In the near future, a billionaire businessman aims to change the climate of the planet. What could go wrong? This is the Big Idea tackled in Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson.

The novel is huge, featuring multiple intertwined characters and a variety of locations around the world. Stephenson dives deeply into the technical aspects of geo-engineering, which seem (to this engineer) to be well researched and plausible. He also speculates on possible geo-political repercussions of meddling with the climate.   

Termination Shock is packed with details… so many details. If you’ve read some of Stephenson’s previous works such as Cryptonomicon or The Baroque Cycle, you won’t be surprised by the wide-ranging history lessons crammed into the book plus the familiar lessons on orbital mechanics and rocketry (see Anathem or Seven Eves).

The speculative aspects of the book have to do with the geo-politics of climate. How will different countries react to rapid changes in climate meddling, some of which may cause catastrophic droughts, floods, and loss of life? Stephenson has a believable grasp of politics, including insights into the uses of social media to wage covert war. That’s all on display in Termination Shock, but I won’t give away any spoilers.

The previous Stephenson books that I’ve truly enjoyed have a strong central character, usually a wild and crazy alpha-male type, who adventures through the landscape of the Big Idea. But in Termination Shock, I struggled to engage with the multiple POV characters, who often seemed to be accessories to the story instead of the story. Some of this distance was created by the narrative often explaining what characters were feeling and thinking rather than showing: the old “show not tell” problem. Stephenson generally fails to write believable female characters, and that was true in this book, too.

As cli-fi (climate fiction), Termination Shock succeeded in showing the technical and political aspects of geo-engineering in a plausible near future. The novel didn’t succeed in creating vibrant and engaging characters, however, which was a great disappointment.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. The narrator did a great job of bringing the many, many characters to life. This was no easy feat considering the international cast of characters and the many accents required.