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Red Mars (Mars Trilogy #1)

by Kim Stanley Robinson

3.84 · Rating Details · 48,480 Ratings · 2,152 Reviews

In his most ambitious project to date, award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson utilizes years of research & cutting-edge science in the 1st of a trilogy chronicling the colonization of Mars: For eons, sandstorms have swept the desolate landscape. For centuries, Mars has beckoned humans to conquer its hostile climate. Now, in 2026, a group of 100 colonists is about to ...more

Mass Market Paperback, 572 pages

Published October 1st 1993 by Spectra (first published 1993)

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Jun 03, 2008 Matt rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

I just finished reading this for the second or third time. I wish I could bump this up to 3.5 stars, which more reflects what I feel about it.

To begin with, I should come forward with my biases. This is a book you'll either love or you will hate. For my part, I love the planet Mars. Or at least, I love the idea of the planet Mars, because I've never been there. I'd love to go though. If someone from NASA told me that I could go to Mars, and there was only a 50/50 chance I'd survive, I'd be like I just finished reading this for the second or third time. I wish I could bump this up to 3.5 stars, which more reflects what I feel about it.

To begin with, I should come forward with my biases. This is a book you'll either love or you will hate. For my part, I love the planet Mars. Or at least, I love the idea of the planet Mars, because I've never been there. I'd love to go though. If someone from NASA told me that I could go to Mars, and there was only a 50/50 chance I'd survive, I'd be like, "That good, huh? I'm sold. Let's do it. When do we leave?" My wife might talk me out of it (she hates the cold), but if I didn't have obligations to family, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I've got this big wall poster of Mars, laid out in all its plucky glory - the Tharsis bulge, the big volcanoes, the massive flood erosion systems. I want to walk on its surface under the red sky and feel the thin cold wind, and this is a book for Mars geeks by a Mars geek. Like Nadia, I want to wildly dance for joy on the Martian dust. If you don't love or can't love the idea of Mars, then all the talk of its ferrous oxides, sulfer drifts, salt pans, and garnet sands is going to bore you to tears. If you do however love Mars, reading this is something like biting into a big decadent layered fair trade organic chocalate bar with 71% dark rich Costa Rican cocoa. So that's my bias, and I think it's a good one, but if you can't entertain thoughts like that be prepared to be bored by like half this novel.

So what is this novel about? Well, obviously, it's about Mars, but more than that it is about humans on Mars and how people establish an identity and a cultural identity in particular. It is a story about the tension between existing cultural identities and ways of looking at the world, and adapting and adopting new identities. It's a story about conflicting mutually exclusive goals, and how we go about resolving - or more often than not - failing to resolve our differences. In that I think the book succeeds marvously, because the resulting Martian culture with all its disparate influences seems in many ways believable to me and even in some ways compelling so that I'm sucked into it and want to proclaim my allegiance to the Red or Green tradition, and twitter stories about Big Man and where I was when Boone died around the nuclear powered blog fire.

The best part of the story by far is that KSR doesn't attempt to tell a story as big as the colonization of Mars from the prespective a single person. Instead, the story sprawls across a huge cast of characters and expanse of time. Our viewpoint shifts from one major character to another, and people we thought we understood suddenly seem strange and different when seen from within or through someone elses eyes. Like many sci-fi authors, KSR can have his didactic moments, but unlike many his are softened by the fact that none of his characters are in and of themselves really the voice of the author. All of the characters even the most heroic turn out to have flaws of one sort or another, and so rather than being forced to read the dialogue as 'KSR believes this and is willing to hit you over the head with it', you can read the poltiics as 'John or Arkady (or Saxifrage or whoever) believes this, just as many real people do'. The politics of Mars as KSR envisions them turn out to be messy, very human, often petty, and with few simple answers and little in the way of clear answers and simple solutions. That's refreshing, even when KSR's biases are showing.

So why not more stars? Well, the book has big Martian sized problems to go along with its delights. For me, the chief of these is how easy the conquest of Mars is made to seem. It reads like the conquest of Mars as written by someone that has never even been camping, much less someone acquianted with the hardships of an outdoor life. Given the enormous challenges of living on a planet with a thin poisonous atmosphere, a surprisingly small portion of the book is devoted to the theme of 'Man vs. Nature' and most of the time when it is, the cause of the conflict is man's own efforts - as if Mars in its natural state isn't absolutely deadly to human life. I personally have a hard time imagining that something on the scale of the colonization of Mars would be safer, less arduous, and less frought with danger and hardship than say the colonization of the New World. KSR just doesn't seem particularly interested in that part of the story, which to my mind is perhaps the most critical part of the story.

Instead, all the meticulous scientific research is undermined by hand waving all the hard problems away with a wave of the techno-magic wand. The colonization of Mars begins not on a comparitive shoe string, but with an abundance of material massing at least one-hundred thousand times the mass of everything we've ever lifted into orbit. Energy sources are never scarce, and manufacturing capacity quickly soars to an unlmited degree. Technological challenges are quickly overcome by the liberal application of newfoundium and sometimes unobtainium. Almost everyone who dies dies through direct or indirect human agency. Accidents, especially serious ones, just don't seem to happen - Arkady's all to believable problem runs are confined to simulators. Thus, all the quite evident bloody striving of the author to create a believable story of planetary colonization is largely wasted and at times the story resembles just another escapist far future space opera.

But most of the rest of the novel's problems are also its strengths. It's sprawling scale is suited to the story, but makes it easy to get lost. It's changing points of view and flawed heroes means on the other hand that the book lacks a consistantly sympathetic protagonist to get behind and root for. It doesn't help the matter that many of the most likable characters end up dead.

