Call number
SPEC FIC STE
Collection
Genres
Publication
William Morrow (2021), 720 pages
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML: New York Times Bestseller From Neal Stephensonâ??who coined the term "metaverse" in his 1992 novel Snow Crashâ??comes a sweeping, prescient new thriller that transports readers to a near-future world in which the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics. "Stephenson is one of speculative fiction's most meticulous architects. . . . Termination Shock manages to pull off a rare trick, at once wildly imaginative and grounded." â?? New York Times Book Review One manâ??visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D.â??has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied? Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease? Epic in scope while heartbreakingly human in perspective, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member BobVTReader
Having read the reviews I had high expectations. On the other hand, being a scientist I had lower expectations. The books falls somewhere in-between. Reflection the heat and light back off of the planet using sulfur dioxide, is at best a short term solution. One is still left with a high
As a story, it is interesting, though it has too many one and two dimensional characters in it. Who is the hero/heroine? The queen maybe but not TR. He is another Elon Musk. The real heroes are some pf the minor characters, especially Red. And while it is Epic in Scope, it is also an epic mess. On the other hand the story is good enough to keep one reading.
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concentration of carbon dioxide. We need to lower the concentration of carbon dioxide 50 years ago, The climate change package that was recently put forth was written by the polluter and is nothing more than a suicide pack amongst the nations. While countries are bad actors it is big business who is the real problem and the book touches only briefly on their role in pollution. As a story, it is interesting, though it has too many one and two dimensional characters in it. Who is the hero/heroine? The queen maybe but not TR. He is another Elon Musk. The real heroes are some pf the minor characters, especially Red. And while it is Epic in Scope, it is also an epic mess. On the other hand the story is good enough to keep one reading.
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LibraryThing member santhony
Some of the finest novels I’ve ever read were written by Neal Stephenson (Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash, Anathem, The Diamond Age). Others have been disappointing, most particularly Reamde, which I found absurd. Seveneves had flaws, but had an interesting premise and was well written. I found this
Like so many recent novels, climate change forms the background of the story. Set in the near future, temperatures have soared and sea levels have risen. A Houston billionaire has decided to take remedial action and enlisted the support of the “woke” Queen of the Netherlands (the main protagonist in the story), along with various others most closely impacted by the crisis.
Unfortunately, the remedial action undertaken does not uniformly benefit all of the nations of the world. A secondary thread follows a Canadian Sikh, who travels to India to “find himself”, only to be recruited by the Indian special forces for an act of environmental “defense”. The Chinese also play a role.
As in Seveneves, some of the scenarios border on the silly, but the writing is generally good and the book is certainly readable. The chapters dealing with the India/China “line of actual control” was not only highly entertaining, but educational.
So, at the end of the day, this is not one of Stephenson’s best efforts, but is not a bad read.
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work to be very similar to Seveneves in that respect. Like so many recent novels, climate change forms the background of the story. Set in the near future, temperatures have soared and sea levels have risen. A Houston billionaire has decided to take remedial action and enlisted the support of the “woke” Queen of the Netherlands (the main protagonist in the story), along with various others most closely impacted by the crisis.
Unfortunately, the remedial action undertaken does not uniformly benefit all of the nations of the world. A secondary thread follows a Canadian Sikh, who travels to India to “find himself”, only to be recruited by the Indian special forces for an act of environmental “defense”. The Chinese also play a role.
As in Seveneves, some of the scenarios border on the silly, but the writing is generally good and the book is certainly readable. The chapters dealing with the India/China “line of actual control” was not only highly entertaining, but educational.
So, at the end of the day, this is not one of Stephenson’s best efforts, but is not a bad read.
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LibraryThing member setnahkt
In the “golden age” of science fiction, writers always assumed space exploration would be the province of private enterprise. It’s not that they were especially libertarian – but that they couldn’t imagine the government getting involved in any such thing. (The exception was military; it
Thus, Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock is sort of a return to tradition. It’s set at some indeterminate time in the future, when climate change has become so severe that it’s impossible to go out in the daytime without a refrigerated suit. The United States government is “a basket case” and “a laughing stock” when it comes to dealing with the problem; it’s not spelled out how this happened but there are broad hints that it has something to do with a certain early 21st century political movement. Therefore a Texas billionaire decides to take matters into his own hands by undertaking a geoengineering project (he’s got a lot of investment in land that will end up underwater if sea level continues to rise, but is also motivated by humanitarian considerations). Needless to say, there are objections from government – just not the US government. Not much more to say without spoilers, but as usual in a Stephenson novel I learned quite a bit about diverse things – Dutch politics, Sikh martial arts, and falconry to name a few.
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was always a given that there would be a Space Corps or something similar to fend off invasions by bug-eyed monsters that wanted our women). Thus, Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock is sort of a return to tradition. It’s set at some indeterminate time in the future, when climate change has become so severe that it’s impossible to go out in the daytime without a refrigerated suit. The United States government is “a basket case” and “a laughing stock” when it comes to dealing with the problem; it’s not spelled out how this happened but there are broad hints that it has something to do with a certain early 21st century political movement. Therefore a Texas billionaire decides to take matters into his own hands by undertaking a geoengineering project (he’s got a lot of investment in land that will end up underwater if sea level continues to rise, but is also motivated by humanitarian considerations). Needless to say, there are objections from government – just not the US government. Not much more to say without spoilers, but as usual in a Stephenson novel I learned quite a bit about diverse things – Dutch politics, Sikh martial arts, and falconry to name a few.
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LibraryThing member bfister
There's a problem when reading e-books: endings can sneak up on you. That happened to me last night, when I got my own termination shock. Wait, it's over? Already??
I enjoyed the heck out of this novel. A bit reminiscent of REAMDE, it pulls together some fascinating characters from different walks
Meanwhile, a Canadian Sikh who has traveled to India is finding his way into the world of a particularly acrobatic martial art by hanging out at gudwaras and practicing gatka there. He falls in with a Uyghar refugee, two Sikh football hooligans from England, and a New Zealand documentary maker. They eventually travel to the disputed border with China, where a tense diplomacy is played out by men armed only with sticks, rocks, and competing YouTube videos. Both storylines are vividly presented and half the fun is trying to work out how they'll converge, as they eventually do.
The Texan's plan involves shooting an element (one that was considered just a dirty part of crude oil) into the stratosphere with a battery of Texas-sized guns. Of course, a change in climate will advantage some (including the Netherlands, hence the queen's presence) and disadvantage others, which puts the whole scheme into the center of a geopolitical struggle which involves high technology, social media, and ... sticks.
Some of my terminal shock was due to electronic files not having the weight of pages being gradually moved from right to left, signaling the approaching conclusion. But it also seemed surprisingly abrupt, leaving big questions unresolved (though it has bang-up action scenes and plenty of tension). I think I hoped for something more nuanced about what happens next, since the narrative is about competing ideas about how to deal with the climate emergency. There is a gesture toward a future (and I'm SO glad the author didn't indulged in an apocalyptic every-man-for-himself dystopian hellscape/libertarian fantasy of human behavior) but I wanted a slightly smoother landing. Maybe that's the point, though - we have no idea what the future holds, but we have a pretty good idea of what happens if we ignore it as we have for decades.
It will make you think, and you'll be tremendously entertained while doing it.
I enjoyed the heck out of this novel. A bit reminiscent of REAMDE, it pulls together some fascinating characters from different walks
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of life and travels the globe. In this case, the first voyage brings the Queen of the Netherlands to Waco, Texas, where the plane she is personally piloting has an unusually bumpy landing thanks to the sudden eruption of a herd of feral hogs (those scary beasts of Twitter meme-fame) onto the runway. They're being pursued by Red, an African-American/Native man who is pursuing the biggest one like Captain Ahab looking for his white whale. After dispatching the massive beast, Red and a contingent of the Cajun Navy (thanks to rising seas, their travels take them to places like Waco) he helps the royal group travel to meet the larger-than-life Texan who owns a fleet of giant truck stops and has come up with a plan to save the world from global warming. Meanwhile, a Canadian Sikh who has traveled to India is finding his way into the world of a particularly acrobatic martial art by hanging out at gudwaras and practicing gatka there. He falls in with a Uyghar refugee, two Sikh football hooligans from England, and a New Zealand documentary maker. They eventually travel to the disputed border with China, where a tense diplomacy is played out by men armed only with sticks, rocks, and competing YouTube videos. Both storylines are vividly presented and half the fun is trying to work out how they'll converge, as they eventually do.
The Texan's plan involves shooting an element (one that was considered just a dirty part of crude oil) into the stratosphere with a battery of Texas-sized guns. Of course, a change in climate will advantage some (including the Netherlands, hence the queen's presence) and disadvantage others, which puts the whole scheme into the center of a geopolitical struggle which involves high technology, social media, and ... sticks.
Some of my terminal shock was due to electronic files not having the weight of pages being gradually moved from right to left, signaling the approaching conclusion. But it also seemed surprisingly abrupt, leaving big questions unresolved (though it has bang-up action scenes and plenty of tension). I think I hoped for something more nuanced about what happens next, since the narrative is about competing ideas about how to deal with the climate emergency. There is a gesture toward a future (and I'm SO glad the author didn't indulged in an apocalyptic every-man-for-himself dystopian hellscape/libertarian fantasy of human behavior) but I wanted a slightly smoother landing. Maybe that's the point, though - we have no idea what the future holds, but we have a pretty good idea of what happens if we ignore it as we have for decades.
It will make you think, and you'll be tremendously entertained while doing it.
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LibraryThing member MaggieFlo
This is a speculative fiction story about climate change and the use of geo engineering to slow down damage to the atmosphere.
The story centres around four characters: the Queen of the Netherlands, Frederika Mathilda Louise Saskia who is looking for ways to keep the North Sea from deluging her
The story is very compelling because of the concepts, the characters, the plot, the inventive ways of using technology such as drones and the other sub characters who contribute to the plot.
Termination shock refers to what might happen to the climate if solutions were found to be workable but for whatever reason, ceased to be used, possibly causing more harm than good.
Good story
The story centres around four characters: the Queen of the Netherlands, Frederika Mathilda Louise Saskia who is looking for ways to keep the North Sea from deluging her
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country and is heading to a high level meeting in Texas. TR Mccooligan is an extremely wealthyTexan who owns a string of gas stations and sulphur mines in the US and New Guinea. He has invited several world thinkers and influencers to witness his solution to climate change which involves launching cylinders of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. Deep Laks is a Sikh from Biritish Columbia who has some very special skills in martial arts combat that makes him an invaluable asset to the Indian government. The most interesting character of all is Rufus, a mixed race American from Oklahoma who is a Jack of all trades including a keen wild boar marksman, an expert drone user, mechanic, good person and problem solver.The story is very compelling because of the concepts, the characters, the plot, the inventive ways of using technology such as drones and the other sub characters who contribute to the plot.
Termination shock refers to what might happen to the climate if solutions were found to be workable but for whatever reason, ceased to be used, possibly causing more harm than good.
Good story
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LibraryThing member quondame
Neal Stephenson having fun again and inviting us on a romp though climate change amelioration via feral hogs, the Netherlander royals, lots of sulfur and sinister Chinese operatives. Typically it is significantly longer than it needs to be for the amount of fun on offer and as unconvincing as
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Stephenson often is. Show Less
LibraryThing member grandpahobo
Another terrific story from Neil Stephenson. I was amazed at how he was able to weave so many recent events into the story.
LibraryThing member fpagan
With this typically long tale, set maybe a decade in the future, Stephenson catches up to Kim Stanley Robinson (_New York 2140_, _The Ministry for the Future_) in contributing to quality "cli-fi" (climate-change fiction). It's about a kind of geoengineering (firing sulfur dioxide into the
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stratosphere), and it involves West Texas, New Guinea, Venice and Albania, eagles and drones, China/India border skirmishes, and the queen of the Netherlands. Not as unforgettably dazzling a work as the author's _Reamde_, _Anathem_, or _Seveneves_, but a fine companion to spend 2 or 3 weeks with. Show Less
LibraryThing member prefrontaller
Hard sci-fi book set in the near future about geoengineering projects to mitigate the harms of global warming. There are 3 interwoven threads to the novel. But one of the threads felt too belabored and reduced my overall enthusiasm for the story. Of course, given that it's a Stephenson novel, there
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are plenty of smart ideas in here. But wasn't as much an engaging read as some of his earlier books. Show Less
LibraryThing member dhm
Mastery of story and characters; outstanding narrator in Edoardo Ballerini. Interesting contrast in approach with Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future, since both Big Books came out at the same time. Best Stephenson since Reamde, and might surpass it in multi-threaded and
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attention-holding storyline. Show Less
LibraryThing member aadyer
A good, speculative, piece of fiction that varies between interesting and truly gripping. Probably a bit too long with possibly too much in the way of side issues but the characterisation and use of unusual and different characters made this somewhat different to what I expected.
Enjoyable.
I would
Enjoyable.
I would
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now consider reading something by Neal Stephenson that again Show Less
LibraryThing member Guide2
Somewhat slow after the opening, with two very different threads. Some interesting concepts mixed with current event commentary. So ok overall, but not his best work.
LibraryThing member SChant
DNF @ page 235. I usually like Stephenson's big, rambling tech discourses but this one is just turgid, and with more than a whiff of a libertarian "billionaires with big tech will fix it" attitude that I find unconvincing.
LibraryThing member themulhern
Stephenson did his best work with "Anathem" and is now certainly in decline. It was a good career, though. Here, we find him recycling plot ideas, as well as his usual pre-occupations. Three contemporary subjects pop up in this book to its detriment: stupid COVID protocols, Harry and Meghan, and
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Trump. One feels that the last two were inserted by an editor after the book was written. On the other hand, the feral pigs are great, and poor Rufus is still working through his guilt at the end, like a real human being. I devoted more thought to container ships than I have ever done before in my life. With the introduction of the stick fighter with the electronics in his brain, Stephenson retreads the territory of "Interface" with more modern technology. Given the way plot devices were being recycled I was expecting Rufus to end up like Bobby Shaftoe in Cryptonomicon, but the book ended up having an ending a great deal more like Reamde's. Show Less
LibraryThing member camharlow2
From the author of a number of novels that have won accolades for mapping out how the world may look in future, comes one that features the threat of global warming and how it may affect individuals and governments. The action takes place in the near future where increasingly unpredictable
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intensive rainfall and storms in some areas, while at the same time, other areas suffer from high temperatures and drought. Into this mix, one extremely wealthy American, T.R. McHooligan, embarks on a plan to alleviate the situation to allow time to move from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy. He aims to gain support from some global influencers, but the effect of his actions encounters opposition from the governments of powerful nations and how this plays out is the nub of the story. Some of the characters are not well drawn and also act in ways that appear unlikely given their status, but the premise of the novel and the consequences of T.R.’s actions make for a fascinating, disturbing and thought provoking novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
A wealthy and eccentric Texan takes action against climate change in the all-too-near future in this novel from the pen of Neal Stephenson - one where improbable weather phenomena and natural disasters aren't so improbable. Saskia, better known as the Queen of the Netherlands, loses control of her
Although Schmidt believes that the United States is "a clown show," he has the resources to build a gigantic gun that can spray sulfur into the atmosphere to counteract the impacts of global warming. Saskia, a few Venetian nobility, as well as officials from Singapore and other locations that stand to lose the most due to a rising sea level, have all been invited to witness what he has been working on. When Schmidt fires his gun and it actually fires, a massive international discussion breaks out. Is Schmidt's geoengineering idea the best move to take?
With so much sulfur in the air, what will happen to the world's weather patterns?
Will other nations decide to manufacture their own weapons or make an effort to block Schmidt's activities? The more than 700 pages in Stephenson's most recent book nearly turn themselves as the several plotlines, a signature exemplar of almost any Stephenson novel, intertwine. This particular novel is a unique example of a climate thriller because it is attempts realism about political obstruction in the face of catastrophe while also daring to envisage a scenario in which people might genuinely band together and attempt to save civilization.
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aircraft as she is making a landing in Waco, Texas, due to a pig stampede that blocks the runway. Since Saskia's trip to America isn't exactly official, she and her group beg Rufus for assistance in getting to Houston so they may meet T.R. Schmidt. Rufus just so happens to be on the runway hunting the vicious boar that killed his young daughter.Although Schmidt believes that the United States is "a clown show," he has the resources to build a gigantic gun that can spray sulfur into the atmosphere to counteract the impacts of global warming. Saskia, a few Venetian nobility, as well as officials from Singapore and other locations that stand to lose the most due to a rising sea level, have all been invited to witness what he has been working on. When Schmidt fires his gun and it actually fires, a massive international discussion breaks out. Is Schmidt's geoengineering idea the best move to take?
With so much sulfur in the air, what will happen to the world's weather patterns?
Will other nations decide to manufacture their own weapons or make an effort to block Schmidt's activities? The more than 700 pages in Stephenson's most recent book nearly turn themselves as the several plotlines, a signature exemplar of almost any Stephenson novel, intertwine. This particular novel is a unique example of a climate thriller because it is attempts realism about political obstruction in the face of catastrophe while also daring to envisage a scenario in which people might genuinely band together and attempt to save civilization.
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LibraryThing member Akerekes83
There are many great books by Neal Stephenson. This is not one of them.
LibraryThing member Mithril
Excellently detailed.
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is an interesting near-future climate based novel. The Earth is heating up, the seas are rising and a rich guy in Texas comes up with a solution - but will actually solving climate change, which will create more climate change, actually please anyone? This is mostly told from the POV of three
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characters - Saskia, the Queen of the Netherlands; Red, an American former military man turned feral pig hunter and drone expert and Laks, a Canadian born Sikh. How climate change throws them together and dictates events is an interesting story. There's a few places where there is way too much exposition, but otherwise this was ok. The ending was a little abrupt, though not really a shock. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
More like Seveneves than some of Stephenson's others that I confess I haven't enjoyed as much. Some typical plot sillinesses, insufficiently-drawn characters, and digressions into epic info-dumps, but engaging and provocative all the same.
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Feral hogs, lift vs. drag ratio and the Dutch royal family - this book explores many ideas in the realm of global warming. It most closely resembles Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. - though the plotting is not quite as tight. Stephenson has a unique voice and introduces certain ideas as though they
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were characters. Humorous, thoughtful and sexy this tome has something for everyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gwendydd
In the near future, when climate change is making more of the world uninhabitable due to rising sea levels, drought, and heat, a rich tycoon decides to take matters into his own hands by shooting pure Sulphur into the stratosphere to cool the planet. The book examines, in Stephenson's typical nerdy
That's the main storyline, but we see this story unfold through the eyes of the Queen of The Netherlands, who is trying to navigate her ceremonial role while also influencing the climate policies of her country; a Texan who makes a living hunting feral swine (Stephenson totally read the "30-50 feral hogs" tweet and decided to write whole novel about it); the Queen's right-hand man; and a Canadian Sikh and martial arts expert who joins a guerilla war over the border between Pakistan and China.
The plot of this book doesn't hold together as well as some of Stephenson's other thrillers, nor does it have a very satisfying conclusion. As always, Stephenson can make the endless technical details pretty interesting, and he spends a lot of time geeking out over military details. It's a decent beach read.
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detail, just how one would go about doing this without breaking any laws, and the technical and geopolitical consequences.That's the main storyline, but we see this story unfold through the eyes of the Queen of The Netherlands, who is trying to navigate her ceremonial role while also influencing the climate policies of her country; a Texan who makes a living hunting feral swine (Stephenson totally read the "30-50 feral hogs" tweet and decided to write whole novel about it); the Queen's right-hand man; and a Canadian Sikh and martial arts expert who joins a guerilla war over the border between Pakistan and China.
The plot of this book doesn't hold together as well as some of Stephenson's other thrillers, nor does it have a very satisfying conclusion. As always, Stephenson can make the endless technical details pretty interesting, and he spends a lot of time geeking out over military details. It's a decent beach read.
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LibraryThing member dabacon
Enjoyable, very much a Stephenson lite book (minimal regressions).
Awards
Kurd LaĂźwitz Preis (Nominat — 2024)
Pages
720
ISBN
0063028050 / 9780063028050