Scan barcode
jess_mango's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Fast forward to 2084. Global Warming has made a serious impact on life on Earth. In this work of fiction, we hear from numerous people from around the world to form an oral history of how climate change has effected things. Topics range from health impact, wars, lack of resources, species extinction and more. All of it is scary stuff yet not entirely unimaginable. The oral history tells of America become rule by a fascist "America First" party who works to remove all illegal aliens from the US in an effort to save American resources & jobs for Americans. We hear of cities submerged by rising seawater...ocean front homes lost to the tides...mass migrations as people move to higher ground or more temperate zones.
I loved he concept of this and feel that all of the science and projections are sound and realistic. However, the storytelling wasn't quite there for me. This was supposed to be an oral history told from many different view points but the voice in all of the different accounts sounded the same.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Fast forward to 2084. Global Warming has made a serious impact on life on Earth. In this work of fiction, we hear from numerous people from around the world to form an oral history of how climate change has effected things. Topics range from health impact, wars, lack of resources, species extinction and more. All of it is scary stuff yet not entirely unimaginable. The oral history tells of America become rule by a fascist "America First" party who works to remove all illegal aliens from the US in an effort to save American resources & jobs for Americans. We hear of cities submerged by rising seawater...ocean front homes lost to the tides...mass migrations as people move to higher ground or more temperate zones.
I loved he concept of this and feel that all of the science and projections are sound and realistic. However, the storytelling wasn't quite there for me. This was supposed to be an oral history told from many different view points but the voice in all of the different accounts sounded the same.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
alexisrt's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fictional oral history of our climate change future.
As science, it reads pretty well, though he uses (understandably) an extreme scenario. There were a couple of blips--why so much focus on the loss of hydropower for Phoenix and not a single mention of solar?--but largely good. As history, it's a little weaker, with some of the speculation feeling implausible, even within the constraints of speculative futures.
As fiction.... not so much. The author is a scientist, not a writer. It's cleanly written and compelling, but there isn't really a plot or characters to hang things together. The fictional interviews don't flow into each other, and the interviewees lack distinct voices for the most part.
**spoiler alert -- not that it really matters**
The ending, though, read as a nuclear power rah-rah, which was weird and a little jarring.
As science, it reads pretty well, though he uses (understandably) an extreme scenario. There were a couple of blips--why so much focus on the loss of hydropower for Phoenix and not a single mention of solar?--but largely good. As history, it's a little weaker, with some of the speculation feeling implausible, even within the constraints of speculative futures.
As fiction.... not so much. The author is a scientist, not a writer. It's cleanly written and compelling, but there isn't really a plot or characters to hang things together. The fictional interviews don't flow into each other, and the interviewees lack distinct voices for the most part.
**spoiler alert -- not that it really matters**
The ending, though, read as a nuclear power rah-rah, which was weird and a little jarring.
lostprincess's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
imminentmurphy's review
3.0
The bad things that are going to happen (and let's not kid ourselves, they are going to happen) get a bit repetitive - although that might have been intentional on the part of the author. Two key themes emerge in the text: 1.) climate change won't be the end of the humanity - but it is likely to erode (nearly) all of humanity's gains since the beginning of the industrial revolution. 2.) models are rendered worthless when they exclude emergent variables.
loyaltolit's review against another edition
4.0
This book is too repetitive? Scientists keep repeating themselves because too many people aren't listening. This book was not meant to be a thrilling dystopian with zombies and moving to Mars. This is a warning, a look into the future we are leaving our children and grandchildren.
miawolf's review against another edition
I listened to the audiobook which had different narrators and a conversation with the author at the end. Some important information in there.
schnoebs13's review against another edition
5.0
As an author living during the height of climate change, the narrator takes the reader through many of the 100+ interviews he’s conducted to fully grasp what this man-made event has done to the world. Hitting on topics like drought and fire, sea level rise, health, and refugee migration, the reader is provided a glimpse of the scale at which climate change has drastically reshaped every country across the globe to the point of many no longer existing.
For this book to be set just far enough into the future that the full scale of climate change can be felt was an excellent choice by the author. I appreciated how the format of the interview allowed these complex theories of what could happen from climate change to be discussed in a way that logically shows why these outcomes could happen. Additionally, having each of the interviewees start with events that occurred during the 20th century and then mixed in the hypothetical events leading to 2084 really made it seem like they’ve already happened or there’s no other outcome than what was being explained. Even though I knew about a lot of the historical events, there were so many new pieces of climate history that I didn’t know about which helped to provide better background to what was being discussed.
The format of the book into these many different themes of climate change impacts allowed for a really reflective reading experience. I found myself taking a section or two a day depending on the length and then just spending time reflecting on what it said, how actions since this book’s publication might impact the theories discussed, and what these possible outcomes could mean for my own personal future. Even though I was only halfway through at the time, I found that I was already wanting to tell so many people to read this because it seems to me to take a really interesting approach to explaining the topic and hopefully answering some of those questions climate change skeptics are wanting to understand about why they should care.
So far this year, my reading has only been average at best but this book really turned it around for me. I constantly wanted to keep reading to find out what next topic the author was going to discuss but at the same time, take this book as slow as possible to save it. As someone who has studied both environmental science and public policy, I absolutely loved the final discussion in the “A Way Out” section because it’s honestly something I heavily support but is just as much of a touchy topic if not more than climate change. Overall, I completely recommend this book and I’m hoping to maybe get some of my friends and family who aren’t as much in favor on taking action to prevent climate change to read this in hopes that it will open up additional avenues for conversations.
For this book to be set just far enough into the future that the full scale of climate change can be felt was an excellent choice by the author. I appreciated how the format of the interview allowed these complex theories of what could happen from climate change to be discussed in a way that logically shows why these outcomes could happen. Additionally, having each of the interviewees start with events that occurred during the 20th century and then mixed in the hypothetical events leading to 2084 really made it seem like they’ve already happened or there’s no other outcome than what was being explained. Even though I knew about a lot of the historical events, there were so many new pieces of climate history that I didn’t know about which helped to provide better background to what was being discussed.
The format of the book into these many different themes of climate change impacts allowed for a really reflective reading experience. I found myself taking a section or two a day depending on the length and then just spending time reflecting on what it said, how actions since this book’s publication might impact the theories discussed, and what these possible outcomes could mean for my own personal future. Even though I was only halfway through at the time, I found that I was already wanting to tell so many people to read this because it seems to me to take a really interesting approach to explaining the topic and hopefully answering some of those questions climate change skeptics are wanting to understand about why they should care.
So far this year, my reading has only been average at best but this book really turned it around for me. I constantly wanted to keep reading to find out what next topic the author was going to discuss but at the same time, take this book as slow as possible to save it. As someone who has studied both environmental science and public policy, I absolutely loved the final discussion in the “A Way Out” section because it’s honestly something I heavily support but is just as much of a touchy topic if not more than climate change. Overall, I completely recommend this book and I’m hoping to maybe get some of my friends and family who aren’t as much in favor on taking action to prevent climate change to read this in hopes that it will open up additional avenues for conversations.
cosmoscommmander's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
meche11e's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0