The Ministry for the Future

By: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrated by: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Ramon de Ocampo, Gary Bennett, Raphael Corkhill, Barrie Kreinik, Natasha Soudek, Nikki Massoud, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Inés del Castillo, Vikas Adam

Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favourite reads of 2020

Established in 2025, the purpose of the new organisation was simple: to advocate for the world's future generations and to protect all living creatures, present and future. It soon became known as the Ministry for the Future, and this is its story.

From legendary science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined.

Told entirely through fictional eye-witness accounts, The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, the story of how climate change will affect us all over the decades to come.

Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face.

It is a novel both immediate and impactful, desperate and hopeful in equal measure, and it is one of the most powerful and original books on climate change ever written.

©2020 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"The Ministry for the Future ranks among Robinson's best recent works, a collection of actions and observations that adds up to more than the sum of its eclectic and urgent parts." (Sierra)

"A breathtaking look at the challenges that face our planet in all their sprawling magnitude and also in their intimate, individual moments of humanity." (Booklist - starred review)

"Gutsy, humane... This heartfelt work of hard science-fiction is a must-read for anyone worried about the future of the planet." (Publishers Weekly - starred review)

A stunning vision of the future

This is a bit like World War Z, climate change edition, written by Bishop Tutu. Compelling and exciting, human and revolutionary. This is how humanity could actually overcome systemic greed with clever policy and disruption, to avert global disaster.

eco-utopian politics and economics

Fantastic book, almost a manifesto. Lays out a map for transitioning from late capitalist ecocide to... something better. Like the best SF it takes us from our current world into something new in an entirely plausible way, backed by solid research and considered speculation. The story centres on Mary, head of the Ministry and we have just enough engagement with her inner life to humanize and personalise the global events.

At times a couple of the narrators are perhaps a little too eager to "act" the role they are reading, and some of the attempts at accents are questionable, but this is a mere quibble and those passages are short. The bulk of the book as superbly narrated.

Probably better as audiobook than as a book

The book contains many important ideas but its experimental nature seems to betray many unsuccessful attempts at creating a good storyline. I would recommend the audio version which is read by a cast of readers with lovely voices. This helped me to recognize the various threads that run in parallel from the get go. It also helped me to go through this very long book that starts brilliantly and slowly goes down from there till the end.

Appalling reading makes this unlistenable

I really, really wanted to listen to this book but after several hours I gave up. The readings are just dreadful. The attempts at accents are simply embarrassing and at time become offensive, as if they are telling a racist joke. It just made me cringe. Whoever made the decision to record it this way should be fired. This was, without doubt, the worst I’ve ever listened to and I just couldn’t continue. A pity because the CONTENT seemed interesting and thought provoking. The woman who read accents from Ireland and the Indian sub continent was absolutely the worst. :-(

Boring

This book is just boring. There are pockets of adventure, but in between are huge sections of weird quasi scientific ranting. It jumps around. I gave up about 5 hours in. I suspect it is better is you read it so you can see the breaks and skim some of the pieces when they get annoying. It just didn’t work for me as an audiobook.

Good material, but underwhelming implementation

I absolutely devoured Robinson's Mars Trilogy and like his style of meticulous developing story arcs and characters. And since I'm both worried and interested about climate change and the real danger it poses to the planet, our societies and all other species, I was looking forward to KSR's take on the matter. BUT this audiobook is best described as annoying and tedious:

- NO PLOT: It feels like an enumeration of ideas and worthwhile efforts KSR has researched and wants to showcase. These are worth reading, of course - especially the ministry itself and and a carbon-based fiat currency. But the story bits he creates around them are uninpired and only losely connected.

- KSR KNOWS AND LOVES ZURICH. It's tiresome to get Swiss street names and Swiss features thrown at you by the dozens and by narrators who cannot pronounce German names to save their life. Too much time is spent in the details of Zurich without adding to the story or being necessary to develop characters. KSR is just showing off: He knows the city.

- NOT FRANK AGAIN! An absurd amount of time is given to the PTSD-driven "life story" of Frank the American. He doesn't contribute anything to the plot except his deparation. The heatwave story is valid, but after that you'll likely thing time after time: Not Frank again!!

- VOICE ACTING with "ACCENTS": The regional accents are cringeworthy, sometimes close to carricatures. If you've been around internationally, you'll laugh a lot. But this book would probably have profited from ONE single narrator (female of course) and leaving accents to the imagination. Especially since they're not important for the story. All these somtimes silly voices do is add to the impression of disjointed plot pieces being slapped together.

- ABRUPT END: The story simply falls off a cliff in the end. It seems that KSR was running out of ideas or that the publisher was running out of patience and told him to finish it. Summary: Things start getting better, revolution ongoing, let's leave here.

If this is indeed one of Obama's favourite books, it's pobably for the ideas and the sense of urgency - not much else holds up.