The Ministry for the Future
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- Create Date：2021-12-19 06:51:37
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- Author：Kim Stanley Robinson
- ISBN：0316300144
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Summary
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
“The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I’ve ever read。” —Jonathan Lethem
"If I could get policymakers， and citizens， everywhere to read just one book this year， it would be Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future。" —Ezra Klein （Vox）
The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination， using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all。 Its setting is not a desolate， postapocalyptic world， but a future that is almost upon us。 Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year， this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis。
"One hopes that this book is read widely—that Robinson’s audience， already large， grows by an order of magnitude。 Because the point of his books is to fire the imagination。"―New York Review of Books
"If there’s any book that hit me hard this year， it was Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future， a sweeping epic about climate change and humanity’s efforts to try and turn the tide before it’s too late。" ―Polygon （Best of the Year）
"Masterly。" —New Yorker
"[The Ministry for the Future] struck like a mallet hitting a gong， reverberating through the year 。。。 it’s terrifying， unrelenting， but ultimately hopeful。 Robinson is the SF writer of my lifetime， and this stands as some of his best work。 It’s my book of the year。" —Locus
"Science-fiction visionary Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for quantitative easing our way out of planetary doom。" ―Bloomberg Green
“The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I’ve ever read。” —Jonathan Lethem
"If I could get policymakers， and citizens， everywhere to read just one book this year， it would be Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future。" —Ezra Klein （Vox）
The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination， using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all。 Its setting is not a desolate， postapocalyptic world， but a future that is almost upon us。 Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year， this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis。
"One hopes that this book is read widely—that Robinson’s audience， already large， grows by an order of magnitude。 Because the point of his books is to fire the imagination。"―New York Review of Books
"If there’s any book that hit me hard this year， it was Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future， a sweeping epic about climate change and humanity’s efforts to try and turn the tide before it’s too late。" ―Polygon （Best of the Year）
"Masterly。" —New Yorker
"[The Ministry for the Future] struck like a mallet hitting a gong， reverberating through the year 。。。 it’s terrifying， unrelenting， but ultimately hopeful。 Robinson is the SF writer of my lifetime， and this stands as some of his best work。 It’s my book of the year。" —Locus
"Science-fiction visionary Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for quantitative easing our way out of planetary doom。" ―Bloomberg Green
Reviews
MaryAnne
，
Cli-fi （Climate Fiction） is a new genre for me。 Robinson charges into the dismal realities of the current global climate crisis a few years into the future。 Beginning with a horrific heat wave that kills million in India， we are plunged to the abyss immediately。 It becomes the task of Mary， the chair of the new UN committee to find ways forward。 The Ministry for the Future is tasked with speaking for creation which does not have a voice， and caring for the interests of generations yet to come。 T Cli-fi （Climate Fiction） is a new genre for me。 Robinson charges into the dismal realities of the current global climate crisis a few years into the future。 Beginning with a horrific heat wave that kills million in India， we are plunged to the abyss immediately。 It becomes the task of Mary， the chair of the new UN committee to find ways forward。 The Ministry for the Future is tasked with speaking for creation which does not have a voice， and caring for the interests of generations yet to come。 The novel becomes a venue for Robinson to showcase his considerable research on how to stem rising temperature。 His approach connects science， economics， global relationships， carrot and stick motivators， terrorism， refugees， power brokers， the little guy， oil companies 。。。 The book began to make even more sense when I decided to read it as if "CLIMATE" was one of the characters in the novel。 Persevere through the hard parts--this is ultimately a hope-filled novel。 There aren't many like it。 。。。more
Jonathan Crabb
，