It's not a book for everyone, but since humanity seems unlikely to grow up and start thinking about leaving the nest in my lifetime, this is probably as close to Mars as you or I will come. And, though it is a flawed story, it's still an extremely powerful and often moving one that I have little doubt will be read with interest and appreciation by anyone that actually does take up the struggle to live on and with Earth's redder sibling. ...more

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Apr 27, 2008 Cassandra rated it it was ok

Shelves: hated-it

I found this book to be intensely frustrating, because I had such a love-hate relationship with it. At one hand, I was fascinated to learn all about the colonization of Mars, the various technologies used, and I really loved seeing what the scientists came up with to develop the planet. Likewise, I enjoyed reading about the experience of exploring the planet's surface and learning about it's unique geography. The landscape descriptions are breathtaking.

It's such a shame that I hated just about ...more

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May 08, 2012 Clouds rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-series, science-fiction, reviewed, read-in-2012, pub-1990s

Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.

On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.

While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became ...more

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Jan 21, 2014 Henry Avila rated it really liked it

When primitive man looked up at the heavens wondering what that red light was, during the cold nights, trying to keep warm in the long dark, they told stories around the camp fires, about the mysterious object, the best liars and fables, were remembered and from generation to generation these tales were believed, until modern times. Even at the start of the twentieth century, some astronomers saw canals on the red planet. But progress continues to roll relentlessly, and science catches up and du When primitive man looked up at the heavens wondering what that red light was, during the cold nights, trying to keep warm in the long dark, they told stories around the camp fires, about the mysterious object, the best liars and fables, were remembered and from generation to generation these tales were believed, until modern times. Even at the start of the twentieth century, some astronomers saw canals on the red planet. But progress continues to roll relentlessly, and science catches up and dull reality discovered . People of Earth, will have to make that distant, hostile world livable, and forever change the beautiful rock, so the greedy and the adventurous, can live there. Finally technology arrives and spaceships are sent by the blue planet. John Boone, leads that first expedition in the year 2020, and steps down alone, becoming an icon, the man on Mars, famous everywhere back home, but radiation from the Sun, causes major damage to his body, the deadly rays will always harm humanoids, unless the 4th planet is altered. John immense prestige at the highest levels on Earth, sends a second visit to Mars, vastly more advanced, than the previous one, with a huge sophisticated spaceship, and 100 passengers inside, biologists , geologists, physicians, astronauts, physicists and builders. The colonists, will need shelter, little atmosphere breathable, in fact deadly gases there. Ares,(Greek god of War), the rocketship, blasts off on December 21st, 2026, from Earth orbit, much easier than from below, saving a lot of precious fuel, but still takes an endless, boring nine months, to get to their destination, by a slow rotation of that vessel, a gravity, one -fourth of terrestrial, is made, but the leery Russians and Americans, live separate existences on ship, they comprise 70 of the crews members, of equal numbers. The other 30 are split from different nations. After many tests, along with everyone else, John Boone, gets on board also, but so does his rival, and jealous friend Frank Chalmers, a fellow astronaut, but more a politician, with hate. Maya Toitovna, leader of the Russians, falls in love with Frank and then John, a sticky situation, causing much friction but she can't make up her mind . Landing at last, the crew scatters, to every part of the weird planet, seeking a place to live. The pink sky, the desolate surface, more orange than red, full of craters, temperatures often - 100 F, brilliant stars in the evening, the short horizons, and the small dot above, they say is Terra, it will take a while to get used to it. The building begins and very slowly the huge land starts to be modified, a little. Nadia, Russian master builder, from frozen Siberia, makes homes for the people underground, Arkady, Russian engineer, anarchist, and independence seeker, for his new world, goes up to one of the two moons, Phobos, (Deimos, is the other), it looks like a potato ... to help in communications with his former planet, but has his own ideas. Sax Russell, American physicist, who wants to transform Mars, and make it like Earth. Anne , an American geologist, she likes this sphere, as it is, and will fight for that. Hiriko Ai, Japanese biologist, and a person who can grow anything on the surface of this unfriendly place, in greenhouses, they will need her, the crops will save all, from starvation. These colonists will have cult followers, soon. The United Nations, and big corporations, who paid the bills , want the benefits returned, billions of dollars and conflicts begin immediately, between the two worlds...you may change planets, but humans never do ... ...more

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Oct 04, 2007 Jamie rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: hardcore sci-fi heads only

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

An extremely detailed and ridiculously well researched novel on the colonization of Mars, this book is absolutely maddening. The characters veer from believable three dimensional humans to weird caricatures and plot devices within a few pages. And the author's exploration of the political implications of a newly habitable planet filled with resources for civilization is at first fascinating and then just boring. At least five or six times someone would yell out "This isn't like the discovery of ...more

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May 16, 2012 Megan Baxter rated it really liked it

Red Mars looks at the first waves of emigration to Mars, through the eyes of certain members of the First Hundred, the original settlers. The world Kim Stanley Robinson paints is complex, filtered through the perceptions of different people, the politics intense and contentious, even the debate over terraforming itself is depicted with lively wrangling.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this d ...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Brad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: faves, sci-fi, political, the-best, anarchism, personal-mythology, revolution, doing-the-dishes, ecological, new-novella, why-no-movie, nebula-winner

A long time ago in a city far, far away, the end of a friendship began over a disagreement about Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. D--- was so close to the material, so desperate to relive the nostalgia of the original trilogy, so deeply invested, that when we left the theatre and I expressed not just my frustration but my rage at what I'd seen, he took it as a personal insult. A slag of his taste (or what he thought I must have been declaring was his lack thereof). A debate raged between us for ...more

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Oct 17, 2007 Paxnirvana rated it did not like it

Shelves: why-oh-why-did-i-read-it

Instead of re-hashing my own old review (did one at Amazon already yanno), let me offer up this BRILLIANT routine about Jaws 4: The Revenge by the late (and lamentedly so!) Mr. Richard Jeni:

