Helpful Score: 1
Matthew Glass has written a story in a genre that is new to me. Tom Clancy writes military/political techno-thrillers. Matthew Glass has put together a diplomatico-politico-thriller.
The basic premis of this story is that in 2032 a newly elected US president learns that all previous predictions of the levels of environmental backlash related to global warming and sea-level rise were grossly underestimated, and that huge numbers of people will have to be relocated from vulnerable areas to higher ground. He also realizes that the US cannot alone reduce emissions to the levels needed to offset the long-term effects and impacts of new projections of sea-level rise and coastal flooding.
The President knows that he has to bring China (the biggest greenhouse gas emitter for the previous 25 years) on board to be a full participant in the planning and implementation of emissions reductions that will be needed world wide. But, differences in agendas between the president and China's political leadership precipitate unforeseen dipolmatic, political, and even military consquences.
The book surprised me. I actually started reading it with low expectations, because my daughter, who normally consumes books was not able to finish it. She got about halfway through it, and when she quit reading I asked her why. She said, "It's just more of the same."
I can now see why she would say that. If you are thinking about reading this book you need to be prepared to work your way through a good 150pp or so of dialog related to negotiations and diplomatic meetings, and their nuances, between US and Chinese representatives. I actually found that part of the book to be quite fascinating. Glass did a good job of showing what those kinds of negotiations might be like.
The last 100 pp or so of the book really picked up as global pressures came to a head, and produced events that were completely unpredictable. I won't say what those are...you'll have to read the book to find that out...but it definitely held my attention. In my opinion this book is much better than Michael Crichton's environmental thriller (well, sort of thriller) "State of Fear".
I found that the writing did not get in the way of the story in "Ultimatum", yet the writing is not what I'd call top-notch literature. The characters were believable and interesting.
FYI - Be prepared for a smattering of mild foul language, with a few instances of strong foul language.
I have to take my hat off to Matthew Glass, because he was able to resist the all too common tendency to have a "strikingly beautiful" female character that somehow becomes involved with the "handsome" main protagonist. Those contrived romance side storylines are so tiresome! In fact, there are no inappropriate side storylines that detract from the main story in this book. Thanks, I appreciate that!
You will probably enjoy this book if have a leaning towards environmentalism, politics, diplomacy, or even international economics.
In my opinion, this book is worth 4 stars. That is, you will be happy you read it, and it has a relatively wide appeal, but it will almost certainly not climb into your top favorite books list.
The basic premis of this story is that in 2032 a newly elected US president learns that all previous predictions of the levels of environmental backlash related to global warming and sea-level rise were grossly underestimated, and that huge numbers of people will have to be relocated from vulnerable areas to higher ground. He also realizes that the US cannot alone reduce emissions to the levels needed to offset the long-term effects and impacts of new projections of sea-level rise and coastal flooding.
The President knows that he has to bring China (the biggest greenhouse gas emitter for the previous 25 years) on board to be a full participant in the planning and implementation of emissions reductions that will be needed world wide. But, differences in agendas between the president and China's political leadership precipitate unforeseen dipolmatic, political, and even military consquences.
The book surprised me. I actually started reading it with low expectations, because my daughter, who normally consumes books was not able to finish it. She got about halfway through it, and when she quit reading I asked her why. She said, "It's just more of the same."
I can now see why she would say that. If you are thinking about reading this book you need to be prepared to work your way through a good 150pp or so of dialog related to negotiations and diplomatic meetings, and their nuances, between US and Chinese representatives. I actually found that part of the book to be quite fascinating. Glass did a good job of showing what those kinds of negotiations might be like.
The last 100 pp or so of the book really picked up as global pressures came to a head, and produced events that were completely unpredictable. I won't say what those are...you'll have to read the book to find that out...but it definitely held my attention. In my opinion this book is much better than Michael Crichton's environmental thriller (well, sort of thriller) "State of Fear".
I found that the writing did not get in the way of the story in "Ultimatum", yet the writing is not what I'd call top-notch literature. The characters were believable and interesting.
FYI - Be prepared for a smattering of mild foul language, with a few instances of strong foul language.
I have to take my hat off to Matthew Glass, because he was able to resist the all too common tendency to have a "strikingly beautiful" female character that somehow becomes involved with the "handsome" main protagonist. Those contrived romance side storylines are so tiresome! In fact, there are no inappropriate side storylines that detract from the main story in this book. Thanks, I appreciate that!
You will probably enjoy this book if have a leaning towards environmentalism, politics, diplomacy, or even international economics.
In my opinion, this book is worth 4 stars. That is, you will be happy you read it, and it has a relatively wide appeal, but it will almost certainly not climb into your top favorite books list.
