Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (and Not So Possible) Tomorrows

by Rose Eveleth, Mattie Lubchansky (co-editor)

An exploration of potential tomorrows from the host of the massively popular and critically acclaimed podcast Flash Forward

Flash An Illustrated Guide to Possible (And Not So Possible) Tomorrows takes readers on a journey from speculative fiction to speculative “fact.” Producer and host of the podcast Flash Forward , Rose Eveleth poses provocative questions about our future, which are brought to life by 12 of the most imaginative comics and graphic artists at work, including Matt Lubchanksy, Sophie Goldstein, Ben Passmore, and Box Brown. Each artist chooses a subject close to their heart—Ignatz Award nominee Julia Gfrörer, for instance, will imagine a future in which robots make art—and presents their chosen future in their own style. Drawing on her interviews with experts in various fields of study, Eveleth will then report on what is complete fantasy and what is only just out of reach in insightful essays following the comics. This book introduces compelling visions of the future and vividly explores the human consequences of developing technologies. Flash Forward reveals how complicated, messy, incredible, frightening, and strange our future might be.

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Matt Lubchansky, Sophie Goldstein, Zach Weinersmith, Box Brown, Maki Naro, John Jennings, Julia Gfrörer, Chris Jones, Blue Delliquanti, Amelia Onorato, Kate Sheridan, Sophia Foster-Dimino, Ziyed Ayoub, Ben Passmore

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Comics, Science, Graphic Novels Comics, Speculative Fiction, Technology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 2021

About the author

Rose Eveleth is a writer and producer who explores how humans tangle with science and technology. She’s the creator of Flash Forward Presents and host of Flash Forward and Advice For And From The Future. In her work, she’s covered everything from fake tumbleweed farms to million dollar baccarat heists.

She helped launch ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast and her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, Nautilus Magazine, CBS, Racked, Scientific American, Eater, The New York Times, Fusion, VICE, Five Thirty Eight and more. She co-edited the 2018 edition of What Future: The Year's Best Writing on What's Next for People, Technology, and the Planet, and her work has appeared in the Best American Science and Nature Writing.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have seen the future and it is meh.

Inspired by a podcast by Rose Eveleth (which I have not heard or even heard of previously), this anthology of speculative fiction presents a dozen short comics by fourteen artists about some possible future, each followed by a four- to six-page text essay by Eveleth with her take on the subject.

It is so long and so slow and so dull it took me a month to wade through it.

[La Crosse County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide To Possible (And Not So Possible) Tomorrows (2021) is an illustrated version of (and is named after) Rose Eveleth's podcast Flash Forward. It is a scientific graphic novel that features the artwork of 12 comic/graphic artists which serves to bring to life the various potential futures ahead of us. What a fantastic and thought-provoking read this was!



Each chapter of Flash Forward features first comic art that is meant to serve as a microcosm of a "potential tomorrow." Accompanying each comic strip is a chapter afterward by Eveleth, who examines the ethical issues and implications surrounding the realities readers get a glimpse at.

One of my favorites examined a dystopian future in which "pharmaceutical pirates" synthesize much cheaper generic medications for the public because open-market medicinal prices otherwise are stratospheric and prohibitive for the everyday person. A benevolent black market, if you will. (This one seems to be a reality we already inhabit, but that's just my opinion. When I read this chapter, I thought of Martin Shkreli, aka "Pharma Bro," whose company, in 2015 (a million years ago in COVID-time), infamously inflated prices of a life-saving HIV drug 5000% from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill.)



If you were looking for a book that gives definitive answers, this is probably not the right read for you. A majority of the book is (educated) speculation based on current social, economic, scientific, and technological realities and trends. But don't let the lack of concrete answers scare you away! The main point of the book is to get readers thinking about and (ideally) getting involved in helping to shape a more equitable and just future for everyone, by looking at what could happen if we let certain trends escalate. I think it makes it that much more interesting and engaging to me, that lack of certainty, and within that lack of certainty, room for people's agency.