"Have you ever seen a movie where they don't even try to have it make sense, they just slap you in the face with how shitty it is? You're sitting there, and you're going, "Maybe this movie isn't so bad and maybe I'm not wasting my life," and the movie slaps you in the face and goes:

Yes you are.

and you say "Ar ...more

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Jul 30, 2009 Willray rated it did not like it

As an avid reader of Science Fiction, this book bored me to tears with its utterly one dimensional characters and utterly predictable plot (once one figured out, in the first 50 pages or so, that the characters were entirely linear and incapable of deviation from their preassigned courses). The "climax" is like a tiny pimple of added dimension, which Robinson apparently thinks is somehow highlighted and made more dramatic by the 500 previous pages that scream "Look, I really am this flat!". For As an avid reader of Science Fiction, this book bored me to tears with its utterly one dimensional characters and utterly predictable plot (once one figured out, in the first 50 pages or so, that the characters were entirely linear and incapable of deviation from their preassigned courses). The "climax" is like a tiny pimple of added dimension, which Robinson apparently thinks is somehow highlighted and made more dramatic by the 500 previous pages that scream "Look, I really am this flat!". For suspense, he substitutes hundreds of pages of not stating the obvious. When climactic moments finally arrive, one does not read them with surprise, appreciation or release, but only with the relief that that particular tedious episode is finally finished. As forgettable as this book is, I desperately wish I could forget more!

As a scientist, I'm bewildered by everyone's adulation of the "research" and "accuracy" that went into the book. Robinson doesn't even get the simple details right (like the color of the Martian sky), and just makes other stuff up (like suit seals that can miraculously contain a a breathing atmosphere but are somehow permeable to particles 1000s of times as large as the molecules of the gasses they do not leak, and DNA-repair anti-aging miracles which more surprisingly than their success, have no impact on any of the obvious effects of DNA damage in aging). I suspect it's because he pulls hoity-toity popular/media-press-science catchphrases out of his butt and glues them together as though they explain the effects or developments he is describing (on the biology, physics, and chemistry, let me assure you that they do not. I can't comment on the geology).

The one-dimensional characters are also bewilderingly incompetent, even along their portrayed expertises - perhaps best highlighted by the overly detailed, pages long account of the "plucky engineer" risking life and limb in a desperate move to add supplemental solar panels to add even a whisper of additional power for her electric dirigible in a wind storm -- a dirigible which is carrying a cargo of ...wait for it... windmill-powered electric generators.

I signed up for goodreads, just so that I could rate this craptacular piece of tripe. If I could give this book a negative rating, I would. ...more

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May 05, 2014 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, audiobook, hard-sf, mars, space, near-space

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy is well-regarded by SF fans, but it didn't really live up to the hype for me, though it's an excellent entry in the hard SF genre. Robinson's prose is not as lyrical as Ray Bradbury's, but it's not as dry as Ben Bova's either. Red Mars seems to synthesize elements from all of Robinson's predecessors — it's a Heinleinesque adventure at times, with hard SF infodumps, but actual characters, and shout-outs to every author who's ever touched Mars, including Burroug Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy is well-regarded by SF fans, but it didn't really live up to the hype for me, though it's an excellent entry in the hard SF genre. Robinson's prose is not as lyrical as Ray Bradbury's, but it's not as dry as Ben Bova's either. Red Mars seems to synthesize elements from all of Robinson's predecessors — it's a Heinleinesque adventure at times, with hard SF infodumps, but actual characters, and shout-outs to every author who's ever touched Mars, including Burroughs.

Red Mars is the tale of the first Martian colony, and covers a couple of generations of history. The "First Hundred" who established the original settlement become larger-than-life, almost mythical figures to those who follow after them, but as Mars begins to be taken over by political and economic factions bringing old issues of exploitation and oppression (followed by resistance and terrorism) from Earth, the Hundred are just as conflicted and prone to squabbling and working at cross-purposes as all the other settlers.

Early on, there is a huge debate over terraforming Mars, eventually becoming a conflict between the "Reds" and the "Greens." Eventually other cultures arrive on Mars and have their own ideas of what it means to be a Martian settler. Muslims make up a substantial segment of the population, as do Russians and other nationalities, all wanting to have an equal stake in Martian society.

The ending shows the surviving members of the Hundred witnessing what happens after decades of emigration and development on Mars, with much of what has been built up brought down by an uprising among the children of Mars.

If you are a space exploration geek, and especially if you are one of those who still dreams of a Mars expedition in our lifetime, then Red Mars may fire you up with a realistic view of what emigration to Mars might actually look like. It is almost certainly not an accurate picture of what will actually happen, should we ever get that far, but it's a realistic picture of what could happen.

I give this book 4 stars for being one of the best Mars books out there, but 3 stars for enjoyment, because the story and the characters just did not grab me enough to wonder, "What happens next?" So, a 3.5 star book. ...more

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Dec 27, 2007 Mitch rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Powell's used book buyers

Shelves: action-adventure

Some interesting plot events (the space elevator, its destruction, the interplay between Earth and its "colony", some of the practical concerns about living on Mars [but not bathrooms]) cannot paper over the enormity of this book's mediocrity. Consistently boring word choice, ideas that get argued but not connected, looong descriptions of landscape that add nothing to the story, regular use of the run-on sentence and a general use of 10 words when one will do (JK Rowlings's editor...?). Only the ...more

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Jan 04, 2009 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: award-nominee-british-sf, award-nominee-hugo, award-nominee-nebula, award-nominee-locus, award-nominee-arthur-c-clarke, multiple-award-winners, multiple-award-nominee, award-winner-nebula, award-winner-britsh-sf, sf-explore-colonize-1st-contact, ebooks, james-tiptree-award-nominee, signed-first-or-limited-edition, audiobook

5.0 to 5.5 stars. It has been said before but it bears repeating...this is the BEST NOVEL on the colonization of Mars that has ever been written. For all of the technical informaiton conveyed and the "hard science" employed, the book is amazingly readable and the characters are very well drawn.

