Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Wow, what a disappointment this book was! I bought the whole trilogy thinking this would be guaranteed to be one of my favorites. But after about 3/4 of this book boring me to death, I'm wondering if I should even bother with book 2.
I read somewhere this book could be used as a blueprint for colonizing Mars. So, I figured it would be a deep, hard sci-fi book that covered all of the details for travelling to, taming, and terraforming the panet. But the book breezes thhrough immersion training in Antartica, whizzes to the travel (apparently the ships have already been developed and tested off page), spends all of that time talking about who is having sex with whom, then they land and all of the robots setup the habitats. All they have to do is make some vague reconfigurations. Next thing you know, 10,000 numans are living on Mars! To quote SvcreenRant, "actually it's super easy, barely an inconvenience." That was thw story I wanted over at least the entire first book. It's done in maybe half with most of teh page count dedicated to relationships. WTF? Not my cup of tea at all!
I finally gave up and read the summary. It guess there is a lot of action at the end. But honestly, I could not tell you who most of the characters were or what they motivations were. The character development wasn't very good either. Maybe if I recalibrated my expectations and started over that would click better and the ending would have a punch. But I can read a hundred books on the psychology of isolation and romance in space. I didn't buy this series for that stuff.
I;m not sure what to do now. I could forge ahead in hopes that Green and Blue do get to something I actually care about. But if they don't, and fast, I'll probably donate all three.
I read somewhere this book could be used as a blueprint for colonizing Mars. So, I figured it would be a deep, hard sci-fi book that covered all of the details for travelling to, taming, and terraforming the panet. But the book breezes thhrough immersion training in Antartica, whizzes to the travel (apparently the ships have already been developed and tested off page), spends all of that time talking about who is having sex with whom, then they land and all of the robots setup the habitats. All they have to do is make some vague reconfigurations. Next thing you know, 10,000 numans are living on Mars! To quote SvcreenRant, "actually it's super easy, barely an inconvenience." That was thw story I wanted over at least the entire first book. It's done in maybe half with most of teh page count dedicated to relationships. WTF? Not my cup of tea at all!
I finally gave up and read the summary. It guess there is a lot of action at the end. But honestly, I could not tell you who most of the characters were or what they motivations were. The character development wasn't very good either. Maybe if I recalibrated my expectations and started over that would click better and the ending would have a punch. But I can read a hundred books on the psychology of isolation and romance in space. I didn't buy this series for that stuff.
I;m not sure what to do now. I could forge ahead in hopes that Green and Blue do get to something I actually care about. But if they don't, and fast, I'll probably donate all three.
It was just okay. I liked the hard science around reaching, exploring, and colonizing Mars, but there was too much other stuff thrown in. The story was almost too epic for its own good. I enjoyed having different sections of the book written from different characters' perspective, but it didn't add enough to make me really care about any of them.
This is the first in a trilogy, but I don't have any plans to read the other two.
This is the first in a trilogy, but I don't have any plans to read the other two.
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just couldn't get into it. Interested and may try again later
adventurous
slow-paced
Phew! That was a long, fascinating, unpleasant journey. Which is really quite thematic if you think about it. I learned a lot and had some great conversations, but I really bounced off most of the characters and was angry at several of the assertions the author seemed to be making.
CONTENT WARNING: (just a list of topics)
Things to love:
-The science. Some of it I don't think was true, but given what we knew in 1993, this was a marvelous exploration of possible futures and current technology.
-The prose. It was sparse and beautiful.
-A few moments. A few times the characters came alive for me in a way that was very welcome. I especially liked Anne and Arkady.
-Watching the dominoes. I'm not sure I agreed with all the dominoes, but I like that KSR didn't shy away from the conclusions of his own assumptions.
-The conversations this prompted. I'm not entirely sure I can credit the book for this, as it really requires a thoughtful and erudite audience, but whatever, it wouldn't be possible without the book. I've had really wonderful conversations about the premise and what makes things "real" with this book at catalyst. I think that great science fiction is in part defined by how much it gets you to think. And on that criterion, this book is a home run. It really expanded my perception of science, the art and my own predilections. I am grateful for this expansion.
Things that didn't work for me:
-Relying on stereotypes. They may have been somewhat more fleshed out than other books but gosh almighty there were so many things I found to be based at least on caricature. The assumptions of different personality types, nationalities and so on made it really difficult for me to trust the author and let go.
