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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
What really stands out to me is the depth of all the characters KSR writes, not just one or two perspectives are fleshed out, each has richness and voice all their own. Obviously I love space and Mars and science and I deeply appreciated huge amount of knowledge and research that clearly went into this novel- what a delight to have graphics to interpret! Equations! Sociology! Actually quite entertaining.
Interesting how often science fiction writers see trends in politics before other people.
The descriptions of Mars were stunning. Sunsets, meteor showers, dust storms, ice caps, chasms, rocks, rocks, rocks. The characters mostly seemed to exist to clutter up the place with their endless political maneuvers, temper tantrums and weird love affairs. In short, they were believable, but reading about them didn't enhance my faith in humanity. I felt pretty depressed by the end of this. I'll get to the rest of the series, but I need a break first.
Excellent and interesting science fiction, but not a great story. Character and plot development are not the author's strong points. If you want in-depth, multiple-page, minutiae-laden descriptions of theoretical terraforming science (and other physics) in action, you'll enjoy it. Otherwise, I'd skip it...
Good not great. Best quote "ignorance is a choice. As we choose to ignore information that doesn't fit our preconceptions."[
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As good this time as it was almost 30 years ago when I first read it. Robinson makes you feel as though you are right there with his characters, living their lives and adventures with them. It doesn't hurt that he - to quote another story about Mars - "sciences the shit out of it." Politics, economics, the environment. It's all here. I'll pick up Green Mars to read again a little bit down the road.
I grew up in the era of the original Star Trek TV series and the Apollo missions. I was a big sci-fi fan in my teenage years, but gradually transitioned into other genres. This may explain why I somehow overlooked Robinson's Mars Trilogy until I saw a recent news blurb about it being made into a TV series (Red Mars was published in 1993). Better late than never! It's a real swash-buckler, with plenty of drama and conflict, and just the right amount of technobabble so that I was intrigued but not overwhelmed, or heaven forbid, bored. There's a wide range of characters, from brave heroes to sultry sirens to mad scientists to despicable scoundrels, and that's just for starters. One aspect of reading it 20+ years after the fact was the opportunity to compare the technology Robinson dreamed up with what has actually come to pass since 1993. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say he either had some amazing predictive skills, or many of today's tech nerds were big Robinson fans back in the 90s and used his ideas for inspiration. As for the story itself, it's big. We have the grand themes of humanity and culture clashes. We have the interpersonal squabbles, petty jealousies, love affairs. All are set among a backdrop of one series after another of life-and-death situations, and that's as it should be. Not much happens on Mars that won't very likely end up killing you.
Reading Red Mars was also an interesting contrast since I had read The Martian (which I also loved) this past year. Both are highly entertaining in completely different ways. Two very different treatments. The Martian is a Robinson Crusoe/Castaway tale. Red Mars is more of a soap opera - think Michael Bay does Dynasty. If you're a sci-fi fan like me who somehow missed the memo on this one, grab it before the TV series comes out. I hope the series lives up to the original.
Reading Red Mars was also an interesting contrast since I had read The Martian (which I also loved) this past year. Both are highly entertaining in completely different ways. Two very different treatments. The Martian is a Robinson Crusoe/Castaway tale. Red Mars is more of a soap opera - think Michael Bay does Dynasty. If you're a sci-fi fan like me who somehow missed the memo on this one, grab it before the TV series comes out. I hope the series lives up to the original.