Tepper is a interesting writer, who often deals with environmental issues. In The Waters Rising, she describes a world that initially seems to be a typical fantasy world with castles and magic. Soon, however, we see that the world is *our* world, after environmental and societal upheaveals. The "magic" is leftover tech and the changes wrought by water level rising planetwide have left our world almost unrecognizable. The characters here are strong and appealing, but the green message is sometimes delivered with a heavy hand and the exposition can stilted and unnatural. Lots of telling, when she could be showing. For Tepper's fans it is a must-read. For others, it will work best if you can immerse yourself early on. Wish I could give it 3.5.