Red Mars
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- Create Date：2021-05-09 11:56:19
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Kim Stanley Robinson
- ISBN：0007310161
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Summary
In his most ambitious project to date， award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson utilizes years of research and cutting-edge science in the first of three novels that will chronicle the colonization of Mars。 for eons， sandstorms have swept the barren desolate landscape of the red planet。 For centuries， Mars has beckoned to mankind to come and conquer its hostile climate。 Now， in the year 2026， a group of one hundred colonists is about to fulfill that destiny。
John Boone， Maya Toitavna， Frank Chalmers， and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars。 For some， Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage and madness; for others it offers and opportunity to strip the planet of its riches。 And for the genetic "alchemists， " Mars presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle， a breakthrough that could change all we know about life。。。 and death。
The colonists place giant satellite mirrors in Martian orbit to reflect light to the planets surface。 black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth and melt the ice。 And massive tunnels， kilometers in depth， will be drilled into the Martian mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases。 Against this backdrop of epic upheaval， rivalries， loves， and friendships will form and fall to pieces--for there are those who will fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed。
Brilliantly imagined， breathtaking in scope and ingenuity， "Red Mars" is an epic scientific saga， chronicling the next step in human evolution and creating a world in its entirety。 "Red Mars" shows us a future， with both glory and tarnish， that awes with complexity and inspires with vision。
"The best tale of space colonization--a lyrical， beautiful， accurate legend of the future by one of the best writers of our time。" -- David Brin
John Boone， Maya Toitavna， Frank Chalmers， and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars。 For some， Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage and madness; for others it offers and opportunity to strip the planet of its riches。 And for the genetic "alchemists， " Mars presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle， a breakthrough that could change all we know about life。。。 and death。
The colonists place giant satellite mirrors in Martian orbit to reflect light to the planets surface。 black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth and melt the ice。 And massive tunnels， kilometers in depth， will be drilled into the Martian mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases。 Against this backdrop of epic upheaval， rivalries， loves， and friendships will form and fall to pieces--for there are those who will fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed。
Brilliantly imagined， breathtaking in scope and ingenuity， "Red Mars" is an epic scientific saga， chronicling the next step in human evolution and creating a world in its entirety。 "Red Mars" shows us a future， with both glory and tarnish， that awes with complexity and inspires with vision。
"The best tale of space colonization--a lyrical， beautiful， accurate legend of the future by one of the best writers of our time。" -- David Brin
Reviews
Wan Wan
，
I highly recommend this piece。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Laurilla Dom
，
Great disappointment。 Characters are so superficial and full of cliches。 Specially hurting Maya， main sin to be beautiful and obviously this is what took her to the mission。 It intends to be a collage of cultures as there is people of many nationalities but honestly they could all have been north americans， apart from some mainstream behaviours attributed to each country。 On the other hand， what type of society do you expect to build with humans desperate to leave everything behind and get away Great disappointment。 Characters are so superficial and full of cliches。 Specially hurting Maya， main sin to be beautiful and obviously this is what took her to the mission。 It intends to be a collage of cultures as there is people of many nationalities but honestly they could all have been north americans， apart from some mainstream behaviours attributed to each country。 On the other hand， what type of society do you expect to build with humans desperate to leave everything behind and get away of their pasts？ 。。。more
Eric
，
