16th March 2017 New York 2140 The latest novel by Kim Stanley Robinson depicts a scarily plausible future, in which New York has been inundated by rising sea levels.
Kim Stanley Robinson is an award-winning science fiction author, best known for his Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars), which follows the terraforming efforts on Mars over a 200-year period. He also wrote 2312, depicting a number of futuristic concepts including asteroid terrariums and rewilding of extinct species on Earth. His many other books explore a wide range of scientific, environmental, cultural and political themes. He is noted for his use of "hard" science fiction to convey a sense of realism and plausibility. Now, Robinson is back with his latest novel: New York 2140. With yet another futuristic storyline, it tells the tale of a 22nd century Manhattan that is struggling to survive amid rising sea levels. A synopsis of the book reads as follows: "The waters rose, submerging New York City. For those who might be wondering whether New York: 2140 is set in the same universe as the Mars trilogy or 2312, Robinson had this to say in an interview with sfsite.com: "I don't like linking up my various projects into one larger future history. I've never done it, and so of course now it's too late, and I don't regret it. I don't see that the advantages of some larger macro-history are very large, compared to the flexibility that I've gained by making each novel have its own future history. Even within my Mars stories there are a couple alternative historical lines to the main one described in the trilogy. I think it's best to keep on updating one's views on what is "most likely to happen," and write accordingly. And doing it this way means each time I have a chance to invent a whole new history, and even if they are somewhat similar, there's still a lot of pleasure to be had there in the details." New York: 2140 is published this week in hardcover, by Orbit. It is also available in E-book and audio format. A paperback version is scheduled for 2018. ---
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