-What wasn't studied. Clearly KSR spent a f***ton of time on research for this book, which was phenomenal. Unfortunately, it made things that he did not research really stand out. There's so much we can glean about a person from their baseline assumptions and/or the things they think they know so well they don't need to research it whatsoever and I think that was his downfall here. Instead of it celebrating what he loved so much he dedicated hundreds of hours to learn, I felt a giant middle finger towards a lot of the things that I can't avoid about myself and the people I love.
-The misogyny. This deserves a specific call out. I am trying to pretend it's a product of its times and if I'd been my age in 1993, I would have considered it progressive. Alas. Alack. I am not my age now in 1993, and to the Allison of 2019 it is starkly relegating the majority of women. Basically, you can only be useful if you're a woman who doesn't see herself as pretty and who just tries not to rock any boats the men are sailing. If you know you're aesthetically pleasing and/or disagree with men, you are a whore with no other discernible skills or a bitch with no function other than tantrums. I know we did better than this in the 90s so I can't offer much wiggle room for "The Times."
-It is dated. Okay but like this is about "The Times." This is Gulf War America all the way through. It might have a few smart things to say outside of that time period but it is super hard to separate it from its environment, which was jingoist, racist, and rather conservative.
-I didn't relate to anyone. I don't have to like everyone, but forcing me to spend literal days with people who I would personally call the Feds on for possible mass murderer-like tendencies is not a great way to get me to agree with arguments? John, Maya, Frank, Anne, Saks, Arkady...holy shit! They're all dangers to society! Somebody kick more of them out any air lock! This isn't the normal, this is the height of antisocial tendencies that we're expected just to nod along with. Neither scientists nor humanity at large deserve to have them serves as their representatives.
It was long and frustrating, but also fascinating. I'm told if you buy in after Part 1 it's likely you'll be on board. If your hackles go up then, put it on 3x speed and just power through for the ideas and never look back. I will not be continuing the series, but may chance one of the author's later works as I think this one was just poorly informed in terms of psychology.
CONTENT WARNING: (just a list of topics)
Spoiler
infidelity, depression, loss of loved one, mutilation, domestic violence, body horror.Things to love:
-The science. Some of it I don't think was true, but given what we knew in 1993, this was a marvelous exploration of possible futures and current technology.
-The prose. It was sparse and beautiful.
-A few moments. A few times the characters came alive for me in a way that was very welcome. I especially liked Anne and Arkady.
-Watching the dominoes. I'm not sure I agreed with all the dominoes, but I like that KSR didn't shy away from the conclusions of his own assumptions.
-The conversations this prompted. I'm not entirely sure I can credit the book for this, as it really requires a thoughtful and erudite audience, but whatever, it wouldn't be possible without the book. I've had really wonderful conversations about the premise and what makes things "real" with this book at catalyst. I think that great science fiction is in part defined by how much it gets you to think. And on that criterion, this book is a home run. It really expanded my perception of science, the art and my own predilections. I am grateful for this expansion.
Things that didn't work for me:
-Relying on stereotypes. They may have been somewhat more fleshed out than other books but gosh almighty there were so many things I found to be based at least on caricature. The assumptions of different personality types, nationalities and so on made it really difficult for me to trust the author and let go.
-What wasn't studied. Clearly KSR spent a f***ton of time on research for this book, which was phenomenal. Unfortunately, it made things that he did not research really stand out. There's so much we can glean about a person from their baseline assumptions and/or the things they think they know so well they don't need to research it whatsoever and I think that was his downfall here. Instead of it celebrating what he loved so much he dedicated hundreds of hours to learn, I felt a giant middle finger towards a lot of the things that I can't avoid about myself and the people I love.
-The misogyny. This deserves a specific call out. I am trying to pretend it's a product of its times and if I'd been my age in 1993, I would have considered it progressive. Alas. Alack. I am not my age now in 1993, and to the Allison of 2019 it is starkly relegating the majority of women. Basically, you can only be useful if you're a woman who doesn't see herself as pretty and who just tries not to rock any boats the men are sailing. If you know you're aesthetically pleasing and/or disagree with men, you are a whore with no other discernible skills or a bitch with no function other than tantrums. I know we did better than this in the 90s so I can't offer much wiggle room for "The Times."
-It is dated. Okay but like this is about "The Times." This is Gulf War America all the way through. It might have a few smart things to say outside of that time period but it is super hard to separate it from its environment, which was jingoist, racist, and rather conservative.
