Comments (31)

What did you think about this title?
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Feb 26, 2024Eratatosk rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Utopian, dystopian, hopeful, grim, elegiac, overwhelming, unsettling, full of grief, full of joy. I suspect this book will haunt me the way Aurora haunts me. One day in the near future, a heat wave hits India and twenty million people…
Nov 14, 2023kaveerman rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Did not like at all, and I normally read a wide range of material. I read the first few chapters then abandoned it. Life is too short.
Jul 04, 2023VPLLibrarian rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Every world leader in any capacity should have to read this book. It's a great combination of real science embedded in a fictional story. Engaging characters and you get to learn a lot about the present and very likely future issues with…
May 12, 2023
did not start. too dystopian and a heavy book
May 03, 2023larst rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I never thought I'd want to read a climate disaster book but this one had a combo of dread and optimism with some practical ideas like pumping water from beneath glaciers and blowing up private jets and container ships.
Apr 09, 2023pierc012 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This excellent sci fi novel begins a not so distant future when a heat-wave in India caused by global climate change kills an entire city of people. Enter the Ministry for the Future, an international agency designed to come up with…
Mar 11, 2023ArapahoeJulieH rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
SciFi that reads more like nonfiction. Robinson has a firm grasp on how politics, capitalism, economics, global markets, and social inertia have contributed to the devastating effects of climate change. Told in short chapters and…
Dec 17, 2022yelarts rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The first chapter is totally engrossing, but the rest of the novel is less so. He does sprinkle interesting little essays throughout (but which don't advance the plot, such as it is).
Dec 04, 2022vict rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Way too long. Lost interest after ~60 pages and skimmed the rest.
Nov 27, 2022sunny39o rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The Ministry of the Future lies, somehow, outside the realm of storytelling. It almost isn't storytelling at all. It reads more like journalism, with its anonymous character commentaries and matter-of-fact reporting quality. In its simple,…
Jul 27, 2022xiaojunbpl12 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
One founding premise of the Ministry is Human don't pursue their present benefits at the expense of the future generation, if so by consensus, population growth will not be impeded. The author doesn't think the population is an issue,…
Jul 06, 2022ekhdong rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Too optimistic imho. But okay hodge podge of narratives. I prefer Cloud Cuckoo Land. Maybe even Parable of the Sower.
Jun 19, 2022
Clearly the most pretentious novel I've ever read, with the author self-indulgently interspersing the fictional narrative with essays that would look good in any self-respecting left-wing political magazine. Robinson also is shameless in…
May 18, 2022tjdickey rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Robinson takes on all of Earth society, and our quest for a "sustainable civilization" for the entire globe. The book centers around a handful of deeply human relationships and their development, but also veers off into far more…
Apr 22, 2022bottletree rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The first chapter is really hard, emotionally so, but if you persist, you will be rewarded with a view of the future that is about the ways we can mitigate the worse effects through international cooperation.
Apr 07, 2022Cljackson99 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
Ugh, got halfway and skipped to last chapter. Can't read his stuff for some reason. 1/5
Mar 12, 2022Liber_vermis rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This 560 page book alternates between searing novel and technical treatise on global climate geoengineering. I'm concerned about global warming and its impacts but I gave up on this book at page 75.
Nov 30, 2021RobbyRayR rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Partially non-fiction. I learned a lot by reading this. The sheer amount of knowledge and/or research required, the imagination, is impressive. A bit like 1984, in that it's hard to read but so vital too. Pessimistic, at first, as our…
Oct 25, 2021Luckybe rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The researched based information incorporated in this story makes it read almost like a documentary rather than a work of fiction. One can only hope this tale is as close to what human effort will accomplish in addressing the horror of…
Oct 15, 2021JosiB rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book is an enjoyable read and simply essential in imagining possible ways through the climate crises. I also recommend the audio-book.
Oct 12, 2021ikhetred rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
"Ministry for the Future" is a furious and sprawling telling of the story of our world in the very near future - maybe as far as 75 years, and it is part dark prognostication of the horrors that lay ahead and part hopeful blueprint for…
Jun 30, 2021strong13 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This was a really good and important novel as it allows you to see in the future in a way that is understandable,,with both the extreme climate disruptions that are coming and how society can change to respond to the coming challenges.
Jun 05, 2021LinChi rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Finished May 31 A looong read. Bit slow because there's a lot of economic stuff I don't understand, but interesting to imagine the world in the future of climate catastrophe.
Mar 18, 2021hamerkop rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Robinson brings a wealth of knowledge about the climate crisis and global responses (or lack there of) to it , to bear on this readable novel. I learnt of current arguments as to how we may alleviate the coming catastrophe, and the…
Feb 20, 2021JLMason rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This ambitious book paints a possible near future over several decades about the effects of climate change on our world, examining it from political, sociological, environmental, and technological contexts. There are even humorous, but…