The Ministry for the Future
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- Create Date：2021-09-16 08:51:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kim Stanley Robinson
- ISBN：0356508862
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Summary
Established in 2025， the purpose of the new organization was simple: To advocate for the world's future generations and to protect all living creatures， present and future。 It soon became known as the Ministry for the Future， and this is its story。
From legendary science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined。
Told entirely through fictional eye-witness accounts， The Ministry For The Future is a masterpiece of the imagination， the story of how climate change will affect us all over the decades to come。
Its setting is not a desolate， post-apocalyptic world， but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face。
It is a novel both immediate and impactful， desperate and hopeful in equal measure， and it is one of the most powerful and original books on climate change ever written。
From legendary science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined。
Told entirely through fictional eye-witness accounts， The Ministry For The Future is a masterpiece of the imagination， the story of how climate change will affect us all over the decades to come。
Its setting is not a desolate， post-apocalyptic world， but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face。
It is a novel both immediate and impactful， desperate and hopeful in equal measure， and it is one of the most powerful and original books on climate change ever written。
Reviews
Kevin Thorley
，
Excellent！ Terrifying yet also somehow optimistic， would highly recommend
Jamie
，
This book took me forever to read， but I’m glad I didn’t give up on it。 I was drawn to it， after a friend recommended it to me， mostly because it’s one of Barack Obama’s favorite books this year and because it dealt with the climate change fight。 At over 500 pages， it’s a slow read， but there is also a lot of technical information that I stopped and researched as I read。 It seems to be a series of articles about varying topics， not all directly related to climate change， interspersed with a plot This book took me forever to read， but I’m glad I didn’t give up on it。 I was drawn to it， after a friend recommended it to me， mostly because it’s one of Barack Obama’s favorite books this year and because it dealt with the climate change fight。 At over 500 pages， it’s a slow read， but there is also a lot of technical information that I stopped and researched as I read。 It seems to be a series of articles about varying topics， not all directly related to climate change， interspersed with a plot line。 It is a little depressing at times， and I often wondered why we weren’t doing some of the things suggested to combat climate change。 But there is also some hope that changes can be made in time。 Do I recommend this book？ I don’t know。 I would say to read it only if you are willing to put in the work to understand the information presented。 Otherwise， I think the average person would just be lost…I know I was at times， even after researching。 。。。more
Terence Eden
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I struggled with this book。 It is a huge tome， full of righteous indignation and fourth-wall-breaking exposition。 Like a middling episode of The West Wing。 But even though I'm a solar-punk-eco-hippie-vegan I felt like I was being lectured to。In a sense， the book is like World War Z （the novel， not the movie） in that it is told from the first person perspective of lots of participants。 As the world slowly dissolves into chaos， we see how a wide range of voices react。 Sadly， it rapidly becomes con I struggled with this book。 It is a huge tome， full of righteous indignation and fourth-wall-breaking exposition。 Like a middling episode of The West Wing。 But even though I'm a solar-punk-eco-hippie-vegan I felt like I was being lectured to。In a sense， the book is like World War Z （the novel， not the movie） in that it is told from the first person perspective of lots of participants。 As the world slowly dissolves into chaos， we see how a wide range of voices react。 Sadly， it rapidly becomes confusing。 Chapter headings don't tell you which character you're reading about， or what location you're in， or what the date is。 That can be a quirky literary device， but in a book this long and complicated it is just annoying。It's barely even speculative fiction， it feels like it was written tomorrow about the future that yesterday wished it had。At times it feels like an economics lecture - by a hip professor who is trying a little too hard to engage in Socratic dialogue。 Some chapters are just a page or two explaining an economic concept， or property of philosophy。 Again， fun in small doses - but it gets a bit wearing。Parts of the book feel like the author has literally copy-and-pasted a list from Wikipedia。 How many animals have gone extinct？ Here's a list！ Why？ At once point， the author simply lists 74 glaciers。 No other information， just their names。 It is needless filler。The technobabble is。。。 disconcerting。 Take this example: “The AI group is making open source instruments that mimic the functions of all the big social media sites。” “So people can shift over to this new set？” “Yes。 And it will protect their data for them using quantum encryption。” Yeah… Much like Gell-Mann Amnesia， I skipped over the quantum-blockchain-woo and pretended that the geoengineering science wasn't also word salad。Is it a good book？ I'm not sure。 It's more like a political manifesto with the addition of some light speculation， rather than a fictional novel。 Halfway through， I bailed on it。 The characters have no real narrative arc， the （computer） science is dodgy， and the frantic cutting between locations slows the story without really providing any perspective。 If I wanted to watch the world collapse， I'd turn on the nightly-news。Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy。 The paperback book is available to pre-order now。 。。。more