Even if you're not scientifically minded, I think this would be a great primer for the general reader looking to better understand the scientific and technological trends of today and what they could mean for them and future generations.

-Cora

Find this book and other titles within our catalog.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, brilliant, thought-provoking, inspired. I love this.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t do podcasts, so I’ve never heard of this or the author prior to discovering this book in our library’s latest digital catalog additions, but what an excellent find. In fact, if I were to get into podcasts, this would definitely be right up my alley.
Flash Forward is a perfect blend of science, educated speculation and speculative fiction. The speculation is done in essay form and the fiction selections are done in graphic form. So this isn’t exactly a graphic novel, this is more of a pop science work of nonfiction interspersed with comic book style stories all pondering the many possible futures to come. Much like Black Mirror in a way, albeit more scientifically based.
All of that worked really well for me. Reading this book was like having a fascinating (albeit necessarily one sided) conversation with an intelligent futurist about the many directions life might take in the years to come. There are twelve themes to speculate upon here from animal rights to laws for space colonists, from smart cities to afterlife with robots and so much more.
To author’s credit every single subject she selected for this book is fascinating and absolutely debate/ponder worthy. The art…the art kinds of drags behind in quality. In fact, the first two stories were plain ugly. Only a few of them I’d say were well rendered artistically, though most did have interesting stories to tell. The real star of the show here are the essays, the boggle the mind in just the right ways, doing what smart books do…inspiring thoughts. The accompanying comics seem almost tangential by comparison. Though admittedly it is a nice, fun and gimmicky/marketable pairing for publication.
Overall, a fun and exciting read for science nerds who want to go beyond the fiction aspect of science fiction to contemplate the worlds to come.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Fanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

November 15, 2020: Stemming from an enticing podcast of the same name, Flash Forward is a graphic collection aligning with the very many speculative fiction works that question reality, existence, and vision, is refreshingly different in the way it draws from history and present-day facts to intellectually comment on the possible future, based on plausible envisioning of what tomorrow might entail, and thus creating a web of imagery through thought-provoking stories, average essays, and compelling art.

⇾ received a digital copy via netgalley. ⇽

[ashes ➷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Actual rating: 4.5. ARC from NetGalley.)

One of the books I've enjoyed the most recently. Flash Forward features a collection of sci-fi comics from various talented authors and artists, then explains the reasoning and likelihood behind each 'future' in a well-sourced essay by Rose Eveleth. The book is a great primer for those with no prior history on the topics, as well as a vibrantly entertaining read for someone obsessed with them.

THE COMICS

I will have to keep it real with you: I can't give my full honest opinion until I see the physical book, because my NetGalley copy was so low quality I sometimes had to pause to make out the words on the page. What I could comprehend was compelling and well-written, but I don't think I can make any major statements on the art (which will be in color in the final copy!) until I see the physical version. Fortunately, I've already put in a request for purchase at my local library, so you should see an update of this review right around its March 2021 release date.

EDIT: Took me a bit longer, but I have now read the comics! GORGEOUS, and so varied in style, and such lovely colors-- I was able to really appreciate the choice of palettes for each one-- and I can confidently stand by my review of them as wonderful.

Now, that said, I did read the comics, and while the quality varied, it always hovered between "solid" and "fantastic." My only issue was that, while the essays always managed to change my mind, some comics made me quirk a ,':| face at some very unrealistic-seeming situations. A good example would be Animal Magnetism (animal rights)-- REALLY? People are REALLY going to be against owning pets? And the essay did a fantastic job of convincing me-- some people are anti-pet already!-- but the comic itself struggled to paint that world for me as clearly. I'm singling this one out, but there were a few others that had the same issue.

Really, I think each story needed more space. These comics deserved a LOT more room to spread out! I'm not certain why they were kept so short, but many needed just a few more pages to get their points across clearly, convincingly, and with real emotional power. Ghostbot, for example, was so close to reaching its full potential, but because it's so short, it unfortunately doesn't feel as emotionally touching as it could. And let me tell you, if there's someone who would be touched emotionally by robot recreations of people after their death, it is me. (Go read O Human Star, whose third volume I desperately await at my home.)