If you like reading geography textbooks and ship's manifests， you will LOVE this book。 The inanity of the detail brought to bear on this narrative is staggering。 As another reviewer pointed out， there was a full page （or a full minute of reading in the audio version） devoted to listing the tools in a toolkit by the current narrator。The level of detail in expected technology involved for a Mars mission is quite impressive。。。 for the 1990s。 It's undeniable that quite a lot of thought was put into If you like reading geography textbooks and ship's manifests， you will LOVE this book。 The inanity of the detail brought to bear on this narrative is staggering。 As another reviewer pointed out， there was a full page （or a full minute of reading in the audio version） devoted to listing the tools in a toolkit by the current narrator。The level of detail in expected technology involved for a Mars mission is quite impressive。。。 for the 1990s。 It's undeniable that quite a lot of thought was put into that technological aspect and the topology of Mars known at the time。 The specific years and technologies mentioned are， of course， now anachronistic。There's even a bit of story to loosely weave together all those details if you're into that。 。。。more
MM
，
Reading a good story like this one， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition happening right now till the end of May with a theme Werewolf。 You can also publish your stories in NovelStar， just email our editors hardy@novelstar。top， joye@novelstar。top， or lena@novelstar。top。
Chris Davies
，
God， what a slog that was。 It starts off quite well， with some interesting dynamics and plot threads being set up， and realistic science。 Then there is an abrupt time jump and we are in to a tiresome soap opera involving boring and stereotypical characters。 Plus， the 'hard science' goes out of the window。 Then， it just goes on and on， in particular in a lengthy and confusing travelogue featuring one of the dullest characters I've ever come across。 By the time we'd reached the pyrotechnics toward God， what a slog that was。 It starts off quite well， with some interesting dynamics and plot threads being set up， and realistic science。 Then there is an abrupt time jump and we are in to a tiresome soap opera involving boring and stereotypical characters。 Plus， the 'hard science' goes out of the window。 Then， it just goes on and on， in particular in a lengthy and confusing travelogue featuring one of the dullest characters I've ever come across。 By the time we'd reached the pyrotechnics towards the end， I was past caring。 Finally， to make matters worse， we get an excitement-free coda。 Needless to say， I won't be back for parts 2 and 3。 。。。more
Jeremy
，
Brilliant！
Leslie
，
As a scifi fan， I'm not sure how I missed this classic， especially timely now with Mars exploration in full progress in real life。 Written way back in 1995， this tome does show its age for example regarding treatment of women characters。 But overall I feel it does a pretty good job of suggesting that Mars settlement will not be Utopia; we'll bring with us our dark sides as well as our dreams。 As a scifi fan， I'm not sure how I missed this classic， especially timely now with Mars exploration in full progress in real life。 Written way back in 1995， this tome does show its age for example regarding treatment of women characters。 But overall I feel it does a pretty good job of suggesting that Mars settlement will not be Utopia; we'll bring with us our dark sides as well as our dreams。 。。。more
Riley T
，
Wow okay。 If you blink， you can miss a huge plot development。 It reads like one crazy long research paper， but in a good way。 If you like reading peer-reviewed study abstracts but also like Orson Scott Card， this is the book for you。 Again， I mean that in a good way。
Ming Chan
，
Political science fiction more than science fiction to me， with Chinese scientists sent to Mars speaking not a single word of English， and emigration to Mars from poor countries like India and China constitutes existential threats。 How prescient！ Robinson probably wishes that they were all from Norway！And among the first 100 sent to Mars， there is exactly one Asian - Hiroko。 There are no black people。 No brown people。 No latinos。Award winning indeed。
Adam
，
Was super interesting then got boring。 Very boring。
Egor Ryashin
，
Very thoughtful scifi
Emily Abrams
，
So so so so good！ I anticipated a long-winded， male-dominated tome。 While certainly long-winded， it was beautiful， unexpected， and dare I say， feminist！ Right off the bat， as a plot point， 50% of the characters were female， which is almost unheard of in “hard” sci-fi。 What’s more， all of the female characters were irresistibly fascinating and pivotal to the story。 The leading men were all boring political dipshits who ruined everything。 Loved it！
Ben Haskett
，
I was really dreading reading Red Mars。 For starters， I had attempted a year or two ago to read another of Kim Stanley Robinson’s books， New York 2140， and I gave up。 Too technical for my tastes， too big a focus on economics。 It just wasn’t a very good first impression， and fans of KSR praised that book as classic KSR。 So I figured I wasn't a fan of KSR。 Further， the only reason this book was on my radar at all is that I’ve made it a personal goal to read all the winners of the Hugo Award for Be I was really dreading reading Red Mars。 For starters， I had attempted a year or two ago to read another of Kim Stanley Robinson’s books， New York 2140， and I gave up。 Too technical for my tastes， too big a focus on economics。 It just wasn’t a very good first impression， and fans of KSR praised that book as classic KSR。 So I figured I wasn't a fan of KSR。 