Green Mars
Ratings125
Average rating3.8
Amazed once again by Kim Stanley Robinson. The books in this trilogy are so long, I catch myself drifting in and out of focus while listening. But that even seems okay as the plot shifts in intensity, giving you a tapestry of the ecological and governmental developments over a next half century.
Yet again, this is deliciously equal parts science and sociology, the creation and controlled management of systems of atmospheres and people. While Mars undergoes a potential phase change so does its population as they argue, organise and revolutionise their way towards a Martian independence from Earth. Yet what independence to choose?
It took me five years of intermittent attention to finish it, but I finally made it through. This is an incredibly dense book whose glacial pace matches the glacial pace of the plot itself. Slow, plodding, and choked with scientific minutia (both presumably real and clearly imagined), this is the hardest of hard sci-fi. If you're very interested in the prospects of establishing a human presence on Mars, or perhaps in the psychology of extreme life extension, you may well love this book. Just make sure you have time to focus and settle in for long passages about things like planting genetically engineered lychen.
A decent sequel to Red Mars, I was most interested in the continuation of the political storyline. Some of the familiar characters had good sections, others were a little too introspective for my taste. For some reason the technicalities of the geology and terraforming bored me, and there was something missing from the narrative that RM had. The Convention and third act are the best parts. For all my problems, the “point” of this series and what it's exploring is too interesting to put down. There's little like it that engages with what a revolution or alternative econ. structure would look like (with nuance and critical detail) if it was to be built alongside the modern neoliberal capitalism model. It's not perfect but it's refreshing, and relevant to modern day with parallel crises occurring on the periphery/Mars and in the interior/Earth.
Yo. Sometimes it feels like reading KSR is like listening to an opera by Philip Glass. That is: richly pleasurable, challenging, kinda boring, repetitive, opaque, humanistic, godless (heh), inspiring, exciting, confusing and smart. SMART! I want to put that in all caps. This man (KSR) is some sort of genius-type person who seems to have a deep (amateur, I guess) passion for geology, engineering and other hard sciences, as well as an equal talent for political science, political history, economics and sociology. It's incredible what that man's brain can hold and convey. I find myself also admiring his writing, especially the way he weaves in personality and mundanity into these crazy characters and their crazy lives.
The Glass-KSR parallel was made doubly cool when, in KSR's other gigantic solar system opus (2312), Philip Glass's Satyagraha was the elevator music. Space elevator music. Because - of course it would be!
Anyway. Green Mars. We pick up 50 years after the eventful events of 2061, which finished off the first book (Red Mars, A+++). 2061 was when an awful third world war consumed Earth and Mars caught fire (figuratively and, in some brain-boggling moments, literally). This cataclysmic craziness has driven most of the surviving First Hundred (the first hundred scientists who were sent to establish a Mars colony) underground (again, figuratively and literally). It has also given up the red planet to corporate interests, who are promptly following their profit motive and raping the hell out of it. This book is about the First Hundred and their as-ever conflicting visions for the future of Mars, now also conflicting with the second- and third-generation colonists who are all super-tall sexy Amazon types with weird social mores. Basically, hippie commune types, raised on tons of milk.
This is a long, dense, challenging read, divided into sections dedicated to various protagonists. It feels a bit like Dr. Zhivago at times, in terms of its scope (and, OK, the presence of Russian characters). It also feels like a geology textbook, or something by John Muir. As in Battlestar Galactica, or other long-form stories, characters' narrative arcs wax and wane in ways that are unexpected but - oh jeez - compelling. Vast, even! EPIC. I speak especially of Sax. Much like my feelings for Colonel Tigh in BSG, I was neutral/uninterested in Sax/Tigh in the beginning, until their story went so completely bonkers insane that I could not look away. And then: oh man is Sax my favorite character. (It used to be Arkady and Nadia in Red Mars.) Oh man is Sax now the BEST. Look what he did to Deimos!! Who does that!?! God, he's so great. Great!
Is this book for everyone? Or every self-described SF/F fan? Probably not. I feel like most people - if they're going to be turned off - are going to be turned off by the ultra-dense technical writing interspersed with slyly radical leftist ideals (“Red” Mars indeed, ho ho). i.e. Some people might find it boring and kinda offensive/eye-rolly, if they're not into anarcho-commune stuff. This is definitely NOT space opera in the usual kind, it is definitely subliminally left-wing (whereas much mainstream SF feels sub right-wing) nor is it mind-bogglingly weird the way some (great) sci-fi can be. Instead, it's one of those “we use SF to put the lens on ourselves”, in that - reading this - you understand things like the Russian revolution a lot better. And colonialism!
Anyway. If this sounds vaguely up your alley (tech porn + history porn + long, dense reading + anarchist undercurrents + a crazy scientist + in space), then OH WOW will you be rewarded. I feel almost that I trivialize it by making jokes in my review. But this really is an astounding epic, a feat that should be lauded for a long long time. I definitely count this in my top 10.
Certains passages sont passionnants, d'autres sont beaucoup plus laborieux. J'avoue avoir eu du mal à partir de la troisième description d'un paysage martien après un énième changement climatique. Je m'accroche tout de même, pour lire le troisième volume de la trilogie.
As I read further in this series I like it more. I don't like it a ton but I liked this book better than the first in the series: [b:Red Mars 77507 Red Mars (Mars Trilogy, #1) Kim Stanley Robinson http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320484020s/77507.jpg 40712]. It continues to hold my interest and I want to find out what happens to the characters. I may like this book better because I like the point of view of the characters that are highlighted in this second book rather than those from the first. [a:Kim Stanley Robinson 1858 Kim Stanley Robinson http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1217240935p2/1858.jpg] writes the books in a series of sections from one character's point of view. Which in this case is a good thing because without it I may have gotten bored and not continued with the books. Usually when a author does write this way I'm disappointed to leave that point of view but in this case it allows me to be refreshed and continue on. I do think there are some significant holes in the science but I don't pay particular attention to this as a reader. I read to be entertained so as long as there is consistency in the story and no glaring or jarring discrepancies in the way the author builds their universe I accept and move on.