And with all that said, I still couldn't do more than knock a half a star off. It's a great set of comics, filled with talent I was familiar with (Blue Delliquanti wrote both O Human Star and an unrelated comic in this book!) as well as exciting new faces.

THE ESSAYS

I don't listen to podcasts, and I wouldn't say I expect the average podcaster to be a fantastic writer-- two different skill sets, right? But Eveleth is a genius writer. She did an outstanding amount of research, which pays off in every word she writes in her explanatory essays. She's comfortable both with discussing major, well-known cases and her personal niche interests. She'll mention Naruto the macaque's selfie dispute in one chapter, then move on to telling you about her favorite passage from Beggars in Spain , a sci-fi book I'd never heard of before, in the next.

These essays wind up having the feeling of an extremely well-educated and intelligent friend talking to you passionately about this topic, and, frankly, that's all I want in life. Even when Eveleth discussed VOCALOID, a topic usually mangled by curious Americans, she kept the explanation engaging enough that I could follow along even as someone who already knew it all. And her analysis is fantastic; she brings to life new possibilities in her writing that you wouldn't have considered with just the sources.

Most importantly, these essays provide important context for the comics. Like I said, some seemed a little hard to believe, but Eveleth would always change my mind. On the anti-pet issue, not only did she change my mind on that, but she had me wondering whether the anti-pet people were right! She had me talking about her writing for days, debating with people on animal rights issues I'd never heard of before. This book took me so long to read because every essay inspired me to research further, so I'd often wind up reading several newspaper articles each chapter because Eveleth had gotten me so easily hooked with her passion.

That is talent right there. That is fantastic writing.

SYNERGY

These elements of the book work perfectly together. I was astounded at how easily the essays and comics converged, particularly when it came to specific story points. Eveleth could probably have walked me through every decision made on every panel. I find cowriting impressive in general, but this is another level-- a nonfiction writer (a podcaster!) working with comic artists, who sometimes worked with comic writers to team up on a single comic? Incredible. I really can't overstate how happy I am with how the mix came together.
_________

In short, I loved this book. I came for just one author (Delliquanti) and ended up loving every moment. I'd happily recommend it to just about anyone-- the addition of comics (and Eveleth's great writing voice) make it easy to read, and the book pulls no punches in terms of research, imagination, or breadth of scope. I really feel changed by this book, and I'm confident I'll continue thinking about in the future.

EDIT: On a reread, I stand by this review! I'd add that I noticed a few typos in the final copy, but other than that, simply fantastic; people around me asked what I was reading and seemed interested themselves once I told them. One of those books I love just for existing; we need more writing (and art!) on this subject.

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best podcasts I've ever listened to, so when I learned there would be a book, and a comic no less, I was overjoyed. Rose has such a unique voice and sense of humor and I adore her. The comics are a scenario based on a specific possible future, then there's a short discussion about the future's likelihood and potential challenges. So basically, they're mini episodes of the podcast. My advanced reader copy had very blurry comics, so I hope they will be clearer in the finished book, but I'm sure they're good from the ones I could read. Now I just want to listen to more episodes but I'm all caught up...

[Auriel Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes Rose's format that works so well in her podcast, and translates it really well to the graphic novel/written form. I really enjoyed each chapter, and the topics covered. I really appreciate how often Rose dives into a topic that seems simple on the surface, but by the end she's laid out just how complicated it might be, especially if we want the future to be a more equitable place.

I pre-ordered the book, and the version I have does not have any of the image quality issues mentioned by some of the folks who got early copies for review.

[Ashlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cool idea and a well-produced collection, but the various "futures" are a bit too immature for me to feel very enriched. I've been exposed to all these concepts before through various forays in fiction, nonfiction, and academic works so nothing was very eye-opening to me personally, but I do think lots of others can benefit from reading this set of graphic short stories.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology of futuristic comix with accompanying philosophical essays after by podcaster Rose Eveleth. I mainly picked this up because I’m a fan of Passmore’s, Lubchansky’s, Weinersmith’s, & Box Brown’s other work, but I really liked all of the comics by other artists & writers too. Eveleth’s essays at the end of every comic were full of great factoids & asides. All of the comics were so good, it’s hard to pick out a favorite. Lubchansky’s was probably the most humorous. All of the comics were also so dark, it’s hard to pick out a darkest one, though Bye Bye Binary by Blue Delliquanti & Ziyed Y Ayoub was the least bleak. I definitely want to check other work by Julia Gfroner, Sophia Foster-Dimino, Maki Naro, Kate Sheridan, Amelia Onorato, Sophie Goldstein, & John Jennings (known for Kindred).

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately not nearly as good as I anticipated. Comics are something special and unfortunately this book did nothing special with the medium. Most--I think all but two--of the dozen stories were overloaded with ham-handed exposition and "telling". The closer was well done, but the first three or so set such a poor precedent that I nearly put this one away. The first few are just too "on the nose" too "preachy", lacking any narrative character or visual craftiness that would make them properly impactful. Some stories were overloaded with in your face future/tech name drops to remind you this is the future. I mean, these tropes are so obvious to be made fun of easily in other works. I guess I miss really clever futurism, the crafty insidious type, that sneaks in to the familiar now only to realized it the the future.

This just didn't work for me.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (and Not So Possible) Tomorrows

This comic features twelve comics by some super talented comic book and graphic artists. Each comic is followed by an essay, all of which are very interesting reads.

Unfortunately, the digital copy I received from NetGalley was a really low quality, and even on my iPad I was unable to read at least 75% of the comics.
For this reason, I can’t really give a higher rating than this, but if I ever do pick up a hard copy or receive a higher quality ARC, I will come back to update my review.

EDIT

Thank you to Abarams Books for reaching out to me to send a better quality ARC. After being able to read everything, I have updated my review. :)

[Greg Hand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book as a part of a Goodreads giveaway. This book very much reads like the interesting podcast that it is based on. An interesting question or possibility about the future is presented in comic/graphic novel form and then there is a short "thought piece" of text to further explain and expound upon the issue. It is an interesting format that I enjoyed. The graphic novel portions vary greatly in style. Some are more effective than others in this format. I found a few of the styles difficult to read probably because they need/deserve a larger physical format for the amount of detail they contained.

[Juju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even more compelling than the comics were the mini essays that follow each story. This book explores many possible futures - from living under the ocean, wearable truth detectors, and drugs that erase the need for sleep. None are purely dystopian or utopian, but all are more real than we think.

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

In addition to just being entertaining, each of the comics was a fantastic work of speculative fiction. The accompanying after-show reports were elucidating, prompting discussion and reflection.

[Ioana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The comic sounds very interesting and I have always wanted to read more on these aspects. As a science-fiction fan this sounded right up my alley. I definitely recommend this fun take on some interesting topics. The book is organized into short essays, which have a little introduction and a comic part - a very interesting combination. Unfortunately I have lost some important aspects of the story due to the state of the digital copy I received. It was very hard to read the comic parts and I found myself struggling to understand the words. In this case, I cannot really rate the book more than 3 stars and I think it is a shame, but I am sure the final result will be great.

It is a great idea and I think people will benefit from reading this book.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

** I did receive this early and free from a giveaway run by goodreads*
5/5 every day of the week. I could not put this down all day.
I have been listening to the flash forward podcast for about a year now. I love the combination of sci-fi and what is really happening right now. This book is all that in one. I love the comics and varying art styles throughout the book. I love the voice of the story and feels like a more polished version of the podcast. I feel as if each chapter covers a different topic. I also love reading the footnotes.

