What do you think?
Rate this book
The Earth Hearing
A hard-hitting novel of ideas. Speculative fiction at its most thought-provoking and perspective altering, The Earth Hearing reveals what is and hints at what is possible.
The Earth Hearing—where everything is at stake, and everything is yet to be decided.
After centuries of being in the shadows, the monitoring team on Earth is ready to make its case.
The charges? The degradation of the planetary ecosystem.
The culprits? The existing cultural institutions.
The stakes? The fate of the human race.
The Earth Hearing follows the investigation of Earth's status by human-like aliens, who lay bare the human-afflicted ecological woes, as well as the troubling patterns of the man-made world. A work of epic proportions and broad scope, the book examines the darker trends across countries, cultures, and time. Through action scenes, time travel, fiery arguments, and trial-like settings, the reader comes face-to-face with the grisly fundamentals of Christianity; the systemic dysfunction of the US government; the fear of being denounced in a brave new politically-correct world; Jihadist ideologies and recent conflicts; the inherent structural defects of the existing economic engine; the ineffectiveness of the climate treaties; the follies of modern agriculture. All these and more weave together a tapestry that is far more than the sum of its parts, portraying a civilization largely driven by the self-serving and the self-deluded.
However, this story is not without hope. Throughout, it hints at viable and regenerative technological and economic pathways, offering captivating and inspiring views of what is possible.
The Earth Hearing—where everything is at stake, and everything is yet to be decided.
After centuries of being in the shadows, the monitoring team on Earth is ready to make its case.
The charges? The degradation of the planetary ecosystem.
The culprits? The existing cultural institutions.
The stakes? The fate of the human race.
The Earth Hearing follows the investigation of Earth's status by human-like aliens, who lay bare the human-afflicted ecological woes, as well as the troubling patterns of the man-made world. A work of epic proportions and broad scope, the book examines the darker trends across countries, cultures, and time. Through action scenes, time travel, fiery arguments, and trial-like settings, the reader comes face-to-face with the grisly fundamentals of Christianity; the systemic dysfunction of the US government; the fear of being denounced in a brave new politically-correct world; Jihadist ideologies and recent conflicts; the inherent structural defects of the existing economic engine; the ineffectiveness of the climate treaties; the follies of modern agriculture. All these and more weave together a tapestry that is far more than the sum of its parts, portraying a civilization largely driven by the self-serving and the self-deluded.
However, this story is not without hope. Throughout, it hints at viable and regenerative technological and economic pathways, offering captivating and inspiring views of what is possible.
632 pages, Hardcover
Published July 12, 2020
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 13, 2020
(Did other readers actually read this book? Are they able to put aside their own assumptions, to allow some new perspective in? I can see how certain chapters would potentially offend, but read on...)
Earth is on trial: from rampant, planet-wide environmental devastation, to complex cultural issues of immigration and nationalism; from Western cultures transfixed on identity politics and absurd sexual/gender associations, to shameless pharmaceutical and agricultural practices that ravage both the earth and the human body in the persistent, exploitative pursuit of quick profits...
I found the book to be breathtaking in its scope of scrutiny and criticism of the often bizarre and definitely destructive impact of the human imprint on this planet. This isn't a book to speed through, though it is embedded in an intriguing sci-fi story that involves highly sophisticated aliens that observe, monitor and ultimately pronounce judgment on the human race and its impact on earth.
It was obvious to me that this is not merely an entertaining story that this author threw out in a manner of weeks or a few months; this is clearly the culmination of many years of painstaking research and life experience. Expect to learn many new things, from detailed solutions to environmental problems, to the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to the reality of modern day vaccines. I found myself at times offended (clearly, like other readers here), at times disagreeing vehemently, and yet at other times admiring and intrigued with a perspective steeped in new information that I had never before encountered.
This isn't a book for someone who wants their comfortable and stable world view disrupted. But if you are someone with an open mind, expect and allow your assumptions to be continually challenged!
In short: please do yourself a favor and read this book. The first half will go quickly as an entertaining sci-fi story unfolds, and the second half will immerse you in growing levels of dismay (and maybe even horror), alternating with fascination, outrage, and hope as the evaluation of humans on earth in all of its pathos gets explored and revealed.
You may not exit the book at peace, but you will for sure exit viewing the human presence on the planet today with a whole new level of awareness. If you allow it, it might just rock your world.
Earth is on trial: from rampant, planet-wide environmental devastation, to complex cultural issues of immigration and nationalism; from Western cultures transfixed on identity politics and absurd sexual/gender associations, to shameless pharmaceutical and agricultural practices that ravage both the earth and the human body in the persistent, exploitative pursuit of quick profits...
I found the book to be breathtaking in its scope of scrutiny and criticism of the often bizarre and definitely destructive impact of the human imprint on this planet. This isn't a book to speed through, though it is embedded in an intriguing sci-fi story that involves highly sophisticated aliens that observe, monitor and ultimately pronounce judgment on the human race and its impact on earth.
It was obvious to me that this is not merely an entertaining story that this author threw out in a manner of weeks or a few months; this is clearly the culmination of many years of painstaking research and life experience. Expect to learn many new things, from detailed solutions to environmental problems, to the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to the reality of modern day vaccines. I found myself at times offended (clearly, like other readers here), at times disagreeing vehemently, and yet at other times admiring and intrigued with a perspective steeped in new information that I had never before encountered.
