New York 2140
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- Create Date：2021-08-27 09:55:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kim Stanley Robinson
- ISBN：0356508781
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Diane
，
Another can't-put-down read from Kim Stanley Robinson。 Really more about finance and social justice than about ecological disaster， which is the background。 Loved the characters; lots of suspense。 Another can't-put-down read from Kim Stanley Robinson。 Really more about finance and social justice than about ecological disaster， which is the background。 Loved the characters; lots of suspense。 。。。more
Bob Mayer
，
A fascinating take on the future of the city。 Given we're seeing climate change wreak havoc， what will happen to the greatest city as more water intrudes？ Manhattan， where we built up， will have plenty of "islands"。 Who will live in them？ How will they interact？ A great work of imagination。 A fascinating take on the future of the city。 Given we're seeing climate change wreak havoc， what will happen to the greatest city as more water intrudes？ Manhattan， where we built up， will have plenty of "islands"。 Who will live in them？ How will they interact？ A great work of imagination。 。。。more
Yates Buckley
，
Impressive in that the book world is realistic， a time frame that is a hundred or so years away is particularly difficult because of the complexity of factors that impact。 The characters are lively and mostly well defined amd believable。There is a lot to learn from this book but it does present some problems。 There is a dogmatic presence of a body of culture （（Marx， Keynes， Melville， etc。。） that has even faded in discourse today。 The characters’ “new ideas” come down to this same sphere and this Impressive in that the book world is realistic， a time frame that is a hundred or so years away is particularly difficult because of the complexity of factors that impact。 The characters are lively and mostly well defined amd believable。There is a lot to learn from this book but it does present some problems。 There is a dogmatic presence of a body of culture （（Marx， Keynes， Melville， etc。。） that has even faded in discourse today。 The characters’ “new ideas” come down to this same sphere and this feels not only unrealistic but naive on part of the characters。 The ideas of socialised banking are thrown around as if revolutionary but as a reader they do not feel new but rather part of contemporary left wing politics。The chapters skip from character to character with a formulaic plot that involves an obstacle to overcome that leads to some sense that the character is developing。 But onerall this development feels insubstantial， fleeting。 And this may be the point the author is making - no happy ending as he describes at the end。 I think for this to work smoothly the reader needs more preparation or it just feels like a lame ending。 。。。more
Sophie
，
lost some steam in the denouement and it tied up a bit too neatly for how thought provoking the first 80% was imo - but still wonderfully engaging and tense
Jerri Jerreat
，
The characters felt like comic book characters， two-dimensional to me， vaguely like Dick Tracey。 I could not muster up enthusiasm for or interest in the international world of stocks and investments in real estate， which seemed to take up far too much time in the novel。 The tone is distant， somehow impersonal。 I can definitely picture， in the future， coastal cities half submerged， each becoming a modern Venice— if we don’t make major changes， starting with alternatives to fossil fuels。I hate rea The characters felt like comic book characters， two-dimensional to me， vaguely like Dick Tracey。 I could not muster up enthusiasm for or interest in the international world of stocks and investments in real estate， which seemed to take up far too much time in the novel。 The tone is distant， somehow impersonal。 I can definitely picture， in the future， coastal cities half submerged， each becoming a modern Venice— if we don’t make major changes， starting with alternatives to fossil fuels。I hate reading sexist discussions of women in the dialogue， and hope that surely， by 2140， humans will have progressed more than this。 。。。more
Michael
，
Robinson offers an astounding glimpse into a very real， not-so far-off future—complete with attitudes of passivity， corruption， ignorance， and bliss—that makes me wonder whether this isn’t really about New York 2040。Remarks by “citizens” subvert normal worldbuilding with their explicit sci-fi， economic， & historical explanations and foreshadowing。 These asides were arguably more entertaining than the characters’ stories themselves。 Robinson’s droning， sarcastic tone， weaved between a barrage of Robinson offers an astounding glimpse into a very real， not-so far-off future—complete with attitudes of passivity， corruption， ignorance， and bliss—that makes me wonder whether this isn’t really about New York 2040。Remarks by “citizens” subvert normal worldbuilding with their explicit sci-fi， economic， & historical explanations and foreshadowing。 These asides were arguably more entertaining than the characters’ stories themselves。 Robinson’s droning， sarcastic tone， weaved between a barrage of accurate and informative storytelling of not-so-futuristic New York， was a cornerstone to my understanding of the greater plot。。。。Which was never quite strong or wholly captivating。 Characters were not all created equal: some chapters were always enjoyable to read， others were predictably tiring。 Many of the sub-plots were never well-integrated into the central storyline。 Pages and pages of exposition were required to introduce characters to each other， and the transpired events were only mentioned casually afterwards。 The interplay between these characters， however， was redemptive。 While the climax fell short of expectations， stories were resolved in a satisfying way for a standalone book。An enjoyable read in retrospect， despite losing myself in sometimes dense finance logic and terminology， and Robinson’s prosaic style。 。。。more