Most of the reviews I have seen are just bashing it for a blurry copy from net gallery. I love my hard copy. The pages remind me of a coffee table books, nice, thick, glossy paper.

If you are a fan of the podcast or have never heard of it before I think this would be a great read.

[CC Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel has some really fun and thought provoking takes and raises some really good questions. My most confusing isssue was who the target demographic is supposed to be. The cover art lets you assume a younger audience, the essay writing style a more mature, the facts and bias in the content something in between.
And while it raises some great philosophical questions I also found those to be very much like an activist or propagada, not painting a picture from different POVs or some thought provoking ideas that are not streamline social activism. So while I do not disagree with any of the points this book is trying to make, I felt like it was aggressively shoving very obvious and top of mind topics down my throat while not giving room for other - more underlying and new perspectives.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book for free through the Goodreads FirstReads program.

I really expected this book to be good. It seemed fun and interesting and exciting! In reality…much of it was boring and bleak. So many of the stories felt deeply cynical and ended up being depressing. It flew past “cautionary tale” and directly into “everything is only going to get worse and disaster is unavoidable” for what felt like every possible avenue. You expect some of that in future stories, of course, a bit of climate change warning and a warning to be careful of the AI. But this felt like an exercise in catastrophizing us into every conceivable sort of dystopia. It was honestly depressing to read.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part Sci fi graphic novel and part nonfiction, this book explores different visions of the future and how they could possibly happen. This was one I was really excited to read, so naturally, I let it sit on my shelf for months before actually picking it up. Because that's just what we do around here. I'll do a quick review of each chapter:
Welcome to Tomorrowville- I'm not a fan of the art style here, but story wise it was good, exploring the smart city from the perspective of a cynical elderly millennial woman. It brought up the positives and negatives of smart technology
Portrait of the Artist as an Algorithm- I found the comic to be just okay, but the relationship between art and AI is an interesting topic and the information section went into a lot of interesting detail.
Piraceuticals- Affordable Healthcare is a topic I'm passionate about, so it made me happy to know that pirate pharmaceuticals are actually a thing that currently exists, but it's not an ideal solution.
Animal Magnetism- great now I'm gonna have to look forward to anti pet people preaching at me in the next couple of years...Sorry to those hypothetical anti pet people, but some animals are domesticated and simply not able to survive in the wild. Even the main character, who secretly owned a pet and was critical of the organizations more extreme ideas, admitted she was for pet abolition in the future.
Don't Lie to Me- With all the misinformation out there, what if you had a device that could tell you for sure what was true and what wasn't? The art style for this comic was very simple, but I liked its simplicity.
Moon Court- The comic for this one was one of my favorites, and the information section had a lot of good discussion about laws and law enforcement in space.
Unreel- Another one exploring the idea of misinformation, this time through deep fakes. Not a fan of the art style for this comic, but story telling wise, that ending....This one got its point across really well.
Ghostbot- I thought the comic was well done both artistically and narratively. The topic, making a robot of yourself to live on after you die, was pretty creepy.
Bye Bye Binary- I found the relationships between between characters in the comic a bit hard to keep track of. Although it was fine, I felt like this one didn't really add anything new to the conversation. "Hey what if...gender roles were gone and trans people had equal rights?" I'm pretty sure most of this books perspective audience agrees that's a good thing, so there isn't a whole lot of discussion to be had here.
Under the Sea- The comic felt a bit lacking, it was good for what it was, but I think it could've explored the topic better in a longer format, but the information part of this one was particularly fascinating, I'd never heard of sea farming before.
Never Lay Me Down To Sleep- How getting rid of the need for sleep could be exploited by companies. This is the future Amazon wants.
Poponymous- I've always found the topic of artifical/virtual celebrities fascinating. I also really like the color palette and art style.
Overall, it was an interesting read and made me think about issues happening today and how they could possibly translate into the future.

