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Gaia Awakens: A Climate Crisis Anthology
The climate crisis looms. The Earth awakens.
Climate change. The greatest existential threat in the history of human civilization. And our species is the cause.
We must reforge our roots with our only planet. Humanity must choose a side if it is to survive and thrive.
Join us. Join the World’s Revolution.
Embark on a journey across the planet through 23 stories written by 16 authors from 6 different countries. From superpowered humans taking down polluting industries to genius inventors creating innovative high-tech solutions to protect their communities, Gaia Awakens explores the gauntlet of climate fiction, SciFi and Fantasy alike.
And every story occurs in the same persistent universe, weaving a united narrative in the first volume of The World’s Revolution.
The world is awakening, and so are its heroes. Read Gaia Awakens: A Climate Crisis Anthology today.
_______________
The World’s Revolution was initially backed on Kickstarter, and we’re incredibly thankful for our contributors who made this project possible. Climate change threatens everyone, and we believe storytelling is one key method to inspire people to take action to combat the climate crisis.
But we can’t stop with only stories! Find your way to join the fight against the climate crisis. Doesn’t matter how big or small your impact is, we need everyone in the fight. Stand for justice. Stand against systems of endless exploitation. Stand for a new way of connecting with the world and your community.
We hope you enjoy The World’s Revolution, and may its words inspire you to change the world, too.
Climate change. The greatest existential threat in the history of human civilization. And our species is the cause.
We must reforge our roots with our only planet. Humanity must choose a side if it is to survive and thrive.
Join us. Join the World’s Revolution.
Embark on a journey across the planet through 23 stories written by 16 authors from 6 different countries. From superpowered humans taking down polluting industries to genius inventors creating innovative high-tech solutions to protect their communities, Gaia Awakens explores the gauntlet of climate fiction, SciFi and Fantasy alike.
And every story occurs in the same persistent universe, weaving a united narrative in the first volume of The World’s Revolution.
The world is awakening, and so are its heroes. Read Gaia Awakens: A Climate Crisis Anthology today.
_______________
The World’s Revolution was initially backed on Kickstarter, and we’re incredibly thankful for our contributors who made this project possible. Climate change threatens everyone, and we believe storytelling is one key method to inspire people to take action to combat the climate crisis.
But we can’t stop with only stories! Find your way to join the fight against the climate crisis. Doesn’t matter how big or small your impact is, we need everyone in the fight. Stand for justice. Stand against systems of endless exploitation. Stand for a new way of connecting with the world and your community.
We hope you enjoy The World’s Revolution, and may its words inspire you to change the world, too.
387 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2021
8 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
C.D. Tavenor
21 books69 followersC. D. Tavenor is a science fiction and fantasy author based in Columbus, Ohio.
They are excited to tell stories that engage readers beyond a desire for entertainment, whether through philosophical inspiration or social inquiry.
When they're not writing, Tavenor enjoys the more than occasional board game, their favorite being Eclipse.
They are excited to tell stories that engage readers beyond a desire for entertainment, whether through philosophical inspiration or social inquiry.
When they're not writing, Tavenor enjoys the more than occasional board game, their favorite being Eclipse.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 10, 2021
REVIEW FROM EDITOR
Absolutely making clear from the start that I am the editor of this anthology. I'm intimately familiar with every story in this anthology, and I'm just briefly leaving this note to encourage readers to dive deeply into The World's Revolution.
It was a joy to work with these fifteen other authors, and their climate fiction stories deserve to be read!
Absolutely making clear from the start that I am the editor of this anthology. I'm intimately familiar with every story in this anthology, and I'm just briefly leaving this note to encourage readers to dive deeply into The World's Revolution.
It was a joy to work with these fifteen other authors, and their climate fiction stories deserve to be read!
March 4, 2025
Great collection. I especially liked A.E. Faulkners contributions.
November 10, 2021
Many thanks to the editor for providing me with a free copy for an honest review.
For a crowd-funded anthology, I wasn't sure what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting a whole universe and timeline this immersive. The stories aren't a collection of climate fiction existing in a vacuum; they follow a chain of events that shape our world in the not too distant future. On the anthology's website, there is more about the immersive world building, which makes you feel like you are on an epic adventure across a futuristic world. I really enjoyed this anthology conceptually and wish more short story collections were so cohesive like this.
Some of the stories can be difficult to get into at times, however. The writing is cleanly edited, but the content sometimes needs a little more combing through. As it usually goes with a setting unfamiliar to us, there needs to be some exposition to ease readers in, but some stories take this too far. While I enjoyed the projections of how the world is going to end up around this time, I was often bogged down by the heavy explanations in the beginning of stories and was surprised when they ended almost immediately after picking up pace and finally giving some room to connect with the characters.
