Scan barcode
avafritsch's review against another edition
This was a gift. I am not into sci fi or politics so it was struggle to get through what I got through.
dearestdorian's review
1.0
DNF page 141.
Who knew a book about murder on the moon could be so damn boring? It’s all about politics, and not the fun kind, but the policy and paperwork kind.
Who knew a book about murder on the moon could be so damn boring? It’s all about politics, and not the fun kind, but the policy and paperwork kind.
tensy's review against another edition
1.0
Stilted writing, slow plot and an incredible amount of Chinese philosophy based on feng shui (which I actually found interesting). However, after 70 pages when one of the characters started spouting poetry, gah, I was finished. I loved the Mars series and was sadly disappointed in this new effort by KSR.
amphybius's review against another edition
4.0
I like the idea of block chain governance; transparency.
abandonedmegastructure's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
A solid techno-thriller that focuses around the moon in 2050 (settled by a number of nations, but mostly China). It's an unquestionably political book, but rather less gung-ho america-saves-the-day than 90% of thrillers featuring some big foreign power, which is nice. As far as science goes, everything is broadly accurate (if a little ambitious, but when are near-future stories not), and the book has some interesting ideas mixed in there.
The two main drawbacks are firstly that the book is simply too slow: time after time we hear information repeated so new characters can learn it, time after time long boring scenes are written out in excruciating detail, and at some point it feels like plot beats start repeating for no clear reason: the book could be half as short and it'd have fixed so many pacing issues. Secondly, the ending is quite open; not altogether bad, but certainly less comprehensive than I'd have liked. Only read this one if you have a lot of spare time; it's not worth it otherwise.
The two main drawbacks are firstly that the book is simply too slow: time after time we hear information repeated so new characters can learn it, time after time long boring scenes are written out in excruciating detail, and at some point it feels like plot beats start repeating for no clear reason: the book could be half as short and it'd have fixed so many pacing issues. Secondly, the ending is quite open; not altogether bad, but certainly less comprehensive than I'd have liked. Only read this one if you have a lot of spare time; it's not worth it otherwise.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
Not my favorite KSR. Obtuse at times. Some genuine character moments.
pilebythebed's review
2.0
Kim Stanley Robinson won plenty of awards for his Mars series, Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars. So it is a little suspicious that he calls his new book Red Moon, as if perhaps trying to recall some glory days. But he has his reasons. This book, much like his alternate history The Years of Rice and Salt, focusses mainly on China and the Chinese settlement on the Moon. That said, this is a very different beast to his Mars books. A sequel to his recent Antarctica, it takes forward some of the philosophy and themes from other recent books including the generation ship saga Aurora.
It is 2047 and quantum engineer Fred Fredricks has been sent to the Moon by his company to hand over a quantum entangled radio. This device allows for instant, completely encrypted communication between two people. On the way he meets ageing Chinese poet and media star Ta Shu, one of the recurring characters from Antarctica (as he keeps reminding readers). Not long after arriving on the Moon Fredricks is implicated in the murder of his client, almost killed himself and kidnapped. It turns out he is in the middle of an internal Chinese power struggle. He is rescued and packed off back to Earth with another trouble maker Qi, pregnant daughter of a high ranking Party Member. But when they arrive back on Earth the two find they are still targets and go on the run with the help of Qi’s connections.
The rest of the book, literally all of it, are Fred and Qi running, stopping for a bit, being found, running again, stopping for a bit, being found, running again… This constant movement is what Robinson uses for plot but it quickly becomes repetitive and a little senseless. And while the reader spends plenty of time with Qi and Fredricks, Robinson gives no reason to really care about them or their plight. Like the other point of view characters, they are there to move the plot along (such as it is) or have philosophical or political discussions. The character of Ta Shu does not fair much better, also yo-yo-ing back and forth between Earth and Moon as he tries to help the hapless pair.
Robinson is a renowned futurist with some very firm ideas, some of which he has explored before, all the way back to the Mars series in some cases – the use of cryptocurrencies, the idea of blockchain or distributed government, the potential for artificial intelligence to achieve some form of enlightened sentience, the power of individuals to work en masse to the drive political change. Red Moon is yet another vehicle in which he rehearses these ideas through the dialogue of his characters or (in the case of the AI character) their internal musings. While these are interesting ideas here, none of this is particularly new or presented in an engaging way.
Red Moon a just a slog in which movement is used as a proxy for action and characters are vehicles either for a naïve or ignorant audience (Fred) or for espousing particular political and social points of view. For those keen to visit the Moon science-fiction style there are better ways to do from Arthur C Clark and Robert Heinlein through, more recently, to the Luna series by Ian McDonald.
