…AAAND WE’RE BACK! I hope you’re slipping into 2023 like it’s a warm bath, but either way this week’s episode will be a cold, sharp system shock. The guest is Stephen Markley; the book is The Deluge – a 900-page beast of ecological and societal disintegration, and the best book I have read in decades. Imagine The Stand was based on rigorous scientific research and was, y’know, about to happen to us all for real. Yeah! This is a scary one, even if it would never be listed in the horror part of the bookshop.Stephen and I talk about (re)considering apocalyptic fiction, choosing characters, how real events outpaced the writing of the book, and how the climate crisis forces us to ask some uncomfortable questions about social issues.  Like the book I question, this episode is heavy and challenging and frightening, but maybe… just maybe… it will give you some hope.Enjoy!The Deluge was published by Simon & Schuster on Jan 10th 2003.Other books mentioned in this episode:The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet (2022) by Hal Harvey and Justin GillisWorld War Z (2006), by Max BrooksZen and the Art of Saving the Planet (2021), by Thich Nhat HanhThe Stand (1990), by Stephen KingSupport Talking Scared on PatreonCome talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Support the show