Winner: Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1994)
Winner: British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel (1993)
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1993)
Nominee: Arthur C. Clarke Awar ...more

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Oct 14, 2016 Rachel (Kalanadi) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, winners-nebulas

This was SO good! This is epic hard sci fi, where everything is large scale. It never lagged, I was always interested in each character and part of the story, and the final third was intense, exciting, and emotional. I can't wait for Green Mars!

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Mar 12, 2011 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-sf

The last long science fiction I read was Dune the year it came out. Then a long period of no science fiction, and in the past year a return to the genre. And one thing I have liked about the mid-century sf I have been reading is its low page count. Most of these guys, and so far I have read only guys, get the story done in under 300 pages. And I really go for the ones that clock in at around 180. There's a good idea, the story moves fast, outrageous things can happen but the story can also be qu The last long science fiction I read was Dune the year it came out. Then a long period of no science fiction, and in the past year a return to the genre. And one thing I have liked about the mid-century sf I have been reading is its low page count. Most of these guys, and so far I have read only guys, get the story done in under 300 pages. And I really go for the ones that clock in at around 180. There's a good idea, the story moves fast, outrageous things can happen but the story can also be quite moving.

Red Mars is 572 pages long, and it is only part one of a trilogy. (SF writers used to crank out short stories because they only got around a penny a word. Nowadays it seems that long novels in series is the way to go.) But by all reports, Red Mars, and the subsequent Green Mars and Blue Mars are good solid entertainment and a relatively realistic look at how human colonization of Mars might play out. On the cover of the copy I had, Arthur C. Clarke hailed it as "The best novel on the colonization of Mars that has every been written." I don't know how big or how seriously competitive that field is, but I can say that is the best novel on the colonization of Mars that I have ever read.

With 600 pages of narrative you expect some character development, a sense of history, and a good plot. Robinson creates good characters. When we fist meet them they seem destined to fill stereotyped slots in an sf novel of this kind: The ex-Astronaut who was the first man to land on Mars; the gregarious Russian who spouts revolution; the female scientist who believes Mars should remain essentially untouched played against the male scientist fixated on terraforming the planet; the diplomat; and, the difficult, Russian beauty who will allow for a certain amount of erotic tension, but not too much. But the story, told in long sections that focus on individual characters, is never formulaic. The novel follows competent people working hard in an alien environment where where everything around them is deadly.

One hundred of them set off for Mars, and the book covers about thirty years. And yes, at times I felt like I was plodding through a James Michener novel about Hawaii or Texas or The Holy Land. (That feeling could return if I read the next two in the series.) Critics praise Robinson for writing hard sf, science fiction where the writer uses a serious scientific background to develop the plot. Most of that is lost on me -- I never did understand the whole space elevator thing -- but I did enjoy the way the colonization developed from 100 dedicated scientists to tens of thousands of new immigrants, sent either by the homelands to secure a spot on the new planet, or the equivalent of wildcatters out to exploit the treasure trove of metals the planet holds.

There is a mystery, actually several mysteries, involved, and the political maneuvering that becomes part of the expanding society rings true to what one would expect in a world that is part research station, part boomtown, and part escape valve for an earth that is going out of control. I have to say, though, that one description of a Martian sunset is very much like another, and that we have better get busy with advancing robotic technology to get these guys settled on Mars by 2026.

James Cameron has Robinson's trilogy under option, which seems as inevitable as the fact that nothing will probably ever come it. It could be the next Battlestar Galactica, and I don't mean this as a spoiler, but,if they do the trilogy, a lot of actors are going to have only one year contracts. ...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Nathaniel rated it did not like it

Shelves: sci-fi, gave-up-on

As a matter of principle, I try not to review books that I don't finish. After nearly 300 pages of agony, however, I've decided to make an exception to that rule. I can't finish this book, but I can warn others not to read it. It's the least I can do.

In terms of plot and story, this book isn't *that* bad, and if that's all that was wrong with it I'd give it 2-3 stars. It's the type of sci-fi story that wins awards not because the story is any good, but because of how meticulously researched it i As a matter of principle, I try not to review books that I don't finish. After nearly 300 pages of agony, however, I've decided to make an exception to that rule. I can't finish this book, but I can warn others not to read it. It's the least I can do.

In terms of plot and story, this book isn't *that* bad, and if that's all that was wrong with it I'd give it 2-3 stars. It's the type of sci-fi story that wins awards not because the story is any good, but because of how meticulously researched it is. If you want a several-hundred page treatise on colonizing Mars: this book is for you. I was impressed with the level of detail in everything from the description of the trip to Mars to the lengthy descriptions of Martian topology.

Then again, "length descriptions of Martian topology" might not sound like much fun to read. And--trust me--it's not. Interspersed among these long passages describing Martian geography, attempts to create a greenhouse effect, and so on there is a story. Kind of. It's really just a meandering series of first-person narratives that are more of a travelogue than a novel. For the most part there's really no clear objective at all--or, when there is, the characters pursue it in the most circuitous route possible so that you can get more good Martian landscape descriptions--but when the plot is front-and-center the book really tanks.

Kim Stanley Robinson is the most clueless person who has ever imposed the misfortune on others of writing about economics. I'm an econ graduate student, so this might bug me more than you. You might not mind watonly atrocious economic theorizing, in which case this will be a 2-3 star book. (You might even really want a giant technical manual describing the colonization of Mars, in which case this would be a 4-5 star book for you.) But if you care about economics at all, then this is a 1-star book only because GoodReads doesn't allow you to give negative stars.