I was personally also a little worn down by the dichotomy between dystopian corporate greed/corruption and the rest of the world, which was a very frequent theme that became rather tiring when it's tackled over and over in the same manner. I expected this to be a strong theme when I picked up this book but would've liked more nuance with this particular concept, maybe more plot twists outside of the "nature awakening" element as always having companies or governments in opposition made stories predictable. A refreshing highlight is J. A. Kits's Real-Time, which showcased a morally ambiguous dilemma in an innovative way without copious amounts of exposition about clearly dystopian villains.
Overall I found this anthology innovative and exciting. I recommend it to people who enjoy futuristic settings and cerebral short stories. I hope the curators can keep this anthology going, because it's a fantastic concept.
For a crowd-funded anthology, I wasn't sure what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting a whole universe and timeline this immersive. The stories aren't a collection of climate fiction existing in a vacuum; they follow a chain of events that shape our world in the not too distant future. On the anthology's website, there is more about the immersive world building, which makes you feel like you are on an epic adventure across a futuristic world. I really enjoyed this anthology conceptually and wish more short story collections were so cohesive like this.
Some of the stories can be difficult to get into at times, however. The writing is cleanly edited, but the content sometimes needs a little more combing through. As it usually goes with a setting unfamiliar to us, there needs to be some exposition to ease readers in, but some stories take this too far. While I enjoyed the projections of how the world is going to end up around this time, I was often bogged down by the heavy explanations in the beginning of stories and was surprised when they ended almost immediately after picking up pace and finally giving some room to connect with the characters.
I was personally also a little worn down by the dichotomy between dystopian corporate greed/corruption and the rest of the world, which was a very frequent theme that became rather tiring when it's tackled over and over in the same manner. I expected this to be a strong theme when I picked up this book but would've liked more nuance with this particular concept, maybe more plot twists outside of the "nature awakening" element as always having companies or governments in opposition made stories predictable. A refreshing highlight is J. A. Kits's Real-Time, which showcased a morally ambiguous dilemma in an innovative way without copious amounts of exposition about clearly dystopian villains.
Overall I found this anthology innovative and exciting. I recommend it to people who enjoy futuristic settings and cerebral short stories. I hope the curators can keep this anthology going, because it's a fantastic concept.
August 22, 2022
This anthology was exactly what was advertised, and somehow completely different from what I was expecting. The impact of the collection as a whole is much greater and more satisfying than the individual stories. It has a feel similar to Black Mirror in that it is a collection of stories that take place in the same future and explore different potentialities of a given technology’s effects, or in this case, climate crisis and how it affects various regions and communities.
Some of the stories are very tightly woven together in that one has the opposite side of a phone conversation from another. Others follow a location or settlement over a period of time. And still others are more tangentially related, maybe referencing a company or event from another story. Some show the beginning stages, and others jump farther along the process. Stories take place in cities, rural areas, the ocean. A few barely count as a story and feel more like Ted Talks. In the end, while some stories feel lacking, together the build a strong image of a future world in climate crisis due to the greed and selfishness of big business and corporation and the individuals and communes fighting back with the help of the local flora, fauna, and Mother Nature herself. Some stories veer into magical realism and mysticism. Others stay very grounded in science and logic.
It is an interesting collection. I found some of the political differences peeking out in the stories to be interesting as well. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell and there isn’t a straightforward response everyone agrees on. I found the complicated, morally ambiguous stories to be most interesting. Good variety that will appeal to a broad range of readers.
Jessica Tipton is a very passionate narrator and it comes across in her reading. She does have a tendency to get a touch shrill in some of the lectures and because of that I would not recommend this for bedtime listening. Very emotional delivery of the stories.
Some of the stories are very tightly woven together in that one has the opposite side of a phone conversation from another. Others follow a location or settlement over a period of time. And still others are more tangentially related, maybe referencing a company or event from another story. Some show the beginning stages, and others jump farther along the process. Stories take place in cities, rural areas, the ocean. A few barely count as a story and feel more like Ted Talks. In the end, while some stories feel lacking, together the build a strong image of a future world in climate crisis due to the greed and selfishness of big business and corporation and the individuals and communes fighting back with the help of the local flora, fauna, and Mother Nature herself. Some stories veer into magical realism and mysticism. Others stay very grounded in science and logic.
It is an interesting collection. I found some of the political differences peeking out in the stories to be interesting as well. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell and there isn’t a straightforward response everyone agrees on. I found the complicated, morally ambiguous stories to be most interesting. Good variety that will appeal to a broad range of readers.
Jessica Tipton is a very passionate narrator and it comes across in her reading. She does have a tendency to get a touch shrill in some of the lectures and because of that I would not recommend this for bedtime listening. Very emotional delivery of the stories.