Madeleine
，
While the pacing dragged at times， Robinson’s richly imagined New York kept me entranced for each twist and turn。 The premise of a drowned NYC manages to feel fresh and innovative where it could have been horribly overwrought。 Also particularly enjoyed the emphasis on economy-driven climate implications。
Laurence
，
Actively disliked the 2d characters， the dialogue and even the setting was dull。 Apparently technology and life hasn't really changed in 120 years and a climate catastrophe。 Actively disliked the 2d characters， the dialogue and even the setting was dull。 Apparently technology and life hasn't really changed in 120 years and a climate catastrophe。 。。。more
Adam Crosby
，
This book shares a bunch conceptually with Ministry for the Future， but is much better paced。 Robinson has obviously put a bunch of time into his research， with very little suspension of disbelief needed for a bunch of the financial concepts/etc。
Tristan
，
It was ok。 Some characters were interesting and their stories enjoyable， but on the whole the book dragged on for me。 The government and finance aspects of the novel were too obviously contemporary and thus felt anachronistic， if that makes any sense。 More like: New York 2040。
Charles Theiner
，
Came for the realistic adaptation of humans to global warming， stayed for the kick-ass critique of capitalism。
Kevin Haar
，
DNF。 There are some really interesting and complex ideas going on here， but no empathetic characters to latch on to。 I just personally couldn't stick with it for 600 pages despite recognizing some genius-level plot construction from Robinson。 DNF。 There are some really interesting and complex ideas going on here， but no empathetic characters to latch on to。 I just personally couldn't stick with it for 600 pages despite recognizing some genius-level plot construction from Robinson。 。。。more
Raul
，
If only sharing a political agenda were enough to like a novel…
David Ignell
，
An interesting idea ruined by the complete absence of a plot， terrible dialogue， and the lack of any sort of innovation that makes Sci Fi fun。
Glenn Neiman
，
Hard scifi and/or speculative fiction。 An entertaining peek inside the life of residents of a NYC tower in the near future， in a water-logged NYC。 While it may have been a bit longer than it needed to be， it was easy to read。 I never felt like I was slogging along （as some reviews here say）。 I enjoyed the characters and the story。
Alexis Humphreys
，
I liked this book！ I thought was an interesting commentary on the potential future of a coastal city in a climate crisis。 The characters were all very diverse and interesting。 Honestly， I just felt it was a bit too long。
cdj
，
Loved it。 Climate change in New York's future， writ large and small， with plenty of action and science and cinematic writing， and some finance and socialism and boats too。 I'm a bigger KSR fan with each book I read。 Loved it。 Climate change in New York's future， writ large and small， with plenty of action and science and cinematic writing， and some finance and socialism and boats too。 I'm a bigger KSR fan with each book I read。 。。。more
Dennis Hearon
，
Wow ！ What an impressive book ！ The amount of research that went into its making must have been phenomenal。 It is not often I go into a science fiction book expecting to learn about a certain subject （in this case climate change） in addition to being entertained and then learn a great deal about a second， separate but related subject （macro economics）。 The last time I read a book by KSR was his Mars Trilogy back in the early 1990's。 As I recall， they were a bit dry with heavy emphasis on science Wow ！ What an impressive book ！ The amount of research that went into its making must have been phenomenal。 It is not often I go into a science fiction book expecting to learn about a certain subject （in this case climate change） in addition to being entertained and then learn a great deal about a second， separate but related subject （macro economics）。 The last time I read a book by KSR was his Mars Trilogy back in the early 1990's。 As I recall， they were a bit dry with heavy emphasis on science， not unlike Arthur C。 Clarke， with little character development and only an average plot。 Mr。 Robinson certainly has grown as an author since then。 This book is chock full of characters， fully realized， and contains a detailed， intricate plot。 The pacing is very good， despite some fairly intense， info-dumps every 4 or 5 chapters or so。 At least KSR intermixes in some pretty funny and snarky observations about humanity in general and New Yorkers in particular while loading up the reader with facts and statistics about climate change and economics。 It requires some effort to get through （hence the 4 star rating） but the book is ultimately rewarding and entertaining。 。。。more
