The Deluge
By Stephen Markley
Simon & Schuster, 9781982123093, January 10, 2023, 896pp.
The Short of It:
This book left me feeling very frustrated and honestly, a little sick to my stomach. Climate change is terrifying.
The Rest of It:
In the first decades of the 21st century, the world is convulsing, its governments mired in gridlock while a patient but unrelenting ecological crisis looms. ~ Indiebound
In 2013, Tony is a scientist studying the effects of undersea methane. His discoveries are not welcome and result in death threats. As he continues with his studies, which take him into the mid-2030s, we are introduced to a cast of characters. Some broken, some desperate, some so driven that they are oblivious to their paths of destruction.
This is an ambitious and terrifying read because it gives us a glimpse of where we are headed. We are experiencing the effects of climate change now, but reading about what our lives could be 15 years from now is especially terrifying because I’m not sure we can do much about it at this point. So much damage has already been done. Is this our fate? Temps so hot that life cannot be sustained?
The Deluge is not a fun book to read but it is an important read. It’s nearly 900 pages but I plowed through it, hopeful that I’d find some glimmer of good somewhere in the text. That was not to be. This book will shake you up and leave you very unsettled. If that was Markley’s intent, then he succeeded.
Why read it? Because it’s important to consider how our actions affect life as we know it. Environmentally, rising temps, drought, poisonous gasses, and really, waste in general can do us in. Holing up in the safety of our homemade cocoons won’t save future generations.
Markley paints a very scary picture of the future. Do with that what you will.
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
This sounds like a terrifying, yet necessary read. I wonder how many of our legislators and regulators are reading this!
Good point. I feel like we needed this book 15 years ago. So much damage has already been done.
I have a review copy and will be reading it soon. I’ve postponed it because I know it will be extremely difficult now that I’ve lived through hurricane Ian. Look at the weather. Look at the future. Honestly, it’s all terrifying.
It’s gritty and harsh and yet I flew through 890 pages.
Many people don’t believe in climate change, but it is definitely real. I used to vacation in Floridain during Christmas in the 70’s with my family. It was always so hot. Now I’ve lived in Florida for over 30 years and the winters have been getting colder and colder. We’ve had temps. in the low 30’s this year and a few before now and had to scrape ice off of our windshields. Anyone who doesn’t believe that is due to climate change needs to do a rethink.
Seriously!! The proof of climate change is everywhere you look. Here in Ca we are having a thing called King tides where the ocean ends up on freeways and in homes on the waterfront. It’s weird to be driving on a major highway through salt water.
That would be very weird! The only thing I saw blow across PCH1 was sand storms.
whoa 900 pages you plowed through?! it’s sounds very scary and bleak – I wouldn’t make it … the book or the apocalypse survival
To add to its bleakness, there is quite a bit of violence. Assassinations and the like. Caught me off guard.
I agree we’ve left it too late for the most part, but I am really trying to do my part to make small improvements. My latest is working to get rid of my gas stove and move to induction. Not cheap, but I’ll feel better and healthier (turns out gas stoves release a ton of stuff into the air as we cook).
They are talking about a gas stove ban in this state. I prefer to cook with gas but I’ve never had an induction oven so can’t compare. I do not like electric ranges.
My parents have induction and it’s great to cook on. It heats up quickly and the “chef” has way more control over temperature.