Further， the only reason this book was on my radar at all is that I’ve made it a personal goal to read all the winners of the Hugo Award for Best Novel—and the second and third book in this trilogy took home the award。 That meant I would have to get through this one first: 572 pages （or 24 hours by audio book， the route I took） of what I was sure would be hardcore logistics and technical explanations about living on Mars。But an hour into the book， I realized I was having a good time—and I had to remind myself that I chose to read all these books for fun。 As a hobby。 No one is forcing me to do this。 And so if I’m grabbing books from my list at random and then groaning at the length， that means I’m getting too caught up in the task。 Red Mars is， indeed， a long book。 It is also very technical and spends a lot of time on the logistics of humans colonizing Mars。 This is the kind of book non-fans of sci-fi might imagine when they explain that sci-fi isn’t their thing。 And I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it。 It’s funny， because I do read a lot of sci-fi， and while a settled Mars shows up in many of those books， the story of how humanity accomplished that is typically waved away， sometimes almost literally， with a simple “By the way， we terraformed Mars and people live there now。” Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin got around this easily by speeding up time outside Earth’s orbit—someone looked through a telescope as giant， lawn-dart-shaped terraforming pods touched down on Mars， and a moment later， the place was a settled， tropical paradise。 In Through a Forest of Stars， an indie book （and it’s great， by the way—check it out）， even that is skipped; someone refers to the Allied Republics of Mars as a competitor to Earth， and that’s pretty much all we need to know。 This book is different。 The terraforming and settling of Mars is the whole shebang。 Arthur C。 Clarke called it the "best novel on the colonization of Mars that has ever been written" and at this point in my reading journey， yeah， I agree。 The pace of Red Mars is mostly relaxed。 Robinson takes his time explaining how things look and feel， and he typically explains how things work through dialogue， making them easier to understand。 After a brief cold open （involving a murder）， we rewind all the way back to the ark ship taking the first 100 settlers to Mars。 We get to know a lot of the cast here， their personal relationships， their motivations。 We learn most of them lied on all the aptitude tests， choosing whichever option they figured would result in their selection。 You have medical doctors， psychologists， scientists， politicians， all on a one-way trip in a spaceship the size of a large hotel。 From there， we bear witness to pretty much everything over several decades—the arrival， touchdown， the play at independence from Earth， the attempts at terraforming， the construction of a space elevator， the influx of immigration， the power struggle， the revolt， and the near destruction of everything those original hundred worked so hard for。Of particular note is the love triangle between three characters—Maya， John， and Frank。 I’m of the mind that soured relationships and failed love triangles can be especially trite in sci-fi， the go-to source of drama in stories where a small group of people are cut off from the rest of Earth （hell， I’ll admit it， this is a small source of drama for one of my short stories， and that’s only because I figured it would be an easy place for an amateur writer to start）， but the interactions between these characters are complicated and nuanced。 John and Frank’s “competition，” so to speak， for Maya seems to stem from an old rivalry—jealously over political appointments and being seen as the person in charge of everything。 And Maya， my God， how she wanted to love Frank so badly， but couldn’t stand to sleep with him because he always had that look on his face like he’d won， like she was some conquest and he was planting his flag。 I didn’t anticipate such a heavy focus on immigration。 When the first hundred arrive， they might as well be on a rough camping trip—life is hard， but at that point they know each other so well and intimately that they’re basically all family。 They make tents， use regolith to craft bricks and construct buildings， seek out ice and melt it for a water supply。 Skip ahead a couple decades， though， and there are thousands of Martians。 The book was so engaging that I didn’t realize until later how often the book generalized， with terms like THE Arabs or THE Swiss or THE Russians， each culture behaving as a simplistic hivemind。 That， eh， wasn’t my favorite part。 But after the construction of the space elevator （a means of transporting people from orbit to the surface of Mars and vice versa without landing a ship）， the influx of new arrivals puts strain on the meager accommodations， until people who spent their life savings getting to Mars are sleeping on the ground in public spaces。Most surprising of all was the group of people who didn’t want to terraform Mars; many people， including members of the first hundred， wanted to live on mars the same we one might live on a nature preserve， reminding me of Yosemite’s mantra to “Take only pictures and leave only footprints。” And geez， I see where they were coming from。 