OCTOBER 2020 - AudioFile
Jennifer Fitzgerald leads a full cast in this compelling work of speculative fiction about solving the climate crisis around the world. Fitzgerald does the heavy lifting as Mary Murphy, the woman put in charge of solving the global crisis. Because the cast of characters come from every continent, Fitzgerald must move from her native Irish lilt into a variety of accents and back with hardly a moment to breathe. The listener feels totally immersed. There is a full cast delivering other parts, yet the fact that Fitzgerald is left to her own devices for over half the book exemplifies her skill in characterization. This story is heavy but important. Be prepared to lose sleep as you won’t want to pause for anything. A.R.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 06/29/2020
Bestseller Robinson (Forty Signs of Rain) again tackles climate change head-on in this gutsy, humane view of a near-future Earth careening toward collapse. Mary Murphy, head of the Ministry for the Future, a UN watchdog agency created as a result of the Paris Agreement, takes to heart the ministry’s mission “to advocate for the world’s future generations.” Mary spends her days promoting relief for the afflicted and wrestling with the financial powers-that-be to change the carbon balance before it tips too far. She must also be on the watch for ecoterrorists, even as she plans to use their attacks in her pitch for a carbon sequestration cryptocurrency to a group of influential bankers. Then Molly is abducted by the traumatized survivor of a heat wave that killed 20 million in India, who furiously cuts through the political weeds to demand change (“You’re killing the world and you want me to remember what words you used to cover your ass?”). Galvanized by his demands, Molly attempts to start a “black wing” working in secret within the Ministry for the Future to make larger changes than she can aboveboard—only to discover that such a group already exists. Robinson masterfully integrates the practical details of environmental crises and geoengineering projects into a sweeping, optimistic portrait of humanity’s ability to cooperate in the face of disaster. This heartfelt work of hard science-fiction is a must-read for anyone worried about the future of the planet. Agent: Chris Schelling, Selectric Artists. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"[A] compelling work of speculative fiction about solving the climate crisis around the world... This story is heavy but important. Be prepared to lose sleep as you won't want to pause for anything."—AudioFile on The Ministry for the Future
"Score a point for the audacity of hope....Robinson digs deep into how, with institutional support and some off-the-books black ops, revolutionary ideas could still seize our world."—Shelf Awareness on The Ministry for the Future
"[A] gutsy, humane view of a near-future Earth...Robinson masterfully integrates the practical details of environmental crises and geoengineering projects into a sweeping, optimistic portrait of humanity's ability to cooperate in the face of disaster. This heartfelt work of hard science-fiction is a must-read for anyone worried about the future of the planet."—Publishers Weekly (starred) on The Ministry for the Future
"If there’s any book that hit me hard this year, it was Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, a sweeping epic about climate change and humanity’s efforts to try and turn the tide before it’s too late."—Polygon (Best of the Year) on The Ministry for the Future
"In The Ministry for the Future, his twentieth novel, science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson creates something truly remarkable."—Yale Climate Connections on The Ministry for the Future
"Tremendously engaging."—Chicago Review of Books on The Ministry for the Future
"Science-fiction visionary Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for quantitative easing our way out of planetary doom."—Bloomberg Green on The Ministry for the Future
"If I could get policymakers, and citizens, everywhere to read just one book this year, it would be Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future... Robinson is one of the greatest living science fiction writers."—Ezra Klein on The Ministry for the Future
"So far, the best descriptions of what this new world could be like come from Kim Stanley Robinson, a science-fiction author who specializes in depicting the kinds of delights that a world that took our predicament seriously might produce."—The New Yorker on The Ministry for the Future
"The Ministry for the Future ranks among Robinson's best recent works, a collection of actions and observations that adds up to more than the sum of its eclectic and urgent parts."—Sierra on The Ministry for the Future
OCTOBER 2020 - AudioFile
Jennifer Fitzgerald leads a full cast in this compelling work of speculative fiction about solving the climate crisis around the world. Fitzgerald does the heavy lifting as Mary Murphy, the woman put in charge of solving the global crisis. Because the cast of characters come from every continent, Fitzgerald must move from her native Irish lilt into a variety of accents and back with hardly a moment to breathe. The listener feels totally immersed. There is a full cast delivering other parts, yet the fact that Fitzgerald is left to her own devices for over half the book exemplifies her skill in characterization. This story is heavy but important. Be prepared to lose sleep as you won’t want to pause for anything. A.R.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
