The Drowned World
by J. G. Ballard · first published 1962
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Literary science fiction set in a flooded, post-apocalyptic world, following the inner, dreamlike changes its characters undergo. It serves as a thoughtful entry point into sci-fi beyond alien-invasion pulp.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Fluctuations in solar radiation have melted the ice caps, sending the planet into a new Triassic Age of unendurable heat. London is a swamp; lush tropical vegetation grows up the walls of the Ritz and primeval reptiles are sighted, swimming through the newly-formed lagoons. Some flee the capital; others remain to pursue reckless schemes, either in the name of science or profit. While the submerged streets of London are drained in search of treasure, Dr Robert Kerans - part of a group of intrepid scientists - comes to accept this submarine city and finds himself strangely resistant to the idea
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2015–2024The unlimited dream company
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2014–2026Concrete island
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 97 recommend · 9 mention7 recommend · 97 recommend
2011–2026High-Rise
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 178 recommend · 17 mention8 recommend · 178 recommend
2014–2026Super-Cannes
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 54 recommend · 5 mention4 recommend · 54 recommend
2011–2026Empire of the Sun
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 96 recommend · 9 mention6 recommend · 96 recommend
2016–2026The atrocity exhibition
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 106 recommend · 10 mention6 recommend · 106 recommend
2008–2026Crash
J. G. Ballard
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 167 recommend · 16 mention7 recommend · 167 recommend
2010–2026At the Mountains of Madness
H.P. Lovecraft, Enrique Breccia
Recommended by 12 · mentioned by 3312 recommend · 33 mention12 recommend · 3312 recommend
I guess such recent works as Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and J. G. Ballard's The Drowned World, among others. Who knew that sci-fi could be something else than alien invasions and scantily clad women in pulp covers?
on “Liu Cixin's “The Three-Body Problem” Is Published in the US” ↗High Rise is possibly his most readable. The Elements series (The Drowned World, The Crystal World, The Drought and The Wind From Nowhere) is very good, Drowned World being the best, IMO. Unlimited Dream Company is well worth reading, as is Crash. His short stories are generally…
on ““I can't stop comparing everything to Black Mirror”” ↗Read the 'Drowned World' by J.G. Ballard, humans start having ancient dreams. 'Just as psychoanalysis reconstructs the original traumatic situation in order to release the repressed material, so we are now being plunged back…
on “Long-dormant bacteria and viruses in ice are reviving as climate warms” ↗Shout out to Ballard's The Drowned World, a post-ecopocalypse story where the main character undergoes a (perceived) reconnection with larger biophysics, "neuronic time. I feel like having Atwood, Ballard & Curtis in a thread deserves some…
on “Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms (2013)” ↗I like his 1960s disaster novels -- The Drowned World, The Burning World. The Crystal World, about civilization ending and bands of survivors trying to get by. They definitely had an influence on later works, such as George Romero's "Living Dead" films.
on “J.G. Ballard: My Favorite Books” ↗Absolutely love this trilogy too. The Drowned World was my first proper introduction to Ballard. I'd always liked the movie Empire of the Sun since I was a kid, but could never quite put my finger on why. One day in 2020 I read the films wikipedia page,…
on “J.G. Ballard: My Favorite Books” ↗…absurd & fantastic); mall culture & hooliganism & factionalism. It felt like such a a snapshot of Bush II era to me. (Little did I expect what was to happen next in the world! How much we would fall!) Drowned World was the next thing I picked up, and wow what a damned book! Nueronic time and these people slipping backwards towards it; it's such a wild psychological trip. That speaks so viscerally to the many compacted…
on “J.G. Ballard: My Favorite Books” ↗J. G. Ballard's "High-Rise" and "The Drowned World" are both excellent reads with very interesting stuff going on.
on “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division” ↗One of my favorite authors and highly recommend his short stories [1] and the "ambiguous apocalypse" trilogy - The Drowned World, The Burning World, and The Crystal World. As one of collections intros said, Ballard is science fiction, but Inner Space, not Outer Space. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Short_Stories_of_...
on “The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard” ↗I'm reading The Drowned World right now. Incredible book, highly recommended.
on “The Estranged Worlds of J. G. Ballard” ↗…of man-made ecological catastrophe are positively grim (On The Beach, Jem, etc.) but Robinson's NYC is (apparently) coping quite well. JG Ballard tackled a somewhat similar scenario in 1962 with The Drowned World. (1) It was London, not NYC, and the catastrophe was still progressing, which would lead ultimately to human extinction or the triumph of the reptiles. The beauty in the book was Ballard's language, the…
on “Kim Stanley Robinson’s “New York 2140”” ↗Yes, I love Ballard's catastrophe novels. But of course as prophetic as the The Drowned World seems to us today, Ballard wasn't writing it as a serious prediction of the future -- he just liked writing about the world ending in weird ways -- water, fire, a mysterious wind, etc.
on “Kim Stanley Robinson’s “New York 2140”” ↗The main cause of destruction in Ballard's The Drowned World (1962) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drowned_World was the accelerated erosion due to melting permafrost after a global warming event. Raising sea levels was minor in comparison. The original cause…
on “A crater formed in Siberia's permafrost is growing” ↗…that stays with you in a haunting kind of way. Reading this short story gave me a similar vibe and I wasn’t entirely surprised to discover at the end that JG Ballard was the author. I’ll have to give The Drowned World another read one day.
on “Report on an Unidentified Space Station” ↗It doesn't take place in Antarctica, but The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard describes such a future - the last remnants of civilization have retreated to Greenland, and London is a flooded tropical lagoon.
on “Map of the Week: What Does the Land Under Antarctica’s Ice Sheet Look Like?” ↗