TerryJane
，
This one was a disappointment。 Perhaps my expectations were too high， but it really sounded far more intriguing than it turned out to be。 Not bad enough for a 1-star rating， but not good enough for 3 stars either。 Way too many pages and hours gone。 Just。。。 meh。
Brian Ulczynski
，
This is one of those books that I added to my "want to read" list based on a newsletter write-up I read。 The concept sounded interesting， so I thought I would give it a try。 Unfortunately， I added it so long ago， I now don't remember what had piqued my interest。 Then Amazon put it on sale for a 1。99 （kindle） so I took the plunge。 I should have pay attention to the fact it was 700 pages long。 It started strong， and had some interesting plot lines， but then things just started to drag along。 Case This is one of those books that I added to my "want to read" list based on a newsletter write-up I read。 The concept sounded interesting， so I thought I would give it a try。 Unfortunately， I added it so long ago， I now don't remember what had piqued my interest。 Then Amazon put it on sale for a 1。99 （kindle） so I took the plunge。 I should have pay attention to the fact it was 700 pages long。 It started strong， and had some interesting plot lines， but then things just started to drag along。 Case in point， there are two characters that were looking for a sunken ship （HMS Hussar） from the American Revolution time。 Surprisingly， they found it 1/3 of the way through the book。 The rest of their adventure were bland after that。 One of the early themes was the building all the characters lived in was being subtly sabotaged and an unwanted buy-out offer for the building arrived。 Then that plot seemed to be put on hold for half the book。 As I read it， I kept on trying to figure out what the overarching theme was， and I just didn't feel like I "got it"。 It is obvious by the high average star rating that plenty of others really enjoyed the book， but it was middle of the road for me。 。。。more
Ryan
，
At first glance， New York 2140 is about finance， but it’s actually about finding existential purpose within community and building that into an economic and political framework。KSR has set the novel in a drowned New York。 Much of Greenland and Antarctica's ice has melted， but not at the same time， so coastal real estate became an underwater asset--twice。 This novel begins after the instability， however， when New York is becoming charming in a Venice way。 Financial speculation is running rampant At first glance， New York 2140 is about finance， but it’s actually about finding existential purpose within community and building that into an economic and political framework。KSR has set the novel in a drowned New York。 Much of Greenland and Antarctica's ice has melted， but not at the same time， so coastal real estate became an underwater asset--twice。 This novel begins after the instability， however， when New York is becoming charming in a Venice way。 Financial speculation is running rampant and KSR's band of heroes hatch a plot to burst the bubble with the hope of nationalizing the banks， rather than bailing them out。The physical setting is the MetLife Tower， which has become a co-op。 The members eat communally and， over the course of the story， increasingly treat the building as something deeper than a nation--almost a family。 In the Met， we see the real heart of the novel， which is captured in the way that Charlotte， Vlade， and Franklin begin to care for two plucky orphan children。 All of them find this cobbled together family more fulfilling than the lonely life they’d lived before。To some extent， the needle KSR is trying to thread is one that can respond to Saul Steinberg’s famous cover of The New Yorker， “View of the World From 9th Avenue。” The image， if you’ve never seen it， looks west。 We see New York in detail， then a mostly empty plain， and then the Pacific Ocean， capturing the sense that immediate ties tend to matter more than distant ties。 It’s hard to know about， or care about， things that are far away， a phrase which here includes both people and the environment。 More philosophically， KSR is trying to create a system that will flatten the concentric circles of loyalty。 We are most loyal to ourselves and our families， then our friends， and after that， what？ Maybe very little beyond abstractions。 It’s hard to embrace egalitarian frameworks that will allocate our wealth to people from far away， so people as a whole are easily negotiated against by corporations， which can consolidate their values and resources around often simple but nevertheless powerful mission statements。 Reversing these systems seems a tall order， but there is nevertheless something beautiful and compelling in how KSR's characters so often find ways to strengthen loose ties to form a powerful community。But I often wonder how scalable this transition can be in the world I live in。 In Red Mars， the solution to my worries is the longevity treatment， which allows people to get past their self-serving insecurities。 And yet， KSR’s characters always seem less annoyed by people in the aggregate than I am—and what I consider to be the average person。 I rarely look at my elders and see in them greater compassion or less self-serving concern。 If anything， they seem to crave reasons to feel angry and to worry about their pensions because they've retired from the workforce。 Also， KSR's characters are almost endlessly energetic， ready to work all day and then go diving or dancing and then to community meetings。 It seems to me that KSR is too idealistic or else I’m too cynical。Oh well。 In Utopia for Realists， Rutger Bregman calls on his audience to imagine beautiful futures we can work towards。 IMHO， KSR is one of the only writers even trying。 New York 2140 is a novel that urges readers to love like they’ve never been hurt， but not just to love an individual but also a web of people and planetary/ economic systems that broadly maximize human flourishing without maxing out the GINI coefficient。 Who doesn't want to get excited about that？ 。。。more
