If you want to see the potential consequences of climate change then you should probably read The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. It opens in India during an extreme heat wave, so extreme that whole provinces end up losing power, and thus air conditioning, for days on end due to being unable to cope. Without running water as well it quickly becomes a wave of death in addition to being a wave of heat. Millions end up dead in just a matter of days. Mary runs a group known as the Ministry for the Future out of Zurich where she advocates for rules, regulations and laws concerning anything and everything that would affect climate change, specifically slowing it down or reversing it. As the world attempts to recover from the extreme heat wave and the resulting death in India she pushes for more ways to stop global warming. A key idea brought forth from a coworker is the idea of a carbon coin with a guaranteed value that is only given to people who have contributed in some way to stopping climate change. Opposed by the various banking systems she continues to push even as other methods also come to the fore.
I want to state right from the beginning this was an awesome book to read but also an incredibly disturbing one as well. It doesn’t just deal with the theoretical idea of climate change, it dumps you right into the effects of it straight from the beginning and the worst part of it is the story starts right around our own time frame. I don’t know about you but the idea that we could end up seeing something like that extreme heat wave at the beginning of the book is definitely disconcerting. It makes you really sit up and pay attention to what is going on. Something that caught my attention about that in this book though is the detail that was included. It doesn’t just describe the heat wave in terms of narrative description, that is watching it happen, but also includes the scientific description of just why the heat wave was so deadly. I can legitimately say that I knew less than half of what they referenced, if not less, but I learned a lot and can see where the author must have done immense amounts of research in order to accurately depict and describe this. There were similar levels of detail in regards to other scientific or economic ideas and phenomena included throughout the book which was rather nice actually. I really appreciate when the author takes the time to at least attempt to make the science realistic. This book is getting 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.
This is both contemporary fiction and also science fiction though it probably leans closer to the science fiction side of that. If that happens to be what you enjoy you might consider trying this one though it would also appeal to readers who enjoy speculative fiction or works that deal with the possibilities associated with climate change as well. It does contain some potentially dark themes such as the immense amount of death from the heat wave at the beginning of the book. This content is described in a decent level of detail but is not overly gruesome in its descriptions. I would feel fine recommending this book for most adults and even younger readers as young as about fourteen or fifteen provided they can handle the heat wave section right at the beginning. Hope you will consider trying this as it is worth the read. If you do, consider sharing your thoughts in the comments.