Clade

Clade is an unusual take on climate change through the eyes of various decendants in a family. The author has a good understanding of the direction climate change is going, and comments on the interactions between ecosystems, warming and the human race. Feedback cycles are also examined pretty well, though not in scientific depth. This is probably a strength as the author has successfully made the background environmental change something happening to people rather than the central discussion point. The author also manages to leave some element of hope in the book, which is unusual in this genre.

Despite these strengths I found Clade to be unenjoyable. The prose was quite straightfoward and to the point, and did not make me feel like engaging fully with the text (quite often I found myself skim reading). Similarly, the family members being followed did nothing to endear themselves to me, and I found it hard to worry what happened to any particular individual.

Overall this book is coherent, tells a hard science fiction story, but is not one I found particularly enjoyable to read.