I don't mind political sci-fi, whether I tend to agree with it (as in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress) or disagree with it (as in The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia). What I do mind it *stupid* political writing (sci-fi or not) that utterly fails to understand the rudiments of the issue at hand, presents its case with all the cheapest tricks in the book, and then basically fails to actually prop up anything resembling a coherent, workable thesis. And that, in a nutshell, describes what happens in this book. Robinson gets the most basic elements of economics laughably wrong (he has no concept of what money is for, as an example). When he wants to criticize a viewpoint he disagrees with, he just creates an obnoxious, stereotypical character to represent it. And his own idea of ecologically-based economics (which isn't remotely original) is actually *less* well articulated and defended than works less than 1/10th this length.

My copy of this book is dog-eared where I wanted to come back and catalog Robinson's low points. At first they enraged me, but after a couple of hundred pages there was nothing to do but laugh. Unfortunately, the amusing rantings aren't quite enough to give me motivation to finish this book. But they did provide me the motivation to warn everyone else: steer clear! ...more

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Jun 30, 2007 Lobeck rated it liked it

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

I debated between a 3 and 4 on this book. The whole time I was reading the series, I was fascinated and bored at the same time. Kim Stanley Robinson gives a very realistic picture of the colonization of Mars beginning with the first hundred scientists, engineers, and other specialists who were selected to live on Mars. Everything from his descriptions of the clouds to his formula for transforming the atmosphere into something breathable are very accurate based on available information, and it wa ...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Apatt rated it really liked it

I have just returned from Mars.

Well, I haven't of course but it feels a little like that. I feel like I have been one of the pioneer colonists struggling to tame Mars for posterity. That is how immersive this book can be, though it is not actually quite so engrossing throughout every page but even to attain that level of engrossment at times is a significant achievement by the author.

I believe this is one of the most popular sf series ever, I have certainly seen it in many "best of" lists, each I have just returned from Mars.

Well, I haven't of course but it feels a little like that. I feel like I have been one of the pioneer colonists struggling to tame Mars for posterity. That is how immersive this book can be, though it is not actually quite so engrossing throughout every page but even to attain that level of engrossment at times is a significant achievement by the author.

I believe this is one of the most popular sf series ever, I have certainly seen it in many "best of" lists, each book in the series has awards up the wazoo. It is not Dune or Enders Game big but if those are XLs this series is definitely an L. Red Mars, the first volume of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy, falls into the subgenre of hard science fiction. It is set in the near future (2026), the science is based on and extrapolated from known science, there are no extraterrestrials, time traveling or FTL travels here.This may not appeal to scifi fans who read books to have their mind blown by bizarre goings on, but for me variety is what keeps sf from becoming stale. Another advantage of hard sf is that it requires very little in the way of suspension of disbelief.

What surprises me about this novel though is the amount of character development in this book, not a common feature of scifi in general, even less so for hard scifi. This is both a strength and weakness of the book because while it is good to be invested in the main characters the emotional scenes can descend into melodrama or even soap operatic. Interestingly considering that Red Mars is very hard sf, KSR clearly has a lot of respect to the Mars themed scifi classics like Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom / Mars books. Considering how much of the book seems to involve battle of the sexes I am glad he does not include any reference to that awful "Mars" book "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus".

On the world building and technological side I find it all very plausible and often vivid. One of my favorite scifi technology is the space elevator, popularized by Arthur C. Clarke's award winning The Fountains of Paradise which is due for a reread very soon. The achievements of the scientists / colonists in this book make me think of the amazing height mankind can achieve if we put our minds to it, and the almost inevitable fall from grace through our usual infighting and folly. The process of colonization, terraformation and chaos is very convincingly portrayed here. The politics and the colonists' fight for independence also bring to mind Heinlein's classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I am tempted to rate Red Mars at five stars but in all honesty there are some rather dull passages or chapters in this book. Looking at some of the less than enthusiastic reviews I came across quite a few comments along the line of "boring" and "like reading a text book". I don't really get the "text book" allegation as I don't think Robinson spends that much time explaining the techs, but I certainly find some of the arduous journey parts of this book almost interminable. If there is a major flaw in this book I believe it to be the pacing, occasionally it grinds to a halt or become rather turgid. This is not actually a deal breaker though, a lot of it is fascinating and very readable, you just have to be patient and not expect the story to be a pulse pounding page turner all the time. By the time I finished the book I realized the whole of it is greater than the sum of its parts, viewed as a whole in retrospect it is a very worthwhile read.

So I think a four stars rating is fair, and I look forward to reading the other two volumes. ...more

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Jan 27, 2010 Ken-ichi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: escape, science-fiction, environmentalism, to-reread, mars, terraforming, environmental-ethics, utopia

Red Mars deserves a place in the American literary canon, and not as an exemplar of "hard SF," scifi's most pocket-protected sub-genre, but as a compelling, substantive text that has something distinctive to say about life in the present and, perhaps, about being American. Let me fail to explain:

SPECULATIVE REALISM

Much as I detest "X is the new Y" comparisons and describing anything as "like Yelp for dogs" etc, Kim Stanley Robinson might be science fiction's George Elliot. Minute in attention, b ...more

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Nov 07, 2016 Sud666 rated it it was amazing

Kim Stanley Robinson has written one of the best hard sci-fi books I've read in a long time. It is all about the human colonization and habitation on Mars. It is a wonderful mix of science and political science, which is a rare combination in most sci-fi books.

