Outdated and twice as long as it should have been, and the characters weren't that compelling to me. There are several more recent climate catastrophe novels that are more recent and far better written. I don't think there is any good reason to read this anymore.

Tightly wound realistic sci-fi narrative with the best circular ending I've ever read.

I just reread this as an exercise in revisiting books I loved when I was younger. Earth didn't really hold up. It was fun to read, but Brin has a problem with exclamation marks. He uses so many of them that it causes you to want to ex them out with a little red pen and go around showing people (who didn't ask) that "The glacier exploded," is SO much more dramatic and effective than "The glacier exploded!" I was interested in Brin's take on consciousness and the Gaia Hypothesis (which I think is the high point of the book) though he completely (and tragically) misapprehended Dawkins's notion of the selfish gene.

In short, it was fun because I'd read it before but I won't be recommending it to any of my friends (who have similar snobberies about exclamation points)

I should have liked this book more than I did. It has all my favorite sci-fi themes: it covers a vast array of actual sciences, takes a stab at near-future political projections --it even has good doses of cli-fi and feminism mixed in there. However, I had a hard time staying on board, especially towards the end when things get twisty and just kinda wacky. I liked that Brin tackles his story from many angles, but there were certain ones that just didn't make sense to me as a part of the whole story.

Surely one of the best near-future sci-fi epics!

Interesting reading especially in light of our latest technologies that have been created somewhat mimic what the author imagined. Did find myself skipping some sections that were excepts from 'web postings.'

In regards to the science, I had to take Dan's advice and suspend reality science to believe in the plot of the story but had some good theories as to what could become of our world if we continue to abuse and disregard nature's balance.

Earth really took a while to get going. It really lays the eco-guilt on thick in the first - oh, half or so? - and spins off casts of minor characters, all of whom wax lyrical on how awful everything is. I almost gave up. It took me a month to get that far.

That second half, though. I read it in an afternoon. I wouldn't say it makes all the woe in the first half worthwhile, per se, but it defintely makes it make sense. The world, the loose thought processes, all of these hints and dribs and drabs which have been littered all over the place through the first half coalesce, and the main plot takes off exponentially and builds to one of the most dramatic conclusions I've ever read.

Anyone else think that it is a little scary how acurate this book has been? People connected to he Internet always through little touch screens, less and less personal privacy, even people taking nicotine in the form of pills. Makes me wonder when we are going to get our first sentient blackhole powered supercomputer.

Signed.