Kim Stanley Robinson’s new novel is set a dozen decades hence, in a world where climate change has bitten deep. The waters have risen 50ft, submerging much of New York City. Every street has become a canal; every skyscraper an island, linked by sky bridges and boat taxis.
This is a large-scale novel, not only in terms of its 624 pages, but also the number of characters and storylines Robinson deploys, the sheer range of themes and topics. There are eight main narrative strands, focusing on a group of characters who all live in the same building, the Met Life skyscraper on Madison Square. Each strand elaborates a different type of plot: kidnap; politics small and large; Wall Street; police investigation; polar exploration; even a treasure hunt for buried gold. The premise is reminiscent of John Lanchester’s 2012 novel Capital, with a NY skyscraper instead of a London street, though New York 2140 is considerably broader in scope and ambition.
Continue reading...via Science fiction | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2m1y1lG
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