Robinson celebrates the lives and work of scientists, economists, administrators, activists and other knowledge workers in ways no one else does, taking his time to let the character be real, including being detail-oriented, patient, sometimes fallible, yet always honest. The third star is for the importance of the theme, especially in the current times of negation of global warming. I would have DNFed it if I had a choice. Reading The Ministry of The Future, it is easy to see that Robinson is a great writer, worthy of the recognition he has received over his writing career. But that might be off-putting to readers who just want to enjoy a story. As I mentioned, the thematic of the book is fundamental nowadays, but for those who are already concerned and looking for good sources on the subject, it ends up being a pile of infodumps - even more than you could expect from a book this - , which drags the narrative for large sections. So strong 3-star for the whole thing. Read Full Review >> It's moving and painful and hopeful and inspiring, and I found it utterly absorbing. Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer, probably best known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. Beyond STEM disciplines, his work also draws upon extensive research in social and life sciences. Thanks! Robinson on his new book The Ministry for the Future, a plausible, chaotic, and hopeful novel about how the climate crisis could play out tthoughtful book filled with endless ramblings and rants about climate change, Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2020. Book and media reviews from the journal Science, edited by Valerie Thompson. Book Persistent political pressure staves off global warming in a new climate allegory . But Robinson's novel is also so full of hope, and in such a time as these, his voice is so urgently calling to us to "keep going," keep moving forward - even or especially when the world seems dire. But it turns out he was just a really young assistant at the clinic. His two previous ones were letdowns: New York 2140 was okay, but ultimately transparent, and Red Moon even formulaic: Stan seemed to have run out of steam. It’s desperately unfashionable and since Wells and Stapledon novelists have made their histories implicit and revealed through action and plot rather than attempting to write a ‘history of the future’. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2020. In particular, there was much more emphasis on economics - carbon coins and taxes, the role of central banks, income and demographics than I would have liked. That is not bad, but it does come off as disjointed, rushed and sometimes unfinished. The Ministry for the Future [Orbit] It may be a stretch to call The Ministry for the Future the last major novel of Kim Stanley Robinson, though I listened to an interview with Robinson where he did suggest this may be exactly that because he was changing his novel writing focus after the intensive work to put together this novel and the last several. Review: The Ministry for the Future The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson My rating: 5 of 5 stars First Person. From legendary science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined. Eventually, I realized that even the photon was a character. From there, it follows several firsthand accounts of how the world’s political leaders and policy-makers worked together (or not) to take action on climate change by 2025. There is no one weird trick to reduce the carbon-load of the planet and undo the effects of industrialization. This might be about great big ideas, but without a decent narrative or memorable, well-developed characters I simply don‘t care. We might be in India in one short chapter, or in China, or at a committee meeting, or experiencing the kidnapping of Mary Murphy, or in Antarctica, or Russia, or in the Alps, or San Francisco, along the new wildlife corridors, presenting an audacious financial plan to the world’s central banks. This review looks at disruptive developments in international relations and the opportunities and tensions related to them. Tl;dr: I want to believe. I began enjoying it more and couldn't put it down. In The Ministry for the Future, it all kind of works. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published That is, failing until a disastrous heat wave in India kills millions and the world is reluctantly energized to finally do something - though it may be too late. Told entirely through fictional eye-witness accounts, The Ministry For The Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, the story of how climate change will affect us all over the decades to come. I figured that drink might have cooled him slightly and helped him be a survivor, and that he felt guilty about it and concealed it, adding to his PTSD. Much like the future, The Ministry for the Future doesn’t lay itself out in a straight and orderly fashion... Well researched and beautifully written, The Ministry for the Future is a thought-provoking (and sometimes even hopeful) read for anyone looking to the future and wondering what’s coming next. But The Ministry for the Future isn’t experimental for its own sake. That being said, I had a hard time with this title as it drags on for large sections and doesn’t seem to have any real narrative other than climate change and effects of that on humanity short and long term. who cares about your political message now? The final big KSR novel. Valerie Thompson, Editor. It’s a whirlwind for the most part, belying how slow actual change may be, but it’s exciting and it makes the reader believe that we could do this; we could save the planet. This is a book to mitigate our sense of doom! In. Kim Stanley Robinson's angry optimism at its best. Much of the book is written in first-person. … I think it would have added dimension to his character had it been there. A story that is basically a climate textbook is made readable by making it a personal story with characters who interest us, and by flashing around the globe. By the book's end it had me feeling so hopeful that I felt that for me, this was more a 4-star event. October 6th 2020 Yet another climate book: don’t we know that story? This particular book was difficult for me to slog through, with less overall character development, and less innovative technological developments than other books. The future history novel is a very specific type of science fiction: relying on a narrative rather than a plot. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The summer had been particularly bad: a pandemic, wildfires, a crazy American election. While it may not appeal to everyone due to less emphasis on character- or plot-driven material, it will appeal to hard science fiction readers who enjoy novels of ideas (and ideas and ideas...). Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. There was not enough story and characters to maintain a healthy flow. 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