Fifty Degrees Below

Science in the Capital, Book 2

By: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Kim Stanley Robinson

Best-selling, award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson continues his groundbreaking trilogy of eco-thrillers - and propels us deeper into the awesome whirlwind of climatic change. Set in our nation's capital, here is a chillingly realistic tale of people caught in the collision of science, technology, and the consequences of global warming - which could trigger another phenomenon: abrupt climate change, resulting in temperatures...

When the storm got bad, scientist Frank Vanderwal was at work, formalizing his return to the National Science Foundation for another year. He'd left the building just in time to help sandbag at Arlington Cemetery. Now that the torrent was over, large chunks of San Diego had eroded into the sea, and D.C. was underwater.

Shallow lakes occupied the most famous parts of the city. Reagan Airport was awash and the Potomac had spilled beyond its banks. Rescue boats dotted the saturated cityscape. Everything Frank and his colleagues in the halls of science and politics feared had culminated in this massive disaster. And now the world looked to them to fix it.

Whatever Frank can do, now that he is homeless, he'll have to do from his car. He's not averse to sleeping outdoors. Years of research have made him hyperaware of his status as just another primate. That plus his encounter with a Tibetan Buddhist has left him resolved to live a more authentic life.

Hopefully, this will prepare him for whatever is to come....

For even as D.C. bails out from the flood, a more extreme climate change looms. With the melting of the polar ice caps shutting down the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, another Ice Age could be imminent. The last time it happened, 11,000 years ago, it took just three years to start.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Kim Stanley Robinson.

Listen to all of our Capital Trilogy titles.©2005 Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Perhaps the foremost practitioner of literary utopias." (Time)

Domestic comedy, serious underlying climate theme

Would you listen to Fifty Degrees Below again? Why?

Yes, in a year or two because I enjoyed so many of the scenes. Robinson's affection for his fictitious characters is contagious. And so much of the book rings true, at least in my experience with children, scientists and academics.

Which character – as performed by Peter Ganim and Kim Stanley Robinson – was your favorite?

Liked several but would have to say Charlie.

Any additional comments?

Several have commented on the reader Ganim. He narrates very deliberately and I know this irritates some people who want the narration to be very dramatic. I just focused on the content rather than the slow reading style. I think he did a great job on the dialogue, though, using different voices, inflections and accents. As to the underlying theme of the book, Robinson is able to insert important little treatises on climate change and on the role of scientists in society without coming across as pedantic. I liked that.

Like listening to a typewriter talking …

I’ve read many KSR’s books over the years, but couldn’t get past 30 minutes of the monotone droning of this narrator. I’ll go buy the book and finish it that way.

I really dislike the narrator.

He over-enunciates everything to the point where I can't follow along. He takes so long to pronounce each individual word that it's hard to hear the whole sentence. I am struggling to follow along, and I really enjoy Kim Stanley Robinson's work. I'm going to stop listening to the audiobook, and pick up a paperback.

Addictive storyline

Couldn't put it down - drove around extra miles, went for long walks, was search for excuses to be by myself to listen.

slow disjointed unfulfilling

not only was it boring pretty much just a campaign speech for the democratic party the narrator did his best to make it interesting