Edward E。 Eller
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Face to face with climate changeWhat it is， what it does， how to fix it brought down to the human level。 Excellent story of our present and near future grounded solidly in science， politics， and economics。 Not for the weak-hearted。
John Kaufmann
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This is a book of ideas -- big ideas。 It is not an action-packed story， and it doesn't have any "heroic" characters or characters you identify or empathize with。 The book follows developments surrounding the establishment of an International "Ministry for the Future"， located in Zurich Switzerland， to pressure economic and political actors to protect the unrepresented future generations from the effects of climate change。 The story is told through a number of short vignettes， by a cast of maybe This is a book of ideas -- big ideas。 It is not an action-packed story， and it doesn't have any "heroic" characters or characters you identify or empathize with。 The book follows developments surrounding the establishment of an International "Ministry for the Future"， located in Zurich Switzerland， to pressure economic and political actors to protect the unrepresented future generations from the effects of climate change。 The story is told through a number of short vignettes， by a cast of maybe a dozen characters。 There's only one character -- Mary， who is head of the Ministry -- who comes close to being called a "main" character in that she appears most often。 But much is happening in the other vignettes with other characters exerting their influence as well。 The "action" is in the ideas that come through -- black ops; carbon coins; pumping water up glaciers， etc。 I don't want to give away too much。I started to read the print version of this book and didn't like it。 However， I continued to see such great reviews of the book， so I restarted with the Audiobook version and it made all the difference。 I found the print version very disjointed and impersonal; I didn't know which character was speaking， and many of the vignettes almost sounded like a recitation of facts。 It was only when I listened to the Audiobook and heard different voices reading it that I figured out they were different characters。 Then I was able to piece things together into a more coherent narrative。An important book。 While enjoyable， it wasn't gripping。 But it had several big ideas that are thought-provoking， which we need if we are to deal with the monster of climate change。 And the book wasn't just a pessimistic， despairing look at the ravage of climate change （which is what I expected and where I thought the early part of the book was headed）， but it actually winds up holding out modicum of hope that we can muddle our way through if we are creative and can summon the will to change things like our institutions， habits， values， goals。 。。。more
Ro
，
Reminded me a lot of World War Z， except about the climate crisis instead of zombies。 Lot of fun little vignettes about people struggling， fighting， and organizing against a destabilizing climate and natural disasters。 Some bits of very poignant writing， and some perhaps much-needed optimism as well。 Unfortunately overall the political vision can be painfully naive a lot of the times。 Right at the beginning， a horrible heat wave kills like 10 million Indians in a few weeks， and the response is a Reminded me a lot of World War Z， except about the climate crisis instead of zombies。 Lot of fun little vignettes about people struggling， fighting， and organizing against a destabilizing climate and natural disasters。 Some bits of very poignant writing， and some perhaps much-needed optimism as well。 Unfortunately overall the political vision can be painfully naive a lot of the times。 Right at the beginning， a horrible heat wave kills like 10 million Indians in a few weeks， and the response is a complete revolution where Indians organize against not just fossil fuel energy， but also "patriarchy"， "the caste system"， etc。。。。。sorry man， I don't think that's the way things are gonna go！ The book also doesn't really get into what is the most interesting and exhilarating idea， which is that a global eco-terrorist network based out of India springs up after the heat wave。 In fact there really isn't that much conflict at all that is portrayed in the book， which is， again， incredibly naive。 But I guess overall still an enjoyable read， and the main story of technocrats and central bankers was still interesting enough。 。。。more
Tonia
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This book made me more hopeful about the future than I've felt for awhile。 I have a hard time believing that the things that happen in the book could happen in reality， but having a fictional version of these kinds of solutions will probably help us make them happen。 This book made me more hopeful about the future than I've felt for awhile。 I have a hard time believing that the things that happen in the book could happen in reality， but having a fictional version of these kinds of solutions will probably help us make them happen。 。。。more
Susan Visser
，
