Product Description
Reuben James Runquist is finally facing facts; at eighty, he is stuck with a retirement condo in an environment that is decidedly MAI (“not” in Thai) Shangri-La! The climate has “flipped”, global sea levels have risen seven meters, plagues have killed hundreds of millions, and worldwide transportation and commercial infrastructures have collapsed. Reuben is reduced to a subsistence existence in the high-tech but questionably secure “Panic Room” of his barricaded con… More >>
The author is being too modest with the 3-star rating of his novel. I had the opportunity of reading the story before it underwent a wider publication. The author was involved in doing another round of editing and revision for a second publication (which now appears at Amazon). However, even the earlier edition I read left vivid images in my mind of the futuristic Thai sea/landscape. The novel also created indelible memories of the spunky, indomitable main character and his two lively cohorts who join his escape from the bloated seaside. If you have ever been to Thailand and are familiar with Sukhumvit Rd. and the east coast route, this novel will give you a `Mad Max’ scenario for those locations. The story has lots of climatic hooks that follow the trio as they navigate their way into Bangkok, using an ingenious makeshift kayak-cycle. Do yourself a favor and find out if Reuben James Runquist, a true hero of the mid-21st century, is able to survive his fateful odyssey.
Rating: 4 / 5
Right up front – I’m the author of “Mai Shangri-La” (thus this review’s title), and I haven’t yet secured a traditional publisher for this book – but here’s a novel of speculative fiction with an environmental backdrop that needs telling – and besides, there’s a nice sense of “rightness” in minimizing resource use for a cautionary tale like this.
Secondly, let me point you to authors already writing these stories, and almost certainly better than I can (I’m new at this game:0) Readers concerned about the environment and the possibility of rapid climate change should read these, including
– T.C. Boyle’s “A Friend of The Earth”
– Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake”
– Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Science in the Capital” series
– Michael Crichton’s “State of Fear” for an alternative (but, in my view, incorrect) opinion on the reality of global warming
– Cormac McCarthy’s “the Road” – while not demonstrably relating to abrupt climate change, McCarthy’s vision of a post-apocalyptic future is the most powerful writing done this century on the topic – bar none!
Having given credit where credit is due, however, I believe that readers of any of these would find “Mai Shangri-La” an engaging companion read.
Rating: 3 / 5