[Richard Magahiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes twelve possible futures involving the natural world, changes to human society or (in nearly all cases) a combination of both. It is a tie-in to the popular podcast by Rose Eveleth, with each one substituting the radio play segments there with a graphic story which leads in to a broad-ranging essay. The emotional appeal of the strips are intended to make the issues more immediate to the reader while the text provides factual background and conversations with experts on the individual subject in ways that either approach alone cannot accomplish. Differnt artists were selected for the twelve graphic sections, either individuals or pairings, with widely differing styles and techniques to bring their visions of the future to life. I read a hardcover copy of the book, choosing it as soon as I the author was the host of the podcast which I follow regularly.

I liked how the strips made it easier to focus on the subjects, though the space limitations would sometimes require depictions of how things work in the future which are executed in a kind of shorthand I might have to puzzle over. Almost always the vision was just one possible way the issue might evolve conceivably, in a fashion which has drama and the human element in the forefront. These aren't all topics which lend themselves to consideration from two sides, but are often things which appear to be driving in one direction with our response to the conditions the thing which branches into different directions. Are the problems posed all equally likely to happen? No, I don't think so, depending on what steps we take now collectively, but some seemed both disturbingly urgent while at the same time underappreciated.

I hope this book is popular enough to lead to a second one covering more areas, whether in the same format or something else. I found this an entertaining way of making wonkish subjects accessible to those people who are going to find themselves having to make some choices during their lives.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flash Forward is an anthology graphic novel filled with short stories of the different kinds of futures we could see in our lifetime. Based on the podcast of the same name, these futures range from the likely to the not-so likely outcome. Some of the topics covered here include animal rights, living in the ocean, Big Pharma takeover, AI, and removal of gender norms. Of which, these shorts only give a glimpse at the possibility of what is to come, and is accompanied by a word from the main author on the reasoning behind the path that could lead to that.

Since Flash Forward is created through the input of different authors and illustrators, the shorts all vary in quality and style. Of which, the main issue I have is that most of the shorts always ended abruptly, never giving a full conclusion to the plot at hand. Now the author did state these are meant to be like "previews" to the future, but it's a little discerning to know there's no proper ending to how things turn out. Of course, that's because it's up to us, the readers, to interpretate how we see things will go in the direction of the story. Despite how some of them end, the quality I find is just okay for the most part, I do feel like there is something missing that could add more to the punch and moral the contributors are aiming for. The art is very stylistic with each short story, some ranging from cartoony, to smooth, to very abstract like. In a shallow sense, I only found about 4 of the shorts to be stylistically appealing to me.

I did enjoy looking into all the possible futures our society could become, both the good, the bad, and ugly. The infodump provided by the author at the end of each one is very informative to say the least. But I definitely felt like some of the stories lacked something to make them much more impactful in the message they are trying to convey.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of weird that the weakest part of this collection are the comics.
This is an interesting amalgam of essays and comics exploring futuristic concepts in a short story form and then in a much more in-depth essay. The essays are very good, with a sense of optimism but tempered with pragmatic considerations of the first and second orders. In comparison, the comics are pretty shallow, and the art styles of some are hard to read. But the ideas they explore are mostly intriguing and definitely take a look at near and far future concepts in new ways. I may have to start listening to the podcast - this was the first I'd heard of it but it sounds right up my alley.
If you have an interest in conceptual exploration of future trends and topics, this is a good way to get a smorgasbord of different ideas leaving the reader with plenty of food for thought. Some of the stories might be frustrating and even enraging (the animal rights one in particular rubbed me the wrong way, but still made many valid points), and the comics are more focused on their concepts than providing action-packed stories, but both are part of the nature of the beast, and actually work in the book's favor. Definitely recommended.