A look into the near future where the climate crisis is taken seriously and a variety of big changes are tried to stop the planet from going to war with humans。The book’s starting point seems to be just before the pandemic， and I was surprised that a deadly virus wasn’t one of the catastrophic events covered。The event that seemed to wake people up to the possibility of the human race going extinct was a horrendous heatwave that killed 20 million people in India。I don’t know whether the ideas exp A look into the near future where the climate crisis is taken seriously and a variety of big changes are tried to stop the planet from going to war with humans。The book’s starting point seems to be just before the pandemic， and I was surprised that a deadly virus wasn’t one of the catastrophic events covered。The event that seemed to wake people up to the possibility of the human race going extinct was a horrendous heatwave that killed 20 million people in India。I don’t know whether the ideas explored in the book are plausible or not， but they sound interesting to me。 。。。more
Daniel Wood
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Terrible。
Hope
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I love this book。 It is so easy to imagine the end of human life on this planet because it is everywhere in the media。 It is more difficult to imagine a path where we turn the ship and find a sustainable future where people on every continent make sacrifices so that we can all can have our basic needs met and live with dignity。 Some of chapters seem less realistic than others， but this book opened up branches in my mind about what our futures could look like。 Highly recommend the audiobook！ The I love this book。 It is so easy to imagine the end of human life on this planet because it is everywhere in the media。 It is more difficult to imagine a path where we turn the ship and find a sustainable future where people on every continent make sacrifices so that we can all can have our basic needs met and live with dignity。 Some of chapters seem less realistic than others， but this book opened up branches in my mind about what our futures could look like。 Highly recommend the audiobook！ The cast is excellent！ 。。。more
Ms K
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The Ragged Trousered Philosopher for the era of climate changeThis book chronicles in horrifying detail what a prolonged stint of very high temperature would likely do to human beings。 Then， skilfully twining information on economics， technology， and lived social experience suggests through a fictional narrative， ways that humans might move forward in partnership with the planet and the other Terran entities， our sister species。 Hard questions are asked about whether violence is ever justified。 The Ragged Trousered Philosopher for the era of climate changeThis book chronicles in horrifying detail what a prolonged stint of very high temperature would likely do to human beings。 Then， skilfully twining information on economics， technology， and lived social experience suggests through a fictional narrative， ways that humans might move forward in partnership with the planet and the other Terran entities， our sister species。 Hard questions are asked about whether violence is ever justified。 I read this transfixed。 I will read it again。 。。。more
C。J。 Ruby
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I heard this was KSR's final environmental novel， if so， it's his love letter to the future。 This is how we hope it turns out， is it a satisfying novel though？ I heard this was KSR's final environmental novel， if so， it's his love letter to the future。 This is how we hope it turns out， is it a satisfying novel though？ 。。。more
Neil
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This is another excellent novel by KSM that imagines a future in which humans take decisive action about climate change and， through the concerted effort of a special UN Ministry， we reimagine banking， the economy， glaciology， and land use， among other aspects of our lives。 Though the book follows Mary， the head of the ministry， as well as another individual who is the lone survivor of a terrible mass casualty heatwave in India， Kim Stanley Robinson follows trends in recent climate scholarship b This is another excellent novel by KSM that imagines a future in which humans take decisive action about climate change and， through the concerted effort of a special UN Ministry， we reimagine banking， the economy， glaciology， and land use， among other aspects of our lives。 Though the book follows Mary， the head of the ministry， as well as another individual who is the lone survivor of a terrible mass casualty heatwave in India， Kim Stanley Robinson follows trends in recent climate scholarship by allowing various non-human actors into the equation， so "actants" like sunlight do， at points， have the chance to narrate their stories。 I really appreciate this book because， despite the frightening nature of some of what happens， it does posit ways that humans could become better stewards of earth's resources and plot out a reasonably sustainable future。 There is temptation for climate fiction to focus too heavily on apocalypse and doom， and KSM's resistance to those narratives proved far more thought-provoking than other texts in the genre。 This book is a tool to reimagine our future。 。。。more
Andrea McDowell
，
