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470
Climate scientists tell us that some level of climate change is now baked in. So what will life be like in this climate-changed world?
In 2031, Zanna is housesitting a beachside house in Byron Bay, living the kind of life that inspires gloating selfies. She isn't thinking about climate change - it's just something in the background squeezing her life choices. She has much more immediate concerns, like whether she should let her parents meet her new boyfriend. Her sister Kat has worries much closer to home too, like dealing with difficult personalities in her eco-village in the hills. Their parents in Melbourne are nervously watching the stock market and debating whether it's time to do a sea change.
For all of them though, the good life is uneasy, fragile, and about to come undone.
Meticulously researched, 470 explores the nature of resilience when the world suddenly tips.
Linda Woodrow, best selling author of The Permaculture Home Garden, tells a tale of disaster, resilience and survival.
In 2031, Zanna is housesitting a beachside house in Byron Bay, living the kind of life that inspires gloating selfies. She isn't thinking about climate change - it's just something in the background squeezing her life choices. She has much more immediate concerns, like whether she should let her parents meet her new boyfriend. Her sister Kat has worries much closer to home too, like dealing with difficult personalities in her eco-village in the hills. Their parents in Melbourne are nervously watching the stock market and debating whether it's time to do a sea change.
For all of them though, the good life is uneasy, fragile, and about to come undone.
Meticulously researched, 470 explores the nature of resilience when the world suddenly tips.
Linda Woodrow, best selling author of The Permaculture Home Garden, tells a tale of disaster, resilience and survival.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2020
5 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 9, 2023
The Byron Bay hinterland is largely the setting for Linda Woodrow’s new book, ‘470’ and the genre, Speculative Fiction is where she would place it. Speculative it may be and the characters are of course a creation of fiction, but the work is based upon her scholarly research of peer reviewed science into the sociological impacts of climate change and the implications they have for living, which she undertook as research for her thesis: Imagined futures: Narrative fiction and climate science.
From accepting the simple premise that some level of climate change is ‘now baked in’ (Linda’s words -unfortunate metaphor) she says that ‘470’ started with her pondering, ‘… what will it be like in this climate-changed world?’ The books title referring to levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaching 470 parts per million.
The future of Linda’s creation is readily recognisable. A dysfunctional rather than dystopian government is no longer able (or willing) to pay the wages of its health care workers, let alone welfare to the economically displaced population. A macro response like quantitative easing, (printing money) the panacea of the global financial crisis, isn’t considered, but in addressing life at the individual level we see the boomer generation debating their property values and the merits of cashing out super or staying in the market in the hope of a recovery.
Meanwhile radical weather patterns are redrawing the coastline and temperature spikes place demands on creaking fossil fuel power stations that are impossible to meet. Telecommunications are intermittent and whether this is because of solar flares, lack of infrastructure maintenance, or if they are being deliberately degraded, is not clarified either.
Instead the impacts of disrupted systems, logistical supply chains for goods and services, foods, medicines and transport are explored at the human level as we follow a young woman, Zanna, from her Byron Bay yoga culture margin to her integration with family and the stakeholders of a community many would recognise as a Multiple Occupancy. (A form of land title developed in the Northern Rivers of NSW by demand from the hippie counterculture requiring multiple dwelling entitlements on rural land)
The challenges, like days when the mercury records 45.1 degrees Celsius, causing birds to drop from the sky, have devastating effects on the human population too. Heat stroke and death. Solutions and their lack are explored. Different levels of preparedness observed from the dilettante wastrel’s uninsulated unlined tin shack to the doom’s-day preppers thermal bunker. More generally the discussion ranges: What are useful skills or tradeable commodities in this future. Alternate energy systems are a way of life. Even the to-ing and fro-ing of communal values are weighed in human scales the semantics of which boggled definition – Are you holding a position or an interest?
