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howard's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I don't have as many hard feelings against this book as other books I've given 2 stars (or as many as I maybe should). I just found it incredibly boring and deeply unrealistic and unserious in its proposed solutions.
The first chapter of this book is absolutely harrowing, and there are chapters throughout that describe climate disasters caused by global warming that shook me deeply and made me think about what the actual future of this planet will look like and how/if I can prepare myself. But the majority of this book is taken up by bureaucracy and pseudo-intellectual philosophizing. You have to be really invested in Robinson's opinions about things like democracy and blockchain to care about these chapters (and you can very much tell it's written by a man). I found myself skimming many of these chapters just enough to grasp the main point and move on. This book spends so much of its' time truly in the weeds. I'd say it could be 200 pages shorter and still get the point across, but I think that would make it a completely different book and go against the slow and intellectual vibe that Robinson was trying to create. Not even to mention that this book barely has characters. It kind of follows 2 people but only checks in with them about every 50 pages, and Mary's character feels more like a way for the audience to see into the Ministry than an actual character with desires and feelings.
Mild Spoilers
In this book, climate change is ultimately solved by a coalition government of all major countries working together to implement policies to stop carbon burning and repopulate animals close to extinction, as well as assisting developing countries to "catch up" to the developed world, and creating basically open borders as a solution to the refugee crisis. There is brief mention of country leaders being displeased with each other, but never any actual conflict between nations, let alone wars between them. All countries seem to have a common enemy (climate terrorists) and eventually a common goal, which just doesn't seem possible in any imagined future, let alone in only a few decades. I really appreciated this article for going into the reasons that relying on laws and bureaucracy will never be an adequate solution to the climate crisis. https://inthesetimes.com/article/climate-disaster-ecological-crisis-deluge-ministry-markley-robinson-gelderloos
I wish there had been more of a focus on the climate terrorists/the children of Kali. The first 200 pages teases this direction as Frank becomes radicalized after surviving a climate disaster, and I was really interested to hear about the different tactics and the fallout from them. But after this point the climate terrorism only gets a brief passing mention and doesn't focus on the huge amount of work or planning it would take to get done (and our POV character Frank becomes deradicalized off-page). For example, a typical passage would go something like: they targeted planes and shot many out of the sky one day in a coordinated strike, so people stopped flying in airplanes and started travelling by more environmentally friendly methods. I wish I was exaggerating how boring Robinson made it sound. Glossing over actions like this and focusing so much on the measures taken by the Ministry and lawmakers from important countries really skews the reader's perspective on how important government and laws were in the process of decarbonization, and shifts focus away from the very real actions of the climate terrorists that actually achieved meaningful results.
The first chapter of this book is absolutely harrowing, and there are chapters throughout that describe climate disasters caused by global warming that shook me deeply and made me think about what the actual future of this planet will look like and how/if I can prepare myself. But the majority of this book is taken up by bureaucracy and pseudo-intellectual philosophizing. You have to be really invested in Robinson's opinions about things like democracy and blockchain to care about these chapters (and you can very much tell it's written by a man). I found myself skimming many of these chapters just enough to grasp the main point and move on. This book spends so much of its' time truly in the weeds. I'd say it could be 200 pages shorter and still get the point across, but I think that would make it a completely different book and go against the slow and intellectual vibe that Robinson was trying to create. Not even to mention that this book barely has characters. It kind of follows 2 people but only checks in with them about every 50 pages, and Mary's character feels more like a way for the audience to see into the Ministry than an actual character with desires and feelings.
