Ultimatum - Hardcover

Glass, Matthew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802118887 ISBN 13: 9780802118882

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009

Synopsis

November 2032. Joe Benton has just been elected the forty-eighth president of the United States. Only days after winning, Benton learns from his predecessor that previous estimates regarding the effect of global warming on rising sea levels have been grossly underestimated. For the United States, a leading carbon emitter for decades, the prospects are devastating: thirty million coastal-dwelling citizens will need to be relocated; Miami will be washed into the ocean and southern California will waste away to desert; the relocation process will cost trillions of dollars. With the world frighteningly close to catastrophe, Benton opts to abandon multilateral negotiations in the Kyoto 4 summit and resumes secret bilateral negotiations with the Chinese—the world’s worst polluter. As the two superpowers lock horns, the ensuing battle of wits becomes a race against time. Ultimatum is a visionary and deeply unsettling thriller that explores the most pressing issue of the twenty-first century—the future of our planet—and boldly predicts the way the world will be in twenty-five years.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"Ultimatum is a gripping, smart, and finally, persuasive thriller that had me glued to the pages. It is rare to find a book as thought provoking as it is exciting. I came away, not only entertained, but glad I had read it. Highly recommended!"--Christopher Reich, The Rules of Deception

"Ultimatum by Matt Glass is a rare thriller that terrifies not because it is possible, but because it feels probable--if not inevitable. Fifteen years from now, the U.S. and China face off over catastrophically rising sea levels due to global warming. Sharp as a well-honed scalpel, Ultimatum is a masterful novel with deftly drawn characters, real settings, and a dark, dark understanding of geopolitical reality. The ending will leave you gasping."--Douglas Preston, author of The Monster of Florence

"Ultimatum is a spellbinding debut novel from a writer poised to turn the thriller world upside-down. Joe Benton is an engaging, complex, protagonist--the kind of President we wish we saw more often. The plot is fast-paced and full of surprises. And at the heart of all the action is a thought-provoking cautionary tale about a real-life thriller that may lurk in our future if we don't listen to what Matt Glass has to say."--William Bernhardt, author of Capitol Murder

"Prophetic. I hope to God this isn't the future--but Matt Glass makes it all so believable that I fear for our planet."--Lincoln Child, author of Deep Storm

"When I published Superstorm in 1999, I never dreamed that, just eight short years later, I would find myself reading a novel about a president facing the ultimate catastrophe: the collapse of the environment and the end of earth's ability to support the human species. What is so appalling is that the next president, or the one after, is very likely to experience something like the horror that unfolds in this frightening, compulsively readable novel. Here's my ultimatum: read it. Do it for your kids and your own future."--Whitley Strieber, author of 2012: The War for Souls

"Ultimatum is a great read--both a gripping thriller and a remarkably intelligent political novel. Matt Glass weaves together fascinating research, thoughtful analysis and first-rate story telling to produce a novel that is hard to put down and will stay with reader long after the conclusion."--David Liss, author of The Whiskey Rebels

"Ultimatum is seriously good. Matt Glass' inside view of the White House in international crisis mode is simply first rate. With Ultimatum Matt Glass has done for the world of international politics what Tom Clancy did for the world of submarines in Hunt for Red October."--David Hagberg, author of Dance With The Dragon and The Expeditor

Reviews

Glass's debut, an anxiety-inducing thriller about global warming, effectively taps a hot topic and handles it with flair. In 2032, vast regions of America's coast—Florida, Texas, California—are underwater. Catastrophic hurricanes regularly sweep through the South. Much of the West has been without rainfall for years, as wildfires rage. More than 25 million people face relocation to higher ground, where new cities must be created. The newly elected U.S. president, Joe Benton, frustrated with the failed Kyoto Treaty process, proposes radical solutions worldwide, with devastating economic consequences. When the earth's greatest polluter, China, won't go along with the deal and escalates the argument to the nuclear level, the narrative shifts into overdrive. A contrived conclusion and passages belaboring the machinations of government and its various bureaucrats are the only weaknesses in what is otherwise a compelling tale of environmental doom. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In this near-future thriller, Joe Benton, the newly elected president of the U.S., is shocked to learn that his predecessor’s administration has been knowingly underreporting the catastrophic effects of global warming. In truth, the world is dangerously close to disaster, forcing Benton to find a way to broker an accord between the world’s worst polluter, China, and the U.S. But can the new president forge a path to peace with the U.S.’s old enemy? Fans of political thrillers will flock to this one, which combines realistic characters with shrewd political and environmental commentary. Some readers might quibble that the world of 2032 is a bit vaguely formed (with small changes, the novel could as easily have been set next year), but that’s a fairly minor quibble. The novel is propelled by character and dialogue, but it’s solidly plotted, too, and given the current public interest in global warming, it may spark some interesting debate on the subject. --David Pitt

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802118887
• ISBN 13: 9780802118882
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400