2312 in Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy

Mar 08, 2013 Alicja rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorite-covers, male-author, science-fiction, post-lgbt, speculative-fiction, space-opera, arec-for-t, sff

rating: 4/5

This is a hard review to write. It was a hard start, the first 100-150 pages were slow and boring and tempted me to abandon it a few times. But I heard so many wonderful things about the writer so I forced myself to keep going, at least a little bit longer and...

After the incident that forces Swan and Wahram into the tunnels the pace and plot picked up a bit. And then the flow and style of writing started to wash over me, trap my mind within its brilliant world. Robinson creates an am ...more

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Oct 20, 2024 Joe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, read-in-2024, hugo-nominee, apl, nebula-nominee, nebula-winner

Happy to have read this after trying one earlier work from KSR that had not worked for me as well.

Incredibly rich world and packed with endless ideas. Some shortcomings with plot and ending, but i just enjoyed being immersed in this universe for a while.

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Dec 27, 2012 John rated it liked it

2312 is the latest entry in the Kim Stanley Robinson universe spawned in "Red Mars" and continued through "The Martians." Being beyond even the super extended lives of the cross-book protagonists of previous volumes, we are introduced to an entirely new cast of characters. These center primarily on Swan Er Hong, granddaughter and heir to the latest and recently deceased Lion of Mercury. Primarily an artist and carefree spirit who previously worked on the many terrariums which now orbit the sun, 2312 is the latest entry in the Kim Stanley Robinson universe spawned in "Red Mars" and continued through "The Martians." Being beyond even the super extended lives of the cross-book protagonists of previous volumes, we are introduced to an entirely new cast of characters. These center primarily on Swan Er Hong, granddaughter and heir to the latest and recently deceased Lion of Mercury. Primarily an artist and carefree spirit who previously worked on the many terrariums which now orbit the sun, Swan is reluctantly drawn into the intrigues of her late grandmother. This small group of individuals, carefully avoiding the normal communications net, has begun to amass evidence of a conspiracy against the Mondragon (the very loose trading alignment of ex-colonies beyond Earth). Details are sketchy, but it appears to be connected to a highly unauthorized and highly dangerous number of agents who appear to be human, but are actually creations of and repositories for intelligent AI's -- the same kind of AI's that run so much of the day to day existence of humans across the solar system. Linked unexplained attacks on a terrarium and on Swan's home city of Terminator bring home the humanity's vulnerability and hone the group's desperation to unmask the conspiracy before larger havoc is wrought.

The many characters both major and minor slowly piece together this three dimensional puzzle, taking us literally from asteroids inside the orbit of Mercury to the frozen fields of Titan where even here, humanity is working epically to terraform a home. And, of course, much of the problem is connected to Earth. It's an Earth where the promise of reform and openness hinted at a century ago (@end of Blue Mars) has yet to be realized; an ecologically devastated homeworld groaning under it's teeming billions and 10 meter sea level rise.

There are flaws with this book - the economics of the solar system are still quite fuzzy, as are some of the particulars of the technologies and terraforming. Worse still, I don't actually *like* many of the characters featured - least of all the main protagonist - but she merely super-exemplifies the petulant, bohemian, self-absorbed, trans-gendered, labor-phobic extra-terrestrial humans that largely populate Stanley's 24th century. Lastly, the plot meanders often, taking more than a few detours and dead ends through duller spots.

Having said all that, the book is still marvelously engaging. Robinson shows us the "accelerando" from the end of the last trilogy here in full bloom: asteroid terrariums, hollowed out and spinning for gravity, each one a self contained biosphere and society ranging from the mundane to the exotic. Many of these terrariums are doing dual duty as travelling conduits between the various ex-colony worlds scattered from Mercury to the moons of Neptune, which are themselves exceedingly diverse and fascinating in their detail. Even Venus at last is being changed to habitable under dueling and simultaneous terraforming strategies (fast and friendly enough to get more people off the Earth quicker, or slower and more drastically/thoroughly to make a more Earth-like planet). It is perhaps only because the settings become so vivid that I find myself wanting to know more of the hows and whys and thus finding a few loose ends.

All in all, anyone who either enjoyed Robinson's 'Mars' trilogy, or appreciates SF where an author creates a vivid and different universe for their characters to inhabit should enjoy the book. ...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Linda rated it liked it

I love the concepts and issues that Stanley Robinson chooses to address in this book. Really thoughtful approach to issues such as gender identity, global warming, space colonization, class warfare. And the writing itself is rich, very lyrical and complex. But I struggled with the looseness of the plot. I often felt like I was reading and reading and reading and not getting anywhere. It was a relief to finally come to the end and get some closure on the story. In some ways it reminded me of a Ne ...more

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Feb 11, 2013 CJ rated it it was ok

Shelves: science-fiction, i-own-a-physical-copy, women-writers

Guilty of choosing this one for the cover. It's quite gorgeous, isn't it? I just couldn't get into this one, the writing is too stilted and uncomfortable. The premise was an interesting one, but executed poorly. ...more

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