Sprawling， epic science fiction of what happens in the not too distant future of how companies / nations / the world deals with severe climate change。 Like normal science fiction books there are a lot of complex ideas， cultures and technologies presented and yet many of them have firm footing in current trends （blockchain， ownership of identity， carbon credits， geo-engineering， etc）。 The book was quite good though likely too negative on capitalism towards the beginning of the book （only somewhat Sprawling， epic science fiction of what happens in the not too distant future of how companies / nations / the world deals with severe climate change。 Like normal science fiction books there are a lot of complex ideas， cultures and technologies presented and yet many of them have firm footing in current trends （blockchain， ownership of identity， carbon credits， geo-engineering， etc）。 The book was quite good though likely too negative on capitalism towards the beginning of the book （only somewhat） and too optimistic on global / socialist solutions working well towards the end （again only somewhat）。 The book could serve as a decent primer for leaders thinking about the next 20 years and the likely impacts and decisions which will occur。 。。。more
Mark
，
I haven't read Robinson until now。 This work may differ from his previous works。 Indeed， I would be surprised if it didn't differ given how long he's been writing。The 3-star review is based on what to me is an unfortunate decision to break up the main narrative line with short - in some case a 1/3 page riddle-esque text - passages that may have been intended to show that climate change is a worldwide event。 These diversions are one-off scenes of people in various parts of the world experiencing I haven't read Robinson until now。 This work may differ from his previous works。 Indeed， I would be surprised if it didn't differ given how long he's been writing。The 3-star review is based on what to me is an unfortunate decision to break up the main narrative line with short - in some case a 1/3 page riddle-esque text - passages that may have been intended to show that climate change is a worldwide event。 These diversions are one-off scenes of people in various parts of the world experiencing climate change effects。 To me， all these sections do is interrupt the narrative making for a somewhat stumbling story。Nonetheless， to main narrative is a fairly detailed account of one possible way the world could more or less effectively combat climate change。 Robinson covers a number of different aspects of what comprises human endeavor on the planet。 Changing the way we do things is not an easy task and， in some cases， requires drastic measures。Robinson REALLY likes discussing economic systems and how they affect us。 I mean like REALLY likes to talk about economics。 It's all relevant to the story but I just don't have much tolerance for such discussions。 It makes sense in the end but it sometimes became a slog for me。The author places his characters in believable situations。 His physical descriptions of the environment these characters exist within are completely believable。 All the characters behave in relatable ways。 His outcomes are also believable （if somewhat overoptimistic in my view）。As climate fiction goes this is a reasonably good work。 I just had a hard time with the diversions and the economics。 。。。more
Mike Polga
，
A tough read at times， certainly not a page turner。 But I’ll recommend it to anyone I can - the subject is just too important。
Joaquín
，
Para unos será distopía， para otros utopía; lo que es evidente es que este libro es una loa al decrecimiento: una guía para hacer colapsar los excesos insostenibles del sistema actual y virar hacia un nuevo modelo económico que esté en sintonía con lo que nos puede dar el planeta， todo ello de forma controlada。 Casi nada。Refleja corrientes de pensamiento que han crecido los últimos años。 Aunque， EMHO， peca de tecnooptimismo。 Tengo la sensación de que no le ha dado la importancia que se merece a Para unos será distopía， para otros utopía; lo que es evidente es que este libro es una loa al decrecimiento: una guía para hacer colapsar los excesos insostenibles del sistema actual y virar hacia un nuevo modelo económico que esté en sintonía con lo que nos puede dar el planeta， todo ello de forma controlada。 Casi nada。Refleja corrientes de pensamiento que han crecido los últimos años。 Aunque， EMHO， peca de tecnooptimismo。 Tengo la sensación de que no le ha dado la importancia que se merece a los materiales fósiles necesarios para la transición energética （aprovecho para recomendar el libro Thanatia， de Alicia Valero）。 Le habría dado 5 estrellas。 El autor tiene buenas intenciones， y es un libro recomendable。 。。。more
Donald
，
It was not as much a novel as a policy paper， but I didn’t feel like I was taking medicine too much。 Pretty broad thinking as the situation demands
Kirstin Steele
，