This isn't a book for someone who wants their comfortable and stable world view disrupted. But if you are someone with an open mind, expect and allow your assumptions to be continually challenged!
In short: please do yourself a favor and read this book. The first half will go quickly as an entertaining sci-fi story unfolds, and the second half will immerse you in growing levels of dismay (and maybe even horror), alternating with fascination, outrage, and hope as the evaluation of humans on earth in all of its pathos gets explored and revealed.
You may not exit the book at peace, but you will for sure exit viewing the human presence on the planet today with a whole new level of awareness. If you allow it, it might just rock your world.
Read
April 27, 2020One excerpt from The Earth Hearing. I inserted tildes to simulate indents.
Under a cloudy sky and chilly wind, a dozen party guests staggered through the gateway into a small coastal strip of gray sand, moss-green vegetation, and steep bluffs strewn with patches of fog.
~~The Earth people looked about, nervous and watchful.
~~“Do you see anyone?” asked Susan in a shrill, high voice. More shrill than high.
~~Galecki motioned to a far-off, solitary figure seated on a park bench.
Warily, slowly, the small party approached the figure who, up close, appeared to be that of an elderly man wearing a double-breasted overcoat and a charcoal-gray fedora hat. From under bushy, white-gray eyebrows, he glanced at them before returning to study the surf. A single murre bird darted about, seemingly oblivious to the approaching group of people.
The seated old man in fedora casually gestured, and a few park benches materialized next to him.
~~There was no explicit invitation, but the intent was clear enough.
~~Galecki licked his lips, uneasy. He watched the faces around him and saw fear, hesitancy, and anxiety reflected back at him. Galecki wasn’t sure how to address a god. Until a few minutes ago, he didn’t even think anything was sentient aside from humans. His heart pounded in his chest. “Are we”—he cleared his throat—“are we still on…Earth?”
~~“Yes,” the figure said, still peering at the ocean. “Somewhere between Alaska and Russia, at the very tail end of the Aleutian Islands,” he said, and a moment later he was staring again at the forlorn coast.
~~Hesitantly, the Earth people sat on the benches, crowding them.
~~The man leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. “You know, there are two benches at this very spot on one parallel planet. In that other world, people come here to observe the large marine beasts.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a ghost of a smile. “Those large marine mammals live in family units. Males and females usually travel together, pushing the offspring before them. With their bristle-like limbs, they scrape off seaweed from the rocks and munch on it.”
The Earth people exchanged questioning glances.
~~“Imagine manatee-like mammals,” the mysterious figure offered by way of explanation. “But even more massive than killer whales,” he added.
…
The smile of the figure in fedora faded.
~~“To serve an insatiable Chinese demand for fine furs, some Russians and local Kamchadals banded together to hunt as many of the marine mammals in the area as they could.” He fixed them with an inscrutable look. Then he was back peering at the midnight-blue waters.
~~“The year was 1741,” he continued. “This was when the Europeans chanced upon a few thousand of these gentle, large beasts in what was apparently their last stronghold on your planet: the Commander Islands. Here.” His expression clouded.
~~“Word of their appealing taste spread through the sailing community,” he said. “And for about twenty-five years, your people butchered them. That was the final blow. It has been a long time coming with the earlier exploitation of sea otter and subsequent kelp forest collapse, which was the primary food source of those large marine mammals.”
~~His voice was bleak. “By the summer of 1768, so few of them survived the onslaught that it was almost not worth the trouble. Yet, your people persisted and spotted them foraging along the coast. It was right at this cove here.” He motioned. “This is when and where they finished them off. As far as we can ascertain that was the very last herd on Earth.”
…
None of the Earth people could think of anything to say. They were tense, unconsciously taking comfort in their proximity to each other and hunching down in the chilly northerly air. There was a reason he was recounting this sordid tale from their common past. And whatever the reason was, it couldn’t have been good; the situation had an ominous feel about it.
~~He took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. “Did you know that the Gulf of Mexico once sported hundreds of thousands of Caribbean monk seals, the water was teeming with tens of millions of green turtles, and its islands contained unique primates? As it took place here, in the Commander Islands, it took place in the Gulf of Mexico.” He fixed them with a cool glance under heavy eyebrows. “Over one thousand years ago, you people settled the island of Jamaica and caused Bluefields Bay to be transformed from a clear, free-circulating seagrass habitat to a muddy mangrove. About the same time, another group of your people settled the island of Iceland, and the lust for ivory drove to extinction within a short time the Icelandic walrus. What took place in those locales, took place elsewhere.
…
He chuckled without humor. “But you know all that, don’t you?” He regarded them, hands jammed in the pockets of his overcoat.
