2125 - The Hibernator: What if you wake up in 100 years?

by Fons Burger

It's the year 2125.

Max Bloemendaal awakens after a hundred years from the Coma Superviviente — an artificial hibernation that brings him back, barely older, into a completely changed world. He discovers that after a disastrous century of wars, climate crises and pandemics, humanity has found a future no one could have imagined. Max resumes the search he was forced to abandon a century who was behind the disappearance of his wife, the physicist and activist Felice Ricci?

"A creative novel and a fantastic read. Very highly recommended."-- Jamie Michele, Readers' Favorite

"If you enjoy thought-provoking future settings, you won't regret diving into this book. Fons Burger's 2125: The Hibernator will keep you on your toes from beginning to end." --Richard Prause, Readers' Favorite

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2025

About the author

I've been writing stories for most of my life, always somewhere between journalism, fiction, music, and activism. I began as an investigative reporter in the early seventies, digging into political scandals, military abuses, and the hidden influence of powerful families. Later I travelled through Central and South America, reporting from guerrilla movements and conflict zones that shaped the world far from where I grew up.
After years in journalism and documentary filmmaking, I shifted my focus and helped build parts of Rotterdam’s cultural scene. I founded Rotown and Nighttown, two venues that grew into places where new music, art, and ideas found an audience. Throughout my career I’ve moved between writing, publishing, music, and long-term projects around sustainability and fair trade. For me, storytelling and social engagement have always belonged together.
I’ve published novels, thrillers, columns, and books on social change, while building companies and foundations devoted to development cooperation, ethical entrepreneurship, and cultural innovation. Many of my earlier books are now being reissued in English.
I’ve had my share of successes and failures — often in equal measure — but my mission never really changed: to explore how we live, how we might do better, and how culture and imagination can help us get there, without turning into a preacher or someone who insists on having all the answers, and always as a storyteller at heart.
Recently I decided it was time to imagine the world as it should be — and to capture it in a novel. The book 2125 – The Hibernator grew out of a simple question that wouldn’t let go of me: what would the world look like if we finally decided to do things right? The novel follows a man waking from a century-long artificial coma into a world that has learned, slowly and painfully, to live in balance. I’m now working on a nonfiction companion that explores how we might build such a future in reality — a world that can endure for generations, in harmony with people and planet.
Join me on https://www.2125.world/ and shape the future

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A guy wakes up 100 years in the future, in what seems like a paradise, but people are people...

I found the hypothetical future a conglomeration of stuff you read about in the newspaper, but it mostly made sense.

[Francisco van Jole]

Uit mijn persoonlijke nieuwsbrief van zondag 20 november:

Fons Burger schreef een science-fiction roman die gaat over een wereld die vernietigd is door de Derde Wereldoorlog en de klimaatcrisis. Dat klinkt somber maar de wereld blijkt er in het boek een stuk op vooruit gegaan.

Zaterdag interviewde ik Burger bij Donner. Hij maakte vroeger het baanbrekende magazine Dif waarin allemaal onderwerpen die nu hyperactueel zijn aan de orde kwamen (ik werkte er zelf ook aan mee).

Hij vertelde dat hij veel ideeën die hij toen op heeft gedaan over het maken van een betere wereld in dit verhaal heeft verwerkt. “Er gewoon artikelen over schrijven werkte niet, dus nu probeer ik mensen op deze manier te inspireren.”

Al lezende ging ik het boek en zijn intentie steeds meer waarderen. Als zijn visie uitkomt dan zullen ze 2125 niet weten dat Burger het al voorspeld heeft want wat blijkt? Tegen die tijd is geschiedenis afgeschaft. Het is alleen maar ballast waar we toch niks van willen leren.

[Mirelleisreading]

Dit boek was echt bizar! Heel uniek in schrijfstijl en verhaal. Een aanrader voor mensen die vooral van mysterie en een tikkeltje sci-fi houden.

[Rayanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was woefully disappointed in this novel. It was shallow and very poorly written. Full of inconsistencies, lack of character development, and hard to understand. The author uses no quotation marks and does not explicitly name the speaker. With the jumps in perspectives and time, this is hard to follow. I love dystopian literature but this was just hard to finish.

[Sarah Burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book! Such an interesting take on what the world could be like. Went through it so fast!

[Klobetime · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was really, really bad. I suppose the style was supposed to be a choice reflecting how much the world has changed in 100 years, but it just made it difficult to read. Some interesting story hooks here, but not interesting enough to make me want to finish this. Blech.

