Review 368: The Deluge

The Deluge by Stephen Markley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A deluge of words and pages, later becomes a deluge of rain and flood waters then finally a deluge of people.  

This is an impressive book, it takes us from current time into the near future, incrementally year by year. It gives us a horrifying look at what climate change might look like, and US politics. 

There are a large cast of characters, in the beginning of the book they each get their own chapter, with some depth, that it feels like you are untethered. But later they do start to intertwine and recur with subsequent chapters. There are some unusual aspects to the book; one character’s chapters always contain side boxes with extra information, there are some articles interspersed, and occasionally a full page with headlines and snippets.

While I am impressed with the scope of breadth of this book, part of me thinks it is too much too soon. Many of these events take place ten to fifteen years from now and seem too extreme for possibility (or at least that’s my hope!). The book is overwhelming, impressive, and frightening. 

Certainly, the author is hoping this epic book will serve as a warning. Perhaps one take away from the book is that one person can make a difference, as we see several versions of that here. 

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for an advance print copy of the book. 

Initial thoughts: I need a breather after this one.

Yet, I didn't wait to start a new book....only a few hours later began something new.