The Deluge
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Average rating4
“This book is, simply put, a modern classic. If you read it, you'll never forget it. Prophetic, terrifying, uplifting.” —Stephen King From the bestselling author of Ohio, a masterful American epic charting a near future approaching collapse and a nascent but strengthening solidarity. In the first decades of the 21st century, the world is convulsing, its governments mired in gridlock while a patient but unrelenting ecological crisis looms. America is in upheaval, battered by violent weather and extreme politics. In California in 2013, Tony Pietrus, a scientist studying deposits of undersea methane, receives a death threat. His fate will become bound to a stunning cast of characters—a broken drug addict, a star advertising strategist, a neurodivergent mathematician, a cunning eco-terrorist, an actor turned religious zealot, and a brazen young activist named Kate Morris, who, in the mountains of Wyoming, begins a project that will alter the course of the decades to come. From the Gulf Coast to Los Angeles, the Midwest to Washington, DC, their intertwined odysseys unfold against a stark backdrop of accelerating chaos as they summon courage, galvanize a nation, fall to their own fear, and find wild hope in the face of staggering odds. As their stories hurtle toward a spectacular climax, each faces a reckoning: what will they sacrifice to salvage humanity’s last chance at a future? A singular achievement, The Deluge is a once-in-a-generation novel that meets the moment as few works of art ever have.
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A good book, very well written; but also very slow and incredibly depressing, with a sort of anti-climactic end.
Can't remember last time I gave a book five full stars. I want to deduct a little for the americentrism, but. just can't.
The Deluge by Stephen Markley tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time—that of the climate crisis. This ambitious novel, spanning multiple timelines and featuring a diverse cast of complex characters, deserves a place on any thinking person's bookshelf who is concerned about what human beings are doing to this planet in the name of progress.
The novel weaves together complex plotlines and explores the far-reaching consequences of our collective inaction when it comes to issues such as greenhouse gases, melting icebergs, and the destruction of the rainforest. Each character in the narrative has a significant and nuanced arc of change spurring the reader to examine their own part in the imminent crisis. It's not often you find literary style blended seamlessly with a fast-paced story and for me, this makes The Deluge a must-read. The prose is both challenging and accessible. The author has obviously done his homework, both in terms of the hard science as well as the vivid descriptions and nuanced characters.
My thanks to Net Galley and Simon & Shuster for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy for early review.
Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, there are also moments of wit and humor that offer a ray of hope. This brilliant, prophetic, and timely novel would be perfect for book clubs and is sure to spur lively discussions.
