Martian Rainbow

by Robert L. Forward

Interplanetary war threatens as the power and ambition of Infinite Lord and President of the Unified States General Alexander Armstrong, the heroic victor of the battle for Mars, grows out of control

Genres: Science Fiction

319 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Robert Lull Forward, commonly known as Robert L. Forward, (August 15, 1932 - September 21, 2002) was an American physicist and science fiction writer. His fiction is noted for its scientific credibility, and uses many ideas developed during his work as an aerospace engineer.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot's a bit wonky. The book opens with General Alexander Armstrong leading an attack by UN forces to wrest Mars from communist control. Yeah. I'll confess to not liking Alexander much, though, to be fair, that is part of Forward's design. We readers are not supposed to like him. Anyway, after succeeding in his mission–revealed in the jacket description, so it's hardly a spoiler–he returns to Earth, leaving his identical twin brother, Augustus–a scientist–in charge.

Back on Earth, Alexander pursues dreams of power, becoming a religious leader and eventually taking over the world. Meanwhile, Mars is thriving and doing their level best to become independent of regular supply deliveries from Earth, helped by the discovery that Mars is not as lifeless as it seemed …

It took me a bit to get into this. As I said, Alexander is a rather repellant fellow, and the prospect of him being the main character for the entire book filled me with dismay. Fortunately, the focus shifts to Augustus … The identical twins bit is certainly hokey, as is the literally Earth-shattering menace that Alexander later concocts to help secure his power. And there's a whiff of deus ex machina in the solution to many of the problems the Mars colonists face.

What holds it all together is Forward's attention to detail in his set pieces. He has some great scenes, and, if the material stitching those scenes together with each other is sometimes hard to swallow, well, the scenes are cool enough that I, at least, am willing to forgive him. The book is a bit slow to get going, but, once it does, it's a heck of a ride.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about a pair of twins, one of whom becomes the dictator of Earth, the other the leader of the colonization of Mars ( in the late 2030s ). Forward, who passed away in 2002, was a physicist and has some good speculative ideas in his books. He was very influenced by Robert A. Heinlein. In this book, it seems like a variation on RAH's "Revolt in 2100," about a religious dictatorship taking control of America. I found how the new religion is set up to be implausible, but I think that there could be a dictator with an already established religion behind him all too plausible.
The book was published in 1991 at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union. I thought it was very interesting that the Russians -- of a "neo-USSR"-- are the bad guys in the story, at least in the beginning. Putin may not have restored the USSR, but he seems to be reestablishing a Russian Empire! Who predicted something like that?
Interesting story and speculations, but the plotting and characters are weak--so only so so ***.

[Brown Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel is unsuccessful because it doesn't commit to accomplishing anything. It abandons the science element, the pioneering element, the character-development element, the adventure element, and the alien element, for...the narrative goulash element? A strange book, but not the good kind of strange. I cannot recommend it, even to Forward fans, or Mars-set novel completists.

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has your standard violence, space battle, civil disobedience, politics, a little sex, romance, cult religion, and lots of science. It's an easy read that can go at a fast pace.

[William Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate criticizing a deceased author. I also wish Goodreads had a ten star rating system, so I could give this a 7. So the short verdict is: I liked this book and would read it again. Maybe.

Why can't some SF writers learn to develop characters? A fun read if you don't mind cardboard people spouting sometimes ludicrous dialogue with too many exclamation points. Twin brothers square off in a fight for Earth and Mars, one a good-guy scientist, the other a megalomaniacal pseudo-god on Earth. Basically, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" without the teeth. Not a bad read, overall. C+

[Marzell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fängt mit Weltraumkrieg an, was mir normalerweise nicht besonders gefällt.
+++++ 2015-04-02 +++++
Nach 100 Seiten aufgeben. Der Krieg ist schnell vorbei, aber es ist einfach langweilig geschrieben oder übersetzt. Oder liegt es einfach am Alter des Buches?
Aber es wird eine zweite Chance geben, ich habe noch Das Drachenei von Robert L. Forward im Regal stehen.