New York 2140
It is 2140. The waters rose, submerging New York City. But the residents adapted and it remained the bustling, vibrant metropolis it had always been. Though changed forever. Every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. Through the eyes of the varied inhabitants of one building, Kim Stanley Robinson shows us how one of our great cities will change with the rising tides. And how we too will change.
Stats for nerds
8recommend
18mentions
16people
2017–2026years
56% recommend44% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I believe science fiction can wake us up to our climate reality. But I don't think The Ministry For The Future is the book to do it.
You cannot "wake people up" by repeating conventional wisdom. And the beliefs represented in Ministry just seem like very traditional left-wing views to me. Big corporations are bad, we need to give diplomats and other government officials more power, once we just get really left-wing political leaders in charge the problem will be solved.
As far as KSR's eco-futurist science fiction goes, I preferred New York 2140 for its vivid portrayal of a flooded New York City. It has a bit of the same attitude, though, especially toward the end - if only our economy were organized into communes and workers' collectives instead of large corporations, surely those forms of business would appropriately prioritize the environment and lead us out of our troubles.
It is pretty cool that the author of this article went hiking through the Sierra with KSR. Shaman was a great book and this article gives you hints of how his knowledge of the wilderness enriched it.
- I thought Provenance was a lot weaker than the rest of the Ancillary series. It was still good though.
The 2018 Hugo novel field was REALLY good. There wasn't a klunker in the group. My favorite was Kim Stanley Robinson's "New York 2140" but it was a very hard call.
- New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson (relatively new) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.
- I can't answer your question, but what will happen to the property market after sea level rise is a central part of Kim Stanley Robinson's book New York 2140. It is fascinating and I can highly recommend it.
- New York 2140 is an interesting book examining what might happen to those coastal "drowned" cities, especially those buildings caught in the new intertidal zones.
- To add to the recommendations, I’d like to mention Kim Stanley Robinson’s “New York 2140” which is heavily focused on the economic structures that he posits will arrive after future catastrophes driven by climate change. And the rather smug interludes are witty and amusing and somewhat depressing all at the same time.