Mild Spoilers
In this book, climate change is ultimately solved by a coalition government of all major countries working together to implement policies to stop carbon burning and repopulate animals close to extinction, as well as assisting developing countries to "catch up" to the developed world, and creating basically open borders as a solution to the refugee crisis. There is brief mention of country leaders being displeased with each other, but never any actual conflict between nations, let alone wars between them. All countries seem to have a common enemy (climate terrorists) and eventually a common goal, which just doesn't seem possible in any imagined future, let alone in only a few decades. I really appreciated this article for going into the reasons that relying on laws and bureaucracy will never be an adequate solution to the climate crisis. https://inthesetimes.com/article/climate-disaster-ecological-crisis-deluge-ministry-markley-robinson-gelderloos
I wish there had been more of a focus on the climate terrorists/the children of Kali. The first 200 pages teases this direction as Frank becomes radicalized after surviving a climate disaster, and I was really interested to hear about the different tactics and the fallout from them. But after this point the climate terrorism only gets a brief passing mention and doesn't focus on the huge amount of work or planning it would take to get done (and our POV character Frank becomes deradicalized off-page). For example, a typical passage would go something like: they targeted planes and shot many out of the sky one day in a coordinated strike, so people stopped flying in airplanes and started travelling by more environmentally friendly methods. I wish I was exaggerating how boring Robinson made it sound. Glossing over actions like this and focusing so much on the measures taken by the Ministry and lawmakers from important countries really skews the reader's perspective on how important government and laws were in the process of decarbonization, and shifts focus away from the very real actions of the climate terrorists that actually achieved meaningful results.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
gunnarvon's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is a great, albeit challenging, read. Getting through the first chapter can be challenging given your anxiety around climate disaster, but it is ultimately hopeful regarding our species ability to solve this problem. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in cli-fi, climate science, or our future on this planet. I especially recommend the audiobook, which has a variety of voice actors lending themselves to the multitude of voices present in this books unconventional structure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
kathleendayle's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I debated how to rate this book. It opens with a truly horrifying scene — and this part was gripping, but large portions of the book are also dense, dry, droning, almost too realistic in the political and economic sense, outlining the cascading sociopolitical effects of climate disaster. But for that, it does give a very good picture of what we’re up against with the climate crisis, and how much collaboration is needed across the globe to preserve our planet for the next generations. I found it pretty depressing, an all-too-realistic dystopian nightmare for the first three quarters of the book. And then, a redeeming turn. The last quarter of the book is actually really hopeful. In the end, we win. It makes the suffering bearable. Highly recommend if you’re curious about how climate change might impact us all if we don’t get out sh** together and act to stop it now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness and Violence
Minor: Cancer
unfoundation's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Incredibly interesting but also terrifying take on the future and realities of climate change. A mix between entertaining and informative. The characters are complex, especially Frank. You come away scared but also a bit hopeful. One of the most unique books I’ve ever read and it was a really nice change of pace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death
Moderate: Terminal illness
invisibleninjacat's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book was very intense, and a strange mixture of hopeful and depressing. It ends on a hopeful note, which is nice. It was also a mix of a variety of different media - little chapters about or from one character's perspective, interviews, meeting notes, and intercalary chapters that were something between riddles and a stream-of-consciousnes from the perspective of an object (a photon or a carbon atom, for instance). It's meticulously researched and functions as a near-future thought experiment about how the earth might limit and recover from climate change. It also felt exceptionally prescient as I was reading it - the book begins with a deadly heart wave in 2023, and I started it in 2023 in the immediate aftermath of a dangerous heat wave hitting most of the United States, and Hurricane Hilary hitting Southern California and breaking both previous tropical storm records for August as well as daily records (the previous daily record was 0.01 inches in one area that was hit, so THAT wasn't exactly difficult). As I've read, more climate news has been being released, with wild weather worldwide and more forecasted to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Terminal illness
random19379's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, War, Classism, Genocide, Grief, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs
kirchnerkd's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death
Moderate: Mental illness and Terminal illness
Minor: Racism, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
skudiklier's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
First off, I want to say that I really liked this book. I would definitely recommend it. I think it gets across a lot of the challenges and high stakes of climate change in a nuanced way. I like the mix of personal stories and bigger-picture processes.
At first, I was worried it would be too dark--not that it was unrealistic, but it was bringing back all my climate anxiety/despair, and I thought it might all be very hard to read. But by the end (or even by halfway through, really), I flipped to wondering if the book is too optimistic. Even given all the challenges, all the "too little too late"-- even given that a decent amount of the change was caused by terrorism! I still feel like some things worked out too well and too easily. But maybe I should just be more hopeful, I don't know. I'll definitely be thinking about this book a lot, and recommending it to anyone who brings up anything even remotely related.
At first, I was worried it would be too dark--not that it was unrealistic, but it was bringing back all my climate anxiety/despair, and I thought it might all be very hard to read. But by the end (or even by halfway through, really), I flipped to wondering if the book is too optimistic. Even given all the challenges, all the "too little too late"--
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Slavery
Moderate: Murder, Police brutality, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Xenophobia, Classism, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexism, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, War, Child death, Animal death, Fatphobia, and Racism
arjen98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Genocide, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Terminal illness
beereads27's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Ok. I get that this book is important and I appreciate how Kim Stanley Robinson presents real potential solutions to climate change. I just did not like the characters and the writing style really wasn't for me. I felt obligated to like this book so I really tried but it was just overall meh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
Focuses heavily on climate change