*132nd Climate Book*A few years I was working with a consultant to define a path towards decarbonization in our municipality， and there was a particular phrase he used when presenting his results to decision-makers and the public: "It's geophysically possible，" he'd say， slowly and with emphasis。 "I don't know if it's politically possible。"It's a phrase that sometimes gets my back up: it had damn well better be politically possible， or hundreds of millions of people will die and human civilizati *132nd Climate Book*A few years I was working with a consultant to define a path towards decarbonization in our municipality， and there was a particular phrase he used when presenting his results to decision-makers and the public: "It's geophysically possible，" he'd say， slowly and with emphasis。 "I don't know if it's politically possible。"It's a phrase that sometimes gets my back up: it had damn well better be politically possible， or hundreds of millions of people will die and human civilization may not survive。 Still。 When reading this book， it came to mind over and over again。 KSR's pathway to climate salvation is， potentially， geophysically possible。 I see comments in other reviews that portions of his prescription are not possible， from these reviewers' perspectives， but let's give it the benefit of the doubt。 But politically？No fucking way。 It's not even a maybe。 I've been working in government for most of my adult life and nothing about this plot is even remotely conceivable。Before I get into that in too much more detail， more about the novel proper:I hadn't intended to read it， but Christiana Figueres recommended it on her podcast （Outrage and Optimism）， and also it was on the currently-available-audiobooks list at my local library， so I thought I'd give it a shot。 Figueres is the architect of the Paris Accords， which are constantly referenced in this novel as a turning point for humanity， and it's a story that seems broadly consistent with her message， so I'm not surprised at her recommendation。 But I did not love it。It is， first of all， a KSR novel。 That is， it is very long， composed of many long passages of blatant exposition on scientific and technical matters thinly veiled in narrative conceits， with a bare bones plot spun out over many decades in between the exposition passages。 It's a necessary construction for the kinds of stories KSR likes to tell， but it also appeals to a particular audience。 If you like exposition， pull up a chair and pour yourself a cup of tea。 If you like plot， look elsewhere。Secondly， while he tried to make this a feminist story， he mostly failed， and in a way that felt to me utterly infuriating。 His protagonist Mary， head of the Ministry for the entire novel which spans several decades， is painfully naive and ignorant。 She must be schooled by all the men around her in just about everything， even the most basic functions of government and politics and climate science （you know， her job， which she presumably must have been very qualified for to be hired as the head）。 Even a random kidnapper sits her down and educates her about the severity of the situation， to which Mary can only repeatedly stammer， "we're doing what we can，" while reacting to all of the kidnapper's facile suggestions with surprise。 None of these were new or surprising; anyone employed at any level in any kind of environmental agency or organization has already heard all of them， and has almost certainly hotly debated them with colleagues。 Yet Mary apparently knows none of them。 Her subordinates must educate her about the basics of finance and economics as they pertain to carbon and fossil fuels。 Every man she has a conversation with educates her about some novel or writer or artist or scientist she's never heard before。 One might think that over the course of the novel this would be reversed somewhere， and Mary would educate them back， but no。 Passive recipient she remains until the bitter end。The writing itself is a passably serviceable science fiction style of plain， unobtrusive prose， and is fine。 The voices of some of the secondary characters， particularly in the exposition sections， are often distinct and compelling。 It takes a lot to hold one's interest over a 20 hour audiobook， particularly one composed largely of exposition， but it did; I listened to it over the course of a few days while working on another stitching project， and even the mini-chapters dedicated to photons and what-nots speaking for themselves kept me listening。 But back to my main point: if we indeed manage to decarbonize on a timescale that allows for the continuation of human civilization， this isn't how it will happen。Climate change is barely present。 There are a few mega-disasters to set the scene and make the point that Climate Change is Real and An Actual Problem， but otherwise， it never intrudes， and the situations in the novel rarely if ever intersect with any climate impacts。 There are no unusually hot days in a Swiss winter making the characters uneasy， no plants growing or animals migrating outside of their typical season， no shortages of produce due to droughts in global food-growing regions， no expansion of disease vector ranges， no global conflicts over water or land。 No one drowning in a flooded elevator or basement apartment。 No one using medical devices dying due to power failures。 Frank should be in a world where is in constant contact with other people suffering from climate PTSD; instead， he's the only one。With few exceptions， all of the people in this novel are rational。 When 20m people die in an Indian heat wave， India goes to war against climate change。 It spurs a democratic transformation of India into global powerhouse of human rights and climate solutions。 This reflects a common assumption that "once people start dying from climate impact they'll take it seriously and change。" But there is no evidence of this in human nature。 Look at Covid in the US: hundreds of thousands of people have died from covid; there is a free and effective vaccine widely available; yet there are mass protests against using this vaccine， some of which have led to violence。 