Karen Steiger
，
This book is great for the post climate change world building as well as its optimistic POV that life carries on in the face of calamity and that improvements can even be made。 The characters are memorable and engaging。。。 the plot probably not as important as the way this future New York feels so realistic and lived in。
Greta
，
The New York of 2140 was captivating and detailed， and captured that love for the complexities of life in New York that I feel connected to probably from consuming lots of other iconic media about how much people love New York。 I really enjoyed the diverse cast of characters， and also vibed with how the author incorporated ecology & conservation themes。 The ideas about remaking society were very seductive - I learned that to topple capitalism what you need to do is uncover buried treasure from a The New York of 2140 was captivating and detailed， and captured that love for the complexities of life in New York that I feel connected to probably from consuming lots of other iconic media about how much people love New York。 I really enjoyed the diverse cast of characters， and also vibed with how the author incorporated ecology & conservation themes。 The ideas about remaking society were very seductive - I learned that to topple capitalism what you need to do is uncover buried treasure from a sunken ship and invest it wisely。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
Life is too short。 DNF。
Nickprus
，
Really fun read， very viable look at what our future could be
Miriam
，
While I was reading kept thinking that only a very good writer can get non-economist readers finishing the narrative， and I should add non-New Yorker as well。 I would have been nice to have a map of the flooded city。 The characters help to develop the notion and initiation of deep changes。 I enjoyed the book and recommend it to all citizens of this planet！
Clay Zdobylak
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A bit of a disappointment。 This is coming from someone who has fully annotated the Mars Trilogy， got high off of Aurora， and still loudly recommends The Years of Rice and Salt。 KSR is a major influence in my life。 New York 2140 is just not that moving， and the author seems to keep trying to explain， through a sort of commentator who periodically pops up， why it ought to be interesting。 But the circumstances， interpersonal relationships， or the lack of exciting utopianism just never quit land， an A bit of a disappointment。 This is coming from someone who has fully annotated the Mars Trilogy， got high off of Aurora， and still loudly recommends The Years of Rice and Salt。 KSR is a major influence in my life。 New York 2140 is just not that moving， and the author seems to keep trying to explain， through a sort of commentator who periodically pops up， why it ought to be interesting。 But the circumstances， interpersonal relationships， or the lack of exciting utopianism just never quit land， and it felt like time was wasted to get me to the never landing。 Also， I'm bummed that the sort of political climax seems so dumbed down and authoritarian compared to alot of his other works。 Im just some dork who could never write anything close to KSR's stuff， so there's no reason to attend to my opinions， but in the end this book seems like a bad take on the occupy wallstreet movement。 I did dig the emphasis on co-ops， but even these barely got fleshed out。 。。。more
Jeannie Whitesell
，
I had to follow along with a map of modern day New York City， but it was well worth it。 Cracking good story。
Nick LaMendola
，
I'll start by acknowledging what an unbelievable amount of work it must be to create a fictional world。 Devising all of the little idiosyncrasies that make a fictitious world mirror or diffract your own sounds like a ghastly headache。 Worse would be having to listen to someone who's never attempted such a feat complain from their armchair about the job you've just done。 So， let me start with what I liked。The setting and scenery was tremendous。 Robinson's sunken New York was an exceptionally inte I'll start by acknowledging what an unbelievable amount of work it must be to create a fictional world。 Devising all of the little idiosyncrasies that make a fictitious world mirror or diffract your own sounds like a ghastly headache。 Worse would be having to listen to someone who's never attempted such a feat complain from their armchair about the job you've just done。 So， let me start with what I liked。The setting and scenery was tremendous。 Robinson's sunken New York was an exceptionally interesting place to be。 The prose was compelling and never garish。 