The Deluge

The Deluge is a gripping, emotionally engaging novel that focusses on climate change politics in the USA. Its set in the recent past and mostly the near future (2020s and 2030s).
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“...climate change is overwhelming the foundations of American life — not only physical infrastructure, like dams and reservoirs, but also the legal underpinnings that have made those systems” New York Times, Jan. 27, 2023
“As the Colorado River Shrinks, Washington Prepares to Spread the Pain” By Christopher Flavelle

This quote from the New York Times is about how addressing climate change is going to become more difficult as climate change disrupts US society and infrastructure. Not only are the physical risks bad from climate change increasing, many of the social risks produced by addressing it area also increasing. And as those risks materialize they are likely going to make addressing climate change more difficult. This social political reality, much more than the details of the climate cycle or nature based solutions is what this book is about.

“The Deluge” is a literary thriller. It is long, but it plows forward. At least for me, I found it a page turner, that read more like a Stephen King's “The Stand” than the multi-voiced and sometimes dull “Ministry of the Future.”

The Deluge it realistic and grounded. It deeply engages with US politics. As a non-US resident or citizen I would have preferred a more global focus, but from a story perspective I think it worked.

It is a gripping novel, and essential reading for those interested in imagining a climate transition and an engaging worrying read for those who love big disaster/horror/science fiction novels.

Compared to other good, in different ways, big, recent climate novels.

The Deluge is:
More focussed, political, and character driven than
“Ministry for the Future” or “Termination Shock.”

Less scientific and engineering focussed than “Ministry for the Future”
Less panoramic than “Ministry for the Future”

More grounded in the details of people's lives than either of them.
More US focussed than either of them.

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.

A good book, very well written; but also very slow and incredibly depressing, with a sort of anti-climactic end.