Reviewers predominantly commented on the novel's relevance with respect to the year's events, such as the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season (the most active season to date), megafires in Australia and the Western United States, and the global pandemic, with reviewer Mark Yon summarizing that in that context, this book is "the novel we need." Reviewers also commented on the book's meticulous and well-communicated research. The first chapter, which describes a heat wave that reaches a lethal wet-bulb temperature, Robinson's counterpoint to people advocating adaptation, was described by reviewers as gut-wrenching and some of Robinson's most stunning and grimmest writing. However, the reviewers for Kirkus Reviews and The Nerd Daily found the book's "information dumping" took away from the character development and narrative drive. The review in the New Zealand online newspaper The Spinoff stated, "The book is many things, but it is never boring... indulges wild tonal shifts... relentless, pacy, utterly absorbing story of our near future." In Francis Fukuyama 's view the novel is "ludicrously unrealistic" and "Robinson posits the most optimistic possible political developments at every turn."