Red Mars (Mars Trilogy)

(This was my favorite book of 2022, a year when I read 100 books!) I read this book because it's the gateway to Green Mars and Blue Mars, both of which are on my to-read list as I work my way through all the novels that have won the Hugo Award. I absolutely loved it! It's much better than some other Hugo winners I've read; 1993 was apparently a competitive year, with two winners ("A Fire Upon the Deep", which I liked, and "Doomsday Book", which I haven't read yet) taking Red Mars' place. I finished this book really excited to continue on to read its Hugo-winning sequels! *BRIEF SYNOPSIS: This book delivers the quintessential sci-fi story that continues to inspire and drive humankind: what will happen when we finally manage to settle on Mars? Set in the mid-2000s (remember that the book was published in 1992), "The First Hundred" scientist colonizers emerge from a rigorous selection process and embark on the year-long voyage to the Red Planet. Comprised of 50 men and 50 women, all of them exceptional in their fields, the crew successfully lands and establishes the first permanent human Martian colony. Rifts among the First Hundred soon emerge as they plot a path forward for the planet, and as more colonists arrive each of the Hundred (now celebrities on both Earth and Mars) acquires more power and influence to push forward their various agendas. Debates rage as some want to gain corporate influence, terraform the planet, preserve Mars' natural environment, secede from Earth, establish independent cities/colonies, etc. These rifts play out over the course of decades as more and more people come to Mars, and the plot eventually culminates in a hugely destructive revolutionary war attempt, with members of The First Hundred in the leadership on both sides. *Top-Notch Tribal (then Global) Politics: While the book's Martian setting and advanced technology inherently tag it as a sci-fi novel, the underlying interpersonal and political dynamics are the beating heart of the story. It is absolutely full of internecine debates on the personal, national, and planetary scale. I knew I was going to love the book from the first chapter, when one of the characters wanders around a Martian bubble city and comments on the disagreements that have sprung up between the city's American and Saudi Arabian residents. Political intrigues on both Earth and Mars define the story, kicking off in the early chapters when readers become aware that The First Hundred were selected to represent specific member states (35 Americans, 35 Russians, and 30 from diverse nations), and that two of the main characters (Frank and Maya) respectively represent these nations. Key debates that define the story include: -The creation of a "Martian Society", including whether or not it should continue to support and rely upon corporate capitalism. It even extends to things like the architecture of Martian buildings! -Whether or not Mars should be terraformed, and how much; -The extent to which the Martian colonists should be beholden to UN directives; -Violent disagreements between North/South nations back on earth, including the preservation of Antarctica and the corporatization of Mars; -And a whole slew of complicated friendships, romantic relationships, and one-on-one personal rivalries between the members of the first hundred, including between Frank and John, between Ann and Sax, and between Arkady and Hiroko and (basically) everyone else. *Excellent Characters: Each section of the novel places a different member of The First Hundred in the first-person narrator role, so we see them play off one another in compelling ways as the story progresses. Each of them are compelling individuals that add critical insights to the unfolding story. I personally enjoyed the bits about Frank's bureaucratic wrangling with earth as the longstanding "Secretary of Mars" for the U.S., Ann's commitment to fighting terraforming efforts, Nadia's mechanical genius, and Arkady's constant societal insights. *Awesome Commentary on Humanity: The story is full of canny insights into mankind's penchant for disagreement and conflict, including/especially in crisis situations. I don't hold with the idea that "conflict forces people to work together" (I think the national and international divisions that emerged over COVID-19 are reflective of that), and Robinson seems to me to make a similar point in Red Mars. (By the way, this is also a key reason why I like Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem so much.) *Fantastic Sci-Fi Moments: The novel's greatest contribution to sci-fi, I think, is in going to such lengths to explore and describe the planet to its readers. We become more and more exposed to the entirety of Mars' surface as the story progresses, and descriptions of its canyons and glaciers and mountains are pretty profound. I loved vicariously exploring our neighbor-planet as the story unfolded. Other notable sci-fi bits included: -The biochemical terraforming of Mars; -"The Immortality Plague": a genetic engineering method that allows the First Hundred to live beyond their natural lifespan (and its attending effects on mankind's problems); -The creation of the Space Elevator (out of an asteroid that they lure into Mars' orbit as a third moon); -The saboteur-driven destruction of Phobos during the revolution. I could (obviously) rant and rave about this novel for a long time, and I'm SO curious to see what happens next. An enthusiastic five stars for great political/interpersonal intrigue and some great sci-fi.