[Jennifer Dawes · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a listener of the podcast the method of presenting the topic was not new to me, and I recognized some of the topics. Flash Forward presents 12 possible futures with a "trip to the future" (in comic book format) setting the scene for a potential outcome of a scientific, technological, or societal change. It is then followed by a textual explanation of where we, society, are at in relation to the topic and what could occur leading to future outcomes. The topics include smart cities, AI art (copyright 2021), big pharma control of meds, animal rights, personal lie detection, space court, fake news, people preservation via robot, gender, under water living from climate change, and eliminating sleep.
This was my car book, stored in the car so I always have something to read. Plus I'd already finished the podcast and needed more which this book provided. I really love the exploration of a potential future outcome and then analyzing where we are today in realizing that possibility. With the chapter segments it was easy to finish a chapter and not lose where you were. I very much enjoyed the visual storytelling using comic book writers and illustrators. And, the panels were not too elaborate making it easier for those readers not accustomed to reading comics or graphic novels.

[Peter Derk]

Not my bag.

I think the combo of comics and essays doesn't work so great. I don't need a comic that makes a point (there are pros and cons to smart cities) followed by an essay that says the same thing.

It's a new version of something I've seen when prose writers delve into comics. A lot of times, the prose writer will use the dialog balloons to write out what's happening in the panel because they're used to having to explain it without the aid of images. The comics end up being kind of a slog to read because you're getting the same information twice instead of letting the prose and pictures create a larger, better whole.

In this book, it's kind of like the comics do something, then a block of text reinforces the same thing, explains the same concept in a non-fictional way instead of a fictional way. And the concepts are pretty well-explained in the comics, I think, and I think I'd prefer if the book were either: A) without the essays, or B) if the comics were written based on the essays, and therefore we could do each concept once.

Now imagine I did something clever and drew a comic that said the same essential things I just wrote above.

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looooooove the Flash Forward podcast, so it's not like I ever wasn't going to read this book. Eveleth's essays, as always, balance the right amount of future thinking, science, and ethics in a way that I rarely (never?) see anywhere else. I do miss hearing their voice but, well, I guess that's the price of a book.

I found some of the comics, especially towards the beginning of the book, a bit hard to follow; I don't read many comics or graphic novels so not sure if it was that or if some were just a bit more confusing than others. But once I got the hang of it I really enjoyed the stories paired with the essays. A very fun concept for a book, and easy to read in 20 minute chunks.

4.5 stars. Be forewarned that this is a HEAVY book and if you fall asleep while reading it in bed, be sure you're holding it correctly or you may break your nose. Just saying.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a rich chocolate dessert. Goodi n small doses. Each chapter is about 20 pages long and gives you something to think about.

Each chapter is about a future scenario that could happen. It starts with a comic and ends with an essay diving deeper into the subject. Part scifi part nonfiction. A delicious blend of both. Loved the guest cartoonists, they helped bring the subject to life and give something to relate to while reading the essay. Some of the futures are scary like the no sleep, 26 day work shift!!
Some are more fun like computer generated popstsrs. There was always something to think about. This book is best enjoyed by reading one story a day andc thinking about that future.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was full of interesting speculative ideas about the future--what would a tech surveillance dystopia look like, especially if it still carries built-in racist profiling, what will the animal right movement progress towards, how will gender look in the future, etc. A lot of these ideas are already unfolding, but this book gives them room to play out in fictional vignettes followed by explanatory essays. I was both excited and scared by some of the ideas, it's a bunch of interesting thought experiments illustrated by different illustrators centered around studies and ideas about the future.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been enjoyable and delightful. A mix of twelve possible (and some not so possible) tomorrows, Flash Forward does what a lot of good science fiction does. And that is explore who we are by exploring the world(s) we create. As with her podcast of the same name (which is also excellent, you should go give it a listen if you haven’t), Rose follows each of these stories with a synopsis tying these futures into the present. The stories were all beautifully drawn and written and I quite liked it.

[Mad Hapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would an underwater city actually be like? What if we lived in a society where people changed their gender throughout their lives? This book alternates between graphic novel visions of these potential futures and commentary on the pros and cons of these societal reimaginings. What if we eliminated sleep? What if people started making their own pharmaceuticals? This book is both entertaining and mind expanding. Highly recommend!