April 16, 2022
Apocalyptic short stories from individual author’s points of view.
When you read a book about climate crisis, you know you’re not destined for a “feel good” story. All stories begin in the year 2040 and end in 2055. It was fascinating to see the stories the authors came up with. Some are hopeful, and others quite dark.
I appreciated that there were stories that had solid links between them, yet were told from a different geography. Some of the authors live in different places, which gave a more enhanced perspective.
I also liked the use of emotion throughout. There were no fence-sitters. All burn with a desire for earth and themselves to survive. I recommend this book, both for the stories and message.
When you read a book about climate crisis, you know you’re not destined for a “feel good” story. All stories begin in the year 2040 and end in 2055. It was fascinating to see the stories the authors came up with. Some are hopeful, and others quite dark.
I appreciated that there were stories that had solid links between them, yet were told from a different geography. Some of the authors live in different places, which gave a more enhanced perspective.
I also liked the use of emotion throughout. There were no fence-sitters. All burn with a desire for earth and themselves to survive. I recommend this book, both for the stories and message.
August 28, 2022
Normally I don't love short stories, but this book is really much more than the sum of its parts! C.D. Tavenor and the other authors work masterfully to weave unique and heartfelt tales of everyday folks around the globe fighting the climate crisis. The interconnected world that they work to build grows organically in richness and depth throughout the course of the book.
While reading Gaia Awakens I found myself becoming more attuned to the climate fears that linger inside me. But, through exploring those fears, I opened up myself to inspiration and hope. Feelings around the climate crisis are complicated and varied. I can only hope that more art moving forward will take the lead from Gaia Awakens to explore those complicated feelings with the depth and diversity that they deserve.
While reading Gaia Awakens I found myself becoming more attuned to the climate fears that linger inside me. But, through exploring those fears, I opened up myself to inspiration and hope. Feelings around the climate crisis are complicated and varied. I can only hope that more art moving forward will take the lead from Gaia Awakens to explore those complicated feelings with the depth and diversity that they deserve.
January 11, 2022
Disclaimer: Two short stories that I wrote are included in this climate fiction anthology. The focus of this review is on the other 21 stories, not mine. That said, on with it...
I loved how the stories all offered a different perspective yet common threads were woven within and between them. I will definitely be re-reading this collection. Some of my fave stories were The Coast Guard, The Bent Greens, Two More Days to Sydney, Ring of Contamination, Scourge of the Mosquitos and The Quiet Ghost of Willow Way.
Highly recommend - if you love fiction with a climate change angle, check this out!
I loved how the stories all offered a different perspective yet common threads were woven within and between them. I will definitely be re-reading this collection. Some of my fave stories were The Coast Guard, The Bent Greens, Two More Days to Sydney, Ring of Contamination, Scourge of the Mosquitos and The Quiet Ghost of Willow Way.
Highly recommend - if you love fiction with a climate change angle, check this out!
April 28, 2022
This was a collection of works by different authors with the unifying theme regarding "saving the earth". Although each work was of varying lengths, each composition rang with the author's deep concern and passionate feeling about the need to change the way humans treat the earth in order to save it. I found the stories to be inspiring, thought-provoking, and entertaining. I recommend it to others. Jessica Tipton's narration was excellent, and her expressive voice enhanced each composition in her reading of it. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.
January 9, 2022
I really thought this was a very good book and once I receieved this book I was able to read it from the very beginning to the very end and thought the charcter built up was so well written it made the story so well done and this is my opininon. I thought the storyline was written so well done it was fantastic and this is my opinon. I received this book for free thru an Advanced Review Copy, ARC, with an honest review freely given.
November 20, 2021
I read this book because it's an important theme. I only read the stories that engaged me, as I usually do. There were five of them which is an unusually high number. Of those, the one I liked best was "The Gaia Stones" by David Kernot. It was the only one whose characters pulled me in. I wanted to know what would happen to them.
May 6, 2022
An inspiration novel, with a composition of short stories each focusing on their deep concern regarding our places in this earth and how we need to protect it. An inspirational novel which you will want to read more than once. I received this novel from StoryOrigin. This is my true and honest review.
June 4, 2022
I love the premise and the shared worldbuilding. As in anthologies though, stories are a hit or a miss.
Favourites -
1. Real-Time (JA Kits)
2. The Lifespan of Wildflowers (SE MacCready)
3. Enhanced Weathering (Christopher R. Muscato)
4. Garden of Eden (Kit Hanson)
Favourites -
1. Real-Time (JA Kits)
2. The Lifespan of Wildflowers (SE MacCready)
3. Enhanced Weathering (Christopher R. Muscato)
4. Garden of Eden (Kit Hanson)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews