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aspenandmoss's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
trashkatchewan's review
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
1.5
This was a bust for me. Just felt like a 200-page transcript of the world's worst conversation with a poorly-socialized neoliberal who has never once thought about an Indigenous worldview other than to suppose that "they'll just go along with our decisions once we educate them!". No wait, it felt like if AOC's Green New Deal ad was 4 hours long and was delivered by the world's most exciting narrators: non-world leader attendees of COP.
I thought the last future scene would be somewhat inspirational, but really it was a yawnfest of discussion on what issues would come up once we fixed climate change, bracketed by perfectly scripted tableaus of the most utopian community-based disaster relief and unimaginably naïve depictions of quaint, friendly negotiations with rich people to give their money to the cause willingly instead of waiting for it to be forcibly taken by a wealth tax. The description of the actions needed to bring all this about was definitely what got me though - explicitly laying out that the movement to save the planet was mostly nonviolent direct action in a plea to defang any meaningful movement we've collected at this point, urging insistently, "no please, don't fight the rich and powerful, make your case and they'll join us peacefully!"
Anyways, those are my takeaways. Sorry to this author if they ever get on this website, as I can see that this will be one of 3 reviews available. I liked the title "Thor's Year" if that's any consolation.
I thought the last future scene would be somewhat inspirational, but really it was a yawnfest of discussion on what issues would come up once we fixed climate change, bracketed by perfectly scripted tableaus of the most utopian community-based disaster relief and unimaginably naïve depictions of quaint, friendly negotiations with rich people to give their money to the cause willingly instead of waiting for it to be forcibly taken by a wealth tax. The description of the actions needed to bring all this about was definitely what got me though - explicitly laying out that the movement to save the planet was mostly nonviolent direct action in a plea to defang any meaningful movement we've collected at this point, urging insistently, "no please, don't fight the rich and powerful, make your case and they'll join us peacefully!"
Anyways, those are my takeaways. Sorry to this author if they ever get on this website, as I can see that this will be one of 3 reviews available. I liked the title "Thor's Year" if that's any consolation.
ishagk's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
So smartly written, perfectly toeing the line between fiction and non-fiction. A detailed review to come.
My only complaint (to the publisher, not the writer who was kind enough about this) is that it's priced too high on Kindle, especially outside North America.
4.75/5⭐
My only complaint (to the publisher, not the writer who was kind enough about this) is that it's priced too high on Kindle, especially outside North America.
4.75/5⭐
ostrowk's review
5.0
Really appreciated the arc of powerfully- and vividly-imagined scenarios that ADH created here. Finished with the most utopian one today ("If we can do this, we can do asteroids!") out in the sun, right as a leaked draft to overturn Roe is circulating, with protests happening all over the country tonight—yet another reminder, as if we'd needed it, of the precariousness of progress. SSP1 feels hard to win, but that's no excuse not to try. SSP 3-5 are scary as hell! Great companion read to KSR's MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE, which ADH himself refers to in the afterword. Will spread the word about these stories and hope to teach at least two of these in class someday!
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