On climate， in Alberta for instance， even years after the fires that burned Fort McMurray to the ground， Albertans were largely resistant to even making their existing homes more fire-resistant; Alberta remains the province most committed to climate denial and most opposed to any climate action that risks the tar sands oil production。 In BC， where historic heatwaves killed hundreds of people over a week this summer， the Conservatives--promising to reinstate the last Conservative government's carbon reduction targets of 30% by 2030， completely inadequate by scientific standards--are in a decisive lead over any party committed to climate action。We like to think that eventually something so terrible will happen with the climate that there will be no deniers left and our governments can act decisively， but I don't think so。 It's quite possible that it will get worse， not better; scared， angry people are more likely to vote Conservative， and conservative parties are less likely to support climate action。 Moreover， scared， angry people are more likely to turn populist and fascist， with all the nasty consequences， including closed borders and increased conflict。 The world passport idea was a nice narrative touch， but in a future marred by increasing climate crises， I can't see it happening。 Once progress is underway， there are no reversals。 A 'carbon coin' is introduced globally， and amazingly， it stays。 It isn't fought over for decades; there are no squabbles over minutiae of how it will work and who will administer it; no elections bring governments to power committed to opposing it。 India goes to war against climate change， and stays there; no new governments are elected on a regressive platform。 When Mary has one of her Significant Meetings， usually with bankers， the bankers are always of one common mind and she only has to convince them once as a group for a new policy to be implemented--and then stay implemented。 Again， I've been doing this work in these environments， though not at that level， for a long time。 This is never how it works。 You propose a decent measure at a meeting， and then spend the next five years arguing about it。 Supporters leave to get new jobs in other companies; detractors come along slowly， and then take a different job where the policy no longer applies; key staff get sick， go on maternity leave， go back to school。 A new government or Council is elected with new priorities and your committee or task force is scrapped and you have to start over。 Your department is reorganized and you are now reporting to someone new who has no idea what you're talking about。 Funding is cut and everyone is scared for their jobs and just keeps their head down for a while。 You move a project along and hold the required public meeting and only opponents to the project show up， making it look hugely unpopular， and causing decision-makers to retract their support or water it down。 You get to a decision-point and your contact in finance or procurement or communications changes， and you have to run everything by their replacement， and they want to change everything。 Scientific progress is much too convenient。 The Indians try their hands at geo-engineering， and thank gods， there are no unpleasant consequences。 Because。 There are no wars。 None！ There are already wars due to climate impacts; somehow in the future， with worsening consequences， that's all just over？ How？ Not one single country will， between now and the end of this century， elect a populist climate denier willing to mobilize their army to keep the oil wells flowing and the coal mines open？ We have people staging violent riots over vaccines。 Workers in climate fields are already subject to violent abuse online and in public; this is just going to 。。。 go away？ How？ Current Canadian politicians championing climate action already receive constant death threats and need security details; somehow a UN Minister in charge of climate action for the whole world lives merrily and carefree as a private citizen for a decade or more before an assassination attempt lands her with a security detail。 [edited Sept 15 to add: today I read a recent report stating that 2020 was the most violent year ever for environmental advocates， with 227 globally killed for their activism。 https://www。npr。org/2021/09/13/103657。。。 And let's not forget assholes targeting Greta。 An energy services company in Alberta sold bumper stickers threatening her with rape: https://globalnews。ca/news/6605199/al。。。 Yet somehow the global spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Future is fine for years and only has two threats on her over decades？]There are， however， eco-terrorists， who decisively target airplanes， guilty CEOs， and cattle farms; lots of people （and presumably cows） die， but it's ok because they were all bad people。 And everyone around them just kind of rolls over and says， ok， huh， I guess oil really is over， yay solar！ What？ I mean 。。。 what？ You wipe out Exxon's CEO， and rather than hiring a new CEO who gets the president on the phone and demands support from the army， and then buys their own army to keep themselves and their families safe， while funding PR campaigns about how "we can't let the terrorists win， so buy a bigger car and use more gas，" they just go into hiding。 These guys have in real life already bought armies and killed activists in many countries。 [eta: see above] Why does that stop this time？Just Transition or no， this is not going to happen without some conflict。 Smart policies will help， sure， and whatever groundwork can be laid to improve support now will mitigate and minimize that conflict。 