The settling and terraforming of Mars is such a given in most sci-fi books that I never stopped to let it sink in that to settle Mars is to lose Mars。 We look at it now， through the lens of NASA’s Perseverance Rover， and it’s this big， red， dead thing。 And when I’m looking at a zoomed-in square foot of the surface， sure， it’s just rocks and sand and dust。 But it’s not like I couldn’t pick Mars out of a lineup。 Those polar ice caps， that dark band along the lower half。 When I hear names Olympus Mons or Amazonis Planitia， images of those locations appear in my mind。 And if humans did land on Mars， and live there， and terraform， and melt that ice， and industrialize， and produce waste， then eventually it would be something completely different。 One character said it particularly well， lamenting the fact that her pleas to preserve Mars would be ignored:“We’ll all go on and make the place safe。 Roads， cities。 New sky， new soil。 Until it’s all some kind of Siberia or Northwest Territories， and Mars will be gone and we’ll be here， and we’ll wonder why we feel so empty。 Why when we look at the land we can never see anything but our own faces。” Anyway， Red Mars was great。 If you’re like me and maybe you saw this big book and it looked like some combination of daunting and uninteresting， give it a shot。 It’s only big because the author takes his time and wants you to get to know the characters—and for better or worse， you will。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Red Mars is one of the most consequential science fiction books I’ve read in a while。 To begin with， Red Mars is monumental in scope。 The story covers the first few decades of the colonization of Mars。 It begins with the voyage of The First Hundred， the first to colonize the planet。 The book covers their voyage， landing， and early construction efforts。 A great deal of attention is placed on scientific plausibility and detail。 Once the colony is established， population grows， industry and commerc Red Mars is one of the most consequential science fiction books I’ve read in a while。 To begin with， Red Mars is monumental in scope。 The story covers the first few decades of the colonization of Mars。 It begins with the voyage of The First Hundred， the first to colonize the planet。 The book covers their voyage， landing， and early construction efforts。 A great deal of attention is placed on scientific plausibility and detail。 Once the colony is established， population grows， industry and commerce become established， and politics turns violent。 The First Hundred provide a rotating cast of protagonists throughout the narrative。 As is pointed out repeatedly in the story， Mars is a place of superlatives。 Despite the fact that Mars has roughly half the Earth’s circumference， because it lacks oceans， it has more total landmass。 The planet has a third of Earth’s gravity， about half of one percent of Earth’s atmosphere， and has the largest volcano in the solar system。 So the novel covers eight or so protagonists with a hundred or so secondary characters， over several decades， across a landmass in excess of the summed landmass of Earth。 It is not hyperbolic to insist on Red Mars’s scope。Scope alone does not make a story consequential but blockbuster novel-turned-movie The Martian is an obvious spiritual successor to Red Mars and， with some finagling， the book could be made into a prequel for the Expanse series。 Even if no other science fiction drew inspiration from the novel these IPs alone have been some of the most successful in recent science fiction history。My greatest reservation about the story is its attention to detail。 Kim Stanley Robinson describes the Martian landscape ad nauseum， a less sardonic， less amusing Edward Abbey of Mars。 The sexual politics of The First Hundred are too abbreviated to be arousing and too long to be background， a Goldilocks zone of indifference。 The writing style is a little choppy too。 At times， narration is in the first person shifting to third later in the chapter。 The narrator is at times limited and at others， omniscient。 The net effect of this all is a long， occasionally tiring， occasionally confusing story。 On the balance， the book is a strong recommend。 While imperfect， the book is among the best science fiction has to offer。 What’s more， it is relevant to the historiography of its genre。 Red Mars is the sort of book that is enriching to the reader when they wander further afield in the genre。 。。。more
David A。
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What a strange book。 What a strange story。 I read to page 320 of 572 before I finally gave up。 I do not recommend this book to anyone。
Bonita Readers Advisory
，
Hard sci fi， about the challenges of colonizing and terrforming Mars。 A sci fi classic， and first of a series。 Robinson was inspired by thinking about the challenges for Europeans colonizing North America， and these themes run through the entire series。 Not great on character development （like a lot of classic sci fi） but great for readers interested in ideas， and the challenge of surviving in an alien landscape。
