Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson
I'm a huge fan of Stephenson's early work, all the way to Cryptonomicon. The System of the World was brilliant but ultimately so long and convoluted that I never finished it. Then Anathem got the best of me and I kind of gave up. Read some collaborations, the first of the Mongoliad (meh), the D.O.D.O (supermeh). With Termination Shock, I think it's fair to say that the Stephenson I loved and related to is back.
His early work was often high concept, action packed and focused on deep issues treated in a light tone. Termination Shock is all of that. Its core theme is climate change, and more specifically geoengineering. In a nutshell, and without spoiling much, it asks the question of how global powers would react if private parties started taking geoengeneering matters into their own hands.
The cast of characters, as often with Stephenson is diverse and unexpected: a queen, a wild hog hunter, a Canadian born punjabi martial-artist, an excentric Texan billionaire, etc. I loved every minute of it, and while the book doesn't end with a bang, at least it ends somewhat satisfactorily, something Stephenson has struggled to deliver in the past. It has the thriller adrenaline of Zodiac (and some common themes), the near-future yet minblowing tech concepts of Cryptonomicon and the epic journey of the Diamond Age (kind of).
One of the things that amazed me the most is that a lot of what's going on seems so farfetched as to be unbelievable, yet you Google it and realise it's actually happening right now and you never knew. I know Stephenson, so I don't even need to Google it. Termination Shock isn't a political work, it doesn't suggest that this or that response to climate change is the right one. But it does force you to ask yourself what you think about it. Really excellent, easy read yet deep, thrilling yet thoughtful, it's got it all.
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