Forty Signs of Rain
Science in the Capital, Book 1
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Forty Signs of Rain
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Narrated by:
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Peter Ganim
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Kim Stanley Robinson
About this listen
When the Arctic ice pack was first measured in the 1950s, it averaged 30 feet thick in midwinter. By the end of the century it was down to 15. One August the ice broke. The next year the breakup started in July. The third year it began in May. That was last year.
It's an increasingly steamy summer in the nation's capital as Senate environmental staffer Charlie Quibler cares for his young son and deals with the frustrating politics of global warming. Charlie must find a way to get a skeptical administration to act before it's too late-and his progeny find themselves living in Swamp World. But the political climate poses almost as great a challenge as the environmental crisis when it comes to putting the public good ahead of private gain.
While Charlie struggles to play politics, his wife, Anna, takes a more rational approach to the looming crisis in her work at the National Science Foundation. There a proposal has come in for a revolutionary process that could solve the problem of global warming-if it can be recognized in time. But when a race to control the budding technology begins, the stakes only get higher. As these everyday heroes fight to align the awesome forces of nature with the extraordinary march of modern science, they are unaware that fate is about to put an unusual twist on their work-one that will place them at the heart of an unavoidable storm.
BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Kim Stanley Robinson.
Listen to all of our Capital Trilogy titles.©2005 Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group (P)2008 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
What listeners say about Forty Signs of Rain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Suzanne Martin
- 27-07-14
Promising start
What did you like most about Forty Signs of Rain?
I really enjoyed the whole story. I liked the fact it didn't just focus on one person or group, but looked at how events affected things all around the world. The characters were all sympathetic, and believable.
What other book might you compare Forty Signs of Rain to, and why?
I can't really compare it to anything else, as this isn't really my usual genre at all. But it was a really pleasant surprise. It wasn't as preachy as I imagined, and the different characters really held my attention.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
I really didn't enjoy the narration. The pace was too slow for the drama, and the tone was almost robotic. I also didn't enjoy his female voices, I thought they were a bit cliche ridden.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The Inevitable Future - unfortunately I think this is where we as a species are heading.
Any additional comments?
I look forward to listening to the next two books in the series. I really enjoyed this story, and want to find out how things end.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- danny hensby
- 23-09-15
Should have been great
A really good story that builds a world facing the real issue of global warming.
The characters are interesting and the plot moves at a good pace. If you ever wondered what global warming might do to the earth, sit back and enjoy this treat.
Unfortunately the narration is the worst I've come across by a mile. I had to speed up the reading just to get through. 1.25x worked ok.
Listen to a sample of this book before you download. Ask your self can you really put up with 12 hours of this guy infecting your brain.
I actually think that this guy might be a computer program narrator?
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karl Mccracken
- 03-01-24
Another KSR Cracking Read.
As the author explains in the preface, this book was written in the early 2000s, and so a lot of characters’ attitudes probably reflect this time. However, it does still seek to address the same question as his later Ministry ForThe Future: what will it take for governments to wake up and address climate change?
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Suzanne
- 30-09-15
The most awful narration
I bought all three books in this series but I am not sure if I can handle listening to this narrator for another two books. He is deadpan, slow, completely lacking in any animation, and seems unable to convey different characters through tone. I realise that this isn't about the book itself, but a poor narration kills an audiobook for me.
I highly recommend that you listen to the preview before buying this or other books in the series and see if you can handle listening to this robotic monotone for 60+ hours.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- P. J. Bell
- 09-01-16
should be abridged or skip to book two
Firstly, if you have never read Kim Stanley Robinson before take my advice don’t read this read the Mars Trilogy which him at his spectacular elegant articulate best.
Secondly, the narrator is not good; monotone in style and unemotional. Which given Kim Stanley Robinson likes to talk copiously about science and philosophy really undermines the book. It end up sounding more like a dull university lecture.
Thirdly, Kim starts the introduction of book two by basically saying
“you could of skipped book one”
so … AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!
If however you liked the mars trilogy and are interested in science, research, Washington politics, global warming, how animals in zoo’s are saved from flooding, what it is to be a Mr Mom and have about 14 hours of your life to use up….
Yeah I didn’t think so
Nevertheless however, I should point out it does have good writing and some pretty interesting ideas if you could find a nicely edited abridged version that would be the way to go
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 27-05-21
Good story, poor narration
Good story, bad narration but I ajusted to the narration fairly quickly and it didn't spoil the story for me. Am currntly listing to the second in the serries which unfortunatly has the same narrator.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emily C
- 07-02-24
The narration is the worst I've ever heard
Big fan of the book but astonished this robotic narration was approved, Painfully slow and extraordinarily mechanical, it almost sounds like an AI generated parody of storytelling
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