The Drought

The Drought
J. G. Ballard

M. John Harrison

By the bestselling author of ‘Cocaine Nights’ and ‘Super-Cannes’ – the world is threatened by dramatic climate change in this highly acclaimed and influential novel.Water. Man’s most precious commodity is a luxury of the past. Radioactive waste from years of industrial dumping has caused the sea to form a protective skin strong enough to devastate the Earth it once sustained. And while the remorseless sun beats down on the dying land, civilization itself begins to crack. Violence erupts and insanity reigns as the remnants of mankind struggle for survival in a worldwide desert of despair.Remarkable for its prescience and the originality of its vision, The Drought is a work of major importance from the early career of one of Britain’s most acclaimed novelists.This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Ned Beauman, Ali Smith, Neil Gaiman and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.

J. G. Ballard

THE DROUGHT

Copyright (#ud8b4cf75-257c-5a37-b2c5-492d8ad3b612)

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

4thestate.co.uk (http://www.4thestate.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape in 1965

Copyright © J. G. Ballard 1965

The right of J. G. Ballard to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

Introduction copyright © M. John Harrison 2014

‘The Ballard Tradition’ © Will Self 2003

‘Cataclysms and Doom’ © J. G. Ballard 1977

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Cover by Stanley Donwood.

Image derived from a biological microscope image of salt crystal fragments and bacteria, made by Oliver Peck at the University of Bath.

Source ISBN: 9780586089965

Ebook Edition © October 2009 ISBN: 9780007321834

Version: 2014-07-11

Contents

Cover (#uf27d6ea2-a832-5acf-bd9c-ffc1f55a885f)

Title Page (#ue54d7032-bbb2-56ab-bf9e-937e8312c87a)

Copyright (#u96421015-923f-5fd8-b9dd-6cc33978b3de)

Introduction by M. John Harrison

PART ONE (#u5a5d84bd-82f1-58e0-992e-2babcfe65be0)

1. The Draining Lake (#u4b1020d6-6448-58fe-9ddd-ef719d2f3978)

2. Mementoes (#u9db458e1-ceaf-5948-a23f-b05dc3e3a9fe)

3. The Fisherman (#u8c83f678-aa0e-5653-91f3-71417ad0410a)

4. The Dying Swan (#u37c351d0-4db0-5d01-bed8-74738f6b7837)

5. The Coming of the Desert (#u0d491a01-a624-5d8e-be14-72ff7d424e21)

6. The Crying Land (#ufcb2e80e-7a07-551a-a238-5aaf3a34f620)

7. The Face (#u571be29f-5dde-5e7a-9433-b101d7d8ced3)

8. The Fire Sermon (#u762702fb-d8e7-5b2b-b738-9a79b2659a93)

9. The Phoenix (#u36bcd45a-9d39-581e-880c-0ddadbd224b3)

10. Miranda (#litres_trial_promo)

11. The Lamia (#litres_trial_promo)

12. The Drowned Aquarium (#litres_trial_promo)

13. The Nets (#litres_trial_promo)

14. A New River (#litres_trial_promo)

15. The Burning Altar (#litres_trial_promo)

16. The Terminal Zone (#litres_trial_promo)

17. The Cheetah (#litres_trial_promo)

18. The Yantras (#litres_trial_promo)

19. Mr Jordan (#litres_trial_promo)

20. The Burning City (#litres_trial_promo)

21. Journey to the Sea (#litres_trial_promo)