~~“During the steamship era, your great granddaddies shoveled over the rail countless tons of burnt coal. The Nature Survey Group has located on the ocean floors anything from sarin gas canisters and mortar bombs to furniture parts and medicine bottles.” The older-looking man in fedora studied the small band of Earth people, a look of faint disgust on his face. “Oh, you’re chips off the old block all right,” he said harshly, and they looked away from the set glare of his eyes. ~~“The most common litter we found in the Mediterranean Sea floor was aluminum cans of soft drinks and beer. In the Bay of Fundy we counted close to two million pieces of junk littering its bottom, from plastic bags to tires.” His frown deepened. “During your lifetime, trillions of microplastics have made their way into the San Francisco Bay.” He looked at the group of people with open disdain. “Your plastic garbage is everywhere. Some of the stuff you’ve dumped in the ocean washed ashore the tiny, remote Cocos Islands. We found there over four hundred million pieces of trash. This included close to one million flip-flops.” He sighed. “Along with about half a million dead hermit crabs—trapped in the plastic debris.”
~~The Earth people said nothing.
~~He heaved himself to his feet. “This little encounter of ours here has been transmitting on every channel.” For the first time, he gazed straight into one of the masked cameras, addressing the hundreds of millions of viewers. “Terraneans, a hearing about your future and about the future of this planet will commence in about ten minutes in the grassland steppe of Mongolia.
~~“Between now and then, I invite you—people of this world—to stand alongside me in memory of all that was. And all that could have been.
~~“Between now and then, I shut off the engine of your world—powering down all your electric generators and power stations throughout,” he said, made a fist, and it was done: the world plunged into a blackout.
Under a cloudy sky and chilly wind, a dozen party guests staggered through the gateway into a small coastal strip of gray sand, moss-green vegetation, and steep bluffs strewn with patches of fog.
~~The Earth people looked about, nervous and watchful.
~~“Do you see anyone?” asked Susan in a shrill, high voice. More shrill than high.
~~Galecki motioned to a far-off, solitary figure seated on a park bench.
Warily, slowly, the small party approached the figure who, up close, appeared to be that of an elderly man wearing a double-breasted overcoat and a charcoal-gray fedora hat. From under bushy, white-gray eyebrows, he glanced at them before returning to study the surf. A single murre bird darted about, seemingly oblivious to the approaching group of people.
The seated old man in fedora casually gestured, and a few park benches materialized next to him.
~~There was no explicit invitation, but the intent was clear enough.
~~Galecki licked his lips, uneasy. He watched the faces around him and saw fear, hesitancy, and anxiety reflected back at him. Galecki wasn’t sure how to address a god. Until a few minutes ago, he didn’t even think anything was sentient aside from humans. His heart pounded in his chest. “Are we”—he cleared his throat—“are we still on…Earth?”
~~“Yes,” the figure said, still peering at the ocean. “Somewhere between Alaska and Russia, at the very tail end of the Aleutian Islands,” he said, and a moment later he was staring again at the forlorn coast.
~~Hesitantly, the Earth people sat on the benches, crowding them.
~~The man leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. “You know, there are two benches at this very spot on one parallel planet. In that other world, people come here to observe the large marine beasts.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a ghost of a smile. “Those large marine mammals live in family units. Males and females usually travel together, pushing the offspring before them. With their bristle-like limbs, they scrape off seaweed from the rocks and munch on it.”
The Earth people exchanged questioning glances.
~~“Imagine manatee-like mammals,” the mysterious figure offered by way of explanation. “But even more massive than killer whales,” he added.
…
The smile of the figure in fedora faded.
~~“To serve an insatiable Chinese demand for fine furs, some Russians and local Kamchadals banded together to hunt as many of the marine mammals in the area as they could.” He fixed them with an inscrutable look. Then he was back peering at the midnight-blue waters.
~~“The year was 1741,” he continued. “This was when the Europeans chanced upon a few thousand of these gentle, large beasts in what was apparently their last stronghold on your planet: the Commander Islands. Here.” His expression clouded.
~~“Word of their appealing taste spread through the sailing community,” he said. “And for about twenty-five years, your people butchered them. That was the final blow. It has been a long time coming with the earlier exploitation of sea otter and subsequent kelp forest collapse, which was the primary food source of those large marine mammals.”
~~His voice was bleak. “By the summer of 1768, so few of them survived the onslaught that it was almost not worth the trouble. Yet, your people persisted and spotted them foraging along the coast. It was right at this cove here.” He motioned. “This is when and where they finished them off. As far as we can ascertain that was the very last herd on Earth.”
…
None of the Earth people could think of anything to say. They were tense, unconsciously taking comfort in their proximity to each other and hunching down in the chilly northerly air. There was a reason he was recounting this sordid tale from their common past. And whatever the reason was, it couldn’t have been good; the situation had an ominous feel about it.
~~He took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. “Did you know that the Gulf of Mexico once sported hundreds of thousands of Caribbean monk seals, the water was teeming with tens of millions of green turtles, and its islands contained unique primates? As it took place here, in the Commander Islands, it took place in the Gulf of Mexico.” He fixed them with a cool glance under heavy eyebrows. “Over one thousand years ago, you people settled the island of Jamaica and caused Bluefields Bay to be transformed from a clear, free-circulating seagrass habitat to a muddy mangrove. About the same time, another group of your people settled the island of Iceland, and the lust for ivory drove to extinction within a short time the Icelandic walrus. What took place in those locales, took place elsewhere.
…
He chuckled without humor. “But you know all that, don’t you?” He regarded them, hands jammed in the pockets of his overcoat.
