# What science fiction works have been set in the closest future? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924 "2017-03-24T16:45:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Pork-Chop_Express)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/41 "2017-03-26T13:47:51Z")
Some of William Gibson’s stuff takes place maybe a decade in the future. Also, Logan (the recent film) is set in 2029. That’s twelve years from now. Can you believe it? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/42 "2017-03-26T14:56:18Z")
> [@The\_Pork-Chop\_Express](#): > > Some of William Gibson’s stuff takes place maybe a decade in the future. The “Blue Ant” ones can plausibly happen now, I don’t recall the exact date. “The Bridge” needs some tech development but not a huge amount (AI especially). “The Sprawl” is quite a bit in the future, which isn’t so bad as it’s kind of a crapsack world. My favorite is SF that has an extant Soviet Union as either rivals or allies. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/43 "2017-03-26T15:21:43Z")
You would have to include a lot of Michael Crichton’s works. He made a habit of setting plots in contemporary or near contemporary settings. Jurassic Park was set for all intents in the time of its writing. The movie was also set in the time of its making.\* The Andromeda Strain didn’t have an exact date, but was essentially set at the time of its writing. So to the movie. - All of the technology visible in the movie is contemporary for the time of its making. (Apart from the dinosaurs. But the labs, and especially the computer room, including the supercomputers, are all real, and available at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/44 "2017-03-27T13:27:19Z")
Sci fi is my favorite genre of movies or even TV! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/45 "2017-03-27T15:32:21Z")
While it won’t set the record, the British TV series UFO was filmed in 1970 and set in the far future of 1980. A future where we had ready space travel, moonbases (plural), left hand drive in England, mini skirts, and wigs. Wigs for everyone. It makes Space: 1999’s 25 year future setting seem distant. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/46 "2017-03-27T15:40:10Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > Sci fi is my favorite genre of movies or even TV! My cat’s breath smells like cat food! Currently reading _Empire Game_s by Charles Stross. Written in 2016, set in 2020. (But in a timeline that diverged from ours thanks to a significant event that happened in 2003 in an earlier book in the series.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/47 "2017-03-27T22:48:35Z")
Haldeman’s _The Forever War_ covers a very long span of time (at least, from Earth’s point of view), but the action starts in 1997, a mere 23 years after it was written. Which is absolutely ludicrous for the amount of change he already assumes at that point. ---
**Author:** ![TYphoonSignal8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@TYphoonSignal8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TYphoonSignal8)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/48 "2017-03-28T04:18:07Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Interesting how many of these examples seem to be in the 20-30–year range. I wonder if it is because teenagers watching/reading visualise this as being the same age as their parents? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/49 "2017-03-28T14:47:51Z")
Is dystopia a subgenre of sci-fi? _Escape from New York_ (1981) is said to be set in 1997 (16 years in the future). However, the super-prison of Manhattan was said (in the film) to have been built in 1988. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924/50 "2017-03-28T15:03:17Z")
I still think my entry, where a guy can see the future, but only 2 minutes into the future… gonna be hard to beat that one, except to disallow it. 😉 > **[Next (2007 film)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_(2007_film))** > > Next is a 2007 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, and Peter Falk. The film's original script was loosely based on the 1954 science fiction short story "The Golden Man" by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of Cris Johnson, a small-time magician based in Las Vegas, who has limited precognition. His ability allows him to see into the very immediate future. His gif... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-works-have-been-set-in-the-closest-future/782924.md?page=2)