The format is a little odd but it works。 I inadvertently read this after reading Holthaus' Future Earth， and that worked too。 Made me impatient about humanity's pace of letting go of fossil fuels when there is so much more life to be lived and saved。 Overall this book made me glad there are smarter people than me who are trying to save the planet。 The format is a little odd but it works。 I inadvertently read this after reading Holthaus' Future Earth， and that worked too。 Made me impatient about humanity's pace of letting go of fossil fuels when there is so much more life to be lived and saved。 Overall this book made me glad there are smarter people than me who are trying to save the planet。 。。。more
Evan Ward
，
I enjoyed the ideas that Robinson brings forward， some are interesting to speculate on and some also made me feel better about how fucked we are。 Although I didn’t love it as a book， I didn’t love the mix of non-fiction and fiction because I felt as though neither one was done well。 Maybe the breaks for explaining the world’s economy， or descriptions of different countries political systems， or in depth climate proposals weren’t for me， but I wasn’t a fan of them most of the time and felt like t I enjoyed the ideas that Robinson brings forward， some are interesting to speculate on and some also made me feel better about how fucked we are。 Although I didn’t love it as a book， I didn’t love the mix of non-fiction and fiction because I felt as though neither one was done well。 Maybe the breaks for explaining the world’s economy， or descriptions of different countries political systems， or in depth climate proposals weren’t for me， but I wasn’t a fan of them most of the time and felt like they were a slog and interrupted the story。 However， the actual story wasn’t super compelling either， some of political intrigue was cool although I didn’t really like any of the characters。 Also， don’t understand the love interest（？） at the end， seemed a weird choice to me。 。。。more
MaryAnn Johanson
，
As with many of Robinson's other books， he manages to be optimistic about humanity's near future （without being anywhere near pollyannaish） while also confronting head-on the enormous challenges we face。 I think of his work as best-case-scenario for us: the next couple centuries are not gonna be easy， but we do have paths forward that can lead to a brighter future than can often seem possible now。 Love his work， glad I still have more of his books to read！ As with many of Robinson's other books， he manages to be optimistic about humanity's near future （without being anywhere near pollyannaish） while also confronting head-on the enormous challenges we face。 I think of his work as best-case-scenario for us: the next couple centuries are not gonna be easy， but we do have paths forward that can lead to a brighter future than can often seem possible now。 Love his work， glad I still have more of his books to read！ 。。。more
Barbara
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I would definitely NOT recommend this book to anyone。 It is exceptionally long， depressing and tedious。 Robinson writes of current ecological problems but stretched to the nth degree。 In the beginning， it is sometimes clever and humorous， but it quickly becomes infinite iterations of people selling themselves and each other out to get just a little more environment-destroying fuel。 Then when you think it can't get any worse， terrorists start putting their two cents in。 I get it。 I really do。 The I would definitely NOT recommend this book to anyone。 It is exceptionally long， depressing and tedious。 Robinson writes of current ecological problems but stretched to the nth degree。 In the beginning， it is sometimes clever and humorous， but it quickly becomes infinite iterations of people selling themselves and each other out to get just a little more environment-destroying fuel。 Then when you think it can't get any worse， terrorists start putting their two cents in。 I get it。 I really do。 The world is in a bad way， and we need to change our fuel consumption habits or extreme temperatures， droughts， floods， melting ice， and animal extinctions will happen。 And the third world countries have every right to feel it's unfair for us to tell them they can't have what we've already gorged ourselves on。 But the repetitiveness of this book is over the top。Spoiler alert！！！！ The ending does an about face， and everything turns out swell， with the public literally celebrating by singing a song together。 Also， one of the main characters is interested romantically in another character， but it's hard to understand why since their conversations are absolutely the most boring conversations I've ever read。 。。。more
boocia
，
