Cities at Sea
2.5/5
()
About this ebook
Cities at Sea is a story set a couple of thousand years from now. Land-based civilization collapsed long ago as a result of climate change, flooding and impoverishment of soils, wars, and other causes. Knowing that about three quarters of the globe is covered by the sea, all the major coastal cities of the globe saved themselves by moving onto the oceans, developing gigantic, highly sophisticated, entirely self-sufficient rafts on which they now navigate at will. Life is easy in the raft cities for those who conform but is strictly disciplined under constant surveillance.
Sal is a restless young woman who longs for something exciting. She imagines a more intimate connection with the sea and its creatures. She seeks help from a renowned genetic scientist. This leads to extraordinary adventures and changes in her and the city where she now lives. The story ends as a new era begins.
Martin Simons
Martin Simons was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1930. After national service in the RAF, he trained as a teacher at Borough Road and Goldsmiths Colleges. While teaching full time, in the evenings, he studied geography with ancillary geology at Birkbeck College, London University. He graduated with first class honours in 1959 and subsequently became a university lecturer in London and Adelaide. He completed masters degrees in education and in philosophy. He has had lifelong interests in education, philosophy, aeronautics, especially the sport of gliding, and has written extensively about these and other subjects. In 1954, he married Jean, and they had two daughters, Patricia and Margaret. The family moved to Adelaide in 1968. After fifty happy years, Jean died of pancreatic cancer in 2005. Since then, he has lived alone in suburban Melbourne but remains fully engaged with his writing and other activities. In recent years, while continuing to fly and write nonfiction, he has written three very unusual novels, Jenny Rat, Cities at Sea, and The Glass Ship.
Related to Cities at Sea
Related ebooks
The Kronos Interference Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Clouds and Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Solace: Lost Solace, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chasing Solace: Lost Solace, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Awakening: A Near Future SciFi Thriller: Near Future, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTake Back Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eyes of the Setting Sun- Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecond Wave Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Stars Blue Yonder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Widowmaker Series Volume One: The Widowmaker * The Widowmaker Reborn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThrough a Forest of Stars Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Eternals: The Unmaking of Heaven Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Syn-En Solution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Martian Inheritance: The Athena Lee Chronicles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApex Predator Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Distant Kingdoms Volume Two: The Lord of the Northern Realm Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Star Runners: Scorpions: Star Runners Universe, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsViolent Science: Kyra Sarin, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom the Dark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShadow Play: A Military Space Opera Tale: The War in Shadow Saga, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlaying God Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Video Star (Voice of the Whirlwind) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ambassador 1A: The Sahara Conspiracy: Ambassador Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Price of Ransom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPromise: The Naravan Chronicles, #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Symbiont (The Symbiont Time Travel Adventures Series, Book 1): Young Adult Time Travel Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelkie Summer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBullets And Bones Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirst Contact: Short Stories, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ragnarok Resolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Science Fiction For You
Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Am Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Who Have Never Known Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camp Zero: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silo Series Collection: Wool, Shift, Dust, and Silo Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perelandra: (Space Trilogy, Book Two) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annihilation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cryptonomicon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Psalm for the Wild-Built Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oona Out of Order: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rendezvous with Rama Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Troop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein: Original 1818 Uncensored Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England: Secret Projects, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Time and Again Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firestarter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Cities at Sea
8 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.Although I am not a huge fan of dystopian fiction, the initial premise of the story about living on cities at sea because you can't live on land and the possibility of genetic manipulation to help you be able to live in the water appealed to me.But, from the beginning, this story failed to grab me. It wasn't that the dialogue was the problem (the dialect is Australian). It was everything else.The continuity of the story, the flatness of the characters and the attempt at world building were a big jumble and only added to my confusion as I tried to follow the story. I do not like to be frustrated as a reader and the story frustrated me to no end.I don't normally fail to finish a book, but in this case I couldn't force myself to read any more.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Set in the future, all of the major cities of the world are on huge rafts floating in the ocean. When Sal's raft comes near the Shanghai raft, she meets Jezzy, a scientist who has modified humans to have gills in order to explore the ocean. Intrigued, Sal signs up for the program. When a new captain takes over in Shanghai, Jezzy's team makes the choice to separate from the city.I thought this was a very interesting world and I would be interested in reading a sequel. The author seemed to jump forward in time a lot, skimming over major events and developments. I would have liked to read more details about these in-between times. I also would have like the author to show more character development and interactions among characters. Overall, not a bad book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cities at Sea takes place in a future where global warming has flooded most of the continental land of the world. Several larger cities had the foresight to go to sea on large rafts that now sustain their populations and float along according to the currents. A resident on the Sydney raft, Sal wants more to life that floating on land when they are surrounded by water; so when she hears of a scientist on the Shanghai raft that is using stem cells to allow people to grow gills, Sal takes a chance with Jezzybaba to turn her into a new species. In a reverse tale of the Little Mermaid, Sal finds herself after being altered to live in the sea.I really thought I would like the plot of this book, in a world after global warming where cities were now rafts in ocean and now global cooling is an issue! There are definitely many talking points about climate change brought up in this book. However, some of the plot seems to be all over the place. The main character Sal, wants to fit in with the ocean and becomes genetically altered in order to do so. This is another great discussion! However, the characters aren't quite developed enough to fall in love with. The writing also seems to be on a Young Adult level; however, the way sex is approached in this book does not make it suitable for that audience. With some clean-up, I would be interested in a sequel to Cities at Sea since we left the characters in a precarious situation. There is definitely room to grow.