~~“During the steamship era, your great granddaddies shoveled over the rail countless tons of burnt coal. The Nature Survey Group has located on the ocean floors anything from sarin gas canisters and mortar bombs to furniture parts and medicine bottles.” The older-looking man in fedora studied the small band of Earth people, a look of faint disgust on his face. “Oh, you’re chips off the old block all right,” he said harshly, and they looked away from the set glare of his eyes. ~~“The most common litter we found in the Mediterranean Sea floor was aluminum cans of soft drinks and beer. In the Bay of Fundy we counted close to two million pieces of junk littering its bottom, from plastic bags to tires.” His frown deepened. “During your lifetime, trillions of microplastics have made their way into the San Francisco Bay.” He looked at the group of people with open disdain. “Your plastic garbage is everywhere. Some of the stuff you’ve dumped in the ocean washed ashore the tiny, remote Cocos Islands. We found there over four hundred million pieces of trash. This included close to one million flip-flops.” He sighed. “Along with about half a million dead hermit crabs—trapped in the plastic debris.”
~~The Earth people said nothing.
~~He heaved himself to his feet. “This little encounter of ours here has been transmitting on every channel.” For the first time, he gazed straight into one of the masked cameras, addressing the hundreds of millions of viewers. “Terraneans, a hearing about your future and about the future of this planet will commence in about ten minutes in the grassland steppe of Mongolia.
~~“Between now and then, I invite you—people of this world—to stand alongside me in memory of all that was. And all that could have been.
~~“Between now and then, I shut off the engine of your world—powering down all your electric generators and power stations throughout,” he said, made a fist, and it was done: the world plunged into a blackout.
June 7, 2020
Who remembers Andy Kaufman? He was crude, and offensive; but a skilled provocateur. Because I only saw him as such in his "comedy", I never knew if that was who he was or if it was an act, but I suspect more of the former than not. With a sample set of one, I don’t know if this is Plonix or an act. Some thought Kaufman brilliant. ... I didn’t. A couple of housekeeping notes: #1, I received a review copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley. And #2, while it is definitely fiction, given the nature of its premise and the extensive pedantry - Plonix seems to want to be didactic, but waxes overly pedantic ... lots of minutiae and lots of information - I’ll treat some of it as nonfiction.
Housekeeping #3: I am admittedly not good at “meaning”... sometimes I don’t get “it” even when painfully and explained to me - my brain doesn’t work that way. So me imparting meaning to what I’ve read is of little use to anyone else. Still, I wonder at what Plonix was at with his cast of characters. Having over the top zealots be the examples and later defenders... is the lesson be wary of your sample set? Even if an alien knows to not take one view as representative (not sure given the dialogue), how does one average out culture? How does one explain culture? I remember an experiment 42 years ago in which we were to describe something to someone else... a passport. The teacher properly poked back at every description offered: “...a brown paper...” - what’s brown? What’s paper? “Okay, a cellulose folio with a picture...” Well, you get the picture. Like the silly Star Trek Next Generation episode where the “universal translator” (as silly a science fiction concept as there is...even on Earth, there are languages that have three, four, six genders; every perturbation of subject-verb-object, a vocabulary of endless variation - though language family trees have some connections) breaks down and Picard has to communicate with a being who speaks in metaphors. Context is everything. How do you establish context? Well, there is some context in this book...and there are parts of questionable context.
The subtitle of the book is "A Novel of Ideas". Ideas can be good or bad and he peppers this with good...and litters it with bad. Be warned. You'll see the "hints" alluded to in the description - the good: oil based solar heat exchange, sustainable construction, solar cooking with focused parabolic mirrors (guess no late night cooking, though), a quick mention of permaculture, a couple of others. And you'll see a lot of bad ideas...much more on them unfortunately. This is part indictment, part polemic, part diatribe and (an unfortunately decreasing) part story. On that last bit, numerous vignettes seem to have little to do with the theme. There was a disconnected (mostly) extended scene on typesetting and fonts. (See minutiae.) Perhaps I am obtuse. (See Housekeeping #3, but I don't think it is my problem.) Then there was the gratuitous sex in the early parts that had no value added. Not sure what Plonix was going for but it came out of the blue like George R.R. Martin vulgar juvenile writing.
In a small respect, I have a feeling of mocking throughout this. Mocking religions, extremist mores, nationalism. And also a harsh criticism - calling evangelical Christianity a “death cult”...obviously to drive the point of the theme - dominion over the earth, which is merely a stopover to the good stuff later...devastation. But when Plonix devotes pages upon pages to a single sided discussion of ideal mating ages and attraction of adolescent girls, misogynistic and sexist treatment of women, ... I don't think, he's mocking. The agenda is pretty clear - no discussion... that treatment of women (several chapters, several parts)? No dissenting position. Nor is there any for any of the other "ideas" he presents - white supremacy and racism, antivaxxers ... I warned you about the bad. He loses any high ground for the didactic when all of his serious discussions are one-sided. All of the randomly assembled players of the moment are in absolute agreement on extreme positions? And his characters doing the discussion are caricatures of extremists. Or maybe what he wants them to be. One character thinks that "white Americans were some of the least racists [sic] people on the planet."