But this is going to be brutal。 The Ministry for the Future is less a novel and more a technical document outlining a possible transition pathway， modelled on a human-adjacent species with all of our convenient traits and none of our inconvenient ones。 In so much as it inspires hope or action， I'm all for it; my fear is that it will inspire apathy and complacency。 Hurray！ Regular people don't need to worry or do anything at all！ We can just wait for a UN agency to have some difficult meetings with bankers， and a few climate tragedies to inspire a surprisingly effective and well-funded eco-terrorist campaign， and all will be well。 We will still be having whisky on air flights， though not powered by jet fuel。No one who has spent the last 18 months witnessing people bug out and turn violent when asked to wear a piece of cloth over their mouth while shopping for deodorant should be under any illusions that fundamentally rewiring the entire basis of global human society and economy will be straightforward or low-conflict。 That said， his intentions are good， and the technical side is pretty well done， so: 3 stars。 。。。more
Scott
，
The Ministry for the Future is at the intersection of 2 types of books I've been very fond of: science fiction， and climate change。 So I guess it's not surprising that I loved this book， and the book before this （New York 2140）。 I love the way he dives deep into concepts， like money/finance， geoengineering， politics， and of course climate change。 But I also love his characters。 I care about them。 And I love his descriptions of various parts of the world。 I SO WANT TO VISIT ZURICH NOW！！！ And not The Ministry for the Future is at the intersection of 2 types of books I've been very fond of: science fiction， and climate change。 So I guess it's not surprising that I loved this book， and the book before this （New York 2140）。 I love the way he dives deep into concepts， like money/finance， geoengineering， politics， and of course climate change。 But I also love his characters。 I care about them。 And I love his descriptions of various parts of the world。 I SO WANT TO VISIT ZURICH NOW！！！ And not just visit， but， be there at various times of the year for various celebrations， and to learn the languages they speak， and just drink deeply of Switzerland。 Maybe someday。。。 but， for now， I had to make do with having read this excellent book。 Bummer， though。。。 now I have a bunch of other KSR books to add to my already-long To Read list。。。 。。。more
Debbie Spence
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This is the first book I have read by this author。 Although austensibly science fiction， if feels so possibly close。 Can we have this future， and if so， are the positives held within only possible if we also have the negatives？I wish every politician， banker， scientist and law maker in the world would read this book。 In fact， everyone should read it， and listen to its messages。 It's one of those books that have made me think deeply about who I am， what I can do and what I hope for。 Maybe it will This is the first book I have read by this author。 Although austensibly science fiction， if feels so possibly close。 Can we have this future， and if so， are the positives held within only possible if we also have the negatives？I wish every politician， banker， scientist and law maker in the world would read this book。 In fact， everyone should read it， and listen to its messages。 It's one of those books that have made me think deeply about who I am， what I can do and what I hope for。 Maybe it will do the same for you？ 。。。more
Schnaucl
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3。5 stars。 I started reading this book during one of the worst heat waves this area has ever experienced and the book opens with a devastating heat wave in India so that made it feel pretty resonant。 There are things I like about the book， I thought the comparison between how most of the world treats climate change and how Americans treat gun control （every time a horrible climate event happens everyone says it's such a shame， we should really do something and then nothing happens and the cycle 3。5 stars。 I started reading this book during one of the worst heat waves this area has ever experienced and the book opens with a devastating heat wave in India so that made it feel pretty resonant。 There are things I like about the book， I thought the comparison between how most of the world treats climate change and how Americans treat gun control （every time a horrible climate event happens everyone says it's such a shame， we should really do something and then nothing happens and the cycle repeats）。I also like that that Robinson took a more holistic approach this time。 （view spoiler）[ Instead of some genius scientific invention magically solving climate change， this time it takes science， economics， social change， and political change and even then， it's not like there's one horrible event and it brings everyone together。 There are a series of calamities and the change is gradual。 I've always thought Robinson was too optimistic about humanity。 I think having a magic science invention just encourages people to believe we don't have to really do anything because some genius will just invent our way out of this。 Living through Covid I think there's a not insignificant portion of humanity will refuse to believe in climate change even as their house burns around them and another not insignificant portion who would rather the world burn than be slightly inconvenienced for five minutes。 （hide spoiler）]Robinson's books always sound like they'll be really interesting and I always forget that he's usually not all that interested in plot or characters as much as he is in ideas and that was very evident in this book。 There are a couple of main characters but many of the chapters are science info dumps。 Its frustrating， because based on the first chapter， he absolutely could write compelling characters。 。。。more
