Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Das Ministerium für die Zukunft by Kim Stanley Robinson

3 reviews

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

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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

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Death

Minor: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Animal death, and Child death

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.

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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

PTSD, natural disasters, environmental terrorism