring zombie apocalypse/living vs. undead type story which has been told many times before. The ending also was a bit rushed, ambiguous, and unsatisfying. Ultimately I really enjoyed reading it though, and it kept my interest very well.
August 31, 2026
🚨📚 OKAY BUT… WOULD YOU GIVE UP YOUR SOUL IF IT MEANT YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD INSTANTLY?! 😳
Because I just finished Empty Future by Paul David Ali and LISTENNNN…
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FIVE. FREAKING. STARS.
Imagine somebody invents a matter teleportation machine.
You step inside and BOOM 💥 — you’re instantly wherever you wanted to go.
No flights. ✈️
No road trips.
No waiting.
People LOVE it.
They travel. They shop. The economy is booming.
There’s just one teeny tiny HORRIFYING problem…
The machine rips your soul from your body. 😳
And somehow THAT ISN’T ENOUGH TO MAKE PEOPLE STOP USING IT.
The people coming out still look human. They walk, talk, think, work, shop…
But they can’t love.
They don’t have compassion.
They don’t have empathy.
Creativity, humor, art, and all those weird little beautiful things that make humans HUMAN?
Gone.
And the people who refused to use the machines?
Ohhhh, they’re a problem.
Because this new soulless society doesn’t exactly appreciate having actual living humans walking around. 👀
Enter Siddhartha Garcia.
He’s dropped out of graduate school, assumed the identity of an anonymous pool maintenance man, and is basically doing everything possible to stay invisible.
Hide. Work. Survive.
Until he accidentally discovers…
HE ISN’T THE ONLY ONE LEFT.
And y’all KNOW that’s when things get interesting. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Because eventually survival turns into resistance.
And resistance turns into…
🔥 FIGHTING BACK. 🔥
But here’s what really got me about this book:
Underneath the sci-fi/dystopian story is a seriously disturbing question about technology, power, consumerism, conformity, and convenience.
Because think about it…
If somebody invented something tomorrow that made our lives 100x easier but slowly stripped away pieces of what makes us human…
How many people would still use it?
👀👀👀
THAT’S what makes Empty Future creepy.
It’s not just, “Oh no, evil futuristic technology!”
It’s the fact that people willingly choose it because it’s convenient.
And tell me THAT doesn’t make you think about the world we’re living in right now. 😳
This book had me entertained AND sitting there questioning humanity, which is exactly what I want from dystopian sci-fi. 😂
Dark. Weird. Smart. Unsettling. Completely original.
And definitely one that sticks in your brain after you’re finished.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 — absolutely recommend.
📚 Empty Future — Paul David Ali
Now I NEED TO KNOW…
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
If teleportation became real tomorrow and you could instantly go ANYWHERE—but there was even a chance you’d lose your soul…
ARE YOU GETTING IN THAT MACHINE?! 😳
Because baby, I’ll keep my soul and take the 14-hour flight. 😂✈️
Because I just finished Empty Future by Paul David Ali and LISTENNNN…
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FIVE. FREAKING. STARS.
Imagine somebody invents a matter teleportation machine.
You step inside and BOOM 💥 — you’re instantly wherever you wanted to go.
No flights. ✈️
No road trips.
No waiting.
People LOVE it.
They travel. They shop. The economy is booming.
There’s just one teeny tiny HORRIFYING problem…
The machine rips your soul from your body. 😳
And somehow THAT ISN’T ENOUGH TO MAKE PEOPLE STOP USING IT.
The people coming out still look human. They walk, talk, think, work, shop…
But they can’t love.
They don’t have compassion.
They don’t have empathy.
Creativity, humor, art, and all those weird little beautiful things that make humans HUMAN?
Gone.
And the people who refused to use the machines?
Ohhhh, they’re a problem.
Because this new soulless society doesn’t exactly appreciate having actual living humans walking around. 👀
Enter Siddhartha Garcia.
He’s dropped out of graduate school, assumed the identity of an anonymous pool maintenance man, and is basically doing everything possible to stay invisible.
Hide. Work. Survive.
Until he accidentally discovers…
HE ISN’T THE ONLY ONE LEFT.
And y’all KNOW that’s when things get interesting. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Because eventually survival turns into resistance.
And resistance turns into…
🔥 FIGHTING BACK. 🔥
But here’s what really got me about this book:
Underneath the sci-fi/dystopian story is a seriously disturbing question about technology, power, consumerism, conformity, and convenience.
Because think about it…
If somebody invented something tomorrow that made our lives 100x easier but slowly stripped away pieces of what makes us human…
How many people would still use it?
👀👀👀
THAT’S what makes Empty Future creepy.
It’s not just, “Oh no, evil futuristic technology!”
It’s the fact that people willingly choose it because it’s convenient.
And tell me THAT doesn’t make you think about the world we’re living in right now. 😳
This book had me entertained AND sitting there questioning humanity, which is exactly what I want from dystopian sci-fi. 😂
Dark. Weird. Smart. Unsettling. Completely original.
And definitely one that sticks in your brain after you’re finished.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 — absolutely recommend.
📚 Empty Future — Paul David Ali
Now I NEED TO KNOW…
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
If teleportation became real tomorrow and you could instantly go ANYWHERE—but there was even a chance you’d lose your soul…
ARE YOU GETTING IN THAT MACHINE?! 😳
Because baby, I’ll keep my soul and take the 14-hour flight. 😂✈️
January 12, 2026
“Empty Future” by Paul Ali
“Empty Future” by Paul Ali is a story about the Matter Teleportation machines and their effects on humanity, and how it divides humanity into two factions: the living beings with souls and the “Shoppers”. It takes people on a journey through the southwest United States, and certain parts of the world, and I would have given this novel a higher rating if it hadn’t been for certain grammatical and spelling errors.
For the author and editor(s): Santa Ana is spelled with only one “n” in “Ana” not two “n”. Accent marks need to be used for “señor” and “señora”. I’m a native Californian, so yes, I am well versed in Spanish and the geography of the state. Your native Californian readers will understand what I mean. Neighborhood is one word and was hyphenated at certain points. I’m assuming that was a formatting error? There were other times when the stories seemed disjointed, and I wondered if something was missing or deleted, but probably should have been left in the story.
There were also punctuation marks such as periods and quotation marks left out when they should have been included. This can “make it” or “break it” for your novel. Again, if it hadn’t been for these issues, this novel would have received a much higher rating.
“Empty Future” by Paul Ali is a story about the Matter Teleportation machines and their effects on humanity, and how it divides humanity into two factions: the living beings with souls and the “Shoppers”. It takes people on a journey through the southwest United States, and certain parts of the world, and I would have given this novel a higher rating if it hadn’t been for certain grammatical and spelling errors.
For the author and editor(s): Santa Ana is spelled with only one “n” in “Ana” not two “n”. Accent marks need to be used for “señor” and “señora”. I’m a native Californian, so yes, I am well versed in Spanish and the geography of the state. Your native Californian readers will understand what I mean. Neighborhood is one word and was hyphenated at certain points. I’m assuming that was a formatting error? There were other times when the stories seemed disjointed, and I wondered if something was missing or deleted, but probably should have been left in the story.
There were also punctuation marks such as periods and quotation marks left out when they should have been included. This can “make it” or “break it” for your novel. Again, if it hadn’t been for these issues, this novel would have received a much higher rating.
February 8, 2026
This is a thoughtful, introspective read best suited for when you’re in the mood to reflect rather than be entertained. Quiet, bleak, and lingering in the best way.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews