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Collapse of Western Civilization

bothsidesnow's picture

When I read this book's front inside flap, I saw this story described as "science-based fiction" I thought that it could contain more elements of fiction that I am used to. Instead, this short piece (novella maybe?) read more like an article in a science or news magazine. The fiction aspects were the years in the future, until 2393 with only a slightly altered 20th and early 21st century. I thought that like All Over Creation, there would be distinct characters who would narrate the changes that occur to the world as we know it. I did notice that there was a slight narration by the authors and in that, there were some opinion shown, such as when describing that the American conservatives and GOP members who would not listen to the pleas made by the scientists. Reading this, it seemed the authors leaned more toward the liberal and/or Democratic side of the argument but also spoke critically of the scientists who did not go far enough to convince the general public because they feared that they wouldn't be understood. I also found this difficult to read because a lot of imaginary organizations and facts and events were presented along with those that already exist, so while I was trying to learn about what is real, I was also trying to keep up with the fictional parts. Also it was a bit disturbing/weird to hear descriptions of the recent past (late 1990s, 2000s, early 2010s) be described in a kind of distant manner. I noticed the narrator used "our" at one point but at others it seemed that they were know-it-alls and possibly superior to ue (current humans in 2015).