It is 2047 and quantum engineer Fred Fredricks has been sent to the Moon by his company to hand over a quantum entangled radio. This device allows for instant, completely encrypted communication between two people. On the way he meets ageing Chinese poet and media star Ta Shu, one of the recurring characters from Antarctica (as he keeps reminding readers). Not long after arriving on the Moon Fredricks is implicated in the murder of his client, almost killed himself and kidnapped. It turns out he is in the middle of an internal Chinese power struggle. He is rescued and packed off back to Earth with another trouble maker Qi, pregnant daughter of a high ranking Party Member. But when they arrive back on Earth the two find they are still targets and go on the run with the help of Qi’s connections.
The rest of the book, literally all of it, are Fred and Qi running, stopping for a bit, being found, running again, stopping for a bit, being found, running again… This constant movement is what Robinson uses for plot but it quickly becomes repetitive and a little senseless. And while the reader spends plenty of time with Qi and Fredricks, Robinson gives no reason to really care about them or their plight. Like the other point of view characters, they are there to move the plot along (such as it is) or have philosophical or political discussions. The character of Ta Shu does not fair much better, also yo-yo-ing back and forth between Earth and Moon as he tries to help the hapless pair.
Robinson is a renowned futurist with some very firm ideas, some of which he has explored before, all the way back to the Mars series in some cases – the use of cryptocurrencies, the idea of blockchain or distributed government, the potential for artificial intelligence to achieve some form of enlightened sentience, the power of individuals to work en masse to the drive political change. Red Moon is yet another vehicle in which he rehearses these ideas through the dialogue of his characters or (in the case of the AI character) their internal musings. While these are interesting ideas here, none of this is particularly new or presented in an engaging way.
Red Moon a just a slog in which movement is used as a proxy for action and characters are vehicles either for a naïve or ignorant audience (Fred) or for espousing particular political and social points of view. For those keen to visit the Moon science-fiction style there are better ways to do from Arthur C Clark and Robert Heinlein through, more recently, to the Luna series by Ian McDonald.
parksystems's review against another edition
3.0
i really wanted to like this book, and was very dedicated to the cause of reading it. but sometimes i really had to drag myself through it. it would slip into explaining slumps of the most boring variety. sometimes i felt annoyingly jostled by the consistent shift in first person each chapter. the chapters can be only a page or two, and going between the perspective of an AI, to a feng shui elder, and.. and.. and.... and always only to return back to the most boring white guy.
however, even more aggravatingly, was the mediocre white dude at the center. i recognize the message of this book was ultimately (and sometimes too self-consciously) meant to be one of equality, and made an effort to include diverse peoples. but this somehow makes it even more sad that in the end most things always come back to the boring white dude as relatable protagonist. i get that this is who we, in all our variety but sharing our upbringings within white patriarchy, are most capable of connecting with. "hey, he's a *good guy*" sure, but my god is he just the soggiest oatmeal person and his transformation into having a backbone because a radical brave asian woman *needed him* feels cringey manic pixie dream girl for me, personally.
however, in retrospect, considering what ive gained from reading this and how much more it could have focused on boring white man, i get that the distributed perspective was potentially the most valuable element. like it i feel similarly retroactively appreciative of the over-explaining. i gained considerable knowledge about so many things through the stories off-road information overloads. and most of all, in my reasons for the stars im giving it, i really like that it tried to tackle and unravel very pressing present geopolitics, technology, etc. but overall, i cant really recommend this book - read a summary of this and read the mars trilogy instead.
however, even more aggravatingly, was the mediocre white dude at the center. i recognize the message of this book was ultimately (and sometimes too self-consciously) meant to be one of equality, and made an effort to include diverse peoples. but this somehow makes it even more sad that in the end most things always come back to the boring white dude as relatable protagonist. i get that this is who we, in all our variety but sharing our upbringings within white patriarchy, are most capable of connecting with. "hey, he's a *good guy*" sure, but my god is he just the soggiest oatmeal person and his transformation into having a backbone because a radical brave asian woman *needed him* feels cringey manic pixie dream girl for me, personally.
however, in retrospect, considering what ive gained from reading this and how much more it could have focused on boring white man, i get that the distributed perspective was potentially the most valuable element. like it i feel similarly retroactively appreciative of the over-explaining. i gained considerable knowledge about so many things through the stories off-road information overloads. and most of all, in my reasons for the stars im giving it, i really like that it tried to tackle and unravel very pressing present geopolitics, technology, etc. but overall, i cant really recommend this book - read a summary of this and read the mars trilogy instead.
kerstincullen's review against another edition
3.0
I am not really sure what happened in the plot, but the ideas were fantastic, the characters interesting, and the writing enjoyable. This book is really about communism and China, although there are some low G moon jungle gym habitats too.
I really love Kim Stanley Robinson, but this is not my favorite novel by him. Still, I enjoyed it.
I really love Kim Stanley Robinson, but this is not my favorite novel by him. Still, I enjoyed it.