[Sandra Beckwith · Rating 1 out of 5]

No speech punctuation. Impossible to read.

I started reading this book, and was drawn jn very quickly, looked a great story, except the really awful way that it has NO speech punctuation at all. This makes it impossible to really flow as a story. At first I thought it was maybe a style attributed to a character who would appear to be AI or some other robotic entity. But a flick through proved me wrong there, it's the way the book is written throughout. So I stopped there. Such a shame.

[Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leest lekker weg dat is positief! Maar het schiet te kort als ideeënroman. Daarom twee ipv drie sterren.

Het verhaal wordt wat staccato gebracht met gebrekkige overgangen. De personages en sommige thema’s lijken onvoldoende uitgewerkt en blijven daardoor hangen. De licht erotische suggesties die bij tijd en wijle vervlochten worden in de scènes zijn wat beetje groezelig.
Dat is allemaal te vergeven als de diepte komt uit de ideeën uit wat moet doorgaan voor een ideeënroman. Helaas blijven die ook oppervlakkig.

[J.M. Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling story - a thriller meets climate fiction without the dystopian outlook- it gives you hope for the future - our children might see a beautiful future after all. Easy and fun read, likable characters. Left me with something to think about. Inspiring book.

[George MacKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One man wakes to a world searching for old answers. Searching for his missing wife, Felice. Max Flowerdale last saw her getting out of the car in Dubai - that was before he placed himself in a artificial hibernation process in Brussel. The was due to him having found out that he was dying from an incurable diseases - Superviviente process was supposed to keep in hibernation for 100 years. In a hope that when he was brought back, then they would have found a cure.

Max struggles to get his to grips with this new world, that he has woken up in. The changes which have taken place, to the life of the, and the look of the surrounding landscape and the way that the is food (designed) produced... leaves you wondering if this could happen in our future - for it is chemically made. The people do not eat any animals, atoll. The social structure has all be altered, also. People don't know the history of the past, as the past was destroyed when the great DataFade took place, and all digitally stored data was lost. It is a world built not on miracles, but on long-term decisions, transformed by the ideas of scientists, activists, philosophers, and ordinary people who refused the logic of short-termism.

The year was 2o25 when he went under, and 2125, when he awoke. His wife was a genius, she had created a devise which allows clearer electricity. Was this why she died?

I found the history aspect of the storyline to be really interesting, and Max, as main character was a very likeable person. The Hibernator to me is a compelling futuristic novel. And there was a lot of modern technology used to allow for it to adapted in a future world. This to me is a very interesting read and for fans who enjoy a mystery, with a sci-fi twist, will enjoy this story by Dutch author Fons Burger.

[Edith Rubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stays Interesting

I liked and finished this book because I love sci-fi. Were some of the story-lines a little far-fetched and corny with romance, mobsters, and spies? Yes, I think so, but when you are reading this book you are in that world and you buy it. In my mind, Bryan Cranston plays the lead.

[John Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quotation marks required

A different but engaging story about one man’s quest for the truth, very enjoyable except….
Why are there no quotation marks?? I’m not sure if this is because I’m using the iPad version of Kindle Reader but the lack of quotation marks made some passages almost impenetrable and cost this a star.

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is nothing but propaganda bs

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. What the world is like 100 years from now from a person living now. Slow reveals. Ir has a godd ending.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but you'll forget it

This is a popcorn novel. It's fine, but you're not gonna live on it.

The world building is fairly weak, most of the plot goes from convoluted to paper-thin. Most of the characters are also thin as tissue, but Max (the main character) is fairly fleshed out.

In a lot of ways this feels like an aggressive edit of a longer book. It also feels like a book in search of a movie/tv deal. You'll be left to fill in huge parts of the world yourself, and to create depth for most of the characters.

The high point IMHO is the message. Ultimately it's a story about accepting reality and dropping obsessions with the past.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

He has been on ice for years but now he is awake barely a day older. Everything has changed due to war, climate change and so much more. He only has one goal in his life, find out what happened to his wife but it is not going to be easy so see how he gets on
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a great sci fi read

[Cathy Lammers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Toen ik de achterkant van dit boek las was ik erg benieuwd naar het verhaal.
Ik kon er heel moeilijk inkomen, ik vond het lastig om door te blijven lezen maar heb dit wel gedaan. Er zaten interessante dingen in, over hoe de toekomst er uit kan gaan zin. Maar toch vond ik het boek niet geweldig.