M keeps giving me shit for not being sure if this book is good and therefore not being sure if i liked it。i think i fucking respect it， that's for sure。 and also it made me cry so many times， so i think that counts as liking it。 it's the casual optimism right？ it's the ease with which KSR just claps his hands and says "and then the India for Indians movement happens and India successfully nationalizes its farming， kicks out attempts at outside intervention， and gets super into clean energy and t M keeps giving me shit for not being sure if this book is good and therefore not being sure if i liked it。i think i fucking respect it， that's for sure。 and also it made me cry so many times， so i think that counts as liking it。 it's the casual optimism right？ it's the ease with which KSR just claps his hands and says "and then the India for Indians movement happens and India successfully nationalizes its farming， kicks out attempts at outside intervention， and gets super into clean energy and they're SO proud of themselves and SO united for the cause as a whole country" and you kind of believe him and you believe it's possible， almost easy if everyone just believed it could work enough to dedicate themselves to a cause？ and then yeah tears。 well-researched as hell。 these truly incredible human character-study moments （its what made the mars trilogy great too）。 these two attributes did not really intersect though; just interpolated paragraphs of both。 the genre-fuck was cool， from infodump to surreal Voice of History Itself to anonymous POVs of climate refugees， of a temporary commune re-occupation of Paris， of an old hongkong independence activist， etc。 but like Years of Rice and Salt there's just such an absolute breathtaking ambition in this book to cover so much （like four decades i think， at a geopolitical and ecological and economical as well as personal scale） that the broad sweep， and the direct instead of scenic route - just punchy facts and figures delivered patly， no plot - made sense and was pretty forgiveable。 i think what was most interesting to me this read was that this pullaway to other POVs aside from the main plot， or to chapters of just acidly deployed facts （"The current rate of extinctions compared to the geological norm is now several thousandfold faster， making this the sixth great mass extinction event in Earth's history 。。。 which is to say， we are in a biosphere catastrophe that will be obvious in the fossil record for as long as the Earth lasts"） kinda reminded me of The Female Man？ POV descriptions of other people's oppressive experiences and rant-y deployments of statistics both pointing to a more universal female experience -- in that one I didn't question this technique as being a little too on the nose or dry， because i guess it was about feminism， where I'm already pretty softened up to make the connections between political and personal。 as KSR suggests in The Ministry For the Future， we are ready for a new structure of feeling， in relation to the earth and our place in it， one better informed by indigenous practices and science and socialism。 so this connection definitely was cool， again this ambition （or earnestness） on his part to enact through his writing that the rate of extinction IS personal， that a refugee's perspective IS universal， that eco-humanism fucking rocked and also worked。techno science corner --i think this book is cool because KSR makes several Takes about how changing history works; sometimes they slide into something that smells like law good violence bad， but it's definitely not it。 he chooses to describe the legal side of change in significant detail - board room meetings with big banks， legislative fights， peaceful street protests - but writes in the Ministry's black-wing， suggests but doesn't depict the behind the scenes assassinations and coalplant bombings etc。 i feel this book would have been stronger in some ways if he went deep instead of just a glancing note about， say， how world cow consumption goes down because terrorists infect industrial bovine farms with mad cow disease again。 but this is a book that is trying to embody and practice a hope， it's not about the horrors of war （culture war and physical） that go into making change， so i understand the choice。 in any case i thought the carbon coin thing was super fucking wild， a bitcoin-a-like based on amount of carbon sequestered。 i was least romanced by the rise of blockchain finance being a key turning point in equalizing wealth - the logic being that blockchained money can't be hidden in tax havens etc - but i think that the argument that straight up not everyone has a phone or good internet is pretty played out at this point （thinking about senior citizens and ex-convicts struggling to 'do' society because they can't understand emails etc）， and he kinda skips how everyone on earth gets highspeed internet and tech。 but the larger concept of "money is here to stay for now and we have to work with that - and here is a way for us to leverage the pre-existing system into accidentally annihilating itself without falling into another centrist-liberally absorption trap" was really fun。 the idea of pebble drone attacks -- hundreds of drones sent from all over coalescing at a target at the last minute -- was fun， did it in the book "2312" as well。 