Cover Image: World Without End

World Without End

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Member Reviews

This book has been a great reading experience. Thanks to the author and the publisher for bringing this book to life.

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Well this was really dense! The subject is so interesting but I'm wondering if graphic format actually helps or not. There's so much to take in that making it a graphic novel might not actually help, not in my personal opinion anyway.
Albeit, it's a very good and impressive piece of work.

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Very readable graphic novel lecture about energy use, which shows us lots of things, from the fact that renewable energies have renewed nothing in the global sourcing of fuel, to the energy demand increase a divorce causes. Chock full of graphs and data, it still manages to provide lots of sensible artwork for the talking heads to meet over. The main thrust of it all is that the average person just doesn't understand energy – the cost of it, and the amount of machines we cause to use it, whether we click them on and off or not and whether some Chinese person is using dozens of them to make our next purchase.

After that we do get a quarter of the book talking about climate change and greenhouse gases, which leads into the final third or so, which on the whole is definitely a pro-nuclear diatribe. And here it has to be said things are certainly counter what I've read elsewhere – which is kind of the point. Here the fatalities and consequences of Chernobyl are so out of whack with other statements about the outcome. But either way, the feel is that most things here are under-discussed; how renewables are temperamental and society needs hospitals, key workers etc running at full speed whatever the wind velocity and sun's presence. How visits to nuclear sites are safer for you than trips to the lido.

I mean, there are things here I certainly cannot get on board with – I intend never to live in a house with a heat pump as opposed to a traditional boiler – but the initial concepts, of us just bloody recognising how much that foodstuff, that screen, that car cost as regards all the copious energy expense involved before we clapped eyes on it, are very strong. Yes, diddums, that kills off capitalism for us, but is that really going to be a flaw we can pin on these pages? Sometimes I feel these books really are preaching to the converted, but here we get opinions and facts conveniently avoided by the mainstream, and so many are the people who could gain from reading this. And that forces a four star rating, not so much for the jollity involved here, but for the fact many will come away with something learnt.

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Absolutely loved the art work in this graphic work portraying the perils and realities of climate change and how we must take measures to mitigate it. A good addition for middle-school libraries and libraries in general. Will I re-read it? Of course!

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Many thanks to Netgalley, Europe Comics, and the author, for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A non-fic graphic novel on Climate change, sustainability and resource management, this book is a perfect treasure trove of knowledge with absolutely brilliant art. Even with complex life changing information being imparted, the fact that this book was pictorial made it seem simpler that in real life. As a sustainability engineer, I deal with a lot of this information in my day to day work and it being spelt out here was a genious way of spreading the word.

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An easily accessible read reviewing over how our world has changed in recent history and the crisis of climate change. Well-outlined, the book shows how we got here and what we can do to help combat climate change both on a local and global level. A great book with reread value. Perfect for any reader middle school age and above.

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I’m going to be completely honest and say I have no idea what to say about this book. As much as I think teaching people about climate change and explaining how and why we’re in this shit show called current world situation through comic was a ducking brilliant idea, I have to say I got lost quite few times while reading. I definitely think this book is mainly for adults or smarter teens due to the way all the information is delivered. The art is great, though! I can’t say anything bad about it.

Overall, solid 8/10, definitely recommend. Very sorry for the way I wrote this review but I’m super tired and sleep deprived from work 😅

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Lately I've been contemplating the state of the world, especially after all the natural disasters that seem to have hit us in the past couple years. I'm not that old, but I have noticed a big difference from my childhood, for example, in the amount of snow that used to begin falling in October/November. It would remain on the ground until March, but now it hardly snows anymore and if it does, it's gone in days. So what do I do? Read a graphic novel that provides information on global warming and talks about how we're headed for a huge wake up call SOON if measures aren't taken to change things. Spoiler alert: we're all fucked.

This book was intense. It was gorgeously illustrated and explained various concepts in a fairly simple way, which I appreciated. I now have a basic understanding of the different types of nuclear reactors and how they operate, fission, global warming, energy costs, and other fun things to talk about at parties! (Like, use birth control because kids are going to grow up and die miserable deaths by starvation, disease, and super hurricanes because the earth can't sustain the billions of additional humans that keep coming)

So... yes, this is an important book to read if you want to learn about the doom that lies ahead for the planet unless changes are made immediately. Depressing? Sure. Because I don't believe humans are going to follow the advice in this book. We aren't going to stop using our cars, stop flying on planes, switch to nuclear power, cut back on animal-based food, stop breeding, start walking and biking - no, none of that. Humans are too lazy and selfish and in denial.

This is not a pleasant read and it took me a long time to finish. So much data and information to process, at times it felt like a textbook. Still, highly recommended. (Along with birth control.)

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There is a rule about Francophone comics that I learned at the Brussels Le Musee de la Bande Dessinée - small nose = serious, big nose equals funny. So Asterix - that all have big noses is supposed to be a comedy. Tintin, they all have little noses except for explicitly comic characters like Captain Haddock. And so to World Without End, a comic about the global energy crisis set up as a discussion between writer/artist Christophe Blain and climate activist Jean-Marc Jancovici. Well in its opening pages it compares human reliance on energy as if we all wore an Iron Man suit (it is very fast and loose with IP). Perhaps to muddy the IP waters, but also to show that while this is about serious issues, it'll be doing it with jokes, Iron Man's armour is given a big honking nose. Funny,

World Without End is like going to a good public lecture. I knew going in that I would broadly agree with its underlying points but the issues were illustrated in a way that was entertaining and every four or five pages there is an excellent statistic or insight that made me pause. The book is fundamentally about energy, how much we need, and where we are - or aren't - going to get it from. At the heart of it is a flawed underpinning of economics which has always been obvious to me - you cannot have continuous growth if your inputs are finite. But economics tends to act as if energy is a free input - which to be fair it sort of is. The oil, gas, and coal were just waiting to be found, and so-called renewables are just there too. Probably the best explainer in the book is when it identifies how many human working hours, or slave hours as it likes to put it, would be needed to provide the energy we need to continue as we are. And its a lot of slaves.

