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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
I remember reading this book in the 90s when it first came out. I’m almost certain I didn’t finish it. To be honest, I got very tired of the fucking assholes that were in the story. After he killed off the two most interesting characters, he spent way too much POV time with the two biggest assholes. I probably quit because the ending was completely new to me.
Turns out I almost quit this time too. It barely got a third star. I usually enjoy KSR stories, but this one hand waved away survival problems and spent a lot of time creating improbable sociological plot devices.
I don’t think I’ll try Green or Blue Mars.
Turns out I almost quit this time too. It barely got a third star. I usually enjoy KSR stories, but this one hand waved away survival problems and spent a lot of time creating improbable sociological plot devices.
I don’t think I’ll try Green or Blue Mars.
Suzanne and I had a long conversation at Nisha's wedding about Science Fiction. She persuaded me that I have perhaps been too judgmental about science fiction books and audiences, and that instead of scorning it, I should give it a try. I did love the Time Traveler's Wife, which could be considered science fiction. And I really loved The Speed of Dark, written by a science fiction writer (and recommended by Suzanne).
In addition to Red Mars, she recommended a book called Kindred in which an African American woman who is in love with a white man keeps getting sucked back in time to save the life of her partner's slave-owning relative. Suzanne (and Frank) convinced me that science fiction just provides a different backdrop in which to analyze current social issues.
Suzanne may have opened up a whole new world of literature for me (although I'm not sure I'm ready for aliens yet...).
In addition to Red Mars, she recommended a book called Kindred in which an African American woman who is in love with a white man keeps getting sucked back in time to save the life of her partner's slave-owning relative. Suzanne (and Frank) convinced me that science fiction just provides a different backdrop in which to analyze current social issues.
Suzanne may have opened up a whole new world of literature for me (although I'm not sure I'm ready for aliens yet...).
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
When I say it's character-driven, I'm including Mars as a character. The title of the book really says it all - it's a story of humanity's relationship with the planet.
The characters are generally good, though one of the women is pretty two dimensional, I'm sure everyone who's read it knows who I mean.
Robinson either did exhaustive research, or is incredibly good at faking it, because the whole thing felt really realistic to me. Everything, both the scientific and political side of the story, felt very believable. The development of the different societies was especially interesting, and seeing how much or little they are shaped by Earth politics - whether they want to be or not.
I think the strongest part of the book for me was just how many talking points and debates were represented: terraforming vs preservation, how a Martian society should be created, and if it's possible to dismantle or limit corporate control even when starting a civilization on a whole other planet. The question of how people would/should start a society from scratch really was the heart of the book.
Saying all that, the book was slow. It was long, and had so much detail that it was overwhelming at times. I think it might take a while for me to pick up the sequels - hopefully I still remember enough of the first book when I do.
The characters are generally good, though one of the women is pretty two dimensional, I'm sure everyone who's read it knows who I mean.
Robinson either did exhaustive research, or is incredibly good at faking it, because the whole thing felt really realistic to me. Everything, both the scientific and political side of the story, felt very believable. The development of the different societies was especially interesting, and seeing how much or little they are shaped by Earth politics - whether they want to be or not.
I think the strongest part of the book for me was just how many talking points and debates were represented: terraforming vs preservation, how a Martian society should be created, and if it's possible to dismantle or limit corporate control even when starting a civilization on a whole other planet. The question of how people would/should start a society from scratch really was the heart of the book.
Saying all that, the book was slow. It was long, and had so much detail that it was overwhelming at times. I think it might take a while for me to pick up the sequels - hopefully I still remember enough of the first book when I do.
So awesome. What can I say? I've wanted to read this book since I was 12. It was every bit as amazing as I'd hoped it would be. Space opera at its finest.
Granted, one of the female main characters was a bit two-dimensional, but overall I found the character development to be sufficiently nuanced for a hard science fiction novel.
I have to say, my favorite part was when, halfway through the book, the ship's psychologist has a nervous breakdown and runs off to join an indigenous tribe of "Martians" on the other side of the planet.
The book touches on many important issues such as environmentalism, sustainability and world politics.
Although published in 1992, its predictions about technology usage were truly ahead of their time (for instance, the way that the crew members freak out when their version of the internet goes down. I'm pretty sure that no one in 1992 was even thinking about internet addiction as a real and possible thing.)
At any rate, I am eagerly looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Shigata ka nai--it can't be helped.
Granted, one of the female main characters was a bit two-dimensional, but overall I found the character development to be sufficiently nuanced for a hard science fiction novel.
I have to say, my favorite part was when, halfway through the book, the ship's psychologist has a nervous breakdown and runs off to join an indigenous tribe of "Martians" on the other side of the planet.
The book touches on many important issues such as environmentalism, sustainability and world politics.
Although published in 1992, its predictions about technology usage were truly ahead of their time (for instance, the way that the crew members freak out when their version of the internet goes down. I'm pretty sure that no one in 1992 was even thinking about internet addiction as a real and possible thing.)
At any rate, I am eagerly looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Shigata ka nai--it can't be helped.
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First in the Mars trilogy written by a great of the sci-fi genre, it didn’t really follow a conventional plot structure and was constructed of a series of short episodes that combined to tell the long overarching story of the colonisation and terraforming of Mars. It reads like an early example of hard sci-fi takes the core plot idea more seriously than many similar stories, featuring failures and successes alike.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was reading this one day when the radio came on and the DJ was talking about the Mars rover. I thought at first that they were doing a program about my book, and then realized this was real life. It was awesome.
Post-reading: Maybe it's just because I took so long about it, or because some of it was so depressing. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really like any of the characters - by the end, Frank of all people was my favorite, just because he was most enigmatic. What a dick, though.
This is a rather rambling review so far. I liked it. It was good. But I don't know if I'll read the sequels. My favorite parts were the invented mythologies.
The end.
Post-reading: Maybe it's just because I took so long about it, or because some of it was so depressing. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really like any of the characters - by the end, Frank of all people was my favorite, just because he was most enigmatic. What a dick, though.
This is a rather rambling review so far. I liked it. It was good. But I don't know if I'll read the sequels. My favorite parts were the invented mythologies.
The end.