but i feel the tech got off easy; it's this panacea for terrorists to take down private jets and stuff， in that drones are cheap and seemingly untraceable and unstoppable？ i think pointing to the larger dream here， that the common man actually has a gun that can take down a government body， that might can still make right， is cool。 but realistically i guess we didn't in this book hear of even a single attempted countermeasure to pebble drone attacks; the airline industry just folds and gets super into airships and other clean solutions。 as always my post-haraway thing where I love when animals matter a lot。 KSR is genuinely into the half-earth movement， which is the idea that we can and should make half the earth wildlife again。 i love scenes of humans seeing animals in their quasi-natural， post-natural habitats and it being 'right' and inspiring them to see themselves in a more global and ecological sense。 ofc animals get citizenship by the end of this book， in a way， too。 probs read this book！ stylistically questionable but the horizon is sweet sweet sweet 。。。more
Joy
，
The book had tons of fascinating ideas to apply to the near future climate crisis。 It’s very thought provoking regarding what it would take for us to act globally given current structures of economics and governance。 But…it’s really boring at points， with hardly any plot or characterization to speak of。 It starts out with a bang， but has so many digressions that the pacing can’t be characterized as anything but slow。 That said， the digressions are mostly interesting。 I view this book more as a c The book had tons of fascinating ideas to apply to the near future climate crisis。 It’s very thought provoking regarding what it would take for us to act globally given current structures of economics and governance。 But…it’s really boring at points， with hardly any plot or characterization to speak of。 It starts out with a bang， but has so many digressions that the pacing can’t be characterized as anything but slow。 That said， the digressions are mostly interesting。 I view this book more as a collection of speculative future essays than actual fiction！ 。。。more
Kathleen Witte
，
How to even talk about this book？ It’s as if Kim Stanley Robinson is actually like 20 different authors who all came together to take turns writing chapters about what the near-future climate crises would look like globally。 It’s masterful writing and presumably research （though admittedly I don’t have the independent knowledge to confirm）。 I mention “different authors” because the different voices and narrators that Robinson uses span tone， perspective， location， education， style， politics， eve How to even talk about this book？ It’s as if Kim Stanley Robinson is actually like 20 different authors who all came together to take turns writing chapters about what the near-future climate crises would look like globally。 It’s masterful writing and presumably research （though admittedly I don’t have the independent knowledge to confirm）。 I mention “different authors” because the different voices and narrators that Robinson uses span tone， perspective， location， education， style， politics， everything。 It was a genius way to show dozens of aspects of the climate crisis。 The book begins with what is essentially a climate-initiated massacre of millions of people， a triggering event that prompts increased action not just from the titular Ministry for the Future but also from the world leaders， global banks， terrorists， average activists， and more。 I just can’t say enough about how glad I am that I now have this piece of fiction in my brain。 THAT SAID， only read this if you really really really want to。 It’s long， it’s dense， and it’s a ⅘ because some of the technical chapters confuse and lag。 。。。more
Derek
，
This is one of those books that you either love or hate。 I loved it。While many reviewers got bummed out by the grim details of coming climate change， or bored with the more policy driven explanations of how to respond， I found it the most （perhaps the only？） optimistic story about how all of humanity just might manage to get ourselves out of the climatic mess that we’ve gotten ourselves into。For many chapters， Stan uses a rare narrative style of the first person plural， somewhat like Buddha in t This is one of those books that you either love or hate。 I loved it。While many reviewers got bummed out by the grim details of coming climate change， or bored with the more policy driven explanations of how to respond， I found it the most （perhaps the only？） optimistic story about how all of humanity just might manage to get ourselves out of the climatic mess that we’ve gotten ourselves into。For many chapters， Stan uses a rare narrative style of the first person plural， somewhat like Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka。 This collective story of “we” doesn’t provide some readers with the character depth and individual plot lines that they are accustomed to， but it is well suited to tell the story of how all of humanity combines， mostly in an uncoordinated way， to tackle a global crisis。If you throw out your expectations about what a novel “should” be， and just enjoy the combination of entertainment and information， you just might find it a refreshing bit of optimism that despite all the gory details of what we’re going through we just might emerge from it despite our obvious faults。 。。。more
Michael
，
I loved this and thought it was fascinating， well written， and affecting。 I see the points some here are making about how unlikely （or impossible） and overly optimistic some of it is， but I think that as a thought exercise， showing us the type of future that can be imagined， it is， like I said， thought-provoking， human， and ultimately hopeful。 I can't wait to read more from Robinson。"The best possible future that can be imagined from our current starting point。" Quote from Robinson （may have cha I loved this and thought it was fascinating， well written， and affecting。 I see the points some here are making about how unlikely （or impossible） and overly optimistic some of it is， but I think that as a thought exercise， showing us the type of future that can be imagined， it is， like I said， thought-provoking， human， and ultimately hopeful。 I can't wait to read more from Robinson。"The best possible future that can be imagined from our current starting point。" Quote from Robinson （may have changed it a bit but this was the substance） 。。。more
Ben Kraft
，
Wow， what a book！ It's a really great concept， and mostly really well-written: near future speculative fiction but with a spy thriller thrown in。 Unfortunately the author gets a little preachy at times， but still well worth reading。 Wow， what a book！ It's a really great concept， and mostly really well-written: near future speculative fiction but with a spy thriller thrown in。 Unfortunately the author gets a little preachy at times， but still well worth reading。 。。。more
Barry Dalton
，
This book has so many amazing ideas to solve the climate problems and I loved reading and learning about them but I did find that some of the chapters sucked me out of the story and were just downright boring such as the ones from the perspective of a photon。 However， these were relatively few and overall the fascinating ideas make this book worthy of a read。
Nels
，
Good little story
Vanessa
，
This was AMAZING。 Part near-fi， part political commentary， part wishful thinking- I adored this book， and the many reflections it triggered。 A must read。
Nathan
，
What does the future hold in regards to global warming？ Will there be a massive heat wave that kills millions in South Asia？ That is Robinson's starting place。 I got impatient。 Maybe I'll return sometime。 Regardless， he's asking important （and scary） questions。 What does the future hold in regards to global warming？ Will there be a massive heat wave that kills millions in South Asia？ That is Robinson's starting place。 I got impatient。 Maybe I'll return sometime。 Regardless， he's asking important （and scary） questions。 。。。more
Cropredy
，
Boy， this is a hard book to review。The premise is the near future （2030s） where the Earth starts to suffer catastrophic extreme weather events （initially a killer heat wave in India）。 It then explores how a Paris Agreement-established "Ministry of the Future" - sort of a think tank， policy shop， lobbying group - tries to steer the actions of governments and individuals towards halting the addition of carbon to the atmosphere。 As the narrative spans the years， the world changes in a variety of wa Boy， this is a hard book to review。The premise is the near future （2030s） where the Earth starts to suffer catastrophic extreme weather events （initially a killer heat wave in India）。 It then explores how a Paris Agreement-established "Ministry of the Future" - sort of a think tank， policy shop， lobbying group - tries to steer the actions of governments and individuals towards halting the addition of carbon to the atmosphere。 As the narrative spans the years， the world changes in a variety of ways - in very profound ways。 These are attention-getting。The book is full of grand ideas that are global in scope covering everything from geo-engineering， alternative economic models， civil unrest， climate terrorism， re-wilding， and more。 The whole book is fodder for late night animated discussions amongst activists， college students， and others who feel that today's leaders are not taking climate change sufficiently seriously。It is these grand ideas， executed across the multitudes of chapters in this book that are very staggering and provide a plausible scenario of what the next 15-20 years might be like。 And it is not a descent into Mad Max-dom。 The scale of change is wrenching。 Blockchain plays a big role as do carbon coins （a form of money earned by either keeping carbon in the ground or taking action to sequester or otherwise not use carbon - basically going long on civilization。 