He says in one segment where one female character offers mild resistance "I don't care for hate speech." But the male counter says "'You really mean speech you hate, or at least speech that dissents form yours, don't you?' He was willing to bet she belonged to an ideological group that has engaged in actual hate speech,m and more than most. Social media abounded with their expletives, vitriol, and character assassination of those they have sought to marginalize." I wonder what Plonix is at here. I’ve seen extreme right wing (I don’t think they’re “right”, so I usually go with “wrongwing”) claim their opponents spew more vitriol than they, but this I’ve not seen - sure, the trolls come from both sides, but the not-left are far, far, far more hateful. And numerous. He names some leftish-wing media at one point, but not the Pravda of the right, Fox, or anything the Bwrongbarts of the world. Yep. Agenda.
A problem with Plonix’s story is that there is a lot of factual, pseudofactual, and made up material mixed together. Given the not inconsiderable factual information/ideas, careless or apathetic reader might take the latter two at face value and not realize what Plonix is doing. One reason it took me this long to read the book is because I kept checking what he was saying. A lot was true. Some was distorted, generously interpreted, and generously misinterpreted. I'll pick one: During the trial, the ... prosecutor mentions that cigarette manufacturers knew about polonium in tobacco and "...twenty years later, they found that acid wash is highly effective in removing polonium from tobacco leaves. However, they decided to keep things as they were - not wishing to risk tampering with the 'kick' or 'rush' sensation related to smoking." Well, actually... Not true. They wanted to avoid waking a "sleeping giant". In an article on the National Institute for Health's site you can see the wash removed aromatics, not “kick”, plus only 10-40% of surface contamination, nothing internal. Always remember the agenda.
If you want good science fiction, this isn't it. If you are rusty on some ecological issues, it's a bit better. If you don't want to be hit with racism, sexism, antivaxxers, Gaza/Israel propaganda...might want to skip. If you want to see what the other side is thinking, have at it. I'm thinking Andy Kaufman.
On a positive note, I caught only a few typos for an ARC. And I did have an excellent takeaway: Plonix describes our genetic makeup (being evolved for the African plains and not for the modern world) with the term “caveman firmware”. Filing that.
Housekeeping #3: I am admittedly not good at “meaning”... sometimes I don’t get “it” even when painfully and explained to me - my brain doesn’t work that way. So me imparting meaning to what I’ve read is of little use to anyone else. Still, I wonder at what Plonix was at with his cast of characters. Having over the top zealots be the examples and later defenders... is the lesson be wary of your sample set? Even if an alien knows to not take one view as representative (not sure given the dialogue), how does one average out culture? How does one explain culture? I remember an experiment 42 years ago in which we were to describe something to someone else... a passport. The teacher properly poked back at every description offered: “...a brown paper...” - what’s brown? What’s paper? “Okay, a cellulose folio with a picture...” Well, you get the picture. Like the silly Star Trek Next Generation episode where the “universal translator” (as silly a science fiction concept as there is...even on Earth, there are languages that have three, four, six genders; every perturbation of subject-verb-object, a vocabulary of endless variation - though language family trees have some connections) breaks down and Picard has to communicate with a being who speaks in metaphors. Context is everything. How do you establish context? Well, there is some context in this book...and there are parts of questionable context.
The subtitle of the book is "A Novel of Ideas". Ideas can be good or bad and he peppers this with good...and litters it with bad. Be warned. You'll see the "hints" alluded to in the description - the good: oil based solar heat exchange, sustainable construction, solar cooking with focused parabolic mirrors (guess no late night cooking, though), a quick mention of permaculture, a couple of others. And you'll see a lot of bad ideas...much more on them unfortunately. This is part indictment, part polemic, part diatribe and (an unfortunately decreasing) part story. On that last bit, numerous vignettes seem to have little to do with the theme. There was a disconnected (mostly) extended scene on typesetting and fonts. (See minutiae.) Perhaps I am obtuse. (See Housekeeping #3, but I don't think it is my problem.) Then there was the gratuitous sex in the early parts that had no value added. Not sure what Plonix was going for but it came out of the blue like George R.R. Martin vulgar juvenile writing.
In a small respect, I have a feeling of mocking throughout this. Mocking religions, extremist mores, nationalism. And also a harsh criticism - calling evangelical Christianity a “death cult”...obviously to drive the point of the theme - dominion over the earth, which is merely a stopover to the good stuff later...devastation. But when Plonix devotes pages upon pages to a single sided discussion of ideal mating ages and attraction of adolescent girls, misogynistic and sexist treatment of women, ... I don't think, he's mocking. The agenda is pretty clear - no discussion... that treatment of women (several chapters, several parts)? No dissenting position. Nor is there any for any of the other "ideas" he presents - white supremacy and racism, antivaxxers ... I warned you about the bad. He loses any high ground for the didactic when all of his serious discussions are one-sided. All of the randomly assembled players of the moment are in absolute agreement on extreme positions? And his characters doing the discussion are caricatures of extremists. Or maybe what he wants them to be. One character thinks that "white Americans were some of the least racists [sic] people on the planet."