Peter
，
Really enjoyed this， though not a great sci-fi reader。 Great storytelling， great platform for examining a huge range of topics and all very believable in terms of technology and behaviour。
Mark Steven
，
A mixed bag of a book。。。 Did I like it enough to read the others in the trilogy？ I'm not sure。 I enjoyed the grimness and difficulty of establishing colonies on Mars， and political struggle， the utopian experiments bumping against exploitative capitalism。 The story arc really belongs to this dynamic， more than any of the characters， whose lives are dipped into for the sake of the telling of the wider story。 I was taken aback by the colonial， culturally normative attitude of some of the character A mixed bag of a book。。。 Did I like it enough to read the others in the trilogy？ I'm not sure。 I enjoyed the grimness and difficulty of establishing colonies on Mars， and political struggle， the utopian experiments bumping against exploitative capitalism。 The story arc really belongs to this dynamic， more than any of the characters， whose lives are dipped into for the sake of the telling of the wider story。 I was taken aback by the colonial， culturally normative attitude of some of the characters， and it felt like these were symptoms of lazy prejudice held by the author， but I may be doing him a disservice。 He may have been making the point that whatever society we create， our prejudices travel with us。 A lot to enjoy here。 If you find yourself stuck in a holiday house with a shortage of things to read， you'll be happy with this。 。。。more
Marla
，
This book is a bit of a thick read but once you get into it you have a hard time putting it down。
Cole
，
This one was a bit of a slog to be honest。 The scientific and sociopolitical aspects of the book were fantastic， but it got bogged down with details， impeding the storytelling。 The next two books in the series won hugo awards， so I will still read them。 Hoping that they trim the fat a bit。
David Walley
，
got though 25% of this book and just coudn't get into it， so am not going to waste any more of my time got though 25% of this book and just coudn't get into it， so am not going to waste any more of my time 。。。more
Trevor
，
Red Mars is a fantastic example of a very hard sci-fi book， full of ruminations and discussions on the effects of terraforming， the nature of a Martian colony society， and examinations of Martian weather， spliced into a compelling narrative centered around the first permanent colonists to the red planet。 However， I found the narrative often fell behind amidst the sections of scientific world-building， often pausing after a brief spurt of action to dive into chapter-long sections of description w Red Mars is a fantastic example of a very hard sci-fi book， full of ruminations and discussions on the effects of terraforming， the nature of a Martian colony society， and examinations of Martian weather， spliced into a compelling narrative centered around the first permanent colonists to the red planet。 However， I found the narrative often fell behind amidst the sections of scientific world-building， often pausing after a brief spurt of action to dive into chapter-long sections of description which broke concentration on the book。 The description was great stuff， and I suspect the hard-science fan will get a great deal out of Red Mars; it just wasn't as much for me！ 。。。more
Sarah Klevan
，
I like a lot of the concepts in this book but the pace really dragged。 Only made it halfway through。
Sam Dotson
，
A remarkable book。 Kim Stanley Robinson demonstrates impressive prescience at every turn。 （view spoiler）[ One example that struck me was the development of ecological economics， or， "eco-economics。" To my knowledge， the father of ecology economics was Herman Daly， who formally introduced it in his book Beyond Growth。 Daly's book was published in 1996， four years after Red Mars！ （hide spoiler）]Robinson considers every aspect of Mars colonization from technical， to sociological， and also psycholog A remarkable book。 Kim Stanley Robinson demonstrates impressive prescience at every turn。 （view spoiler）[ One example that struck me was the development of ecological economics， or， "eco-economics。" To my knowledge， the father of ecology economics was Herman Daly， who formally introduced it in his book Beyond Growth。 Daly's book was published in 1996， four years after Red Mars！ （hide spoiler）]Robinson considers every aspect of Mars colonization from technical， to sociological， and also psychological。 The amount of research that obviously went into this book is staggering。 It's just as relevant now as it was in the 90's。 Perhaps even more so。 The only caveat is that this book is long and its successors are even longer。 Absolutely worth reading， but some persistence is required。 I would recommend this book to anyone that looked up at the night sky and wondered about humanity's first steps into the Cosmos。 。。。more
Patrick
，
