It's not the end of the world A novel

Park-Ramage (Yes, Daddy) offers a bracing if lurid tale of a commune of queer progressives attempting to survive an authoritarian government and the ravages of climate change. As wildfires decimate a near-future Los Angeles, toxic clouds induce violent psychosis, and the government oppresses the LGBTQ+ community. The novel's first act follows gay couple Mason and Yunho, as they desperately stick to their plans for a lavish baby shower despite their heavy debt and encroaching fires. After the disaster-riddled event, the couple decamps to a commune in Montana along with the child's surrogate mother, Astrid, and Astrid's partner, Claudia. There, they face danger from government-backed militias bent on the commune's destruction. The author peppers the nightmarish narrative with plenty of inspired ideas, such as an apocalypse-themed vacation retreat modeled after Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and he shines in his depiction of the makeshift family's love for each other, which is expressed in the increasingly extreme lengths they go to in protecting one another. Unfortunately, the narrative often loses its way in scenes of gratuitous violence and pornographic sex. It's a mixed bag. (June)

Existential political threats turn America into a nightmare in this ambitious tale. Subtlety isn't the name of the game in Parks-Ramage's eco-thriller, in which the world is terrorized by climate disaster, totalitarian government, and the surveillance state. The novel begins with gay partners Mason and Yunho preparing for the baby shower of the child they're having via surrogate, a party overshadowed by a rather prescient fire that consumes much of Los Angeles and comes with a poisonous pink gas bringing sometimes-fatal side effects. The show must go on, however, in this takedown of wealth inequality and consumption in the age of environmental destruction. Gucci gas masks, Apple Wallet brain implants, and MegaDust Bowls all make their way into the book's first section, though the postmodernist tricks are not always effective. Many of the bits are clumsily introduced, explained via unsubtle exposition. The story moves from a stratified Los Angeles to a communal ranch in isolated Montana, where Yunho decamps with his surrogate, Astrid; Astrid's partner, Claudia, who uses a wheelchair; and other close friends to build a resistance based on a simple saying: "We've got love for everyone." But things go south when the U.S. government brands the anarchist community's values antifamily, and the group faces risks from the outside world and members alike. A third section dives even further into the future, as Mason moves with a new partner, Peter Thiel (yes, really), to Mars following the dissolution of the community on the Ranch. Parks-Ramage bites off more than he can chew while failing to imbue his satire with clarity. The book spans more than 100 years and takes aim at a future many fear is on its way without providing his characters, who fight for a better world, with enough dimensionality to bring it to life. Too many storylines unnecessarily muddy this commentary on near-future America. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.