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schnapsidee's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? No
3.75
If you don't have climate anxiety yet, the first part of this book will give it to you.
It's a tough read, but it needs to be to make clear what what's at stake. This is fiction but it is not unrealistic and the author is doing important work by making the consequences of inaction both clear and personal.
The next part are spoilers for the ending without being too detailed. I don't think they will lessen your enjoyment of the story, but skip them, if you want to go on blind.
Instead of just filling his readers with dread, Robinson takes the second half of the book to show us how to do better. He shows us a possible way into a solarpunky, post capitalist utopia without being naive about it or making it seem easy. The way to this possible utopia is filled with murder and revenge on the people that have most of the blame for the climate crisis but also with smart policy decisions, beautiful interactions between people and hopeful messaging.
Ultimately the author builds a beautiful utopia where we don't just save humanity and the biosphere, but also a world where community and individuals are more important than profit. A post capitalist world without a phobia of technology and economic growth.
I removed a couple of stars because a lot of the character interactions feels somewhat forced and just not that deep. I think it might have been a better book as an anthology of short stories instead of trying to shoe horn in a continuous character development subplot.
It's a tough read, but it needs to be to make clear what what's at stake. This is fiction but it is not unrealistic and the author is doing important work by making the consequences of inaction both clear and personal.
The next part are spoilers for the ending without being too detailed. I don't think they will lessen your enjoyment of the story, but skip them, if you want to go on blind.
Ultimately the author builds a beautiful utopia where we don't just save humanity and the biosphere, but also a world where community and individuals are more important than profit. A post capitalist world without a phobia of technology and economic growth.
I removed a couple of stars because a lot of the character interactions feels somewhat forced and just not that deep. I think it might have been a better book as an anthology of short stories instead of trying to shoe horn in a continuous character development subplot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
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 catastrophekathleendayle'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
laurenipsum's review against another edition
Read the first chapter. It's a very graphic description of people suffering and dying from climate change. Very intense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Excrement, Xenophobia, Child death, Classism, Body horror, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, and Medical trauma
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
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
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 askudiklier'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