The word ‘masterpiece’ gets thrown around a lot these days. But sometimes it’s warranted.

“The Deluge” by Stephen Markley is truly a work of art. Even the few tiny missteps can be discounted when the writing is this good. But this novel is definitely not for casual readers – its 880-page count makes it a hefty tome, which only adds to its intimidating nature. And then there’s the subject matter – any book with a climate change theme would be disheartening, but “The Deluge” is downright terrifying. Spanning decades and following the lives of several different characters, this book is a huge undertaking. But it’s also one of the most moving, masterful novels I’ve read in a long time.

There is no better way to describe Markley’s efforts than a craftsman at the top of his game. Each chapter introduces a character that the reader gets to follow along with on their journey: a curmudgeonly brilliant scientist, a down-on-his-luck addict, an up-and-coming woman in advertising who finds herself in the 1 percent, a neurodivergent mathematician who advises governmental policy, and a climate activist and her boyfriend who decide to tackle the issue no matter what dangers they may face. I fell in love with each of these characters (even when their behavior was confusing or appalling) because they truly felt like real people. When climate change continues to create even more dystopic environments for them to survive, I was rooting for them to stay safe and to persevere. The fate of each one became imperative to me.

The other winning quality of Markley’s book is his ability to incorporate real-life events into what could happen in our future. Not only does he foretell climate change events, there’s also economic issues, despot presidents, and corrupt politicians that chilled me to the bone with their eerie accuracy. As each chapter races towards a potential oblivion for earth in general, I felt gripped in panic (not a great thing for someone with anxiety, but definitely the sign of effective writing!).

Only time will tell how close to reality Markley’s predictions are, but his insightfulness suggests a future like the one in “The Deluge” is only a few years away for us. The feeling of frozen helplessness I felt after reading each page of this book was such an amazing representation of how people feel in general towards so many of the crises we’re being presented with in these unprecedented times. While this book is not something you can use to escape the evils of the world (both man-made and otherwise), it is an astounding piece of literature that I feel grateful to have experienced.

5 stars

*Free copy provided by Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review*