2014 science fiction. A nameless scholar of the Second Chinese
Republic looks back from the year 2393 on the Penumbral Age that
brought western civilisation to its close.
This is both science fiction and polemic, and the former is very
much subordinated to the latter. To the authors, it's utterly
obvious what should be done about climate change, and anyone who
disgrees with them in any detail is just being selfish. (The
demagogues I dislike most are the ones who take an extreme version of
a position with which I basically agree.) There's good material here,
particuarly the footnotes that link to more conventionally written
information, but the overriding tone of "we know better now, of
course" tends to reduce my sympathy for the authors.
And they're very hazy about the terribly superior science they tout –
well, of course, in the real world they aren't going to rebuild all of
scientific thought double-handed, are they? Similarly, they advocate
forcible government action without suggesting any way of avoiding
massive peculation and power-grabs by those in charge, saving
themselves at the expense of everyone else. More experienced SF
writers know how to do this sort of thing without inviting the reader
to challenge them to put up or shut up.
In fact the whole thing comes off as an attempt at science fiction by
people who don't really know the genre; it's Last and First Men in
microcosm, with rather less excuse for the lack of actual characters
since it's all happening over a short period. It's a very high-level
account, where narratives about individuals might have had a greater
effect and been rather more engaging. And the "Chinese" author focuses
almost entirely on the actions of the USA, because they're the
real-world target audience.
This very short book (a mere 89 pages in paperback, and the last 32
are a glossary of terms and an interview with the authors) would be
expensive at $5 or more (the US ebook is the cheapest), even if every
word were molten gold dropping from the lips of the greatest writers
of all time. And they aren't.
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