I can state quite assuredly that I cannot remember the last time I read a novel as challenging and inspiring as Stephen Markley’s THE DELUGE. This book is destined to be a classic and needs to be read by anyone who can get their hands on it. At nearly 900 pages and spanning the years 2013 to 2040, it takes on extremely important, relevant topics yet reshapes them in a unique way.

The primary focus of Markley’s masterpiece is Earth’s apparent death spiral resulting from the damage we have done that will impact the global climate. During the first two decades of the 21st century, which are eerily depicted here, we see a planet and a species --- human beings --- struggling mightily to halt what very well may be an inevitable dive into our own demise and eventual doom.

"This book is destined to be a classic and needs to be read by anyone who can get their hands on it.... THE DELUGE is ultimately a feel-good work that will leave readers reeling from the amount of information that has been dissected and shared."

Markley’s writing style so deftly mixes actual events that already have occurred in our world with decades of additional speculation about what may come to pass. Is Markley a remarkable soothsayer who can predict our future, or simply an incredibly gifted writer with impeccable research skills? Unfortunately, he is both. It will take the combined efforts of a series of unrelated individuals to come up with a solution that might take us off the fatal course we are currently on.

The first character we encounter is Tony Pietrus, a scientist who in 2013 is studying the phase transition of methane hydrates. We already have been introduced to the dangerous effects of methane on the atmosphere, but this trip down recent memory lane exposes these fears in such a fashion that THE DELUGE initially feels like a horror novel. The untenable cracks in both our climate and our civilization are examined in such detail that you cannot help but believe at times that Markley could be in possession of a time machine that allows him to peer into our near future and then return to present day to report on it.

Numerous chapters depict the many important characters who will be fated to play a vital part in the novel’s denouement. It reminded me of a science fiction/horror work from Dean Koontz, who often uses this same plot device in his books. It would definitely help to take notes while reading THE DELUGE or keep a scorecard going with all the brilliantly realized individuals we meet. Rather than naming them, I will rattle off some of their professions as each represents a different part of the American fabric: a fallen drug addict, a star advertising strategist, a neurodivergent mathematician, a cunning eco-terrorist, and an actor turned religious zealot. Each would have been worthy of their own novel or the lead role here.

However, no character carries more weight than brazen activist Kate Morris. Her organization, A Fierce Blue Fire, is ready to take on everyone from political powerhouses to climatologists. To watch her slow and stunning climb from enthusiastic young person hoping to get involved to the story’s key figure is a thing of beauty. She is indeed the Citizen Kane of THE DELUGE. The solution she comes up with in the mountains of Wyoming has to be read and personally experienced to truly wrap your arms around what she is able to accomplish.

During this lengthy journey, readers will be treated to a plethora of interviews, articles and even podcasts that feature Kate as she takes on the boundaries and limitations of climate legislation. There are several other companies and organizations that attempt to offer solutions to this issue, but none can come close to Kate and her brilliant agenda.

THE DELUGE is ultimately a feel-good work that will leave readers reeling from the amount of information that has been dissected and shared. It provides a glimpse of a future world that surprisingly gives us reason to still hope that we can figure out this conundrum and save both our planet and our souls simultaneously.