Red Mars is a story that takes place over several decades. It starts with the first Hundred scientists who are the first ones to land on Mars. The mix of sciences run the entire gamut. This is not a story with Star Destroyers or Vulcans or Kim Stanley Robinson has written one of the best hard sci-fi books I've read in a long time. It is all about the human colonization and habitation on Mars. It is a wonderful mix of science and political science, which is a rare combination in most sci-fi books.

Red Mars is a story that takes place over several decades. It starts with the first Hundred scientists who are the first ones to land on Mars. The mix of sciences run the entire gamut. This is not a story with Star Destroyers or Vulcans or any such thing. The vast majority of the technology already exists or will exist in the near future. No need for as yet undiscovered sources of power or highly advanced technology. From terraforming, to modern technology used in innovative ways, to biological and chemical process-everything that is described is actually very plausible. There is also a great deal of information, told in the form of conversations, about how to go about settling in a place like Mars. Many of the things mentioned in this story smack of total realism. When humanity does eventually begin the settlement process on Mars, I am sure the vast majority of the development will mirror many of the things in this book. Perhaps, that is why I liked this so much. It is technical, but not overly so, and the "conversation" form of giving the information works well, in that the other characters can often ask pertinent questions to help a readers understanding.

But, it is the politics behind all the science that really made for a wonderful tale. As soon as the International team lands, fractures begin to develop. Some are political, while others are religious or even personal. In time we begin to see divergences from the American scientists and the Russians (this book was written in 1993- slightly after the end of the Cold War); the Muslims and everyone else; the UN competing against transnational corporations and the truly powerful nations of the world. Many people have their own agendas, and much of the idiocy of Earth- communism, religion, etc is recreating itself on Mars. Some of the more forward thinking scientists try to stave this off, but it is inevitable. While the politics side has some issues, overall it is well done and does reflect the likely outcome of different peoples supported by different countries.

As far as the characters, the main ones- John Boone, Frank Chalmers, Maya, Nadia, etc...none of them are particularly likeable. Some are truly despicable, but I will allow you to figure out whom too hate. While some of the interactions are beyond bothersome, Maya and Frank in particular are awful people, it never seems to be a soap opera. But, that was the one thing-I never really liked any of the main characters. Many of the secondary characters are well done, and likeable, but my empathy with the main characters was severely lacking.

Thus, we have a wonderful sci-fi book. If you are interested in a logical and fairly realistic look at the settlement and eventual terraforming of Mars, then this is a book you will truly enjoy. The mix of politics and its effects on the scientists is well done. This is a dense and heavy book, but one well worth the work. One of the best hard sci-fi books I've read in a long time. The best part is none of the things described are all that far away-everything in this book could be done with current, or near-future, technology. A great book if you are interested in Mars and the potential to turn it into a human colony. ...more

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Feb 11, 2015 Carolyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf

Red Mars is a big book in many ways. The first of a trilogy it imagines the first few decades of colonisation of Mars. It's a well thought out book taking into account the complexity of politics and religions that shape our life on Earth and how these divisions in human society will also affect life on Mars. Can I also whisper that I also found it just a little bit boring and slow in places. Not because of the detail that Robinson goes into describing the colonisation process, the geography and
Red Mars is a big book in many ways. The first of a trilogy it imagines the first few decades of colonisation of Mars. It's a well thought out book taking into account the complexity of politics and religions that shape our life on Earth and how these divisions in human society will also affect life on Mars. Can I also whisper that I also found it just a little bit boring and slow in places. Not because of the detail that Robinson goes into describing the colonisation process, the geography and landscapes of Mars or the details of the science involved in terraforming but because the style of the writing is just a bit flat and perfunctory. A lot happened in this book but the highs and lows are dampened. Which is odd, because the author choose to start the book with a major incident that occurs in the middle of the story when really there seems no rhyme or reason for it to be there out of context.Parts of the story are told from the POV of different characters and while this makes it more interesting, the tone is exactly the same, flat and slightly dry.

I was also a little disappointed that the first challenges of settling on Mars were somewhat glossed over. A hundred scientists and engineers were selected to form the first colony. They rapidly establish air-filled habitats, wear special skin suits to go out and explore Mars and quickly develop huge gardens of plants and trees. In some ways this book is the antithesis of The Martian, which in comparison to this was perhaps a little over-exuberant in tone, but dealt with important issues like generating oxygen and water, getting plants to grow in Martian soil, managing human waste and recycling.

Nevertheless, the scope of the book is impressive. I loved the details about the Mars landscape and the types of settlements that could be built there and the types of activities that could be undertaken to terraform the land. The tensions between the 'Reds', those who want to keep Mars as it is and stop the multinationals grabbing all its minerals and sending them back to a mineral-hungry Earth and the 'Greens', those who want to turn it into a version of Earth, highlighted the dilemma we will face if man ever does leave Earth to colonise another planet. How will we manage to organise a new society without taking our racial and religious tensions with us and how can we prevent the multinationals from taking control when so much money will be needed for such an enterprise?
3.5★ ...more

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Jul 10, 2008 Mykle rated it really liked it

Robinson's Mars trilogy is the worst kind of trilogy: it hooks you with an excellent first book, then drags you through an uneven second book and halfway through a kind of boring third book before you finally scream "ENOUGH! I will no longer particiapte in this trilogistic marketing conspiracy!" (Then you skulk off to watch Star Wars Episode 6, and get even more depressed.)

But Red Mars, the first book, is really wonderful. Like a lot of SF, it gets away with some flaws because the ideas are so e ...more

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May 02, 2014 J.L. Sutton rated it it was amazing

Red Mars is a fantastic beginning to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. The book is part science, part character study and a lot of adventure as mankind colonizes (and begins to change) the red planet. But it's not just Mars which is changed. Those who colonize Mars are profoundly impacted by the new environment as are the next generation (the real Martians who might be part of mankind's future?). Red Mars is not always an easy read, but it has a big payoff for those who stick with it! And the ...more

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Jul 12, 2016 Brad rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, audio-book

Third time through Red Mars, and I think I finally know why I love Kim Stanley Robinson's classic science-fiction book so much -- it reminds me who I am whenever I need a reminder.