You have to admire Robinson for his breadth of vision here - I suspect he has plumbed the depths of every global-scale idea that has been surfaced by climate thinkers over the past 20 years。As for the writing style， It is very hard to describe as it is unlike anything I've ever encountered before。 There are dozens of 2-3 page chapter interludes where the reader is brought up to speed on things like the Gini coefficient （measure of inequality）， neo-socialism models， agrarian systems， and more。 You can， as did I， skim these。 There are also odd sections told from odd points of view that are enumerations of things and people - eminently skimmable。 The main character， Mary， who is director of the Ministry of the Future， occupies perhaps 25% of the book and there are long passages where she is just thinking or walking or interacting with an early victim of the Indian heat wave。 These passages are also skimmable。 So， with this 535 page novel， you get many thought-provoking big ideas and a glimpse into an all-to-believable near future。 The United States is scarcely depicted and if at all， seems to be at best hostile to taking any leadership role at addressing the crisis。 You also get some searing and originally-told descriptions of some specific climate disasters。 There is also a solid bit on Antarctic glacier geoengineering。 What is most eye-opening is how certain climate terrorist actions have direct positive effect at changing incentives of carbon emitters。 But you also get a lot of pages that you just skim because nothing happens。 The book was written in 2019 and published in 2020。 All of Robinson's predictions didn't include a pandemic but you'll not be too bothered about this as the book's climate disasters make today's （2020-21） COVID pandemic seem merely irritating。I've never read a book quite like this one and I suspect it will stick with me for a long time。 。。。more
Carol Chisholm
，
Total twaddle。 Eco-fantasy。 Feel Good Bullshit （he should move to Brussels）。 My big problem is that all our environmental issues are going to be solved by some magical international cooperation （real FANTASY）， and some techno babble （be it carbon capture or some kind of clean nuclear power）。 It is as implausible as the current conspiracy theories - how can anyone really believe that either the big governments of a set of ego maniac multi-billionaires could ever actually agree to cooperate？Danger Total twaddle。 Eco-fantasy。 Feel Good Bullshit （he should move to Brussels）。 My big problem is that all our environmental issues are going to be solved by some magical international cooperation （real FANTASY）， and some techno babble （be it carbon capture or some kind of clean nuclear power）。 It is as implausible as the current conspiracy theories - how can anyone really believe that either the big governments of a set of ego maniac multi-billionaires could ever actually agree to cooperate？Dangeroius verbose fluff。 。。。more
Paige
，
Remarkably poor writing: characters not well developed， enormous amount of very dry writing about technological solutions to climate change。 How unfortunate for such an important topic。
Sue
，
Sorry， KSR， but I don’t share your optimism and can’t imagine those you peg as the ultimate saviors of the world actually doing anything so helpful。 （I’d be happy to be proven wrong， of course。） Almost quit reading several times but plodded on， trusting that it would go somewhere as your other books have， only to reach the end and … breathe a sigh of relief that I’d finished at last。As a love letter to Zurich， though， it had some sublime moments。
Ole
，
A very good read， but frighteningly realistic in its portrayal。
Sean
，
Starts well， ends well， whole load of naive utopian garbage in the middle
Guy Sephton
，
Interesting and informative exploration of climate & societal possibilities， woven into a story。 Overall a hopeful outlook of what is （just about） doable for humankind for a less catastrophic future。 I hope it inspires people to be both positive and proactive about solving the meta-crisis we're in。 Interesting and informative exploration of climate & societal possibilities， woven into a story。 Overall a hopeful outlook of what is （just about） doable for humankind for a less catastrophic future。 I hope it inspires people to be both positive and proactive about solving the meta-crisis we're in。 。。。more
Alison
，
A strange mishmash of essays on income inequality and theories of how we might address climate change。 I struggled to find - and follow - the story underneath the soapbox。
Helen Engelhardt
，
This book preyed upon my fears for this world and then turned them around by suggesting logical， possible ways to move forward。 Not sure if they would work but the ideas were interesting。 And the book ended satisfyingly enough。 Definitely more plot driven; I didn’t feel any great attachment to the characters， and was difficult to keep track of them all since the book kept randomly shifting perspectives。 Overall a good read。
Gail Blake
，