In ‘470’ Linda Woodrow presents a thoughtful, finely researched, elegantly written novel that highlights considerations, practical and ethical for people who wish to live in a future only moments away.
From accepting the simple premise that some level of climate change is ‘now baked in’ (Linda’s words -unfortunate metaphor) she says that ‘470’ started with her pondering, ‘… what will it be like in this climate-changed world?’ The books title referring to levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaching 470 parts per million.
The future of Linda’s creation is readily recognisable. A dysfunctional rather than dystopian government is no longer able (or willing) to pay the wages of its health care workers, let alone welfare to the economically displaced population. A macro response like quantitative easing, (printing money) the panacea of the global financial crisis, isn’t considered, but in addressing life at the individual level we see the boomer generation debating their property values and the merits of cashing out super or staying in the market in the hope of a recovery.
Meanwhile radical weather patterns are redrawing the coastline and temperature spikes place demands on creaking fossil fuel power stations that are impossible to meet. Telecommunications are intermittent and whether this is because of solar flares, lack of infrastructure maintenance, or if they are being deliberately degraded, is not clarified either.
Instead the impacts of disrupted systems, logistical supply chains for goods and services, foods, medicines and transport are explored at the human level as we follow a young woman, Zanna, from her Byron Bay yoga culture margin to her integration with family and the stakeholders of a community many would recognise as a Multiple Occupancy. (A form of land title developed in the Northern Rivers of NSW by demand from the hippie counterculture requiring multiple dwelling entitlements on rural land)
The challenges, like days when the mercury records 45.1 degrees Celsius, causing birds to drop from the sky, have devastating effects on the human population too. Heat stroke and death. Solutions and their lack are explored. Different levels of preparedness observed from the dilettante wastrel’s uninsulated unlined tin shack to the doom’s-day preppers thermal bunker. More generally the discussion ranges: What are useful skills or tradeable commodities in this future. Alternate energy systems are a way of life. Even the to-ing and fro-ing of communal values are weighed in human scales the semantics of which boggled definition – Are you holding a position or an interest?
In ‘470’ Linda Woodrow presents a thoughtful, finely researched, elegantly written novel that highlights considerations, practical and ethical for people who wish to live in a future only moments away.
September 5, 2020
I’m so very glad that this book exists! This story of Zanna, and her extended family, speaks directly to the fears of the emerging generations who can’t help but wonder what lies ahead. It says: Yes, climate change is serious. And, no, it won’t be easy. But, you CAN face this. There is strength to be found in a myriad of places, and, luckily, the human capacity for love and community-building is truly immense.
September 4, 2020
Right from the very first paragraph i was hooked. Describing life on the Far North Coast NSW Australia with beaches and foresty mountain areas I was drawn to the very essence of our beautiful earth as climate change is wreaking havoc. Some amazing descriptions of displacement and escape. Strong resourceful female characters helped by supportive and interesting male protagonists the story heads along and finishes with hope and love for the future of the human species. Loved the food descriptions and how meals were never taken for granted and had to be sourced from whatever may have been available. Very vivid descriptions making me hungry throughout. A most breathtaking and refreshing read, like the waves of the ocean, like the mountains of the rainforest. Highly recommended.
September 4, 2020
Its not just because I'm familiar with the area and the characters of Mullumbimby that this book struck home for me. I sometimes had to remind myself that the news I was listening to and watching on TV regarding COVID19 didn't belong to the fiction I was reading. It was that reality dose that gave this story all the more impact. In fact, its because the author hadn't incorporated COVID19 into her fiction (because, obviously, it was written prior to COVID effects - although there may have been a hint of it in the term 'corona recession' on page 12) that it lost a star in the rating. I also wanted a tiny bit more emotionally from the characters - probably because I was so emotional while reading it. Fiction, yes, but not actually so far removed from our current real world.
August 2, 2022
The future shown by Linda Woodrow is becoming more and more recognisable, even to those most sceptical. This is not a random apocalypse book based purely on chaos and violence - Linda has based her novel on scientific studies and thus it reads as a totally realistic and probable future for our world. The title refers to our climate altered world when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach 470 parts per million (we are currently hovering around 420).
This book is a warning - consider which group of people you would like to be when this occurs - but also offers hope. We can face an altered future, we do not have to destroy ourselves in the process of the changes that will occur.
I particularly appreciated that there were clear storylines, independent of the disasters, as we followed various characters through the years 2031 to 2034.
This book is a warning - consider which group of people you would like to be when this occurs - but also offers hope. We can face an altered future, we do not have to destroy ourselves in the process of the changes that will occur.
I particularly appreciated that there were clear storylines, independent of the disasters, as we followed various characters through the years 2031 to 2034.
September 2, 2020
Beautifully written cli-fi novel with characters so real you can almost touch them. Linda Woodrow presents the reality rather than the theory of the events resulting from climate change and the many and varied effects of it on the people in the novel; Zanna with her slightly dreamy demeanour whose world is literally turned upside down; Java, a man who’s been living frugally for a long time and whose desire to settle somewhere is seemingly thwarted at every turn (I’d love to read more of his story. Maybe a sequel?); the practical couple Kat and Sophie, who, although they have been living off the grid in a community in northern NSW, are pushed to the brink in the new world beyond the catastrophes that devastate the world; and all of their friends, comrades and families. The corona recession is mentioned near the beginning of the book, in passing, as if to say “You ain’t seen nothin, yet”. Although there are disasters in the book, this is no “disaster” story but an utterly believable account of how real people will be affected by climate change which is upon us as we speak.
January 19, 2022
Optimistically classified as dystopian, the narrative set just over a decade from now is artfully nuanced, disconcertingly plausible, the events portrayed more like portents rather than fiction. Far too near to home, far too close to an unthinkable not-too-distant-future reality. A brilliant and terrifying novel. I would like to see 470 made into a film, and for Linda to write a sequel, also.
September 20, 2020
Walking Dead except with well rounded characters, better solutions and a dash more optimism. This Cli-Fi book is our possible or dare I say it probable future reality, so it also felt like a 'how to survive' guide. Gripping and heart warming at the same time. Someone make the TV series, I want more of the same!
January 6, 2025
"It's not so long, seven generations". Counting my grandson as generation one, seven generations would take me back 200 years to my great great grandmother born in 1817. Five out of seven of these members of my family were born to mothers in their thirties or forties. Teenage mothers could mean seven generations in one hundred years instead of two hundred years.
The reference to "local crypto" reminded me of the LETS dollars we had in the 1990s in Denmark. All that was needed back then was a phone book and a notebook to record the transactions. Current day crypto uses lots of computer power.
Just as I found Tim Wintons Juice too bleak, this novel is in danger of being too bland. It tells of a very fortunate group living through disastrous times cushioned by their residing in a functioning eco village permaculture community. Refreshingly non preachy and non judgemental writing from the author. But the retelling lacks drama and lacks a strong story line, although realistic and recognisable characters in loopy Seraphina, obnoxious Craig , useless Daz etc. only one mention by one of the characters of Aboriginal people, but that's expected. Some chapters were racier, some a little more dull ,(superannuation etc).
470 is an easy to read novel , surprisingly thought provoking.
Definitely worth a read as a wake up call for the way we ignore the impending crisis of climate change
The reference to "local crypto" reminded me of the LETS dollars we had in the 1990s in Denmark. All that was needed back then was a phone book and a notebook to record the transactions. Current day crypto uses lots of computer power.
Just as I found Tim Wintons Juice too bleak, this novel is in danger of being too bland. It tells of a very fortunate group living through disastrous times cushioned by their residing in a functioning eco village permaculture community. Refreshingly non preachy and non judgemental writing from the author. But the retelling lacks drama and lacks a strong story line, although realistic and recognisable characters in loopy Seraphina, obnoxious Craig , useless Daz etc. only one mention by one of the characters of Aboriginal people, but that's expected. Some chapters were racier, some a little more dull ,(superannuation etc).