Who am I? Naah. That's not for this review. What's important is how Robinson captures the voices of his characters. His book begins with the first hundred people colonizing Mars, and though he adds multitudes to those first hundred, he really only focuses on a limited bunch of the first hundred. This approach sets Red ...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Eric_W rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Stanley Robinson has written a very interesting series of novels (Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars) that speculate about what would happen should Mars be colonized. I have completed only Red Mars so far, but if the others are as intriguing as the first they will be well worth reading. Truly the book is a political treatise as much as an action science fiction novel. As soon as the first ship lands and the colonists begin to build a base they are bifurcated into two factions: those who would p Stanley Robinson has written a very interesting series of novels (Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars) that speculate about what would happen should Mars be colonized. I have completed only Red Mars so far, but if the others are as intriguing as the first they will be well worth reading. Truly the book is a political treatise as much as an action science fiction novel. As soon as the first ship lands and the colonists begin to build a base they are bifurcated into two factions: those who would preserve Mars in its pristine, primitive state, and those would want to begin the “” process that would try to recreate an earth-like environment. Both visions have a certain utopian quality to them. Earth has become overpopulated and hopes that Mars will solve some of its mineral scarcity problems. Soon the corporations have begun to dictate policy and by the end of the book a revolution is underway to cut the tie to earth and stop immigration of those looking for a way off the dying Earth. The original “ Hundred” become mythologized and after a treatment to prevent radiation illness turns out to virtually provide an unlimited life-span, they become revered (and feared — several are assassinated) for their supposed wisdom and insight. There is an underlying theme of the paradoxical utopian questions “ is to be done?” and “ have we accomplished?”

The story is told from several points of view and I found that of Nadia Chernyshevsky (most illuminatingly there is a Russian dissident named Chernyshevsky who wrote a volume of utopian fiction from prison entitled What is to Be Done? in the 1860s) the most compelling. She gains enormous satisfaction from the buildings and creations of her problem-solving accomplishments, but she is also sympathetic to the goals of the revolutionaries after it becomes evident how the political and ecological situation has deteriorated. The bad guys are clearly the multinational corporations who create their own security forces to suppress dissent and owe allegiance only to the profit motive. Another appealing character is John Boone (get the allusion?) who wants to build a better social fabric on Mars based on the physical realities of Mars, inevitably a harsh world. He becomes a wandering Socratic proponent of a plan for the new society. His answer is often to create dialogue among the many parties and in the end — nope I won’t tell what happens to him — tries to build a culture.

Robinson speculates throughout on what constitutes nature and speculates through the characters about whether we have an obligation or right to create or model the natural environment for our own purposes. ...more

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Dec 11, 2007 James rated it it was amazing

Shelves: culture-and-politics, science-fiction, general-science-math-technology, suspense-and-mystery, action, crime-and-forensics, environment-and-earth-sciences

A fantastic piece of work - to write this, the author had to have a solid working knowledge of a lot of fields, from cultural anthropology to psychology to astrophysics to chemistry to botany to... I don't know how he does it. And then to take the story and make it flow, weaving all those elements together and creating drama and tension - he's a master.

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Jun 21, 2016 Leo Robertson rated it it was amazing

This book reminded me that there's all kindsa pedants and d-bags on this site because it's an effing MIRACLE and anyone deigned to give it less than 5 stars like 'Hmmmm if I were going to dedicate myself to the massively complex and seemingly impossible task of crafting a compelling and plausible fictional narrative out of the colonisation of Mars I bet I could do it in just 550 pages, not 570. LAGGED. FOUR STARs.' Why don't you just go f*&£$*%&*???!!!

[Once again I give you the disclaime This book reminded me that there's all kindsa pedants and d-bags on this site because it's an effing MIRACLE and anyone deigned to give it less than 5 stars like 'Hmmmm if I were going to dedicate myself to the massively complex and seemingly impossible task of crafting a compelling and plausible fictional narrative out of the colonisation of Mars I bet I could do it in just 550 pages, not 570. LAGGED. FOUR STARs.' Why don't you just go f*&£$*%&*???!!!

[Once again I give you the disclaimer that I really just enjoy compiling whatever stream is going on in my head after reading a book. I freely admit I'm not doing the best job of evaluating this work fairly or informing you about whether or not you would like it. I'm not trying! And it's not that I'm failing because I'm not trying: I don't think those expectations, which I would want in a stranger's review, are something I can meet!!!]

Now, I went into this one with the expectation that someone who wrote a compelling novel about terraforming Mars would be really bad at people. I had to assume that was the only reason no one was raving about this trilogy. That's probably why I was surprised and delighted by the characters and Robinson's insight into them: their concerns, their passions, their not-infrequent hopelessness towards the task at hand... Having seen evidence of this, I overlooked something that is typical of a bad emotional craftsman, often seen in action films, which is the "emotional overshoot." Characters are irrationally angry at each other because the writer is scared that they haven't created decent conflict. But once I recognised I was reading this kind of book, I just dialled down the anger appropriately and I was back on track, for a decade-after-decade-long development of the main character, MARS, may she sail through our solar system proudly (loL), as she gained aquifers, crater cities, space elevators (what the eff are they by the way, I totally want to see that documentary about it because not only don't I get it but if you are a loved one of mine, you are forbidden from riding on one because they just seem terrifying- enjoyably terrifying in a book, though) as her atmosphere gained oxygen, as LIFE FOUND A WAY! Ohhhh, it was MAJESTIC!