He says in one segment where one female character offers mild resistance "I don't care for hate speech." But the male counter says "'You really mean speech you hate, or at least speech that dissents form yours, don't you?' He was willing to bet she belonged to an ideological group that has engaged in actual hate speech,m and more than most. Social media abounded with their expletives, vitriol, and character assassination of those they have sought to marginalize." I wonder what Plonix is at here. I’ve seen extreme right wing (I don’t think they’re “right”, so I usually go with “wrongwing”) claim their opponents spew more vitriol than they, but this I’ve not seen - sure, the trolls come from both sides, but the not-left are far, far, far more hateful. And numerous. He names some leftish-wing media at one point, but not the Pravda of the right, Fox, or anything the Bwrongbarts of the world. Yep. Agenda.
A problem with Plonix’s story is that there is a lot of factual, pseudofactual, and made up material mixed together. Given the not inconsiderable factual information/ideas, careless or apathetic reader might take the latter two at face value and not realize what Plonix is doing. One reason it took me this long to read the book is because I kept checking what he was saying. A lot was true. Some was distorted, generously interpreted, and generously misinterpreted. I'll pick one: During the trial, the ... prosecutor mentions that cigarette manufacturers knew about polonium in tobacco and "...twenty years later, they found that acid wash is highly effective in removing polonium from tobacco leaves. However, they decided to keep things as they were - not wishing to risk tampering with the 'kick' or 'rush' sensation related to smoking." Well, actually... Not true. They wanted to avoid waking a "sleeping giant". In an article on the National Institute for Health's site you can see the wash removed aromatics, not “kick”, plus only 10-40% of surface contamination, nothing internal. Always remember the agenda.
If you want good science fiction, this isn't it. If you are rusty on some ecological issues, it's a bit better. If you don't want to be hit with racism, sexism, antivaxxers, Gaza/Israel propaganda...might want to skip. If you want to see what the other side is thinking, have at it. I'm thinking Andy Kaufman.
On a positive note, I caught only a few typos for an ARC. And I did have an excellent takeaway: Plonix describes our genetic makeup (being evolved for the African plains and not for the modern world) with the term “caveman firmware”. Filing that.
July 1, 2020
THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR THIS BOOK!
I agreed to read this book thinking it would be about environmental issues. I expected, on that basis, that there would be some political content and that there would be things in it that I would disagree with. But I was hoping that it might also include at least a few useful ideas for dealing with the very many environmental issues we are facing today.
While there are a few suggestions made for things that could have been done better, none of them are actionable for regular people without access to lots of money or special knowledge or equipment.
The main idea as far as I can trace it is that an interplanetary, or perhaps an interplanar group is monitoring Earth to see how well its people are taking care of the planet. Predictably they aren’t pleased and, after some quite adventurous disagreement among themselves they agree to petition their superiors for a hearing on the matter. As you can imagine, we don’t fare well, and it looks as though the entire population of Earth is about to be removed to a place they call “The Reservation” where they can take their stuff (not to include weapons; I was not sure about their tech). Apparently, the populations of several other worlds have already been relocated there, and it was threatened that after a couple of years these other people would find their way to the Earth people’s area and begin hunting them, presumably to eat.
But the book doesn’t really end.
Far and away the largest part of the book consists of a nearly endless series of political rants. Some, predictably, lambaste us for our many failings in the area of the environment. But a larger number are racist, anti-immigration, anti-feminist, anti-religious (several varieties of anti-religious, although no mention is made of any religions outside the Judeo-Christian-Islamic group), anti-business, anti-government (nobody has anything good to say about any form of government ever practiced on Earth), anti-medical, anti-scientific, anti-I don’t remember all the other things. Little is said in support of much of anything except Israel against the Arabs. Why so much time is spent on the Israel situation I don’t know, but this subject is brought up something like five times, more than any other single issue. However, they acknowledge that neither side can change, and no solution is proposed for the standoff – except the removal of everybody to “The Reservation.”
Almost everything humans have ever done since maybe before the evolution of modern man is denounced by somebody or other. Although most times and countries are criticized, Western Europe and, especially the United States, come in for the lion’s share of the abuse. A lot of what is said is true, although I suspect that some things are made up or only told in part. It is very depressing. You wish the commissioners would just go on and have everybody shot or nuked or something, even if that everybody includes you. Just to get it over with, so you won’t have to keep hearing about how bad you are.
Next to nothing is said about anything positive that anybody has ever done. No consideration is given to the many people everywhere who are trying to do the right thing as they see it as best they can. The Earth people are not given a chance to reply to all the allegations made against them. Some representatives are just coming in to do that when the book ends.
There are a lot of divisive ideas propounded here. These are well-articulated – some of them chillingly so – but propose no solutions for the problems they discuss other than to indicate that a lot of people they don’t like should just go away. Sometimes it is Earth people voicing these ideas; sometimes it is the monitors. But since in real life there aren’t any monitors, given the current problems of health and the economy and the anger that has built up around these issues, this is not the time for these ideas to be gaining more popularity than they already have.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy of this book.
I agreed to read this book thinking it would be about environmental issues. I expected, on that basis, that there would be some political content and that there would be things in it that I would disagree with. But I was hoping that it might also include at least a few useful ideas for dealing with the very many environmental issues we are facing today.
While there are a few suggestions made for things that could have been done better, none of them are actionable for regular people without access to lots of money or special knowledge or equipment.
