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Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'
Das Ministerium für die Zukunft by Kim Stanley Robinson
10 reviews
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
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
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
2.5
𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 • 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 • 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 • 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦
𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘢'𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 [2020]
Here's the good stuff. This book:
- is obviously extremely well researched, hard sci-fi, referencing actual science
- started off with a bang of an opening: a gripping vignette that had me riveted to my seat
- deals with a rather grim topic without wallowing in the depths of despair
- combs the solution space for an answer that is not the mass extinction of the human race
- poses a compelling near-future prediction scenario that confronts morality and whether the ends justify the means
- shines light on an important topic: the very future of humanity when our planet becomes unlivable
Real talk.Clocking in at 577 pages, this was way too long and the writing style did not work for me. I almost quit many times. Some chapters were written as literal board meeting minutes and others were more text-book lecture style: hard sciences ranging from carbon sequestration to glacier science to biosphere to global economics and fiscal policy to international treaty law to psychology to colonialism and nationalism. There were a few recurring characters but by the end I did not care what happened to them.
I would have enjoyed this a lot better if it had been edited down to make key points rather than going for comprehensivity on every topic, in an encyclopedia-like format.
Give this a try if you love climate science non-fiction or speculative fiction leveraging hard science where you cannot tell where facts end and fiction begins. Environmentalists and sustainability aficionados will also find this book fascinating.
𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘢'𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 [2020]
Here's the good stuff. This book:
- is obviously extremely well researched, hard sci-fi, referencing actual science
- started off with a bang of an opening: a gripping vignette that had me riveted to my seat
- deals with a rather grim topic without wallowing in the depths of despair
- combs the solution space for an answer that is not the mass extinction of the human race
- poses a compelling near-future prediction scenario that confronts morality and whether the ends justify the means
- shines light on an important topic: the very future of humanity when our planet becomes unlivable
Real talk.Clocking in at 577 pages, this was way too long and the writing style did not work for me. I almost quit many times. Some chapters were written as literal board meeting minutes and others were more text-book lecture style: hard sciences ranging from carbon sequestration to glacier science to biosphere to global economics and fiscal policy to international treaty law to psychology to colonialism and nationalism. There were a few recurring characters but by the end I did not care what happened to them.
I would have enjoyed this a lot better if it had been edited down to make key points rather than going for comprehensivity on every topic, in an encyclopedia-like format.
Give this a try if you love climate science non-fiction or speculative fiction leveraging hard science where you cannot tell where facts end and fiction begins. Environmentalists and sustainability aficionados will also find this book fascinating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Classism, Deportation, Cancer, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
redbee9's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders
whatthekatdraggedin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer
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
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
kathleencoughlin's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Ministry for the Future is the kind of scifi book that really takes the core if the genre, imaginative solutions to big questions, and brings it down to earth. It reads more like literary fiction or even a nonfiction book than typical science fiction because it is based here in the near future and concerns a context that is all too familiar.
There were a lot of povs which helps highlight that this is a global issue with global solutions. This was a risky stylistic choice in my opinion and I think, at least for the most part, it did pay off. In large part, I think the many narrators could be successful because we do have a core cast of characters led by Mary Murphy who pulls us through this timeline's approach to the climate crisis. Mary's agency, The Ministry for the Future, is given the seemingly impossible task of advocating on behalf of generations to come and ensuring their wellbeing through promoting management and ultimately reversal the catastrophic effects of climate change. Mary has an interesting perspective, and I thought her relationship with Frank was so compelling. I think many readers have found themselves in Mary's position of feeling like you're doing what little you can within your limits and there needs to be some outside force to push you to find new solutions(hopefully not through kidnapping though lol).
There were a lot of povs which helps highlight that this is a global issue with global solutions. This was a risky stylistic choice in my opinion and I think, at least for the most part, it did pay off. In large part, I think the many narrators could be successful because we do have a core cast of characters led by Mary Murphy who pulls us through this timeline's approach to the climate crisis. Mary's agency, The Ministry for the Future, is given the seemingly impossible task of advocating on behalf of generations to come and ensuring their wellbeing through promoting management and ultimately reversal the catastrophic effects of climate change. Mary has an interesting perspective, and I thought her relationship with Frank was so compelling. I think many readers have found themselves in Mary's position of feeling like you're doing what little you can within your limits and there needs to be some outside force to push you to find new solutions(hopefully not through
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer, Classism, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
kelseyland's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
I don't think that "visionary" is too strong a word to use when it comes to Kim Stanley Robinson, especially in regards to this book. The Ministry for the Future is a stark departure from most climate change narratives (both fiction and nonfiction) in that it is neither utopian nor dystopian, but a realistic view of the ways in which it is possible to mitigate climate disaster via scientific, economic, cultural, and political methods. In other words, this book allows the reader to imagine not only a better world, but the steps that might be necessary to get there. The novel's kaleidoscope of viewpoints--both human and nonhuman--drives the narrative forward in an entertaining and engaging way while also supporting one of its many thesis statements, that in order to survive humanity needs to consider what's best for the Earth as a whole, including the plants and animals that make it home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Murder
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