The Ministry for the Future

 The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

This is one impressive book. Impressive in the sheer amount of knowledge the author had to acquire to write it, in the way it's structured with many different viewpoints yet telling a compelling and coherent story throughout, that the massive weight of the subject matter didn't preclude writing characters who felt relatable and real, and that the quality of the writing didn't flag through the entire 563 pages. 

That's not to say it was an easy read, but it was well worth the effort. I like science fiction to have plenty of credible science, or at the very least science the author makes sound credible. This book is thick with it, and I'm not proud to say I skimmed over bits of the very technical stuff in the beginning. And since I'm confessing...about half-way through I stopped looking up words/terms/references I didn't recognize because it was slowing me down and the book had to go back to the library in a few days. A lot of meanings could be gleaned from context anyway, but I'd probably have come away with a better understanding of it all if I'd taken the time to look things up. So, yes, it took some effort to get through the book, but again, it was very much worth it. 

In simple terms that won't do it justice, it's a climate change novel set in the near future. The problems we're seeing now in our own time have become severe in the novel and countries are desperate enough to work together to seek solutions in weather control, population control, economics, politics, and every other aspect of life on this planet. Some of those solutions seem brilliant to me, but not being an expert in anything much I have no idea how realistic they are. Regardless, I found it all quite spectacular.    

One of the many narrators is Mary Murphy, a Irish woman working in Zurich as director of a new global Ministry for the Future tasked with finding ways to protect the planet and future generations from extinction due to climate change. Another is Frank May, an American aid worker helping at a clinic in India when a killing heat wave strikes, leaving millions dead and Frank alive but deeply damaged psychologically.

Other narrators include a woman living in one of the many refugee camps and a team of workers in antarctica trying to slow down melt rates. In other short sections - and this was fascinating to me - we are addressed by the sun, a photon, computer code, the market, animal herds, history, and a few others I can't remember right now. Strange as this may sound, it works. 

The plot is intense with urgent situations facing various countries, but it's hopeful, and inspiring in how the world did finally, if not easily, work together to change a bleak future. I'm not describing it adequately, but I think to get the full picture you need to read this brilliantly imagined, thought-provoking book for yourself, and I need to read it again. 

It's simply amazing.