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2034

A Novel of the Next World War

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2034

By: Elliot Ackerman, James Stavridis USN
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, P.J. Ochlan, Vikas Adam, Dion Graham, Feodor Chin
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About this listen

 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 reader 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. Genre Fiction Military Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense War & Military Exciting China War Political Thriller Fiction
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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.

A good wake up call

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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.

Challenging to hear. Refreshing take on the techno-thriller

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

Great book. Scary

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

All empires fall …

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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.

Strap yourself in!!

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