The main idea as far as I can trace it is that an interplanetary, or perhaps an interplanar group is monitoring Earth to see how well its people are taking care of the planet. Predictably they aren’t pleased and, after some quite adventurous disagreement among themselves they agree to petition their superiors for a hearing on the matter. As you can imagine, we don’t fare well, and it looks as though the entire population of Earth is about to be removed to a place they call “The Reservation” where they can take their stuff (not to include weapons; I was not sure about their tech). Apparently, the populations of several other worlds have already been relocated there, and it was threatened that after a couple of years these other people would find their way to the Earth people’s area and begin hunting them, presumably to eat.
But the book doesn’t really end.
Far and away the largest part of the book consists of a nearly endless series of political rants. Some, predictably, lambaste us for our many failings in the area of the environment. But a larger number are racist, anti-immigration, anti-feminist, anti-religious (several varieties of anti-religious, although no mention is made of any religions outside the Judeo-Christian-Islamic group), anti-business, anti-government (nobody has anything good to say about any form of government ever practiced on Earth), anti-medical, anti-scientific, anti-I don’t remember all the other things. Little is said in support of much of anything except Israel against the Arabs. Why so much time is spent on the Israel situation I don’t know, but this subject is brought up something like five times, more than any other single issue. However, they acknowledge that neither side can change, and no solution is proposed for the standoff – except the removal of everybody to “The Reservation.”
Almost everything humans have ever done since maybe before the evolution of modern man is denounced by somebody or other. Although most times and countries are criticized, Western Europe and, especially the United States, come in for the lion’s share of the abuse. A lot of what is said is true, although I suspect that some things are made up or only told in part. It is very depressing. You wish the commissioners would just go on and have everybody shot or nuked or something, even if that everybody includes you. Just to get it over with, so you won’t have to keep hearing about how bad you are.
Next to nothing is said about anything positive that anybody has ever done. No consideration is given to the many people everywhere who are trying to do the right thing as they see it as best they can. The Earth people are not given a chance to reply to all the allegations made against them. Some representatives are just coming in to do that when the book ends.
There are a lot of divisive ideas propounded here. These are well-articulated – some of them chillingly so – but propose no solutions for the problems they discuss other than to indicate that a lot of people they don’t like should just go away. Sometimes it is Earth people voicing these ideas; sometimes it is the monitors. But since in real life there aren’t any monitors, given the current problems of health and the economy and the anger that has built up around these issues, this is not the time for these ideas to be gaining more popularity than they already have.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy of this book.
June 23, 2020
The Earth Hearing by Daniel Plonix is a thorough look, through the eyes of fictional observers, at the state of earth's environment and the historical, political and societal conditions and events which have influenced it. The premise is that there are multiple dimensions/timelines where different instances of earth exist. Some "gods" appoint representatives who then recruit representatives, who then recruit observers to keep tabs on the state of the environment in each iteration, with the intention to step in and make corrections if conditions deteriorate.
The first twenty-five or thirty chapters held my interest. There was, in the first third of the book, a predominant focus on historical influences which was remarkably detailed and well-analyzed. As this analysis progresses, we are introduced to a conflict which seems to be keeping anticipated intervention from occurring according to schedule. Observers are missing. Representatives are blocked from communicating with their boss. Thus, alongside the environmental assessment, we have mystery and intrigue developing. It is a neat plot trick and kept my interest, even as the narrative crept into the area of pro-environment preachiness. We get to see different socio-political structures in other dimensions, as well as meeting some of the residents there.
By the time I got to chapter fifty, I found myself skimming large blocks of text. By chapter sixty, I was skimming pages. The problem was that the preachiness was far outweighing the story of the gods and their representatives and the system in place for protecting environments, not to mention that information from the early chapters was being repeated but with the analysis focussing more on social influences.
It was when the analysis of the same or similar events and situations shifted to looking at political influences that I threw in the towel. I admit that I was disappointed. The book was so darned *interesting* during the first half that I stayed up half the night reading it. If you love political analysis and discussion, you could probably keep going where I gave up.
When the representatives overcome their difficulties in communicating with the gods, a hearing is scheduled to review the situation. The results of the hearing will determine the fate of humanity.
I think that thre author could make their point in a lot less words while keeping the actual plot development at the forefront of the narrative. The plot eventually seemed to get lost in the posturing.. The story is well written and I could have stayed with it if the delivery from the soapbox had no so dominated.. Unfortunately, while I would have given the first thirty chapters four stars, I just can't find a way to rate a book I couldn't finish more than two stars.
The first twenty-five or thirty chapters held my interest. There was, in the first third of the book, a predominant focus on historical influences which was remarkably detailed and well-analyzed. As this analysis progresses, we are introduced to a conflict which seems to be keeping anticipated intervention from occurring according to schedule. Observers are missing. Representatives are blocked from communicating with their boss. Thus, alongside the environmental assessment, we have mystery and intrigue developing. It is a neat plot trick and kept my interest, even as the narrative crept into the area of pro-environment preachiness. We get to see different socio-political structures in other dimensions, as well as meeting some of the residents there.
By the time I got to chapter fifty, I found myself skimming large blocks of text. By chapter sixty, I was skimming pages. The problem was that the preachiness was far outweighing the story of the gods and their representatives and the system in place for protecting environments, not to mention that information from the early chapters was being repeated but with the analysis focussing more on social influences.
