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2034

By: Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, P.J. Ochlan, Vikas Adam, Dion Graham, Feodor Chin
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Publisher's Summary

From two former military officers and award-winning authors, a chillingly authentic geopolitical thriller that imagines a naval clash between the US and China in the South China Sea in 2034 - and the path from there to a nightmarish global conflagration.

On March 12, 2034, US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is on the bridge of her flagship, the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones, conducting a routine freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea when her ship detects an unflagged trawler in clear distress, smoke billowing from its bridge. On that same day, US Marine aviator Major Chris "Wedge" Mitchell is flying an F35E Lightning over the Strait of Hormuz, testing a new stealth technology as he flirts with Iranian airspace. By the end of that day, Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner, and Sarah Hunt's destroyer will lie at the bottom of the sea, sunk by the Chinese Navy. Iran and China have clearly coordinated their moves, which involve the use of powerful new forms of cyber weaponry that render US ships and planes defenseless. In a single day, America's faith in its military's strategic pre-eminence is in tatters. A new, terrifying era is at hand.

So begins a disturbingly plausible work of speculative fiction, co-authored by an award-winning novelist and decorated Marine veteran and the former commander of NATO, a legendary admiral who has spent much of his career strategically outmaneuvering America's most tenacious adversaries. Written with a powerful blend of geopolitical sophistication and human empathy, 2034 takes us inside the minds of a global cast of characters - Americans, Chinese, Iranians, Russians, Indians - as a series of arrogant miscalculations on all sides leads the world into an intensifying international storm. In the end, China and the United States will have paid a staggering cost, one that forever alters the global balance of power. 

Everything in 2034 is an imaginative extrapolation from present-day facts on the ground combined with the authors' years working at the highest and most classified levels of national security. Sometimes it takes a brilliant work of fiction to illuminate the most dire of warnings: 2034 is all too close at hand, and this cautionary tale presents the listener a dark yet possible future that we must do all we can to avoid.

* This audiobook edition includes an exclusive interview with co-author Admiral James Stavridis.

©2021 Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“It is hard to write in great detail about what ensues in this novel without giving away the drama of its denouement. Suffice it to say that there is conflict and catastrophe on a large scale, and it unfolds, as major conflicts tend to, with surprising twists and turns.... The strengths of the novel are anything but incidental to the background of one of its authors, Adm. Stavridis, a former destroyer and carrier strike group commander who retired from the Navy in 2013 as NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.... Adm. Stavridis not only understands how naval fleets work; he has clearly given a great deal of thought to America’s biggest strategic risks, and at the top of the list is war with China, which, as this book seems designed to point out, could occur quite by accident and at almost any time.... One of the messages of this book is that war is utterly unpredictable and that opportunist adversaries of the U.S. are likely to play important roles in any widening confrontation.... 2034 is nonetheless full of warnings. Foremost is that war with China would be folly, with no foreseeable outcome and disaster for all. This is not a pessimistic book about America’s potential, but the picture of the world it paints before the central conflict will be a difficult one for many to accept, albeit one well supported by facts.” (Wall Street Journal)

"An unnerving and fascinating tale of a future.... The book serves as a cautionary tale to our leaders and national security officials, while also speaking to a modern truth about arrogance and our lack of strategic foresight.... The novel is an enjoyable and swiftly paced but important read.” (The Hill

“This crisply written and well-paced book reads like an all-caps warning for a world shackled to the machines we carry in our pockets and place on our laps, while only vaguely understanding how the information stored in and shared by those devices can be exploited.... In 2034, it’s as if Ackerman and Stavridis want to grab us by our lapels, give us a slap or two, and scream: Pay attention! George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-four: A Novel was published 35 years before 1984. Ackerman’s and Stavridis’s book takes place in the not-so-distant future when today’s high school military recruits will just be turning 30.” (The Washington Post

What listeners say about 2034

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All empires fall …

Great story, the worry is it is absolutely plausible. Fantastic to see an author actually present American decline in a intelligent and realistic manner

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Strap yourself in!!

This was a seat of your pants look through the halls of diplomacy, the bridge of a carrier group and the cross hairs of a cockpit. Nothing predictable here just a warning of what might be through the minds of authorities that know. A disaster novel of epic proportions that should be made into a Hollywood movie (just not starring Chris Pine please).

A great listen and well worth the credit.

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A good wake up call

Well narrated and a gripping story. It is outlining a path the world could take if we don't try harder to solve our differences. Told as a story rather than a non fiction book it gets the point across in an engaging manner.

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Challenging to hear. Refreshing take on the techno-thriller

As a veteran and bureaucrat (man how did that happen?) myself this is both new in terms of challenging formulaic norms and a sobering warning to those who want a future for their kids that includes freedom.

I recognised the turmoil in the characters across this work. For my part this lent a degree of authenticity to the plot. ‘Imagination’ (or lack of) was a key theme alongside the warning on over reliance on technology.

Having read the techno thriller since Sir John Hackett and the early Clancy this book is on point, thought provoking and entertaining.

Excellent work Gentleman.

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Great book. Scary

Really well written by an obviously educated and well-informed author. Take note. De-escalate

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A wake-up call and thrilling story

I hope that those with power in China, USA, Russia, Europe and India read this book and heed it's warning.

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A must read - the next world war

This book is an essential read written by a long-serving 4-star admiral. He continues to serve. Thank you.

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  • Bob
  • 18-02-2022

Very scary book

Enjoyed this true to life novel! Hope it doesn't happen! Does a dystopian future await?

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well envisioned..written and narrated

voices of characters compelling.. i felt on the bridge with sarah, and in tbe cockpit with wedge. awesome interview with the Admiral

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Current relevance.

Very good plot. Characterization. Fast moving. Unpredictable. Empathy.
Current affairs. History. Politics. War strategy.
Multiple voices.

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