Ben
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Dramatic beginning， but flat pretty much ever after。 Some of the characters came across as implausibly， incredibly naive， and while I guess KSR wanted to present a hopeful scenario for massive， positive environmental action， much of this just seemed， again， naive to me， especially in the wake of Trump’s America。 This book is much more international in scope， but it just seemed politically too simple。 I love this genre of near-future SciFi， though， and I absolutely LOVED KSR’s Aurora （only other Dramatic beginning， but flat pretty much ever after。 Some of the characters came across as implausibly， incredibly naive， and while I guess KSR wanted to present a hopeful scenario for massive， positive environmental action， much of this just seemed， again， naive to me， especially in the wake of Trump’s America。 This book is much more international in scope， but it just seemed politically too simple。 I love this genre of near-future SciFi， though， and I absolutely LOVED KSR’s Aurora （only other book from him I’ve read）， but finishing this became more obligation than enjoyment。 I much more enjoyed Bacigalupi’s Wind Up Girl， though it’s set further in the future， and Daniel Suarez’s Daemon/Freedom thrillers， set in the present but a much more compelling fictionalization of the death of Capitalism。 Ultimately， this reminded me a lot of how I felt reading Ishmael， the one about the talking ape critiquing mother culture？ Just make this a long essay。 I don’t need a fiction “wrapper” to interest me in these ideas。 In fact， the weakness of the storytelling distracted me from the ideas。 。。。more
Michael Slavin
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577 pages 2，250 Amazon Reviews 81% 4。3 AVG 4 and 5-star reviews 7，371 Goodreads reviews 3。9 AVG-The message is very important， we are experiencing climate change and it will have big negative impacts on our world。 This is a novel with that message。What I liked:-The message is important。-There is a lot of good info related to the real world of the issues we face。-I love the idea of a Ministry of the Future。 It could be called the World Climate Change Authority or any number of things。 But it shou 577 pages 2，250 Amazon Reviews 81% 4。3 AVG 4 and 5-star reviews 7，371 Goodreads reviews 3。9 AVG-The message is very important， we are experiencing climate change and it will have big negative impacts on our world。 This is a novel with that message。What I liked:-The message is important。-There is a lot of good info related to the real world of the issues we face。-I love the idea of a Ministry of the Future。 It could be called the World Climate Change Authority or any number of things。 But it should be an organization watching the world and keep everyone working towards the same goal。 The problem like the UN， is it has no teeth。What I didn't like:-This is not a good novel， but I respect the author for trying。 As a novel， it gets very slow， often。 It is boring in many places。 I started skimming about halfway through many parts， but I would stop and read when I thought there was a new message or info related to the real world。Conclusion:I was disappointed in this book， but it was valuable to get people thinking。 There are some long passionate reviews on Amazon， read them for more。 I just wanted to get my 2 cents in。 。。。more
Tegan Glasheen
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This opens strong but what seemed to start taking shape never really does， and the strands of subplots and asides never amount to a compelling narrative。 Lots of good thoughts and ideas， but it becomes an almost comical checklist of progressive causes where it's more important to get each their mention than to have them tie into the story in any meaningful way。 This opens strong but what seemed to start taking shape never really does， and the strands of subplots and asides never amount to a compelling narrative。 Lots of good thoughts and ideas， but it becomes an almost comical checklist of progressive causes where it's more important to get each their mention than to have them tie into the story in any meaningful way。 。。。more
Alejandro
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A rough sketch of the coming apocalyptic decades and some of the possible complete political overhauls （albeit in a veeeeery idealistic manner that skips over most of the nasty consequences of that whole pesky ideological and class struggle）。 I listened to some interviews with the author which I think helped have a better grasp of his politics so I didn’t interpret some of the political hand-waving of problems away in the worst light。 Nevertheless some of the worst offenses were the hard-on for A rough sketch of the coming apocalyptic decades and some of the possible complete political overhauls （albeit in a veeeeery idealistic manner that skips over most of the nasty consequences of that whole pesky ideological and class struggle）。 I listened to some interviews with the author which I think helped have a better grasp of his politics so I didn’t interpret some of the political hand-waving of problems away in the worst light。 Nevertheless some of the worst offenses were the hard-on for the Swiss， and the occasional apologetic attitudes towards British and US imperialism。 