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The Ministry for the Future

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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
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About this listen

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 Science Fiction Fiction Socialism
All stars
Most relevant  
A necessary book for our current times. May it inspire the next generation to take the actions described within.

Optimistic Dystopia at its Finest

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I struggled to finish it, very shallow characters, bland story. A compendium of ideas on how to transform capitalism into a communist green Utopia with animals humans and mother Earth in harmony, with a narrative focus in demonising the usual villains: rhe US, the bankers, and the oil companies. Shallow and naive dialogues between key characters, at times portraing them in a childish or immature way.

boring communist utopian manifesto

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This authour has thoroughly researched the topic developed a creative future-casting for a positive future for humanity.

A possible template for change

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great book very down to earth.
all the best to the author and cast

great work

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Realistic in the climate impacts and solutions. Gripping in its human tales. I wish there was a real Ministry of the Future!

Best climate change fiction you'll find

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A really fascinating read that, while somewhat lacking in story, gives lots to think about in terms of environmental issues and how to solve them

Really really interesting

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It feels good to immerse yourself in a difficult but climate positive future.

If you want to find fault with the practicalites of it you can, but this is a utopian piece.

The book is difficult to turn into an audio book as there are so many nationalities represented, even with the many actors they do have they still have to put on south east Asian accents for example, which is grating.

A Useful Book

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A have divided feelings about this book. It’s great to have an imaginary positive future about climate change, but much of this reads like a (US) liberal’s fantasy of how action might happen. Too little detail is given to how the forces against action will fight tooth and nail. As fantasy, it’s a great read. As a listen, the involvement of multiple readers doing dozens of accents (often quite badly) was distracting.

A fantasy of good things to come…

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I have read news articles which focus on the ideas in this book. That confirms that ideas in this book will become real very soon. Author does a great job of drawing on what's happening around us and dares to build a future that we can relate to.

Future fiction, so close to future fact

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The first chapter grabbed me, then it built from there.

Then, the final third became a real slog

Started out great, then dragged on......and on....

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