A review by madtraveler
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

4.0

Fascinating read. The hard science and economics portions of this are quite informative and thought-provoking, imagining in a speculative plot what might happen in our uncertain future with climate change and humankind's resistance to take action. The plot of the novel follows two main characters through 563 pages, but a fair portion of the book is dedicated to interspersed chapters of isolated incidents that reveal the consequences and various experiences around the globe, summaries of task-forces or summits about what to do, and even just straight up explanations of econ theories and potential remedies. Story-wise, this can feel a little weak, but the chapters (over 100) are short to prevent the book from getting bogged down, and the information in the segments parallel to the plot is worth the read all by itself. A great eco-read with no illusions about how bad things will get, but with enough real human elements and ideas to suggest there may be hope.