Towards the last 1/5 or so of the book， all the idealism and leftover liberalism permeating the book under the surface comes out swinging in full force。The book works very well as overview of some of the challenges and solutions that we’ll face in the next decades， and I believe it does a decent job of expanding your imagination in terms of what’s possible。 Some of the best chapters are the eyewitness accounts of natural disasters and historical events。 The characters are…not very noteworthy at all， and the chemistry between the two main character falls flat for most of the book。 However， some of the elements of the climate PTSD of one of the main characters are portrayed well。 There are some fun， creative chapters too。 Despite these complaints I enjoyed the book overall， and would recommend to some of my friends。 Haven’t read a fiction book in a looong while so my standards may be wonky tho 。。。more
Shanni
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This is a must read， as it is very timely， but it also requires tolerating several instances where the author waxes poetic on blockchain and photons。 I also wasn't the biggest fan of needing to figure out the narrator of each chapter， but that's neither here nor there。 Since beginning the book I've recommended it to several people， as I believe it contains an important message。 This is a must read， as it is very timely， but it also requires tolerating several instances where the author waxes poetic on blockchain and photons。 I also wasn't the biggest fan of needing to figure out the narrator of each chapter， but that's neither here nor there。 Since beginning the book I've recommended it to several people， as I believe it contains an important message。 。。。more
Mariana Carrera
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Provocative topics， lots to think about。
Debdanz
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I almost put this book down a dozen times- too painful， too hard， too scary， too real， despair-provoking。 But I am so grateful I stuck with it- it wound up being the most hopeful book I have read since "the Audacity of Hope。" Alternating voices- history， science， ideology， and more economics than a textbook， but absolutely worth reading。 If not for the ideas for solutions （for few of us have the skill set to actually take action）， but for the audacity of hope- that we ALL turn our hopes， prayers I almost put this book down a dozen times- too painful， too hard， too scary， too real， despair-provoking。 But I am so grateful I stuck with it- it wound up being the most hopeful book I have read since "the Audacity of Hope。" Alternating voices- history， science， ideology， and more economics than a textbook， but absolutely worth reading。 If not for the ideas for solutions （for few of us have the skill set to actually take action）， but for the audacity of hope- that we ALL turn our hopes， prayers， intent， energy to commitment to make a positive difference in the world。 Bc without that， what is the point？ 。。。more
Lode
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brilliantMust read！ Well researched， often frightening， so close to home， but also full of hope and confidence in mankind。 Inspiring book。
Rod
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3。5， I'm thinking。 It is clearly not a novel。。。but， then， neither is War & Peace， really。 Some fascinating speculation here。 Some wonderful scenes and reflections on trauma。 Some hopeful propositions。 I want to believe that humans can work through these things to find a better way。 I want to believe。 I do。。。 3。5， I'm thinking。 It is clearly not a novel。。。but， then， neither is War & Peace， really。 Some fascinating speculation here。 Some wonderful scenes and reflections on trauma。 Some hopeful propositions。 I want to believe that humans can work through these things to find a better way。 I want to believe。 I do。。。 。。。more
Peter Tucker
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Mr。 Robinson appears to be an optimist。 He offers a blueprint or possible path to what arguably might be a utopian future。The consistent characters of his narrative - I'm not sure you would call it 'plot' - Mary and Frank， offer the top down and bottom up views of his blueprint。 But these characters are threads that tie his plan together。 We don't really get to know them very deeply。 The real meat of his 560 page 'way forward' are the detailed chapters on finance， taxation， politics， government。 Mr。 Robinson appears to be an optimist。 He offers a blueprint or possible path to what arguably might be a utopian future。The consistent characters of his narrative - I'm not sure you would call it 'plot' - Mary and Frank， offer the top down and bottom up views of his blueprint。 But these characters are threads that tie his plan together。 We don't really get to know them very deeply。 The real meat of his 560 page 'way forward' are the detailed chapters on finance， taxation， politics， government。 etc。 The minutes of trade negotiations， may not be the most riveting of reads， but it does illuminate what humanity must do to solve global warming。Mr。 Robinson could have taken different routes。 Threats， coercion， and assassinations are implied in brief asides。 This might have been a twisted book of intrigue。 The fact that its not is again Mr。 Robinson telling us exactly where our focus should be。 。。。more
Tanja
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must read for everybody！！
Mattschratz
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Rather good， kind of heartening。 I liked the weirdo chapters the best， naturally， where the sun or bugs or whatever address the reader。
Eric
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