Reviews

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson

caressemh90's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

jacksontibet's review against another edition

4.0

An intricate dance of anthropocentric catastrophe in the form of environmental degradation and anthropocentric creativity in the form of the human show must go on. Add on a heaping dose of anticapitalist ideals and ideas, a truly...happy ending!?...and it makes one pine for a future of what could be and a present of what should.

sberek's review against another edition

challenging hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cami19's review against another edition

Too long and I just wasn't interested in it.

lsparrow's review against another edition

4.0

what a great future story about a city and the people in it. I really appreciated the very detailed world built in the future - what would happen if the sea level rose 50feet? how would cities manage, what would the "streets" look like? where we be at in terms of politics. i liked the characters and how the book is centered around 1 building.

aieko_9's review against another edition

2.0

I mean, the book was OK, the main plot was nice, but it resolved in 250 pages. Afterwards, it becomes a heavy read and loses its interest. It’s pointless to have a book that sould’ve ended in the 250th Page stretch until the 600th.

worldmakingogre's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

redrobot's review against another edition

4.0

A very good book. A well-detailed glimpse of a future where global warming has caused the ice caps to begin melting, and the various consequences.

beansandrice's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

A big swing and a big miss from Robinson. His authorial voice fits none of the characters, and the character of New York City didn't once feel like New York City to me. It was meant to take place 120 years in the future, but feels like it takes place 100 years in the past.

If you heard the premise and you thought it sounded like interesting climate fiction, go to Robinson's Ministry for the Future instead. If you heard the premise and you thought you'd like to see New Yorkers of various walks of life rallying together to face an existential threat, I'd strongly suggest turning to N.K. Jemisin's The City We Became instead. 

ladylizardxvii's review against another edition

4.0

The idea behind this book is REALLY cool. But there's also a really good reason it took me eight months to read--it takes that really cool idea and REALLY delves into it. Like way deeper than you ever wanted it to. I really loved how the perspective shifted among different characters, but they all interacted with one another's story, so you got to see them from several different perspectives too. I've never been to New York City, but weirdly enough, this book made me want to visit it. I would recommend this to people who want a somewhat challenging read but also want to understand a little more about New York City, climate change, the stock market, and how humans persist in living throughout it all.