His research on the geological history of the island of Manhattan， let alone the planet， clearly showed， and the portions of this story that zoomed back 3-500 years in history provided a lot of context and insight。My main critique is that the central theme to the story was an argument against the political decisions made in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis， from a leap 120 years into the future。 I couldn't quite buy the way Robinson chose to make his point about today from such a distant vantage point。 Topographically， the world of 2140 is unrecognizable， but outside of that， I didn't feel like things were all that different。 People still commute to work， still trade equities on computer screens （does the concept of "high frequency trading" even make sense after the advancement of a century of computer technology？） still communicate on smart watches （which fail when they get wet - we haven't fixed that by now？）。 Vlade is described as Ukranian， Gen as black， everyone else is unidentifiably white - are we to believe that the most consequential ecological change in human history hasn't changed the way national borders are drawn， or the way people think of race and ethnicity？ Are we still talking about， to cherry pick some examples from the text， social justice warriors， sub prime mortgages， the music of Steve Reich， and the play Waiting for Godot？ Perhaps these are timeless objects in the American Zeitgeist， but am I really to believe that in the world 2140， two people are having an off-the-cuff conversation about Obama era Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke？ I read a lot of street names and neighborhoods and landmarks， which I find tedious， not being intimately familiar with the geography of New York （this is certainly not unique to Robinson's writing）。 It felt anticlimactically easy to find the Hussar's sunken treasure。 The section about Amelia's polar bear crusade was interesting， but basically irrelevant to the plot。 Vlade and Inspector Gen found Mutt and Jeff after an inconsequential three months in an underwater holding cell， after which the two had little impact on the story。 Charlotte， whose political experience consists of heading a 2，000 person co op in New York， gets elected to the US Congress， and when she gets there， she and her ex husband nationalize the financial industry， and our Legislature enacts a list of progressive socialist reforms that would yank Bernie Sanders' jaw through the floor。While I really enjoyed this book （hence my 4 out of 5， my ratings are based on how much pleasure the reading gave me） it felt to me like Robinson was stuck here。 He wanted to write a polemic chastising today's political class， the financial industry， and capitalism as a construct， but also， he wanted to write a thriller taking place in a speculative， flooded future。 For the climate change fueled future part to work， he had to set his story way out in 2140， to give our glaciers time to melt， but （it seems to me） all that time would have buried today's problems in a century's worth of new ones。 What's happening in 2140 across the rest of the planet， that affects this specific city at this specific time？ In this book， New York （mythologized as it perpetually is in literature） existed in a bit of a vacuum。 The section describing the hurricane was tremendous， easily the most gripping part of the story。 I wish there had been more foreshadowing， pulling me towards this anchor point in the plot。 It made a great climax， but the book did go on for almost a hundred pages afterward， which dragged a bit on the momentum。 I'm doing a lot of griping for a 4/5， but if I'd liked this book less， I'd have fewer complaints - mediocrity isn't worth the nitpicking。 This was a powerful book。 One more nit though - Robinson seems to have a particular bone to pick with the city of Denver。 Ironically， I was reading a portion of this while visiting Denver for the first time - it was gorgeous and strikingly clean。 If belittling Denver keeps your head from exploding while you shuffle through New York's swampy grime， have at it， I suppose， but Colorado is a wonderful place！ 。。。more
Daniel
，
As the title and cover convey， Robinson looks at a possible future after global warming， as residents of New York adapt to living in a partially-flooded city。 A heavy dose of the book is a polemic against finance， with another chunk wryly observing how we did nothing to save the world from the dangers of climate change。 The books is at times entertaining， with some characters that are engaging。 It has a solid premise but feels more like a political statement than a work of fiction at times， even As the title and cover convey， Robinson looks at a possible future after global warming， as residents of New York adapt to living in a partially-flooded city。 A heavy dose of the book is a polemic against finance， with another chunk wryly observing how we did nothing to save the world from the dangers of climate change。 The books is at times entertaining， with some characters that are engaging。 It has a solid premise but feels more like a political statement than a work of fiction at times， even for someone who is on the left side of the political spectrum。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=New York 2140
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=New York 2140&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,New York 2140&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0