-I didn't relate to anyone. I don't have to like everyone, but forcing me to spend literal days with people who I would personally call the Feds on for possible mass murderer-like tendencies is not a great way to get me to agree with arguments? John, Maya, Frank, Anne, Saks, Arkady...holy shit! They're all dangers to society! Somebody kick more of them out any air lock! This isn't the normal, this is the height of antisocial tendencies that we're expected just to nod along with. Neither scientists nor humanity at large deserve to have them serves as their representatives.
It was long and frustrating, but also fascinating. I'm told if you buy in after Part 1 it's likely you'll be on board. If your hackles go up then, put it on 3x speed and just power through for the ideas and never look back. I will not be continuing the series, but may chance one of the author's later works as I think this one was just poorly informed in terms of psychology.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great work of sci-fi. I enjoyed the narrative and the uniqueness of the story line(s) and will likely continue to read the trilogy. My only frustration with the story was the seemingly un-ending list of place names, which I understand are real geographical place names, but it was hard to follow and recall the significance of each place in the story line. I struggled to believe that the terraforming of Mars could occur so quickly; I suppose it was greatly aided with the help of robots, but this angle was not explored in much detail.
I loved some parts of this book, and admire the enormous scale of time and space it takes place in.
My favourite parts focused on the building and terraforming that was taking place, and following the smaller groups as part of their adventures. Much of the book was taken up with political manipulations and that left me feeling confused. Robinson seems to know a lot about the wide variety and history of political structures around the world, and it would have been nice if he could have explained them more thoroughly, instead of showing off his knowledge while leaving the naive no better off.
I do plan to read the rest of the series, but I need a break in between.
My favourite parts focused on the building and terraforming that was taking place, and following the smaller groups as part of their adventures. Much of the book was taken up with political manipulations and that left me feeling confused. Robinson seems to know a lot about the wide variety and history of political structures around the world, and it would have been nice if he could have explained them more thoroughly, instead of showing off his knowledge while leaving the naive no better off.
I do plan to read the rest of the series, but I need a break in between.
Second read, still 3 stars.
The idea of writing a book about the successful settlement and colonization of Mars is obviously a daunting one.
In this book, there are really three narratives going on. You have the actual Mars settlement narrative. The one with all the science and challenges. This is by far the most interesting one.
Then you have the political aspect. Turns out colonizing Mars is messy and everyone has different opinions about how this should go. You have competing personal, social, cultural, corporate, and religious interests. This is also interesting, and actually elevates the settlement aspect.
Then there's the personal narrative. The relationships, friendships, cliques, and all that. And this, this is where I space out. Maia for example, features prominently in the book. She is at the top of this love triangle between the two main male protagonists: Frank and John. This love triangle and the relationships therein monopolize great swaths of the book. I was thinking this morning of how you could easily remove all this content, and the book would be better for it. You literally wouldn't miss a thing. You could simply say, Frank and Maia had an affair and then she got together with John, and there was jealousy and hurt feelings, and as a result, some bad things happen. I don't need to know the daily ins and outs of their relationship though. It's just filler; what seems like 100s of pages of it.
So, three stars. Because in this book there is actually a 4 or 4.5 star book, but the hell if I can give it that rating because of the love triangle. I mean, even a huge part of Nadia's story is occupied by Maia being difficult and emotional.
If you can't write relationships and not make the characters seem like whinging, sad little babies, then maybe just gloss over them.
The idea of writing a book about the successful settlement and colonization of Mars is obviously a daunting one.
In this book, there are really three narratives going on. You have the actual Mars settlement narrative. The one with all the science and challenges. This is by far the most interesting one.
Then you have the political aspect. Turns out colonizing Mars is messy and everyone has different opinions about how this should go. You have competing personal, social, cultural, corporate, and religious interests. This is also interesting, and actually elevates the settlement aspect.
Then there's the personal narrative. The relationships, friendships, cliques, and all that. And this, this is where I space out. Maia for example, features prominently in the book. She is at the top of this love triangle between the two main male protagonists: Frank and John. This love triangle and the relationships therein monopolize great swaths of the book. I was thinking this morning of how you could easily remove all this content, and the book would be better for it. You literally wouldn't miss a thing. You could simply say, Frank and Maia had an affair and then she got together with John, and there was jealousy and hurt feelings, and as a result, some bad things happen. I don't need to know the daily ins and outs of their relationship though. It's just filler; what seems like 100s of pages of it.
So, three stars. Because in this book there is actually a 4 or 4.5 star book, but the hell if I can give it that rating because of the love triangle. I mean, even a huge part of Nadia's story is occupied by Maia being difficult and emotional.
If you can't write relationships and not make the characters seem like whinging, sad little babies, then maybe just gloss over them.