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scottcurtis10 's review for:
Red Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
You know, this could be my verdict on most space operas, but I think not. This book (the first of a trilogy, OF ALL THINGS) kept me fairly involved for five sections, then fell completely apart during the last three. The problem is the scope and all the stuff being jammed in like sausage in a casing - only this author is not capable of handling this much with any kind of deft touch.
The novel is at its best when Robinson is talking about the journey to Mars and the initial settlement building and terraforming. Having established a basis for a colony, Robinson then leaves the reservation, so to speak. Mars goes right from pioneer village to a network of economically viable cities with thousands of residents. He goes way into the deep end of politics and power plays with The First Hundred, the small cadre of first settlers who seem to hold a mystical power over all who come later. Seriously, the author has these guys and gals carrying clout far in excess of any justification from their achievements. Problem with what's going on? Let's have the First Hundred have a Love-In and call the United Nations - that will work! Did I mention that the First Hundred represent most nations and races, men and women? Did I mention that for most of the last half of the book members of the First Hundred wander near-aimlessly over the surface of the planet, showing up at random settlements where they are feted and re-supplied (without bringing any tangible benefit to the other settlers)? Oh, and the First Hundred have come up with some medical treatment to extended their life spans, so by the end of the book those remaining are in their 80's but still as vital as when they arrived 30 years before, and anticipating many more years of youthful function?
I ground through this book and skimmed the last 50 pages. I get it, Robinson has an ecological agenda and has some issues (to say the least) with transnational corporations and world governance organizations, as well as some problems with nearly every political philosophy to see the practical light of day. I suffered through the hackneyed, uneven and thin characterization of people so inflexible in their ideologies over times as long as normal adult life spans - it really gets that ridiculous. For this reader at least, the death of members of the First Hundred (in particular John Boone, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanovich) were mercy killings in that at that point I no longer had to read about their primitive politics.
Needless to say, I will not be reading either Green Mars or Blue Mars.
But hey, your mileage may vary. I've read other space operas that were much more engaging, where the political ideas were much better informed, where the author didn't try to throw in the kitchen sink without exploring things in more narrative depth.
The novel is at its best when Robinson is talking about the journey to Mars and the initial settlement building and terraforming. Having established a basis for a colony, Robinson then leaves the reservation, so to speak. Mars goes right from pioneer village to a network of economically viable cities with thousands of residents. He goes way into the deep end of politics and power plays with The First Hundred, the small cadre of first settlers who seem to hold a mystical power over all who come later. Seriously, the author has these guys and gals carrying clout far in excess of any justification from their achievements. Problem with what's going on? Let's have the First Hundred have a Love-In and call the United Nations - that will work! Did I mention that the First Hundred represent most nations and races, men and women? Did I mention that for most of the last half of the book members of the First Hundred wander near-aimlessly over the surface of the planet, showing up at random settlements where they are feted and re-supplied (without bringing any tangible benefit to the other settlers)? Oh, and the First Hundred have come up with some medical treatment to extended their life spans, so by the end of the book those remaining are in their 80's but still as vital as when they arrived 30 years before, and anticipating many more years of youthful function?
I ground through this book and skimmed the last 50 pages. I get it, Robinson has an ecological agenda and has some issues (to say the least) with transnational corporations and world governance organizations, as well as some problems with nearly every political philosophy to see the practical light of day. I suffered through the hackneyed, uneven and thin characterization of people so inflexible in their ideologies over times as long as normal adult life spans - it really gets that ridiculous. For this reader at least, the death of members of the First Hundred (in particular John Boone, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanovich) were mercy killings in that at that point I no longer had to read about their primitive politics.
Needless to say, I will not be reading either Green Mars or Blue Mars.
But hey, your mileage may vary. I've read other space operas that were much more engaging, where the political ideas were much better informed, where the author didn't try to throw in the kitchen sink without exploring things in more narrative depth.