The level of science introduced was pitch perfect, and never rambled on just for the author to prove to me how much he knew STEPHENSON; the drama of the characters was compelling; and Robinson got me asking so many questions about life on Mars, how it would function, whether or not there would be utter bastards on its surface, what it means to develop a culture, financially viable markets, political infrastructures, what it would mean spiritually and existentially to wake up on another planet, and how global movements form. We can conduct these thought experiments cleanly on other planets that don't yet have cultures, cities, communities, and learn more about our own examples of these on Earth, which we tend to think of as impenetrable messes built almost randomly from historical happenstance. And I wasn't even expecting these hugely compelling meditations!

Of course I will be reading the rest and I'm looking forwards to Green Earth too- but I don't deserve just to leap in straight away. I have to take some time to re-appreciate what an achievement each of these books will be before I get to read the next, because having settled into the prose of this one, I have expectations regarding the quality of the next. Isn't it weird how the boundaries of what we knew were possible can be surpassed and we just go 'DURRR again again or I'll shove you!!!!' *drops taco on dick*

I'm not highly recommending this though, because if you don't highly recommend it, I won't highly recommend you. It goes in the too-important category. And if you think that's a recommendation, well buddy: I like the cut of your jib!! ...more

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Nov 15, 2013 F.R. rated it really liked it

There is something so fascinating about Mars. In a way Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren’s visit was the worst thing to ever happen to the Moon, as it took away the mystique of it all. No longer was there any possibility that the moon was made of cheese; there were no Selenites or moon calves – there was just a fairly uninteresting piece of rock floating in our orbit. (That’s not to say that I wouldn’t want to go should the chance arise. If you are reading this with the intention of finding recruit There is something so fascinating about Mars. In a way Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren’s visit was the worst thing to ever happen to the Moon, as it took away the mystique of it all. No longer was there any possibility that the moon was made of cheese; there were no Selenites or moon calves – there was just a fairly uninteresting piece of rock floating in our orbit. (That’s not to say that I wouldn’t want to go should the chance arise. If you are reading this with the intention of finding recruits for the next mission to the moon [although, I’ll admit, the likelihood does seem unlikely] then please don’t write me off just yet. Get in touch, we’ll talk). But Mars still retains that fascination. In a large degree no doubt because no one has been there: it remains tantalisingly close but just out of reach. The various rovers which have gone up have sent back incredible pictures, so red and weird and different to what’s on Earth. Yes, we know there are no little green men, we know there are no Ice Warriors, we know the locals won’t refer to it as Barsoom – but we also know there’s a chance of microscopic life having evolved (which will blow apart our understanding of the universe), as well as a chance that one day we will have our own base up there and that’s good enough for me.

‘Red Mars’ is a book which definitively moves away from the fantastical Martian adventures of the past. It deals with man’s first colonisation of Mars and the way this new world develops under man’s hand. It aims for realism; it aims to marry hard science and fact to fiction. (I want to say that it stays grounded, but is that really an appropriate word to use about a book which includes spaceships and alien planets?) What I greatly admired about this novel, and what sets it apart from the other science fiction, I’ve read recently, is the amount of detail. Robinson has created a real world, one where every action has a consequence – where there are opposing dreams and compromises and reality that will crush down on hope, but hope remains. So yes, it’s a book about Mars, but it’s also about the way different styles of government develop, a sociological look at the evolution of society, an examination of how a melting plot can be made to melt (or whether everything stays bubbling on the surface). It’s a book which includes long sections on physics, chemistry, biology and the way the environment develops and, okay, at its slowest points can be a bit like reading a text book, but for the main part it’s absolutely fascinating.

And that’s because at its heart it’s a human story. The closest analogy I can make is that it’s like reading Russian literature in space. There’s the same vast array of characters (strong and resourceful men and strong and resourceful women, all of them flawed), there are competing agendas and viewpoints and ultimately an examination of society as a whole. The setting – and how fully realised that setting is - makes it more amazing to our eyes, but this is a tale about man and how he develops a world (be it Mars, or Earth), and how he dreams big but still crashes into his limitations.

I’m so looking forward to the second part of the trilogy! ...more

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Oct 05, 2007 Hillary Hall rated it really liked it

Since I talk about these books nonstop and everyone around me is tired of hearing about it, I figured it's time to write a review. They are totally, totally good. The premise is that 100 colonists travel to Mars in 2028 (or so) and create a life there... Immigration, transnational corporations, the UN, terraforming, politics, social change, revolution, more revolution, and liberal Martian hippies in low-g ensue, all across the span of 200 years. And since everyone lives a long time thanks to new ...more

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Jul 30, 2016 Sumant rated it did not like it

Shelves: not-completed

Lately I have been making bad choices for reading sci-fi books and this just adds into that pile, the last book which I read Endymion was a tiring book but at least I was able to finish that book, but in this case I am just giving up after reaching almost at the end of the book.

There many reasons I am stopping this book some of them are

1.Templated characters.

There is no difference between the varying characters present in this book, and this due to the fact that all of them speak the same langua ...more

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Jan 16, 2014 Claudia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, z-to-a-ksr

A stunning sociological and political sci-fi novel, following the first people on Mars and their struggles in establishing the colonies.

In each part, the narrator is focusing on a different character, observing her/him and the others through her/his eyes and the interaction between them. Religions, political views, personal beliefs, petty schemes, anguish, lust, love, selfishness, etc – are all observed through the participants’ eyes. You’ll be amazed by the colonists’ behavior and the results ...more

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About Kim Stanley Robinson

Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer, probably best known for his award-winning Mars trilogy.

His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the 15 years of research and lifelong fascination with Mars which culminated in his most famous work. He has, due to his ...more

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