Quite a nice little novel, part of Ballard's "elemental apocalypse" quartet. Not as good as The Crystal World, on par with The Drought aka THE BURNING WORLD (although very different in focus), better than The Wind from Nowhere (which was probably a better title than THE BLOWING WORLD).

Much like all the others save WIND, this is in some ways Ballard reworking THE HEART OF DARKNESS by Conrad. In an oddly prescient, if coincidental, mirroring of global warming, the angle of the Earth's orbit has changed and so we've been bombarded by increased radiation for many decades before the novel starts. Melting icecaps, the flooding of Europe, increased heat and humidity, equatorial jungle expansion, and a strange, atavistic resurgence of mutated lizards now plague a slowly dying mankind.

There's lots of beautiful imagery here, especially the treasure hunting/looting by diving suits amongst ruined European cities (great bit with a drowned planetarium). All throughout, the narrator find himself plagued by dreams and visions of a prehistoric jungle world, pulled by an ancient call from the depths of his brain. The usual clashes between warring bands of humans, cultured pirates and scientists, fill out the plot. The ending may seem anticlimactic, but then, really, there's no other way to end this book. A very enjoyable read, especially if you like Ballard's "dry, clinical" tone, here finding purchase amongst so much damp and humidity.