It was when the analysis of the same or similar events and situations shifted to looking at political influences that I threw in the towel. I admit that I was disappointed. The book was so darned *interesting* during the first half that I stayed up half the night reading it. If you love political analysis and discussion, you could probably keep going where I gave up.
When the representatives overcome their difficulties in communicating with the gods, a hearing is scheduled to review the situation. The results of the hearing will determine the fate of humanity.
I think that thre author could make their point in a lot less words while keeping the actual plot development at the forefront of the narrative. The plot eventually seemed to get lost in the posturing.. The story is well written and I could have stayed with it if the delivery from the soapbox had no so dominated.. Unfortunately, while I would have given the first thirty chapters four stars, I just can't find a way to rate a book I couldn't finish more than two stars.
July 27, 2020
Reading The Earth Hearing, I can’t say that it was an uneventful, joyful ride; the book seems to drop one truth bomb after another. It is like a giant wake-up call that we need about the state of the natural world and much of the problems plaguing our society, which appears woefully incapable of a course correction.
As you would expect from a book such as this, it contains tons of dialog, tons of discussions. Yet, as the heroes try to get a hearing going for humanity, there are forces that oppose them. And the first part of the book is peppered with some genuine kickass-action, chase scenes, and shot-outs.
It is obvious that a lot of research went into this book. Epic is the word that comes to mind. Plumbing the unsavory depths of Salafist and Evangelical Christian beliefs. The unsettling story of the smallpox vaccine. The poaching of wildlife and the burning of rainforests. (Those were the most upsetting segments in the book.) The economic workings of our world, and how they are on course to crash the environment. The whole politically-correct Maoist fervor of our times. Chinese resource power grab. The decay of the West. The fiasco that is our military campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The book is pretty much what you would expect had humanity been on trial. For me, this novel is the ultimate red pill, and in more than one way.
As you would expect from a book such as this, it contains tons of dialog, tons of discussions. Yet, as the heroes try to get a hearing going for humanity, there are forces that oppose them. And the first part of the book is peppered with some genuine kickass-action, chase scenes, and shot-outs.
It is obvious that a lot of research went into this book. Epic is the word that comes to mind. Plumbing the unsavory depths of Salafist and Evangelical Christian beliefs. The unsettling story of the smallpox vaccine. The poaching of wildlife and the burning of rainforests. (Those were the most upsetting segments in the book.) The economic workings of our world, and how they are on course to crash the environment. The whole politically-correct Maoist fervor of our times. Chinese resource power grab. The decay of the West. The fiasco that is our military campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The book is pretty much what you would expect had humanity been on trial. For me, this novel is the ultimate red pill, and in more than one way.
June 28, 2020
Sorry to say, I did not finish this book. It started on a good note. It was engrossing and had pretty good world-building.
I started to have a problem with the fact that the characters seemed to develop special powers on the fly. However, I decided to hang tough to follow the story.
By Chapter 20 (28% into the book according to Kindle), it had turned into a treatise on Israel, Israelis, Palestine, the difference in world-view of Jews and Muslims.
I'm actually interested in the subject of the middle East, but not in the middle of a sci-fi/fantasy. I decided the rest of the book was just not worth my time.
I started to have a problem with the fact that the characters seemed to develop special powers on the fly. However, I decided to hang tough to follow the story.
By Chapter 20 (28% into the book according to Kindle), it had turned into a treatise on Israel, Israelis, Palestine, the difference in world-view of Jews and Muslims.
I'm actually interested in the subject of the middle East, but not in the middle of a sci-fi/fantasy. I decided the rest of the book was just not worth my time.
June 24, 2020
I would give it no stars if that were possible. It’s that bad. Faulty facts. Faulty logic. Questionable agendas. Incredibly pedantic and mind numbingly boring. Early on sex scenes straight out of the mind of a 14 year old boy. Very little plot...rambling...preachy. I read one piece of excerpted material that practically mirrors the final speech from Atlas Shrugged. I could almost see a hand tracing the image of a dollar sign in the air. Either do it better or don’t borrow at all.
Definitely not recommended to anyone.
Definitely not recommended to anyone.
August 10, 2020
Excellent book. Very interesting. Cover a lot of subject in a brave and unique way.
January 3, 2021
Even after finishing The Earth Hearing, there are still many theories revolving around my mind.
There are so many reasons to enjoy this book, but it will take time to finish once a reader picks it up. The premise starts off well enough with clear-cut sci-fi elements mixed in.
However, the reader is in for quite the ride in the later 2/3 of the story where the author has characters analyze various sides of a multitude of controversial arguments. I believe most of the controversies are based in Western thinking, but I may just possess that bias in thinking. Take the book a chapter at a time and this will be an interesting reading experience.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There are so many reasons to enjoy this book, but it will take time to finish once a reader picks it up. The premise starts off well enough with clear-cut sci-fi elements mixed in.
However, the reader is in for quite the ride in the later 2/3 of the story where the author has characters analyze various sides of a multitude of controversial arguments. I believe most of the controversies are based in Western thinking, but I may just possess that bias in thinking. Take the book a chapter at a time and this will be an interesting reading experience.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews