Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I kept picking up and putting down this book for a few months, and only really decided to go full speed a couple weeks ago, so I feel like there was some connecting tissue I missed. I think KSR has a real gift for philosophical sci-fi dilemmas, but some of this book admittedly had me lost in places. The politics of the world are not as cleanly sketched out in the second half of the book as the first half, although I found some individual chapters to be quite beautiful, including an extended section in the middle of a man becoming so homesick he goes insane, and a sequence of a relationship between two characters evolving in perpetuity after having their lifespans extended to possibly forever.
The love triangle at the center of the book is kind of the meat and potatoes for me, honestly. I dug the Hamilton/Burr dynamic Frank and John have. Maya is sort of the weak link. I was never quite as sure about her political worldview and how it tied these three together, exactly, but it feels a little like the point. Outside of these three, Arkady, Nadia, and Ann, the characters can feel a little thin at times. Hiroko has her moments, but the book didn't delve into her quite as much as I wanted. It leaves the second half of the book, and particularly after some characters leave the story, feeling much emptier in terms of character than the first half.
I'm interested to see how the series plays out, although I was left relatively satisfied with this one on its own. I'd imagine the others have to lean a little heavier on other/new characters outside of the main trio, which probably allows the author to flesh them out more.
The love triangle at the center of the book is kind of the meat and potatoes for me, honestly. I dug the Hamilton/Burr dynamic Frank and John have. Maya is sort of the weak link. I was never quite as sure about her political worldview and how it tied these three together, exactly, but it feels a little like the point. Outside of these three, Arkady, Nadia, and Ann, the characters can feel a little thin at times. Hiroko has her moments, but the book didn't delve into her quite as much as I wanted. It leaves the second half of the book, and particularly after some characters leave the story, feeling much emptier in terms of character than the first half.
I'm interested to see how the series plays out, although I was left relatively satisfied with this one on its own. I'd imagine the others have to lean a little heavier on other/new characters outside of the main trio, which probably allows the author to flesh them out more.
I was going to start my summer reading with something else, but the idea of a book dealing with the colonization and terraforming of Mars was too good to pass up. Fortunately, this book was a good choice. There are elements I didn't quite care for, Robinson's over-written prose gets long winded and the only Christian character is both annoying and an idiot, but there was tons of good stuff in this book.
The techno-elements of the book are great and suck me in. No matter how much I get, I want more of the terraforming and how the process works. In fact, the end of this book was amazing to read, as Mars becomes a full waterscape.
I also found the politics to be interesting, though it got me rather depressed to see how humanity screws up another planet. The characters, while all well written, can get a little old. Some are more interesting, some are more relatable. John Boone and Frank Chalmers are interesting, but Ann is my least favorite by sure. Her selfishness and constant anger just get tiring.
Overall, this was a very good book. Redundent is some places, but I'll be reading the next book for certain.
The techno-elements of the book are great and suck me in. No matter how much I get, I want more of the terraforming and how the process works. In fact, the end of this book was amazing to read, as Mars becomes a full waterscape.
I also found the politics to be interesting, though it got me rather depressed to see how humanity screws up another planet. The characters, while all well written, can get a little old. Some are more interesting, some are more relatable. John Boone and Frank Chalmers are interesting, but Ann is my least favorite by sure. Her selfishness and constant anger just get tiring.
Overall, this was a very good book. Redundent is some places, but I'll be reading the next book for certain.
I may come back to this at some point, but it just feels too slow right now.
It's okay, but not very believable though it presents as hard sci-fi. Has a LOT of racist micro-aggessions.
I ebbed-and-flowed through Red Mars, nut unlike a broken aquifer. Fits-and-starts seeking low ground. Always entertaining, periods of this book just felt dense and hard to take in large chunks. On the whole, very good sci-fi that left me engaged and ready for Green Mars.
best when ksr is writing and resisting didacticism. still fun though!
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Wow, reading this is the first time I have thought about the societal aspects of actually colonizing Mars instead of just the scientific. Now I realize we do need to preserve the Mars natural environment, and we should consider what difference commercial colonization instead of scientific stations will have.