470 is an easy to read novel , surprisingly thought provoking.
Definitely worth a read as a wake up call for the way we ignore the impending crisis of climate change
March 12, 2021
DISASTER, ADAPTATION AND HOPE
IT is one of the few works of speculative fiction to come from an author associated with the permaculture design system. Linda Woodrow’s 470 is not a story about permaculture, however. It is the story of how a group of friends and family cope with the deteriorating environmental, economic and social systems in the Australia of the early 2030s.
Global heating triggers a cyclone off the East Coast and things go downwards, well, it’s more that they go seawards from there. Linda draws from events in her home territory of NSW’s Far North Coast and on her life in an intentional community similar to the ecovillage in the story to bring an authenticity to 470. Those of us who have lived there will find a familiarity in the setting of her story in the region.
470 drew its initial readership from the national permaculture milieu. In adopting the speculative fiction format, the book has the potential to link to the wider readership around the genre.
I wrote a lengthier review:
A tale of crisis and coping
https://medium.com/permaculture-3-0/a...
20.12.20
IT is one of the few works of speculative fiction to come from an author associated with the permaculture design system. Linda Woodrow’s 470 is not a story about permaculture, however. It is the story of how a group of friends and family cope with the deteriorating environmental, economic and social systems in the Australia of the early 2030s.
Global heating triggers a cyclone off the East Coast and things go downwards, well, it’s more that they go seawards from there. Linda draws from events in her home territory of NSW’s Far North Coast and on her life in an intentional community similar to the ecovillage in the story to bring an authenticity to 470. Those of us who have lived there will find a familiarity in the setting of her story in the region.
470 drew its initial readership from the national permaculture milieu. In adopting the speculative fiction format, the book has the potential to link to the wider readership around the genre.
I wrote a lengthier review:
A tale of crisis and coping
https://medium.com/permaculture-3-0/a...
20.12.20
March 25, 2023
470 is a realistic take on what collapse will look like, unflinchingly so, and she knows what it takes to grow food and turn an animal into it. I've read books that make it obvious the authors know nothing about gardening. One waxed lyrical bout the strong scent of beetroot flowers. They're unscented as they are wind pollinated, they don't need to attract bees. You often see it in movies too. Robin Wright's garden in Land, made me laugh. A day's food at best, but suddenly she was sufficient on a 3 metre square area surrounded by a feeble stick fence.
There were cross-overs within our novels (I'm the author of Eat My Shadow). We both explored what a community might be in lean times, the good and the bad. And came to similar conclusions.
There's an enormous cast of characters in 470. Sometimes I struggled to keep up with their entwined stories, but the book swept me like a wave from one end to the other and didn't leave me broken. Can't ask for more than that.
Highly recommended reading.
There were cross-overs within our novels (I'm the author of Eat My Shadow). We both explored what a community might be in lean times, the good and the bad. And came to similar conclusions.
There's an enormous cast of characters in 470. Sometimes I struggled to keep up with their entwined stories, but the book swept me like a wave from one end to the other and didn't leave me broken. Can't ask for more than that.
Highly recommended reading.
September 22, 2020
Very disappointing. It starts with a good premise and the first few pages I thought - here we go, this one will be OK. Unfortunately I kept thinking it was going to get better .... so kept reading.... it didn't. Random characters come in and out without necessarily adding anything (except weirdness). Most of the storylines don't go anywhere and then it just stops.
I also couldn't suspend disbelief in many ways, the Government cops a serve for not handling the 'Recovery' well but that storyline doesn't go anywhere - what actually was it recovering from, why did they get it so wrong, what should have been better. It also seemed a little strange that Melbourne was the most affected by climate change and the behaviour of ALL the populace did not ring true to me.
