Bradley K. Brown

Undoubtedly one of Kim Stanley Robinson's best works, Red Mars is a masterpiece in every respect. Sweeping changes are occurring on Mars throughout the story, but underneath it all, Robinson is careful not to lose sight of the human condition.

One thing that Robinson does so well in his novels is to tell gripping, fully-realized character-based stories. Though many of his works fail to climax in a tense, page-turning fashion, readers still find themselves flipping page after page, and falling deeper and deeper into the characters.

Red Mars uses these characters in excellent fashion, as we get into the minds of Maya Toitovna, and John Boone, the first man on Mars. We also see the seedier lives, in the personas of Frank Chalmers and even a bit of Ann Clayborne, Mars' first Red. All of these characters have interesting, intriguing stories that live through their personalities. Kim Stanley Robinson fleshes out the characters so well in fact, it's hard to believe they're not real people. Red Mars feels like more of an historical recounting than a tale about the future colonization of Mars.

I remember reading the Mars trilogy several years ago, when most of the attention had moved away from it to other novels. They were the first books by Robinson I had read, and I simply devoured them. Since that time, I have read many of his other books, including The Years of Rice and Salt, which was no less ambitious.

So it was that as I get on this “Robinson kick” that I found myself craving the original works that I enjoyed so much. Indeed, while re-reading Red Mars, I found myself remembering events I had forgotten all about, while eagerly awaiting the events I knew were coming. The fall of the elevator, for instance, and the floods that claimed the life of Chalmers. And yet I had forgotten things like the revolution, and the fall of Phobos.

I believe I enjoyed Red Mars more this second time around. Perhaps it's because I'm older, perhaps not. I do know that it took me less time to read than the first time around. Which nowadays is an accomplishment.

So the question is, would I recommend this book? Not to just anyone. Robinson is one of those authors the reader has to appreciate. If not a dedicated bibliophile, the reader may not enjoy Robinson's work, as often, they are not terribly exciting books, but rather, intricate studies of the human mind and spirit, and about our connection to the world we live in. They're nearly philosophical in context, and a thoughtful reader will find themselves reexamining their views and opinions about a great many things when reading Robinson's work. It makes for great reading, but not average excitement.

So if you enjoy a fantastic book, and like to be challenged into thinking new thoughts, and most especially, have never read Red Mars you must do so immediately. Borrow my copy, if need be. Do not limit yourself any longer.

With another attempt at producing a Star Wars eBook, Del Rey has met with mild success in getting A Forest Apart out on time. It was available at most of the online eBook sellers within a day of its release.

That said, Chewbacca fans should rejoice. Not only does this story include the triumphant reemergence of the Wookiee, but readers are treated to a first-hand glimpse of the workings of his mind.

Revolving completely around Chewbacca, his life-mate Mallatobuck and their son Lumpawarrump, it is set after Return of the Jedi, and long before Chewbacca's death in the New Jedi Order.

The story involves a plot against the New Republic, which the Wookiee family learns about, following Lumpy's dangerous disobedience of his parents.

Filled with plenty of action and dialogue directly from the Wookiees' mouth, this is a story as unique as it is fun to read. Though short, it is a great tie-in to its companion novel, Tatooine Ghost, due out in hardcover on March 3rd. Any fan of Chewbacca should consider this a must-read and take the time to download it.

Third time's the charm?

That appears to be the case with Del Rey's latest foray into electronic literature. The third eBook to bear the Star Wars name succeeds on many levels where its predecessors failed. The exception to this rule is in delivery of the content online. In the real world, a books release date means walking into a bookstore on that date and picking up a copy. In many cases, advance ordering is possible. The attractiveness of eBooks is the ‘golden promise' of not having to pay for shipping or wait for delivery again. A short download gets you the goods. In other words: instant gratification. So why, then, on September 4th, or even September 5th did many of the heavily touted other online sellers not yet offer it? Whether this was a problem with the publisher, or the individual online sellers remains to be seen. At least it was obtainable on time through the publisher. That's better than the first Star Wars eBook Darth Maul: Saboteur, which took several days to appear, or Recovery, which came missing a chapter.

Ylesia not only provides enough of a story to merit its $3.50 pricetag, it also includes a couple extra goodies for readers. The first ‘extra' is an interview with Walter Jon Williams, author of the eBook, as well as the upcoming hardcover New Jedi Order novel Destiny's Way [DW]. In the interview, many hints are given about the plot of DW. After reading the interview, as well as the following excerpt from the novel, this reviewer is greatly anticipating Destiny's Way.

The story in Ylesia takes place during the events of Destiny's Way, though without knowing this information before reading, you would never know it.

The eBook's plot revolves loosely around Jacen Solo–now reunited with Jaina–and his trying to fit back in among the New Republic. Disappointingly, Williams works in very little of the character development seen with Jacen in Traitor. Only once was Jacen's “VongSense” utilized during this story, and it nearly directly contradicted another scene earlier in the novella. Jaina also suddenly doesn't seem to use her “Trickster Goddess” repertoire anymore, which was a little disconcerting.

Some of these seemingly minor discrepancies seemed a little troublesome while reading, and are probably the only drawbacks to the story. Timing may have a lot to do with it, however, as most of Destiny's Way had been written over a year ago, possibly before Traitor had gone through its final draft (publishing deadlines and schedules are strange sometimes). However, I will give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Williams as–I believe–this story was written after Destiny's Way was completed, and is but a small part of the overall story. Being small in page count doesn't leave room for a lot of character development, I'm sure. The rest of the story easily makes up for the few minor problems, though.

Mildly impressive was the overall length of Ylesia, which is most likely equivalent to about seventy-to-eighty written pages of text. The story flows well, and never really drags on. Verbiage was also quite good with no particular over-usage to any noticeable effect. Classifying it as outstanding fiction would be difficult, but calling it good writing is not. If this eBook is any indication, Destiny's Way should be worth the money for the events contained within, but not necessarily for an earth-shattering reading experience. One thing is for sure though: after blowing through Ylesia in an afternoon, Destiny's Way should be a fast, enjoyable read.