as usual, it’s hard to imagine another author with the historical sweep of Kim Stanley Robinson. taking place over the course of the 40 years of the near future the book opens with a gut wrenching account of a man-made natural disaster. it’s never been easier to picture the near future impact of climate change. the book proceeds to follow Mary Murphy– the leader of the international ministry for the future as she and her stallwart co-workers throw every ounce of imagination and drive they can at the problem of bending humanity’s trajectory away from disaster. the book can get dry at times, and despite the occasional harrowing incidents, I don’t recommend reading this for the plot. however as a deeply imaginative look into what is coming for us, and what sorts of solutions we might deploy, as well as a refreshing breath of Hope as humanity makes some progress, I cannot recommend this work highly enough 🙂