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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
One of my favorite series of books. I read it every couple
Of years. Coyote is the best.
Of years. Coyote is the best.
Maybe I just read this at the right time, but this was exactly what I needed. Red Mars is a meticulously researched book about the colonization of Mars. It starts with the first 100 colonists then follows all the way through attempts at terraforming and massive influx of immigrants on Mars. The science seems to be solid and holds up very well, even 30 years later. I found it believable that this may still be how we would go about colonizing Mars. Robinson even for saw some use for AIs.
There is a lot of science in the book, with long breaks just explaining concepts for terraforming, various landmasses on Mars, various theories about the geological history, and ideas about how human colonists would live and settle the world (including a space elevators and revolution.)
Besides the science, I found the human side compelling as well. Robinson put a lot of effort into the various political factions and characters that may come to bear in a colonization. How it is unlikely we would be able to leave all of our prejudices back on Earth, despite what dreamers may hope. It suffers from a lot of hard SF that the characters aren't completely 3D, but it does much better than most. I did care when different people died (which also helped with suspense throughout the book because Robinson was clearly willing to kill main characters.)
As hinted above, the story is on an epic scale. Robinson made a very smart decision to tell the story through very specific and well placed characters. Not everything is completely believable, but it helps ground the story. These are interspersed with interludes describing the changing landscape and history of Mars and the Solar System. The people help keep the story grounded and propelling forward, with a nice high speed chase at the end.
Anyway, if you're looking for some nice well-researched hard SF to geek out about, this is a great place to start.
There is a lot of science in the book, with long breaks just explaining concepts for terraforming, various landmasses on Mars, various theories about the geological history, and ideas about how human colonists would live and settle the world (including a space elevators and revolution.)
Besides the science, I found the human side compelling as well. Robinson put a lot of effort into the various political factions and characters that may come to bear in a colonization. How it is unlikely we would be able to leave all of our prejudices back on Earth, despite what dreamers may hope. It suffers from a lot of hard SF that the characters aren't completely 3D, but it does much better than most. I did care when different people died (which also helped with suspense throughout the book because Robinson was clearly willing to kill main characters.)
As hinted above, the story is on an epic scale. Robinson made a very smart decision to tell the story through very specific and well placed characters. Not everything is completely believable, but it helps ground the story. These are interspersed with interludes describing the changing landscape and history of Mars and the Solar System. The people help keep the story grounded and propelling forward, with a nice high speed chase at the end.
Anyway, if you're looking for some nice well-researched hard SF to geek out about, this is a great place to start.
This is a great book. It has a level of science and storytelling that make it better than a simple "what if" book. Some elements don't work, and some are outdated of course, but it's a masterpiece.
I might give the book a 3.5 as there was interesting science and some of the social aspects (psychology and politics) were intriguing, but the story felt extremely choppy.
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Somehow manages to create a compelling concept, despite being the size of a novel by [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg].
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me start off this review by saying that my 2 star rating is not for the writing. I like KS Robinson's writing, I just wasn't all that thrilled with the story. And I think that is mostly because it wasn't the type of Mars colonization story I was hoping for.
This book is really about the people settling Mars, the people left behind on Earth, and all the politics that go with it. Its about the first 100 (the original 100 people to go to Mars), and then the large number of people who followed later, and the clashing that happened between all these different people. I was looking for a book about going to Mars, colonizing it and terraforming it. Based on the blurb on the back, I thought that is what I was getting. I ended up skipping the last 200 pages or so because by that point I just wanted to finish it, and I didn't much care what happened to anybody.
I saw KSR at our local book festival, and was really impressed with him. I bought a signed copy of this book for that reason. However, I'm glad I didn't buy the next two in the trilogy, which I was considering at the time. As I said at the beginning, I like his writing. And I would pick up another of his books if it sounded interesting. This one just wasn't.
This book is really about the people settling Mars, the people left behind on Earth, and all the politics that go with it. Its about the first 100 (the original 100 people to go to Mars), and then the large number of people who followed later, and the clashing that happened between all these different people. I was looking for a book about going to Mars, colonizing it and terraforming it. Based on the blurb on the back, I thought that is what I was getting. I ended up skipping the last 200 pages or so because by that point I just wanted to finish it, and I didn't much care what happened to anybody.
I saw KSR at our local book festival, and was really impressed with him. I bought a signed copy of this book for that reason. However, I'm glad I didn't buy the next two in the trilogy, which I was considering at the time. As I said at the beginning, I like his writing. And I would pick up another of his books if it sounded interesting. This one just wasn't.
adventurous
dark
tense
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:
No