Every chapter is from the point of a different characters and I really enjoyed the first three， describing the selection process， travel and initial problems。 Around 200 pages in all。 The next chapter is where it took a turn。 150 pages of the driest descriptions of all the various landscapes of Mars。 I assume it was very accurate but to me that’s not a story。 Imagine reading a person’s description of the Grand Canyon。。。 for 150 pages。 I thought having finished that part I might be able to get ba Every chapter is from the point of a different characters and I really enjoyed the first three， describing the selection process， travel and initial problems。 Around 200 pages in all。 The next chapter is where it took a turn。 150 pages of the driest descriptions of all the various landscapes of Mars。 I assume it was very accurate but to me that’s not a story。 Imagine reading a person’s description of the Grand Canyon。。。 for 150 pages。 I thought having finished that part I might be able to get back on track after the character switch but then it delved even deeper into socioeconomics and my interest never came back。 。。。more
Christine
，
What if humans began living on Mars？ What could go wrong？ You don't need to be a scientist or visionary to make those predictions; just look at what has been done by humans living on Earth。 And yet。。。 What if humans began living on Mars？ What could go wrong？ You don't need to be a scientist or visionary to make those predictions; just look at what has been done by humans living on Earth。 And yet。。。 。。。more
Chris Poulin
，
I'm 1/3 of the way through and nothing has happened。 They flew to Mars， landed， built a habitat， and drove around a bit。 I understand the story is about how society has an opportunity to recreate itself on a planet where we're all foreigners， but there needs to be some interesting plot tension to break up the smoldering tensions between colonists， which is the sole focus of the writing so far。I'm debating whether to give up or push through the book。 50/50。。。 I'm 1/3 of the way through and nothing has happened。 They flew to Mars， landed， built a habitat， and drove around a bit。 I understand the story is about how society has an opportunity to recreate itself on a planet where we're all foreigners， but there needs to be some interesting plot tension to break up the smoldering tensions between colonists， which is the sole focus of the writing so far。I'm debating whether to give up or push through the book。 50/50。。。 。。。more
Diana Fenves Fenves
，
I really enjoyed this illuminating trilogy。 The first book is probably the hardest to read because of some of the outdated language and politics。 If you stick with the series you'll find the characters heartfelt， the ideas fascinating and the epic scale of the trilogy rewarding。 When I first picked up Red Mars， I was a little thrown by the characterizations of women and minorities。 I'm not a huge fan of books where one of the heroes is "rational，" boardline emotionless man in the sciences who ha I really enjoyed this illuminating trilogy。 The first book is probably the hardest to read because of some of the outdated language and politics。 If you stick with the series you'll find the characters heartfelt， the ideas fascinating and the epic scale of the trilogy rewarding。 When I first picked up Red Mars， I was a little thrown by the characterizations of women and minorities。 I'm not a huge fan of books where one of the heroes is "rational，" boardline emotionless man in the sciences who has to deal with manipulative， emotionally unstable if charismatic （but not as intelligent） women。 Once I got toward the end of Red Mars and into the second book， those frustrations started to fall away for me。 Having read the whole series now I can see that Robinson put in a good deal of work in trying to be as progressive and respectful in his characterizations as possible at the time （now like 30 years ago。） Hindsight is 20-20 and in the end the characters felt human to me。 It's clear that equity is important to this writer and that there were utopic， just values being expressed in the vision of what Mars could be。 I have a deep respect the amount of research and thought that went into this massive work。 I didn't need all the constant measurements in kilograms， but I really enjoyed the science being explored。 I particularly love how Robinson strikes a balance between pushing a utopian vision and showing how many barriers there are to putting in place a more equitable， scientifically advanced society。 Not to mention the tension between improving on nature and appreciating wildness。 This is sci-fi of the old school and is right on the barrier of hard sf and literary sf。 I enjoyed it's slowness since I don't this a modern day work would be allowed this kind of pace。 Worth a read and even a re-read every few decades。 。。。more
Justin Deremo
，