This is very French, not just the big nose thing. The examples are French, there are large chunks on the French rail system and integrated transport, Paris commuting as an example and a sanguine attitude towards Nuclear power (Chernobyl as a rural paradise is probably pushing it too far). In particular, it takes to task pensions as a big enemy of energy efficiencies because by their very nature they rely on economic growth - and are such a touchstone in France. It is a big-picture environmentalist book, talking about fundamental societal change that will be inevitable and potentially happen earlier to try to arrest climate rise (I hadn't realised the water vapour is an accelerant to global warming for example). So it feels a little niche, on top of preaching to the converted. But if you want to see some of your favourite IP with big noses arguing for a fairer and less catastrophic future - this is the book for you.

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The subject matter is extremely important and relevant, and it's easy to tell that the creators of this work know exactly what they are talking about and are passionate about it. While a graphic novel is a slightly more accessible and digestible form of taking in information, this graphic novel still reads like a lecture. A lecture with hand drawn images instead of powerpoint clip art. This could have been filled with less information.

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This graphic novel presents the ideas of environmentalist Jean-Marc Jancovici, taking the structure of a discussion between him and the book's artist. Though there were a lot of really interesting ideas here (and I did find many of my opinions and attitudes towards issues around climate change and clean energy challenged, particularly regarding nuclear power), I'm not at all convinced that this was the best format to communicate them to a new audience. There's a lot of information and numbers which are thrown at the reader in dense and undigestible clumps with fairly weak attempts at humour inserted to make it a bit more palatable. I really appreciated the overarching argument of the book, but I felt like I was being forced to endure a lot of stats which never stayed with me once I was on to the next page. I'm sure there was a better opportunity in this collaboration, though it is still worth a read - Jancovici's ideas seem like they should have a much wider audience than they currently do.

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This graphic novel, created collaboratively by a French comic artist and climate researcher, taught me a ton about climate change, energy consumption, and the ways in which our societies have changed over the course of history. The book covers a ton of information and may overwhelm some readers, but I found it to be a highly valuable overview. The art itself definitely feels in service to the information provided (and more comic-y than artsy graphic novel-y,) but regardless of style it definitely aided in my understanding of the concepts. I occasionally lamented that much of the data was so France-specific, but it did help to have a clear, narrow focus (and the work covers way more than France alone.) I would recommend this book to others who enjoy graphic novels and do not yet have a solid, foundational grasp on the specifics of climate change and energy consumption on Earth.

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Like some other readers, I found this graphic novel difficult to get through. There's a lot of information, which is a good thing, but it lacks some clarity in its approach and organization. I think a reader has to be quite dedicated to get all that this book has to offer. I wasn't quite that reader.

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This was a hard pill to swallow...

This graphic novel was hard to get through. That's not to say it wasn't really well-written, because it was, but it depicts the conundrum we, as humans, are in when it comes to the climate crisis. It seems that there is no obvious solution to this situation we find ourselves in today. I do feel like I have a way better understanding of the situation now and having it all in the format of a graphic novel did make it a bit more palatable, but it's still hard to really know how deep we're in on this problem.

They say ignorance is bliss and maybe that is sometimes right?

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The history of energy sources and how they affect climate change. Unfortunately, a read that, despite being a graphic novel, distressed and frightened me, as it should. We are one step away from the abyss, and we are just watching how it plays out.....

La storia delle fonti energetiche e di come queste influiscano sul cambiamento climatico. Purtroppo una lettura che, pur essendo una graphic novel, mi ha angosciato e spaventato, com'é giusto che sia. Ad un passo dal baratro, ci stiamo limitando a guardare come va a finire.....

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

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World Without End was an informative visual read. I also enjoyed the unique style and presentation, including the play with function and absence of panels.

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Truly eye-opening non-fiction graphic about energy and its impact on climate change. There were many facts that I learned here that scared the pants out of me, and yeah, that's how it should be for everyone. Also, and probably scarier, this book pretty much is saying that we have already screwed the pooch, there isn't really a turnback for our planet. So, if you don't want to hear bad news, maybe this isn't for you.

The artwork is interesting but really tiny with a lot of facts thrown at the reader all at once, which means that, although you are physically impacted at the moment, unfortunately, I do feel like the barrage of facts will make it less likely that anyone impactful moment will stick in the reader's attention deficient brains.

This is still very VERY relevant and the facts are shown in a way to make them accessible. It's just that it is SO MUCH information and it's so depressing that I can see people just not picking up this book or at least, it not having the desired effect.

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An instant classic; so educational and precise to the point of being scary!

Thank you for Net Galley providing me with the digital ARC.

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The art of this book reminded me very much of early lucky Luke comics, but the way the story was brought to life, was more like a teaching aid than for people to truly enjoy… I did like the theme, but I think the story was way too dense for most people at least it was for me…

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

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This is educational and covers vital issues for our world today. I thought the artwork was good but the narrative was a bit hard to follow in places. Using artwork to explore non-fiction is certainly a great way to engage new audiences. I thought it was interesting.

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