Five Fascinating Books Set In The Future [March 2023]

Books set in the future from Next Chapter [March 2023]

Futuristic fiction is a genre of literature that takes place in a future time period, often featuring advanced technology and societal structures. It is a type of speculative fiction that imagines a world beyond the present day, allowing readers to explore the possibilities and consequences of scientific and technological progress.

In futuristic fiction, authors use their imagination to create a world that is vastly different from our current reality. This can include advancements in technology such as artificial intelligence, space travel, or cyborgs, as well as changes to societal structures such as a post-apocalyptic world, a utopian society, or a dystopian future where governments have complete control.

One of the main appeals of futuristic fiction is its ability to explore what the future might hold. By imagining possible scenarios for our future, these stories can inspire readers to consider the impact of their actions and decisions today. Futuristic fiction also provides an opportunity to reflect on our current societal issues, by presenting them in a different context that can highlight their strengths and weaknesses. Whether it's a warning of the dangers of unchecked technology, or a hopeful vision of a better world, futuristic fiction has the power to entertain, inspire, and challenge readers.

On this page, we’ve collected five of our titles, all set in a futuristic setting, now available from all major online bookstores including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Rakuten Kobo and Google Books.

On this list, you’ll find traditional dystopian science fiction titles as well as some futuristic action & adventure and mystery as well. No matter your preferred genre, we believe one of the books on this page will do!

We hope you enjoy the stories by our authors - and if you do, please don’t forget to leave the author a review! Don’t agree with our choices? Please leave a comment and let us know which futuristic novel is your favorite :)

Books featured on this page

• Blackwing (Blackwing Saga Book 1) by Stephen Drake

• Dawn of Rebellion (Dawn of Rebellion Book 1) by Michelle Lynn

• Catching Butterflies (Escape Series Book 2) by Sandra J. Jackson

• Organo-Topia by Scott Michael Decker

• Next Step (The Reluctant Doorkeeper Trilogy Book 2) by Sue Parritt

Blackwing (Blackwing Saga Book 1) by Stephen Drake

Book excerpt

The next morning when Jessica arrived at the precinct, she headed for the break room where all the techies hung out. She found the one she wanted and dragged him to a corner table. For the first time she noticed his nametag on his lab coat—Strange—and had to stifle a chuckle. He certainly is.

“Yesterday you said something about an interdimensional vortex,” she said. “What exactly is that?” When the Tech was reluctant to answer, she said, “It’s for a case.”

“I don’t know what an interdimensional vortex is… exactly,” the techie replied, nervously, pushing his safety glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. “It’s a theory, mine or someone else’s, that the universe here—our universe—is like a single sheet of paper in a ream of paper, or universes. And theoretically, a vortex could be created to pass between the universes. Why do you ask?”

“Last night I met someone who talks just like you do, except he used the term portal instead of interdimensional vortex. I’m assuming they’re the same thing?”

“Yes, well, theoretically,” again pushing his glasses up, “they are the same. Who was he?” His eyes reflected his awe.

Jessica glanced around and leaned toward him. “A wizard named Blackwing,” she whispered.

Strange tried to stifle his chuckles. “You’re joking with me, aren’t you? Someone put you up to this?” He looked around to see who was watching and if anyone was laughing.

“What do you know of the standard stunner? Is it possible for the darts not to penetrate?”

The techie thought about it for a second. “Kevlar or carbon nanofibers, maybe, if they were treated properly. Why?”

Dawn of Rebellion (Dawn of Rebellion Book 1) by Michelle Lynn

Book excerpt

“Hey Dawn, I think we're landing.” Drew shakes my shoulder lightly. I hadn't really been sleeping. I just didn't feel like talking anymore. Everything Drew told me makes sense and that's the problem. It explains a lot of things that happened in London. What bothers me is that, before now, I never questioned anything. I was blind. I picture every person I knew in the east end and wonder if they were rebels. How much did Gabby know? Was she involved?

No, she couldn't have been. I would've known, right? Why did Drew tell me all of this? It takes me a long time to trust someone enough to really tell them anything. He basically told me he was a rebel, or at least that he knew a sympathizer. Does his father know?

I'm looking at Drew differently now. There is something about him that puts me at ease. That's probably how he gets girls to trust him before he breaks their hearts. His charm is disarming. I picture him with that slag at school, unable to forget it.

I stand up as straight as I can, which still means I'm hunched over a little bit in this tight space. “I've got a plan. First, though, let's fill our bags with some of this food.”

“You got it boss.” Drew gives me a mock salute and I can't help the smile that comes to my lips as I roll my eyes.

I immediately go for the Jerky. I look over and see Drew going for the sweets. Laughing and shaking my head I say, “Uh…I think we should get food that will actually keep us alive, not send us into a sugar coma.” I see him put all the sweets back and then slip a couple pieces into the side pocket of his rucksack.

As soon as we feel the plane touch down, we hide ourselves and wait for the door to open. It feels like an eternity goes by before someone finally comes to unload the plane. The door creaks loudly as it opens and then a man is standing within arm's length of our hiding place. He is a tall, imposing figure and needs to bend almost all the way over in order to get through the door. As soon as he does, he begins looking around inspecting the boxes. His eyes sweep right past us without stopping and I inhale sharply, sure that he will see us any second now.

The colonies man steps closer into the cargo bay to count the boxes. Another man calls out to him. “Sir, you have a call on the sat phone.” He turns and exits the door without a second glance. I exhale the breath I'd been holding.

Catching Butterflies (Escape Series Book 2) by Sandra J. Jackson

Book excerpt

It was an odd thing to find a concrete wall crossing the road, a solid door in its middle. And yet there it was. It towered in front of us, its length undetermined as it stretched in opposite directions from the entrance until the forest on each side swallowed it. Its hard and unyielding form a stark contrast to the living trees that ran along beside the barrier. Wind rustled the leaves and limbs swayed and creaked. Apart from the branches bumping into it, the gusts had no effect on the obstacle.

The dirt road passed underneath the large and sturdy entry, and I could see no other passage through the barricade. I pushed on the heavy, steel door, the metal cool and rough beneath my hands, but it was as strong as the rest of the rampart.

“What do you s-suppose is behind it?” Beth said.

“Who knows, but whoever built it didn’t want just anyone on the other side. Anyway, we can't climb over it.” The smooth concrete offered no footholds, and it was far too tall to scale with no equipment.

A drop of water splashed on my forehead and trickled down my nose. Whether we found a way through or turned back, we needed to decide soon; the weather worsened by the second.

“There’s a panel up there.” Beth pointed to a small solar panel sitting on the top of the wall several feet away from the entrance. Below it a camera pointed at us.

Organo-Topia by Scott Michael Decker

Book excerpt

I got nothin', Maris thought as he left the building, Raihman's office and laboratory in a multistory business park, a hive of activity where nothing got done.

Three murders tied by nanochines, no rhyme or reason in between.

The scabbed sky was lacerated with cloud, sunlight bleeding onto the wounded wind. Whiffs of solvents wafted from a sterile street, bins of refuse crowding ledges up the building sides. A lone, overworked garbage drone methodically hefted bin after bin into its maw, bleating a bleak complaint to a deaf landscape, other vehicles humming past insouciant. An indifferent industrial park churned out its product relentlessly.

It'll continue churning when humans are long gone, he thought. We'll all be Ohumes by then, living in Organo-Topia.

At ninety percent of the populace, Ohumes had nearly taken over.

"Why indeed?" Doctor Raihman had said.

Peterson put his head down, tucked his shoulders close, girded himself, and charged forward, unwilling to let a dearth of substance stymie him. He summoned a magnacar, hoping he didn't have to walk far.

We're reasoning creatures in an unreasoning universe, he told himself. We want sense, order, logic to describe what's happening around us. We reject chaos, randomness, senselessness as somehow unnatural, repulsive, disgusting. And when anarchy rears its head and pandemonium ensues, we accuse something else of causing our discomfiture. We won't accept that it's our skewed view of reality.

An egg-shaped magnacar pulled to a stop in front of him. A perfect shape in an imperfect world, the ovoid vehicle without corner or edge caught on nothing, sliding smoothly across rough surfaces on a cushion of magnetic repulsion. Its upper surface smooth, sans a single seam, it slipped through the air at any angle, resistant to nothing, attracting no attention, passing any and all detractors with its unreasoning lack of defiance, slipping past with anonymity.

The hatch opened, the top half springing back on its levered hinge.

Maris stepped in, sat, and said, "Precinct."

Next Step (The Reluctant Doorkeeper Trilogy Book 2) by Sue Parritt

Book excerpt

Over the following week, Harie became more and more dejected, sighing to such an extent during one morning, that Sarah asked if she was having trouble breathing. An affirmative response prompted an order to take a five-minute break in the courtyard to restore oxygen levels, but the moment Harie left the office, Sarah hurried over to Emma’s work-station. ‘You’re friendly with her,’ she said in a low voice. ‘Is she ill?’

‘I don’t think so. At least not physically. But she does seem very down. Maybe there’s a problem with her daughter.’

Sarah frowned. ‘A 15-year-old, if I remember correctly.’

‘It can be a difficult age.’

Sarah muttered something about sole parenting, that to Emma’s mind confirmed the office manager had no experience of raising a child, either alone or with a partner. ‘Have a word with her, would you?’ Sarah continued, one hand brushing Emma’s shoulder. ‘In private, of course. And report back to me.’

Emma nodded and turned back to her screen. Aside from Harie’s despondency, the office atmosphere had been upbeat all week, Sarah giving the impression of excessive cheerfulness, and reassuring staff that her fall on the River Path had caused no lasting damage. A climax of sorts had occurred on Monday afternoon, Sarah ecstatic when three of her charges – a middle-aged woman and two older men – had completed the modules. They were to be moved on within days, according to an e-message forwarded to the remaining trainees. In the meantime, all three were permitted to shadow staff on the front desk “to experience real-time administrative work”. Emma couldn’t recall any of the three having left the room with Sarah, so she assumed their interviews with Colin Theobald had been conducted prior to her arrival.

There you go: five books set in the future by Next Chapter authors in 03/2023. If you enjoy one of the books on this page, please take a moment to leave a comment below, or a review in Goodreads or your favorite store. We’d love to hear from you!