Books that Focus on the Future

Predictions are often associated with mediums and tarot card readings, but science fiction has also produced some books that accurately predicted the future. These authors were able to envision scientific and social changes decades before they occurred.

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Predictions are often associated with mediums and tarot card readings, but science fiction has also produced some books that accurately predicted the future. These authors were able to envision scientific and social changes decades before they occurred.

For example, in 1909, E.M. Forster described a world in which people lived and worked exclusively in their rooms and communicated only through electronic means. He was spot on in his description of this 'lockdown' society! Let's take a look at a few authors together starting with George Orwell. 

George Orwell

George Orwell is one of the most famous writers of the 20th century, and he predicted a lot of things. His most well-known books include Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, which are often regarded as dystopian classics. But Orwell also wrote a number of other works that accurately predicted the future.

Orwell’s first book, Down and Out in Paris and London, was written while he was living abroad, and it is a fascinating look at his time spent as a slum dweller. It is also the earliest example of his strong social conscience.

Despite its flaws, Orwell’s debut is an important work of fiction, and it shows him developing his style as a writer. It also introduces his readers to the world of Paris, a city that was undergoing great changes at the time and where he had lived.

The narrator spends his time as a “supertramp” working in hotels and restaurants, and he describes what it is like to be poor and scraping by in this cosmopolitan city. He reveals how Paris is not really the “City of Light” and how poverty suffocates the spirit.

He then goes on to describe his adventures as a “tramper” in London. He eventually gets a teaching job in a school, but it isn’t enough to pay the bills. He ends up spending most of his time tramping, hiding from the authorities and trying to survive.

After he returns to England, he starts writing articles for the Left Book Club and contributes to the political magazine the Tribune. His political views were growing increasingly radical, and he became more anti-Stalinist.

He wrote many other articles and short stories, and he also worked as a journalist for the BBC. He later moved to a remote farmhouse on the Isle of Jura in Scotland, where he wrote many of his novels. He completed his most well-known novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, while he was there.

Martin Caidin

Caidin was a famous science fiction writer who penned many novels that were popular for their reasonable and realistic predictions of futuristic technology. His books mainly focused on the adventures of pilots and astronauts. These books were also considered to be an inspiration for the hit TV series, Six Million Dollar Man.

One of his famous novels was Cyborg, which introduced Steve Austin — an injured astronaut and pilot who gets bionic limbs after a crash. Just 41 years after the book’s release, the first bionic leg transplant was carried out.

Another book written by Caidin was Marooned, which was based on Project Mercury and followed the efforts of NASA to rescue an astronaut who became stranded in space. This novel was later adapted into a movie of the same name.

The book was so popular that it inspired several sequels, which were also adapted into television series. In addition, Caidin wrote other science fiction books with film tie-ins, including Final Countdown and novels featuring adventurer Indiana Jones.

He also wrote the novel Exit Earth, which was a story about Noah’s Ark in space. It was one of his favorite books and he always believed that it could be turned into an excellent motion picture.

Similarly, John Brunner’s dystopian novel Stand on Zanzibar is packed to the brim with accurate predictions about the future. It predicted things like on-demand television, electric cars and the decriminalisation of marijuana in the USA.

In his 1961 novel, “Stranger in a Strange Land,” Robert Heinlein also made some interesting predictions about the future. He mentioned that waterbeds would be widely used in the future, a decade before they were invented.

Tom Clancy

Throughout his career, the American author Tom Clancy published many of his books that were highly popular across the world. They spanned Techno-thriller, Spy-fiction, Non-fiction, Crime, and Military History. His novels became a staple of the library for those who love reading and also got turned into successful movies.

His first novel, The Hunt for Red October, was released in 1984 and it was a huge hit. It introduced the popular CIA agent Jack Ryan and also showcased his exceptional espionage skills. The scenarios and details of this book were so realistic that people thought the writer had actually worked in a spy agency before.

After this success, he continued to write many more books that sold millions of copies. His best-selling novels were the ones that focused on military science and spy fiction.

He was an expert in writing military thrillers and his books were so accurate that they were often adapted into films. Some of his novels even seemed to predict the future.

In his novels, he often predicted a world where terrorist cells would be as deadly as rogue nations. He anticipated that terrorism was becoming more and more widespread and he was able to forecast that it would eventually reach the United States.

Then, in his later novels, he was able to anticipate a world where China and Russia were about to become powerful rivals and he foresaw that they would be competing with each other for dominance over the globe. He also foresaw that they would be a great threat to the United States and other countries around the globe.

One of the most popular books by Tom Clancy is called Red Storm Rising and it is a very exciting story that will keep readers on their toes. It will take them on an adventure that they won't soon forget and it will keep them wanting more.

Robert A. Heinlein

Heinlein was one of the most famous science fiction authors. His stories, which included 56 short stories and 30 novels, have been translated into many languages and sold over 30 million copies in the United States alone. Heinlein's satirical stories often aimed to mock conventional ways of thinking and his novels were full of themes of freedom and independence.

He also hoped that his stories would inspire people to become more politically and socially conscious. He wrote about the need to fight against tyranny and injustice. He drew inspiration from his own experiences in the military, and he was passionate about defending the rights of individuals. He emphasized the importance of free speech and thought that almost any religion could legislate its creed into law if it gathered enough political power.

His 1940 story “Solution Unsatisfactory” predicted the development of nuclear weapons and the Cold War. It even predicted that the United States would be the only country with a nuclear weapon, a scenario that played out during World War II and in the years that followed.

Another novel he wrote that accurately predicted the future was Stand on Zanzibar. In this sci-fi thriller, Detroit is in economic ruin, people listen to EDM music, America is plagued by school shootings, and hook up culture has become the norm among teenagers.

Another novel he published that accurately predicted the future was Cyborg, which predicts the first bionic limb transplant. The book also predicted audio translating apps, the Internet, and other technologies that have become commonplace.

Margaret Bellamy

If you're a fan of sci-fi, you probably know about Margaret Bellamy. Her novel Looking Backward published in 1888 depicts a socialist utopian society, and one of the most striking features of her world is the credit cards that citizens are given. All of the citizens start with the same amount, but those who do more dangerous or unpleasant work get more credit. It may not seem like a big deal, but this is a pretty accurate prediction of how modern debit cards work today. And it's not just credit cards: Bellamy also foresees shopping malls and even tablets. You can check out some of her other predictions in the video below. Thanks to her writing, the world was a little better off than it is now.

Published

Sunday, March 5, 2023