I was ready for Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars to end by the time I was finished。 Not because I disliked the experience of reading it， but rather because of the profound sense of loss experienced over the course of its pages。 It ends with hope， but only in the Pandoran sense that all manner of evil had first been released before a sense of promise could at last be captured。I have enjoyed various aspects of the journey; the work seems to strike a good balance in terms of relating a history of Ma I was ready for Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars to end by the time I was finished。 Not because I disliked the experience of reading it， but rather because of the profound sense of loss experienced over the course of its pages。 It ends with hope， but only in the Pandoran sense that all manner of evil had first been released before a sense of promise could at last be captured。I have enjoyed various aspects of the journey; the work seems to strike a good balance in terms of relating a history of Mars’ initial colonization through the eyes of the first crew， a group for whom I felt varying - though sincere - levels of attachment。 Much of the structure is provided through a shifting third-person perspective， this being limited to the lens of one character per section （near the climax this becomes a bit more nebulous）。 There is no single main character， rather each character of importance is given their moment in this history。 Through this， the strengths and flaws of each of these “First Hundred” are revealed - how they see themselves and， more subtly， how they are seen through the eyes of others。 None of them are wholly reliable narrators， rather， each is human in their respective way。Conveniently， Martian science introduces longevity treatments that allow characters to be present for much lengthier segments of time than they might have ordinarily， in turn allowing for a more epic narrative arc as Martian society develops and implodes over the course of decades。 The passage of time and aforementioned shifting perspective further presents opportunity for the interests of various factions to be projected upon the landscape。Mars itself is a character， to the degree that the land can be a character。 Something of the author’s well-known fondness for environment， nature， and ecology is developed through the First Hundred’s lengthy sojourns and travels。 You， too， will develop a certain familiarity and fondness for the Martian landscape， feeling something of Ann’s passion for the untouched land even as Sax calmly- but no less passionately- works towards shaping the land into a more habitable and hospitable world。 Ann’s loss and Sax’s optimism co-exist even as these scientists attempt to remain separate from the political realities shaping that development。It is worth noting the layering and overlapping of these various interests as the narrative spins out。 There are those who are primarily and narrowly interested in the scientific concerns of exploration and colonization， sometimes naive in their lack of engagement with political realities。 There are those who are concerned with the sociopolitical implications of a new world - and the various ends that may result from competing interests and ideologies。 There is conflict between capitalism and socialism， even the romanticizing of revolution - all extensions of a former Earth-bound life that ultimately cannot survive in the uniquely Martian environment。 Then there is the third way， a new way， that promises to grow from the inevitable ashes of those conflicts。In between these macro-level events are the concerns of humans: their interpersonal relationships， jealousies， slights， loves， and rivalries。 Individual psychologies displaying varying degrees of humility and arrogance， each engaged with larger power structures concerned alternately with the benefit of mankind or the pursuit of individual influence。 There are mysterious rogue agents seemingly outside these systemic power structures， introducing chaos。 There are arenas where concrete realism is king and moments where beauty is admired to a degree approaching transcendent mysticism。Why should it not be this way？ Where humanity goes， all dimensions of his character follow suit， and we see these sides through the various members of the First Hundred。 Within a single individual， there are aspects that change and develop over time even as an underlying temperament may remain constant。 Red Mars captures some of that， and while superficially this is a science fiction adventure， like all good science fiction it is a comment on humanity。 Robinson does a wonderful job here and elsewhere of weaving together the various concerns of technology and humanity， so that this world of ideas addresses the human and sociopolitical concerns as deftly as the scientific。The sense of wonder and the sense of loss are flip sides of the same coin， here felt all the more poignantly through the length and depth of the exploration。 Even if the scientific ideas have aged， even if Robinson has achieved greater nuance in other works， here there is still a human core that remains unchanged， and can still be felt these decades later。 。。。more
Rich
，
A sprawling epic that goes down many roads。 Robinson is an insightful， smart writer that sometimes seems to wander astray in the narrative as he paints his tangents。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Red Mars
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Red Mars&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Red Mars&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0