The Ministry for the Future: A Novel

It was ok. I might have given it only a 2, but the subject matter is real and important and the author tried to tackle a real and serious issue on the proper scale, an ambition which I thought is worth some credit. Overall, despite efforts to be otherwise, the story was too abstract and aloof, and far too optimistic. It begins well I think, in the midst of an on-the-ground view of a climate catastrophe that catalyzes a genuine human effort to rein in our destruction of the climate. However, besides a later riot at a refugee camp, that's the high-point of the tension. These are the only times we are made to feel the horror of almost going extinct as a species, almost succumbing to a chaotic collapse into global violence. After that, things more or less work. All of the geoengineering and technological gambles pay off with minimal unforseen consequences. If there are other climate catastrophes that occur, they are summarized briefly from comfy Zurich perches of, shall we lovingly say, heavily-left-brained UN appointees (around whose mundane lives a good third of the story revolves). The heroic terrorists never succumb to corruption or infighting, and none of the world governments, oligarchs, or the most powerful military in the world, are able to mount any kind of resistance to them or curb their activities. The plutocrats more or less accept their haircut and give up their excessive wealth and power. The economic effects of the Carbon Coin are all positive. In no country does fascism or ethnic violence reach a critical mass. People, globally, actually voluntarily agree to limit population growth and reserve half of the Earth for ecological re-wilding. The ecological and sociological consequences of the massive mining and industrial activity necessary to build the green energy infrastructure - and the oppression of the banana republics likely to facilitate this mining and industry - are not mentioned, even as a possibility. Much narrative potential is lost by not taking the point of view of any of the members of the shadow wing of the Ministry of the Future over the course of the story. At the end of the story, our minds remain un-prepared for the torrent of tragedy that is sure to befall us in the near future, even if we succeed in curbing the carbon-related aspects of the ecological devastation humans wreak upon the environment. Still, the scope of the story was impressive. I'm sure much of the abstractness was necessary just to hold the span of the narrative world in one mind. I also liked that characters are voiced by people from the same or similar regions of the world, though I'm not qualified to say how accurate all that ended up being.

Imagining a likely future. A vital read.