Burning Sky - by John Darnton (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This novel brings to life a nightmare scenario in the not-too-distant future when scientists undertake a misbegotten scheme to tame the power of the sun.

In Burning Sky, three generations of a family confront the life-and-death challenge of global warming. The first, a cantankerous climatologist, raises the alarm. The second, a brilliant scientist with a lust for power that spawns a dictatorship, constructs "the Cocoon," a stratospheric shield to deflect sunlight. When it cuts the Earth off from the blue sky and majestic stars and plunges our planet into an eternal miasmic fog, it is up to the third generation--the very son and daughter of the scientist--to try to overthrow him and dismantle his pernicious works.

In aiming to undo the damage of their ancestors, perhaps the younger generation can set humanity on a wiser course.

Review Quotes

"This compulsively readable and beautifully written novel has everything: a thrilling mystery, a sweeping family drama, and a profound look at human nature in the face of the most pressing threat of our time. Simply put, this is one terrific book."--David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager

"A haunting story about an all-too-possible future. It's a page-turner that's also a wake-up call."--Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction

"We're only just beginning to imagine the strange new world being brought into being by climate change--and what we may do in scrambling to adapt. Vivid and lyrical, imaginatively conceived and brilliantly plotted, Burning Sky sets a new standard for climate fiction. Vital."--David Wallace-Wells, New York Times bestselling author of The Uninhabitable Earth

"A riveting dystopian thrill ride. Burning Sky is not just a smart, speedy, scary novel, it's a profound warning about what can happen when science goes wrong. It's also a call to arms: We're going to have to pay rigorous attention and make real sacrifices--starting now--if we want our children to enjoy blue skies and green pastures. The stakes are only . . . life as we know it."--Joseph Klein, author of Primary Colors and Charlie Mike

"A major achievement--a future-facing tale about the future we all, on this planet, must face. John Darnton manages to yoke ancient and recent history to the fast-approaching horrors of climate catastrophe. He gives us a family story, a multi-generational saga of science and scientists run amok, as well as those brave few who rise up in opposition. This novel is itself a rainbow stretched across the sky."--Nicholas Delbanco, author of Why Writing Matters

About the Author

John Darnton has worked for forty years as a reporter, editor, and foreign correspondent for The New York Times. He was awarded two George Polk Awards for his coverage of Africa and Eastern Europe, and the Pulitzer Prize for his stories that were smuggled out of Poland during the period of martial law. He is a bestselling author whose previous novels include Neanderthal and The Darwin Conspiracy. He lives in New York.