While Kim Stanley Robinson’s books may be popular with some readers, I’ll have to remind myself in the future that they just aren’t for me. I’ve read part of his Mars trilogy and his Science in the Capitol series. New York 2140 is one of his newer works and my local book club chose it for an upcoming discussion.
In an attempt to make my reviews quicker to write so that I actually post one for every book I read, I’m just going to give you the blurb here:
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.
While the prose is solid and I found the characters well-drawn, I just wasn’t excited about the story in this book. There was a lack of tension throughout, and the most interesting mystery of the book is resolved without any drama or conflict. Every character that has an idea and tries to accomplish something manages to succeed at it without much trouble.
The book also delves into our financial system and is a commentary on the problems of capitalism as the world suffers social change spurred by rising sea levels. This side of the plot just wasn’t interesting to me as part of a novel.
Have you read New York 2140? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below! And please click on the links above to help support this blog.
Read more of my book reviews here.
Selection Error – a flash fiction story podcast by Utopia Science Fiction Magazine in December 2022
Jan 19, 2021 @ 15:17:08
I haven’t finished it yet. I like it, but you’re right, no tension, nothing to really hold on to — the writing was too “leisurely.”