Possibly the best of the trilogy, which is the best concerted effort to write about the settlement of Mars. Far better than Ben Bova's trilogy. But by the 2020s it's very archaic, especially the politics. Still eminently readable. For a good companion, read The Colonisation of Mars by Larry Richardson, which holds up far better over 15 years later. Also, the Kindle version of Red Mars has missing words and misspellings, though not outright typos.

Undoubtedly one of Kim Stanley Robinson's best works, Red Mars is a masterpiece in every respect. Sweeping changes are occurring on Mars throughout the story, but underneath it all, Robinson is careful not to lose sight of the human condition. One thing that Robinson does so well in his novels is to tell gripping, fully-realized character-based stories. Though many of his works fail to climax in a tense, page-turning fashion, readers still find themselves flipping page after page, and falling deeper and deeper into the characters. Red Mars uses these characters in excellent fashion, as we get into the minds of Maya Toitovna, and John Boone, the first man on Mars. We also see the seedier lives, in the personas of Frank Chalmers and even a bit of Ann Clayborne, Mars' first Red. All of these characters have interesting, intriguing stories that live through their personalities. Kim Stanley Robinson fleshes out the characters so well in fact, it's hard to believe they're not real people. Red Mars feels like more of an historical recounting than a tale about the future colonization of Mars. So the question is, would I recommend this book? Not to just anyone. Robinson is one of those authors the reader has to appreciate. If not a dedicated bibliophile, the reader may not enjoy Robinson's work, as often, they are not terribly exciting books, but rather, intricate studies of the human mind and spirit, and about our connection to the world we live in. They're nearly philosophical in context, and a thoughtful reader will find themselves reexamining their views and opinions about a great many things when reading Robinson's work. It makes for great reading, but not average excitement. So if you enjoy a fantastic book, and like to be challenged into thinking new thoughts, and most especially, have never read Red Mars you must do so immediately.

Amazing level of details from so many different aspects, I love it. It make me stop and wonder sometimes. Definitely worth reading.

Let's face it, we read and read and read, but most books we forget in a week or two. Not here. This is SciFi of the grant format. Characters with depth placed in a situation and timespan that gives them breathing room. And Kim Stanley Robinson is a very gifted writer, evident in his other works (2312 is another joy to read). In any genre his books would be hits. There is simply that raw talent to create sagas and tell them in a manner that capture the reader. I raced through this book and went directly to Green Mars. The story shows many parallels to our current world crisis in that prophetic manner only SciFi can offer. Essentially we are dealing with the struggle of greed against human needs through the paradigm shift of power from governments to international industry and the prize is a planet. What makes the story so wonderful to read is the detailed understanding of the environments Robinson's 100 pioneers need to come to terms with.

Gostei bastante da forma como a trama se desenrola e as características de cada personagem aparecem e evoluem ao longo da estória. Nos faz nos empolgarmos como o desfecho que dos dramas individuais de cada personagem e nos deixa com vontade de continuar lendo para sabermos mais. A forma de exploração e assentamento em Marte é bem plausível assim como as questões éticas a cerca da terraformação do planeta. O livro foi escrito há bastante tempo e embora a ciência tenha avançado bastante em alguns temas em relação à data de publicação, o livro continua atual.

There are lots of stories of meetings with strange alien creatures, and battles in space, etc. This is not one of those books. Red mars reads like high grade historic fiction, about the future. The Book is strongly character driven, and manages to surprise without ever feeling planned or contrived. The descriptions are often long and heavy on science, so if you are hoping for a light read with action scenes etc try somewher else. If you are looking for a book that weaves togeather the lives of dozens of distinct and memorable characters, showing both their strengths and weaknesses and how the two are one and the same, with an accurate depiction of physics, history, biology and trust, then this is a book worth reading. I swear the author must have had at least a dozen PhD's to write this thing.

La verdad es uno de los libros más aburridos que he leído, esperaba mucho y no lo recibí, además esta muy largo.