The Great Transition

A Novel

By: Nick Fuller Googins

Narrated by: Stacy Carolan, Stacy Gonzalez

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

This richly imaginative, immersive, and “electrifyingly relevant” (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author) debut novel follows a shocking disappearance amid the climate crisis of our near future—perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Last Thing He Told Me.

Emi Vargas, whose parents helped save the world, is tired of being told how lucky she is to have been born after the climate crisis. But following the public assassination of a dozen climate criminals, Emi’s mother, Kristina, disappears as a possible suspect, and Emi’s illusions of utopia are shattered. A determined Emi and her father, Larch, journey from their home in Nuuk, Greenland to New York City, now a lightly populated storm-surge outpost built from the ruins of the former metropolis. But they aren’t the only ones looking for Kristina.

Thirty years earlier, Larch first came to New York with a team of volunteers to save the city from rising waters and torrential storms. Kristina was on the frontlines of a different battle, fighting massive wildfires that ravaged the western United States. They became part of a movement that changed the world­—The Great Transition—forging a new society and finding each other in process.

Alternating between Emi’s desperate search for her mother and a meticulously rendered, heart-stopping account of her parents’ experiences during The Great Transition, this novel beautifully shows how our actions today determine our fate tomorrow. A triumphant debut, The Great Transition is “a book for the present and the future—read this and you will be changed” (Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author).

©2022 Nick Fuller Googins (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Audio

a most amazing story!

Loved it!! I hope that this will be world my grandchildren will be able to live in and fight for a better planet

Smart and Deep

This book is rich and deep. We see a real, believable post climate change world and we have believable characters, a husband and wife who have taken very different paths in essentially a post war (or is it?) world, and a plot built on the tension between those worlds.

A thoroughly researched and gripping page-turner

Though The Great Transition as a novel certainly leans hopeful, I thought it did a great job capturing the complexity of what could happen both to the Earth and to us as a species: the anger, the hope, the work, the suffering, the adaptation, the inequities, and the cost (financial, emotional, and physical) of success. I thought the audiobook which was fabulous, especially the voice of Emi. I think this could be a worthwhile read for a teen (I'm trying to get my daughter to read it now) or even a parent-child buddy read/listen -- lots to discuss about agency and generational responsibility. The parent-teen relationships are expertly drawn as well. In addition to this being a thought-provoking novel, it was also a fun read, the kind of book I didn't want to put down. I wouldn't mind a sequel...

Labor Leads an Enthralling Climate Revolution

LOVED THIS BOOK

From climate future envisioned geekery to the gorgeous prose giving goosebumps, Nick Fuller Googins has written an epic tale. a spiritual successor to Ministry for the Future. LOVE the focus on detailing what a world working together looks like, cooperation, mutual aid, solidarity, co-existence through care. I also deeply appreciate the story about climate criminal accountability, this novel makes a brilliant moral case for climate justice. Will always remember that scene of the day they reach net zero

Powerful, engaging, hopeful, and nuanced

I loved this book! I liked that it imagined a hopeful climate future that was also realistic. On the other side of the climate crisis, there’s a lot to celebrate — but also so much trauma and healing needed to get there. And a beautiful reminder of everything to actively cherish now: the beauty found in nature, friendships, community, and love.

just a little weak

not much of this read did i like, from the voices to the plot line. but i will say the premise will make your head spin on where we actually are at on this planet

Marxist claptrap

I got halfway through this book and just couldn’t stomach any more of the communist propaganda. One of the characters even suggested doing violence on the families of people who they called ‘climate criminals’ of the past. With what is happening in the world right now, that was repulsive to me. Of course, the author couldn’t have known what was going to happen when he wrote the book, but still…
The obvious Marxist leanings of the story would’ve been one thing, but the characters were never well developed and I didn’t come to like any of them. The only reason I’m giving it two stars is because the author didn’t fall into the trap of writing in the present tense that is so popular these days. Thank you for that!
I made a mistake with this one— wasted a valuable audible credit.

If you like pathetic protagonists this book is for you

Just do yourself a favor and read any other book. This is butter trash, and a deeply regret this purchase I actually DNF @ 95% because I couldn’t stand how pathetic the main male character was - too bad he didn’t die.

Wrote this review so other people would not make this mistake .