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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Captivating at times, Red Mars transports the reader to an exceptionally plausible version of what settlement of the planet might be like. The interest is in the science, as the characters lack a bit of development.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Even though scientists and true hard scifi readers scoff at this series (the science is implausible!) I still love this first book of the series - the whole series is good, but this novel is the centrepiece, the other novels are enjoyable but more fluffly.
It's more of a political novel than a science novel. so if you like stories that build around complex relationships and political groups and their motivations, this is a great book. I like George RR Martin's books for the same reasons, but many people find it hard to follow all the paths and connections and strings.
The scene where the space elevator collapses still resonates in my mind's eye today.
It's more of a political novel than a science novel. so if you like stories that build around complex relationships and political groups and their motivations, this is a great book. I like George RR Martin's books for the same reasons, but many people find it hard to follow all the paths and connections and strings.
The scene where the space elevator collapses still resonates in my mind's eye today.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed the book, but it felt a bit of a difficult read at times. It is not because the book is dense or anything, on the contrary it is an easy read. However, the pace is a bit all over the place. I am not sure how factual it is, but if it is, this could be used as a text book on Martian geography.
The story is about the colonisation of Mars through the perspective of multiple people with different politics, aims, and nuances. The characters were interesting enough, some more so than others (Arkady, my beloved). The story dragged a bit at times, however it was overall good.
I will definitely give the second book a read at some point in the future.
The story is about the colonisation of Mars through the perspective of multiple people with different politics, aims, and nuances. The characters were interesting enough, some more so than others (Arkady, my beloved). The story dragged a bit at times, however it was overall good.
I will definitely give the second book a read at some point in the future.
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
I was reading this for my bf, now ex, and genuinely don’t have interest in it. Not my genre.
I didn't truly know that I didn't really care for this book until I took it with me out of town with 30 pages to go, and four days later, I hadn't bothered to find time to finish it. But, although the novel might not be the most compelling, it has some good points.
The book is organized into eight parts of varying lengths, each mostly centered on one of the "first hundred" colonists to Mars. The parts (mostly) chronologically take the reader through the rough history of humanity's establishment of a foothold on the barren planet. So, to most fans of science fiction, the premise is plenty interesting.
Unfortunately, though, the book suffers for being too broad of scope--you could perhaps say that Robinson bit off more than he could chew. The result is a story that is as barren as the landscape of the planet being described; the tale does not have enough substance. It really only scratches the surface of what happens during the ~50 years of history that are narrated mostly through the eyes of eight or ten very different characters--all in under 600 pages.
I think the book would have been better it had been longer, more fleshed out, more contiguous, less ... thin. Robinson effectively establishes the setting and narrative early on, but then events unfold altogether too rapidly, with little substance or explanation. Shortcuts are taken--for example, the construction of massive settlements in no time is explained with a hasty (and repeated) refrain: even the modern engineers are awed by the power of the machines humanity now wields--city-sized construction robots that turn sand into the Martian equivalent of steel then automatically carve niches in mountains and assemble dwellings, and more machines that build globe-spanning roadways to find, collect, and deliver water, all with nearly zero human guidance. And water is somehow abundant on Mars, found seemingly without trying, yet the explanations of why are only halfheartedly attempted.
In short, it's all too easy, and the result is a story that does not entice. If you decide you must read Red Mars (and its series mates, Marses of the Blue and Green persuasion), I suggest you engage skim mode and plow through the pages like a rover through a dust storm. It's worth doing if you're interested enough, but don't hold lofty expectations.
The book is organized into eight parts of varying lengths, each mostly centered on one of the "first hundred" colonists to Mars. The parts (mostly) chronologically take the reader through the rough history of humanity's establishment of a foothold on the barren planet. So, to most fans of science fiction, the premise is plenty interesting.
Unfortunately, though, the book suffers for being too broad of scope--you could perhaps say that Robinson bit off more than he could chew. The result is a story that is as barren as the landscape of the planet being described; the tale does not have enough substance. It really only scratches the surface of what happens during the ~50 years of history that are narrated mostly through the eyes of eight or ten very different characters--all in under 600 pages.
I think the book would have been better it had been longer, more fleshed out, more contiguous, less ... thin. Robinson effectively establishes the setting and narrative early on, but then events unfold altogether too rapidly, with little substance or explanation. Shortcuts are taken--for example, the construction of massive settlements in no time is explained with a hasty (and repeated) refrain: even the modern engineers are awed by the power of the machines humanity now wields--city-sized construction robots that turn sand into the Martian equivalent of steel then automatically carve niches in mountains and assemble dwellings, and more machines that build globe-spanning roadways to find, collect, and deliver water, all with nearly zero human guidance. And water is somehow abundant on Mars, found seemingly without trying, yet the explanations of why are only halfheartedly attempted.
In short, it's all too easy, and the result is a story that does not entice. If you decide you must read Red Mars (and its series mates, Marses of the Blue and Green persuasion), I suggest you engage skim mode and plow through the pages like a rover through a dust storm. It's worth doing if you're interested enough, but don't hold lofty expectations.