There are lots of typographical errors, missing words etc in the Kindle version which was very annoying.
I also couldn't suspend disbelief in many ways, the Government cops a serve for not handling the 'Recovery' well but that storyline doesn't go anywhere - what actually was it recovering from, why did they get it so wrong, what should have been better. It also seemed a little strange that Melbourne was the most affected by climate change and the behaviour of ALL the populace did not ring true to me.
There are lots of typographical errors, missing words etc in the Kindle version which was very annoying.
October 10, 2025
A left- wing version of prepper fiction. Pretty solid fare in that regard although it could have done with a bit more editor guidance. The writing was ok with occasional typos (I read the print version).
In terms of content I found it interesting how much overlap there was between right wing ammo-and-beans prepper fiction and this in regards to don't trust the government and socialism in a larger society doesn't work. A heavy bias against overweight people kept coming through.
Tbh I had hoped for something more visionary but, aside from the lack of person-on-person violence that is so popular in the genre, this was just another prepper fiction book.
In terms of content I found it interesting how much overlap there was between right wing ammo-and-beans prepper fiction and this in regards to don't trust the government and socialism in a larger society doesn't work. A heavy bias against overweight people kept coming through.
Tbh I had hoped for something more visionary but, aside from the lack of person-on-person violence that is so popular in the genre, this was just another prepper fiction book.
September 21, 2020
Well……. Not quite one thing or the other.. is it about how the author sees the future or is it how the future will be or is it about people trying to manage a world that has changed.
It feels like the author has at least written about the world she knows it’s just that I’m not convinced by her world or the changes to the world which is meant to be this world but just a little in the future… but there are gaps/ mistakes maybe and although I like the idea of the story it needs more work… it sort of reads like a first draft with possibilities but not enough substance…
It feels like the author has at least written about the world she knows it’s just that I’m not convinced by her world or the changes to the world which is meant to be this world but just a little in the future… but there are gaps/ mistakes maybe and although I like the idea of the story it needs more work… it sort of reads like a first draft with possibilities but not enough substance…
November 26, 2020
beautifully written, this is an engaging, realistic look into our near future. Without hyperbole or alarmism, this is soundly based on the natural consequences of our warming planet and human nature. Whilst the subject matter is at times brutally hard, there is still much hope and resilience throughout the story of the way people adapt and find ways to co-exist in difficult circumstances. A sobering, important but also enjoyable read.
June 13, 2025
I've tagged this as dystopian, but it's probably more "pessimistic future realism". Kicking off with the destructive aftermath of a cyclone in a society where vital services like weather forecasting are crippled by lack of government funding, we follow various characters as they try to find a way to a future during a gradual societal collapse. It's a bit unevenly paced as we jump forward in a few leaps towards the end, but otherwise a great read.
August 6, 2021
Sudden climate breakdown: lives upended, norms and dreams swept away. A homestead becomes a sanctuary, from a new rhythm dawns hope, but over an ocean of grief. Unlikely scenario (I hope!), but human experiences & responses feel realistic.
January 22, 2024
Gripping and hard to put down! Lent it to my husband who isn't much of a reader these days, and he also devoured it. Characters relatable and the events and plot compelling. A well-researched and absorbing introduction to what our future may look like in a climate crisis.
July 8, 2023
Devoured this book. Loved it and the characters. I'm wondering if there'll be a sequel as some threads were left hanging. 😊
November 27, 2024
hooked and loving the disaster porn. Usually just read clean romance, but this and lg as well.
August 22, 2022
Not just a fascinating read, but a must read for anyone who wants to anticipate and prepare for the many implications of the changing climate. Well-researched. The epitome of “show don’t tell”.
August 31, 2020
Brilliant and relevant
May 31, 2023
LOVED it - didn't want it to finish. Really enjoyed the nuance of the situation. Thanks Linda!
Read
January 16, 2024Sadly, I did not connect with this. I kept hoping I would, but nope.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews