Forty Signs of Rain

An elegantly crafted and beguiling novel set in the very near future. Anna Quibler is a technocrat at the National Science Foundation while her husband, Charlie, takes care of their toddler and telecommutes as a legislative consultant to a senator. Their family life is a delight to observe, as are the interactions of the scientists at the NSF and related organizations. When a Buddhist delegation, whose country is being flooded because of climate change, opens an embassy near the NSF, the Quiblers befriend them and teach them to work the system of politics and grants. The Buddhists, in turn, affect the scientists in delightful and unexpectedly significant ways. The characters all share information and theories, appreciating the threat that global warming poses, but they just can’t seem to awaken a sense of urgency in the politicians who could do something about it. (Robinson’s characterizations of politicians are barbed, and often hilarious.) As the scientists focus on the minutia...

Author: Robinson Kim Stanley
ISBN: 7148860
Year of publication: 2004
Collection: Science in the Capital
Genre: Science Fiction
Number of pages: 333
Reading time: 5 h. 33 min.
Formats: FB2, EPUB, PDF
Language: english
Requests: read online, download without registration, e-book