You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
So much policy writing omfg. Just blow something up already!!!
I wont lie, Sax's first chapter halted my progress on this for literally 4 years. KSR's penchant for nerding out on the incredible research he does is so commendable, but it is has never been what interested me the most about his books. But I returned with the understanding that skipping a paragraph describing atmospheric pressure conditions is totally okay. Im left feeling like this book was nearly as good as the first, if not standing toe to toe. Maybe not so breakneck in its pace but certainly creates an slow avalanche of tension. And to cram the entire revolution into the final 70 pages! And all told secondhand through Nadia watching livestreams and videochats! Great stuff.
His ultimately very (watch out im gonna say it) materialist perspective on history makes for really incredible, decades spanning stories. The fact that so much happens outside the actions of main characters, yet you dont feel for one moment that Maya, Nirgal, Art, Nadia, etc. are disempowered, that is incredible narrative achievement. Sally Rooney asked once if it was even possible to write a "marxist novel" and I think this is maybe one way that KSR has a knack for. To create moving, breathing worlds where our characters are important and central to the narrative, yet disempowered to shape their world on their own. They are simply trying to ride the tiger.
His ultimately very (watch out im gonna say it) materialist perspective on history makes for really incredible, decades spanning stories. The fact that so much happens outside the actions of main characters, yet you dont feel for one moment that Maya, Nirgal, Art, Nadia, etc. are disempowered, that is incredible narrative achievement. Sally Rooney asked once if it was even possible to write a "marxist novel" and I think this is maybe one way that KSR has a knack for. To create moving, breathing worlds where our characters are important and central to the narrative, yet disempowered to shape their world on their own. They are simply trying to ride the tiger.
First off, Kim Stanley Robinson nearly gave me a hernia, so let me attempt to prevent the same misconception I had for anyone reading Green Mars. Early in the novel, some characters are mentioned as 8ish years old and are then said to be sexually active (in the context of a weird everyone-is-kind-of-related little town to boot). This is later clarified to mean 8 in MARTIAN years, not Earth years (a departure from how ages were described in Red Mars), but it is not a quick clarification and I spent a non-negligible amount of time confused and appalled. So, feel free to make your judgments on the weirdness of pseudo-incestuous sex between people raised as siblings but that are probably old enough to be considered capable of consent. Probably.
I didn't like Green Mars as much as I did Red Mars. Far less science/engineering and far more politics and international/international/transnational/transplanetary conflicts. There's also a lot of strange weird mystical/spiritual/religious stuff that I didn't love, and overall it just felt less put-together and threshed out than Red Mars. (Within two pages, a character was described as laughing and then as "she, who never laughed". The events in Red Mars were seeded such that they made sense and felt somewhat inevitable, but Green Mars felt less logical and more desultory.) It is an equally ambitious book as Red Mars but less well executed.
I didn't like Green Mars as much as I did Red Mars. Far less science/engineering and far more politics and international/international/transnational/transplanetary conflicts. There's also a lot of strange weird mystical/spiritual/religious stuff that I didn't love, and overall it just felt less put-together and threshed out than Red Mars. (Within two pages, a character was described as laughing and then as "she, who never laughed". The events in Red Mars were seeded such that they made sense and felt somewhat inevitable, but Green Mars felt less logical and more desultory.) It is an equally ambitious book as Red Mars but less well executed.
Not as interesting as the first book. I like when we get to focus on the cause and effect of terraforming, but the plot of this book just kind of wanders around with no sense of direction. Also, all the female characters are written as angry hellcats. I hope the last book is better.
I enjoyed Gren Mars more than Red Mars, if for no reason than more Saxifrage.
A little less scientific and exciting than book 1, but still pretty good.
The first book of the trilogy Red Mars was great but I found the second a trudge. There's a bit too much geology for me and the plot feels more like the ideas are running the narrative rather than the other way round. It's still got some fascinating ideas but all the characters blend into their positions so much and serve KSR's arguments so faithfully as to lose credibility as humans.
As with all Robinson's books, I find I have to be prepared to THINK a lot about what I'm reading. I'm no scientist or economics major or historian, so each chapter is a mini lesson in some advanced concepts. The story is compelling and the characters distinctive and memorable. I'll keep reading his books but find I need a break in between them.
This series is not what I had in mind. I REALLY wanted a hard sci-fi story that explored ideas of how we could live on and terraform Mars. Instead, the author focuses on the experiences of bland characters doing very normal activities that just happen to be on space or another planet. This could have taken place in a foreign country on Earth and not changed the plot very much.
Unfortunately, I bought all three before I started book 1, so now I'll be hiving away all of them.
Unfortunately, I bought all three before I started book 1, so now I'll be hiving away all of them.