In THE BURNING WORLD (some editions titled THE DROUGHT) by J.G. Ballard, published in 1964, industrial pollution flushed into the ocean shuts down the precipitation cycle, resulting in a worldwide drought. The population races to the ocean, where the government has set up desalination plants, but it’s not enough. The world turns into desert, resulting in a mass die-off and the end of civilization.
Ballard’s prose is amazing; he raises hokey post-apocalyptic scenarios to the status of high literature. Some of the images he evokes, such as crowds of desperate people swarming the beaches while the smoking desalination plants produce water in drips, are extremely powerful. However, the story has some classic Ballard elements that are at times a little frustrating, such as an overly detached narrator (detachment that ends up reflecting in the writing style) who is the last to seek safety, and then has a horrible time of it as a result.
If you like post-apocalyptic literature, definitely check it out, but be aware it has a different sensibility and style than most modern fiction in the genre. Some people will love that, others not so much.
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