Publisher's Weekly Review
Unlike J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World, which was also set on a mid-22nd-century Earth devastated by global warming but focused on the effects of that cataclysm on the human psyche, Robinson's latest near-future novel examines the political and economic implications of dramatically higher ocean levels, specifically their effects on New York City. The writing, ironically, is dry; several sections are exposition-heavy. They not only explain why 2140 Lower Manhattan is submerged but contain dense analyses of how investments in real estate could be evaluated via a "kind of specialized Case-Shiller index for intertidal assets." Such sections illustrate the comprehensive thought Robinson (2312) has given to his imagined future, but they slow down the various interesting narrative threads, which concern a diverse cast of characters, including a reality-TV star who travels above the U.S. aboard an airship; the superintendent of the old MetLife building, which now contains a boathouse; and an NYPD inspector called in to investigate the disappearance of two coders. Readers open to an optimistic projection of how humans could handle an increasingly plausible environmental catastrophe will find the info dumps worth wading through. Agent: Chris Schelling, Selectric Artists. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
In the 22nd century a series of climate disasters and ocean level risings have left New York City partially underwater. In -Manhattan, the old Met Life building is one of the skyscrapers-turned-islands that houses residents determined to stay in the city. Robinson focuses on those residents to tell a story of real estate, finance, climate change, treasure hunting, and kidnapping. Two missing computer programmers bring an unusual mix of the Met residents together, including a financial trader, the building super, a tenants' rights advocate, a police inspector, and two intrepid orphans. Robinson (Aurora; "Mars" trilogy) writes dense sf that often has an ecological bent. His large cast of characters provide appealing windows into his near-future world, but the cityscape itself is the most interesting protagonist, with New York ringed by superskyscrapers housing the rich as well as the lower regions of canals, collapsing buildings, and encroaching tides. The only frustration in this ambitious and impressive work is that the author relies too heavily on information dumps to fill in the details of climate change, explain the financial world, and liberally sprinkle fascinating nuggets of New York history. VERDICT Robinson's many admirers and sf readers who enjoy ecofiction will want this. [See Prepub Alert, 10/6/16.]-MM © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.