Fifty Degrees Below cover

Fifty Degrees Below

by Corinna Antelmann

The earth continues its relentless plunge toward total environmental collapse in this sequel to Forty Signs of Rain (2004). As a result of climate change, Antarctica's ice shelves collapse sending low-lying island nations beneath the rising waters, and the Gulf Stream has stalled. Crops fail world-wide, and when winter comes, frigid temperatures hit the Eastern Seaboard and Western Europe. As people starve and freeze to death, multinational corporations explore how to profit from the disaster. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., scientists continue in their struggle to overcome government resistence to implementing vital environmental policies while frantically searching for a way to shift weather patterns and save the planet from another devastating Ice Age. After years of denial and non-action, a near-future Earth faces a crossroad when it is threatened with the dire implications of global warming, an environmental crisis that ironically could unleash a devastating Ice Age on the planet.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?