The novel “The Burning World” by J.G. Ballard was published for the first time in 1964 and republished in 1965 in an extended version under the title “The Drought”.

Dr. Charles Ransom’s life has had a number of complications with the end of his marriage and the first consequences of a prolonged drought. Fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce, but Ransom hopes to keep on having enough by living on a boat on a lake. Unfortunately, the river that feeds the lake is thinning.

Over time, the drought worsens. The cause has been discovered, but no one can find a solution. More and more people are moving to the coasts, even knowing that desalinating seawater to quench the thirst of a large population is a huge undertaking. The relationship between Ransom and the people who live near the lake isn’t always easy, and over time it gets worse because a new superstition makes people see him as a bringer of death.