Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by benjch
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
5.0
Absolutely incredible, not only as a scifi novel, but as a standalone work of fiction. Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favorite authors because he splits a perfect balance between hard fact-based science fiction, and novels about human beings that feel real and tangible.
Robinson also does what few others do: characters are portrayed through their interactions with the current narrating character. As the POV changes, other characters are cast in completely different lights. One character might be described as scheming in one POV, but another might show that they are just trying to hold a rapidly devolving situation together the first character was unaware of. The political games end up being one of the main stars of the book, as was the case in Ministry for the Future.
I am so, so excited to continue on in this series, but I'm forcing myself to space things out a bit.
If you like scifi, if you have any interest in Mars, please please pick this up. 5/5
One note on scientific accuracy: since Robinson wrote this in 1993, our understanding of the Martian landscape and its chemical makeup has changed drastically. Much of the science is really speculative, and some of it is flat out wrong, but in ways science was ignorant to until recently. As long as you can brush that aside, it is fantastic.
Robinson also does what few others do: characters are portrayed through their interactions with the current narrating character. As the POV changes, other characters are cast in completely different lights. One character might be described as scheming in one POV, but another might show that they are just trying to hold a rapidly devolving situation together the first character was unaware of. The political games end up being one of the main stars of the book, as was the case in Ministry for the Future.
I am so, so excited to continue on in this series, but I'm forcing myself to space things out a bit.
If you like scifi, if you have any interest in Mars, please please pick this up. 5/5
One note on scientific accuracy: since Robinson wrote this in 1993, our understanding of the Martian landscape and its chemical makeup has changed drastically. Much of the science is really speculative, and some of it is flat out wrong, but in ways science was ignorant to until recently. As long as you can brush that aside, it is fantastic.