New York 2140

New York 2140, from award-winning science-fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson, is ambitious in scope, design, and execution. Here one finds a master of his craft taking on The Big Apple but also global capital and rising sea levels. Most of us coastal dwellers have seen the projections of what will happen to our coastal cities over the next hundred years. This novel tries to tackle that future. Not all cities are going to be able to become like Venice. It is nice to know that New York City can find a way to survive, and eyes will be watching.

Stanley’s novel is mainly about Manhattan, following the actions of the denizens of a apartment building. He does, however, also write about the city, even if there is not a lot of history. New York 2140 is Robinsonesque here, with the city having all sorts of different stories and issues. Sadly missing is some of its ethnic diversity, with a greater focus instead on how the city will make adjustments to sea-level rise. Rather than extraterrestrials and robots, there are diatribes about economics and politics, but such things are still necessary. One finds a city, once also an arts capital, trying to adapt to a rapidly changing world. One might miss in the book mentions of New York pizza, Saturday Night Live, and Broadway….Sea-level rise, though, is something New York needs to address and plan for, and not just for itself….