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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
A meandering tale that follows one bloodline though our near future and beyond as society slowly begins to collapse and mutate due to climate change and assorted related disasters. I liked the Australian viewpoint, and it was something I could read start-to-finish during a midnight wake up.
Beautifully written epic story that spans over many decades and contains a series of related characters. The topic itself - the catastrophic events of climate change - is alarming, but unfolds gradually. The book is full of changing points of view and small reveals, leaving it up to the reader at times to piece together the events rather than wasting time with filler. Fans of Station Eleven might enjoy this one.
This was such a good read, I was pleasantly surprised. The flow of the novel was nice, easy to follow but still intriguing. Although the different point of views confused me a little sometimes, it was spectacular to find out how they were all connected in the end. At times, the novel seemed way too close to what is actually happening right now... seriously, can James Bradley predict the future? Real scary... I enjoyed it very much, nevertheless.
Thorough and realistic but a bit scattered here and there. Definitely scratches my cli-fi itch though!!
This is a MUST read. It's so scary and yet so close to reality. Especially in pandemic times. Just read it.
The persistent sense of hope and beauty in the book belies the subject matter. A gem; Australian sci fi is so rare, I loved it.
This is such an interesting book.
I think my favourite part about it is how all the characters you read about, although confusing when we’re introduced to them, come into one by the end. I would like to know how some of them met, as certain characters just end up together without any real explanation. But it is very satisfying getting to that end chapter.
Another great part is the autism representation. I can’t speak much on it as I am not on the spectrum, but from what I have heard from others, this appears to be what most are expecting. Noah experiences life differently to those who are not on the spectrum. And yet, “despite” this, he becomes his differences, and works his way into his intelligence so beautifully. I really enjoyed his story line. It wasn’t completely satisfying on his behalf, seeing as he will never get more of an answer about alien life (other than a yes there is alien life).
Other than those two points, this was a great book that discusses what could happen to the Earth if we continued at the pace we are now (in terms of climate change/enhanced green house effect/etc). The characters all manuever the best they can around these disasters, narrating their life one way or another until they come together at the end of the world (in a sense).
Would recommend to anybody wanting to read a dystopian that is currently occurring.
I think my favourite part about it is how all the characters you read about, although confusing when we’re introduced to them, come into one by the end. I would like to know how some of them met, as certain characters just end up together without any real explanation. But it is very satisfying getting to that end chapter.
Another great part is the autism representation. I can’t speak much on it as I am not on the spectrum, but from what I have heard from others, this appears to be what most are expecting. Noah experiences life differently to those who are not on the spectrum. And yet, “despite” this, he becomes his differences, and works his way into his intelligence so beautifully. I really enjoyed his story line. It wasn’t completely satisfying on his behalf, seeing as he will never get more of an answer about alien life (other than a yes there is alien life).
Other than those two points, this was a great book that discusses what could happen to the Earth if we continued at the pace we are now (in terms of climate change/enhanced green house effect/etc). The characters all manuever the best they can around these disasters, narrating their life one way or another until they come together at the end of the world (in a sense).
Would recommend to anybody wanting to read a dystopian that is currently occurring.
This is a pleasingly sad book. None of the characters are very happy, and the world they live in seems to go from awful to worse. Yet there is a glimmer of optimism here.
Bradley's writing puts me in mind of the British hard sci-fi writer Stephen Baxter. Terrible things happen but life goes on and people adapt and species evolve.
His vision of a near future rent by climate change, pandemics, and technological dependency is all too realistic. He lances the boil of human nature as effectively as any nurse.
Bradley's writing puts me in mind of the British hard sci-fi writer Stephen Baxter. Terrible things happen but life goes on and people adapt and species evolve.
His vision of a near future rent by climate change, pandemics, and technological dependency is all too realistic. He lances the boil of human nature as effectively as any nurse.
3.5 stars
Adam knows the climate crisis is coming - as a scientist, he knows the signs. His wife, Ellie, is an artist and while she cares in theory, she's more interested in pondering her latest biology-focused art installment than about things she can't change. It isn't long, though, until no one can look away from what's happening to the planet and in this novel that's more several loosely-tied-together short stories, everyone is going to be affected by the consequences.
As far as climate speculative fiction goes, this feels very believable. We only get glimpses of what's happening in each time period as we switch between stories/narrators/generations - but always in a chronological sequence. The vague-ness is occasionally interrupted by an actual crisis that the characters have to manage - but the character development is also so loose and vague that it's even hard to keep track of things. Oh, I did want to mention though that there is one character of the spectrum that I thought was handled in a very intentional and sensitive way, I liked being in his head, but I honestly can hardly even remember anyone else's name and I just finished it.
There is something that happens halfway through the book that made me scramble to see when it was written - and I was shocked. The author has made some really solid assumptions about not just what could happen to our planet but also how we humans would handle it. I suppose, for me, the redemption in this book is that somehow we humans DO handle it - we are still around, trying to survive, on this only rock that can sustain us.
Interesting, but without the depth and character development that would make it stick in my memory.
Adam knows the climate crisis is coming - as a scientist, he knows the signs. His wife, Ellie, is an artist and while she cares in theory, she's more interested in pondering her latest biology-focused art installment than about things she can't change. It isn't long, though, until no one can look away from what's happening to the planet and in this novel that's more several loosely-tied-together short stories, everyone is going to be affected by the consequences.
As far as climate speculative fiction goes, this feels very believable. We only get glimpses of what's happening in each time period as we switch between stories/narrators/generations - but always in a chronological sequence. The vague-ness is occasionally interrupted by an actual crisis that the characters have to manage - but the character development is also so loose and vague that it's even hard to keep track of things. Oh, I did want to mention though that there is one character of the spectrum that I thought was handled in a very intentional and sensitive way, I liked being in his head, but I honestly can hardly even remember anyone else's name and I just finished it.
There is something that happens halfway through the book that made me scramble to see when it was written - and I was shocked. The author has made some really solid assumptions about not just what could happen to our planet but also how we humans would handle it. I suppose, for me, the redemption in this book is that somehow we humans DO handle it - we are still around, trying to survive, on this only rock that can sustain us.
Interesting, but without the depth and character development that would make it stick in my memory.