Where Fiction meets Reality, Book Review of climate fiction ‘’The Deluge’’ by Stephen Markley
Original German version here
Although I have been working to get society to respond to climate change for over 25 years, first as a scientist and later as a campaigner, I never experienced a deep climate anxiety about the climate crisis. It was only the mammoth work “The Deluge” by the American author Stephen Markley that made me do so. It’s a story of the climate crisis from 2013 to 2039 in the USA and a rollercoaster of emotions. After I had finished about a third of the book, I felt more and more a deep resignation that the world is slowly but surely sinking into chaos and that it seems impossible to stop it. In the novel there isn’t one momentous event, like a huge deluge as in the Bible or in the Hindu Paranas, but numerous extreme weather events now and again, as we already see them today. The book is an outgrowth of our current situation. Ecological consequences as well as social and economic problems are constantly growing.
It is impressive how Markley has his finger on the pulse of the times — politically, culturally and socially. Through the actions of many characters in the novel, he paints a detailed picture of the world in the climate crisis. A charismatic climate activist, a furious climate scientist, a neurodivergent technocrat, a second-rate actor turned fanatical pastor and presidential candidate (with the help of the industry), a poor drug addict, an unscrupulous advertising executive and a shrewd eco-terrorist show us different perspectives of a world suffering from a creeping collapse.
The arguments and discussions in the book reflect our reality. Do we need technocratic laws or a social and ecological revolution? Should we be pragmatic and work with politicians to challenge reforms or should we break completely with the political system and the elites? What tactics are called for; lobbying, building solidarity circles, organizing, civil disobedience or sabotage?
It is no surprise that there is an eco-terrorist group in the plot. Who can blame them? The first climate negotiations took place in 1995 and there have been numerous actions, campaigns and lobbying since then. Nevertheless, we have emitted more CO2 globally between 1991–2021 than before. Like Andreas Malm in “How to blow up a pipeline”, the 6Degrees group argues in the book that all other tactics and strategies have failed us. Their conclusion: escalation in the form of sabotage is our only salvation.
The climate organization Fierce Blue Fire has a leading role in the book; it is willing to work with all political parties as long as they support strong climate laws. At the same time, it supports abandoned communities to create transformation. The group is working with a newly elected Republican president to pass strong climate legislation, but her opponents have other plans. The fossil fuel industry is running a strong PR campaign and engaging trolls to get people on the left and right to position themselves against the law. Additionally, 6Degrees carries out three attacks on power plants. Reading this, I felt empty and thought that the perfect had become the enemy of the good. With what result? A law that combines climate and counter-terrorism. The climate part of the new law is watered down, while there are more powers for the authorities to take action against terror.
Is it possible to scale up sabotage and implement it effectively to advance climate justice faster? Can it work without alienating a large part of the population? In the book, sabotage is controlled by a small group and is based on high-tech interventions, which makes it difficult to replicate. In the novel, acts of sabotage are also not carried out by the core group; instead it lures poor people with money to do the dirty work.
The question of repression is always quickly present for me when I think about sabotage. How does the state react when infrastructure is destroyed? In the book, several operatives are sentenced to long prison terms. Even in our real world, several countries use anti-terror laws to arrest climate activists for civil disobedience, like Winfried Lorenz, who participated in several Last Generation sit-ins in Germany.
As 6Degrees escalated further and decided to carry out assassinations, I lost my admiration for them. The system is never controlled by individuals and the dead are simply replaced by other people. And what do you do with the whole ruling class if the balance of power changes? Forcing obedience through fear is not an effective strategy — as Audre Lorde wrote, “the tools of the rulers will never tear down the house of the rulers”.
Despite catastrophic conditions after extreme weather events, the dysfunctional economy and terrorist attacks, life goes on in Markley’s USA of the 2030s. And the fight against the climate crisis doesn’t stop either. Several characters in the book band together to take advantage of the financial crisis and the political crisis: They want to pass a law that will actually make a difference. Markley gives an impressive account of how a change in the law in 2037 will help to keep the temperature rise in check — even if the fossil fuel industry lobbied successfully to be compensated for losses. In this chapter, my confidence slowly returned and my fear dissipated; the collapse won’t happen that easily!
What do I take away for our times? Yes, we must be prepared for disasters to avoid the shock doctrine and we must be prepared to continue to fight against the burning of fossil fuels. Giving up is not an option because every tenth of a degree counts and the innocent bear the worst consequences. How do we keep fighting? We broaden the movement, think about how we can improve existing laws, choose unusual messengers for our message and come up with new, creative tactics for mass mobilization. No single group has the strategy that will lead us to our goal. Our only chance is to weave several strategies together synergistically. The road beyond the climate crisis is bumpy; mistakes will happen. Nevertheless, we can increase the chances of preventing a social collapse. And if a collapse does occur, our preparations mean our fall will be softer and it will be easier to get back up.
