A review by roach
Earth by David Brin

adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

 

Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging over their heads. But generally what they feared were shadows, for neither they nor their gods could actually end the world. Fate might reap an individual, or a family, or even a whole nation, but not the entire world. Not then.
We, in the mid-twenty-first century, are the first to look up at a sword we ourselves have forged, and know, with absolute certainty, it is real...

I didn't exactly have any specific expectations when I decided to pick up this lengthy hard-scifi novel simply called Earth but I ended up being drawn in by the fantastic near-future world-building with a focus on the environmental impact based on real-life facts.

The original premise about an artificial tiny black hole accidentally falling into the planet's core, threatening to eat our collective home from the inside out, is only a piece of this massive story that ultimately is about humanity's treatment of Earth as a whole. Brin clearly did a lot of thorough research and made for a lot of interesting speculations to create this version of the year 2038 where our footprint on nature is showing its effects, which in turn influences the general zeitgeist and the way we live.
From a prediction of the internet that aged quite well, over the effects of geological transformations due to climate change, to the development of naturalist religions and edgy sun-worshippers that celebrate the declining ozone layer... Also the acknowledged concept of a debt a generation leaves to the next.
There are so many captivating ideas, some of which probably hit a bit differently reading it now, at a time that's closer to the book's future year of 2038 than the early 90s, when this was first published. It certainly manages to fill the 700 pages of this global story pretty well.
It's an accomplishment in itself to be able to string along a coherent story that spans locations all across the planet, including the inner core and outside orbit, with changing focus on a whole bunch of different characters, without losing itself in tedium or confusion.

There are a couple of elements in the later part of the story that I didn't really see coming, which were interesting in their own regard but I was secretly hoping for a bit of a different path myself. And, of course, this book could probably have been shortened a bit here and there without losing too much. This is why my real rating of this would be more like 4.5 out of 5.
Nevertheless, this was a great read and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for eco-scifi.

What our grandchildren inherit is entirely up to us. And frankly, I'd rather they remember us as having left them a bit of hope.
- David Brin, August 1989