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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
jnavbar's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Minor: Colonisation and Classism
j315's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
First the good:
1. Ministry for the future paints a pathway from the world we live in today to an ecologically sound socialist utopia. It does a beautiful job of breaking down capitalist realism.
2. There are many individuals&groups present in this story that do a good job of illustrating the critical nature of extralegal approaches to sustainability, and how important dual power is to building a sustainable world for all of humanity.
All that being said, I found several pieces of this book incredibly frustrating.
Robinson repeatedly insists that there are approaches to geoengineering, blockchain currency, and utilizing oppressive institutions for climate justice that are legitimate, and that present failings on these fronts is a failure of execution rather than a conceptual flaw in these ideas. The glacier thing was interesting, but the rest of the pieces were dubious at best and dismissive of reality at worst.
I believe that extractive, industrial, and capitalist tools will not be able to help us resolve problems created by extractive industrial capitalist practices.
1. Ministry for the future paints a pathway from the world we live in today to an ecologically sound socialist utopia. It does a beautiful job of breaking down capitalist realism.
2. There are many individuals&groups present in this story that do a good job of illustrating the critical nature of extralegal approaches to sustainability, and how important dual power is to building a sustainable world for all of humanity.
All that being said, I found several pieces of this book incredibly frustrating.
Robinson repeatedly insists that there are approaches to geoengineering, blockchain currency, and utilizing oppressive institutions for climate justice that are legitimate, and that present failings on these fronts is a failure of execution rather than a conceptual flaw in these ideas. The glacier thing was interesting, but the rest of the pieces were dubious at best and dismissive of reality at worst.
I believe that extractive, industrial, and capitalist tools will not be able to help us resolve problems created by extractive industrial capitalist practices.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Mental illness
Graphic depictions of mass death from climate catastrophedakotahreads'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Mental illness, and Death
sn03's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Medical content
Moderate: Trafficking, Mental illness, and Murder
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
brittni_in_ink's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
There was a lot I loved about the book. It's a definite call to action about climate change, and there are some fascinating ideas about how we can go about combatting it and preventing the worst outcomes. For example, pumping meltwater from under glaciers to the surface to slow their movement and prevent them from contributing to rising sea levels.
The first chapter is so devastating, and really sets the tone for the rest of the book. Robinson did a wonderful job of introducing a few key characters to follow throughout the story. And even later in the book, there were these beautiful personal moments, like Frank encountering a mountain goat in the wild.
But ultimately, the book was about the big picture. The amount of research that went into it was clearly impressive. For that reason, I'm a little ashamed to say I skimmed some chapters. Not because they were bad, but because there was only so much discussion about currency and banks I could handle.
The book wasn't entirely my cup of tea, but there were parts that I really liked. So three stars: good, but not something I would read again.
The first chapter is so devastating, and really sets the tone for the rest of the book. Robinson did a wonderful job of introducing a few key characters to follow throughout the story. And even later in the book, there were these beautiful personal moments, like Frank encountering a mountain goat in the wild.
But ultimately, the book was about the big picture. The amount of research that went into it was clearly impressive. For that reason, I'm a little ashamed to say I skimmed some chapters. Not because they were bad, but because there was only so much discussion about currency and banks I could handle.
The book wasn't entirely my cup of tea, but there were parts that I really liked. So three stars: good, but not something I would read again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Death
Minor: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Animal death, and Child death
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
johnclough's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Lots of interesting and well researched ideas explored here, but I'm not convinced on how well it all hangs together as a novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Violence and Mental illness
droggelbecher42's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
I usually have a hard time with long books, switching perspectives & economic terminology. This book had all of it and I still loved it, it had me weirdly hooked even though a majority of chapters didn't follow any already known set of characters.
It's weird how such a long and dense book describing lots of horrifying things happening left me a sense of hope. I cried at the end, sad to leave it behind.
It's weird how such a long and dense book describing lots of horrifying things happening left me a sense of hope. I cried at the end, sad to leave it behind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Deportation, Animal death, Xenophobia, Racism, Mental illness, Cancer, Grief, Confinement, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexism
Since this book is mainly about climate change, nature catastrophes play a big role, there is one detailed description of a