SciFi and Fantasy eBook Club discussion

This is one of those series that seems to divide people on those who despise it and those who love it. I fall into the latter category and have read the series 3 or 4 times now. Personally, I love the initial period when they first land on Mars and are trying to carve out a permanent shelter. The mix of hard science and socio-political issues never fails to intrigue me.

The science used by Robinson makes the book feel very real. The politics and social issues are what keep bringing me back to reread the series.

I agree with you Geoffrey. RED in particular had a lot to offer, and the near-future realism adds a lot to the impact of the story. The political issues felt immediate and relevant, and the science not too implausible. I felt GREEN & BLUE diverted further into Robinson's own flavor of SF, and went in a direction I was not interested in. The whole series is good, but I am not a big Robinson fan. His other SF stories, loosely set in the same premises, do nothing for me.

I'm coming a bit late to the discussion, but I just started reading Red Mars. I'm only one or two chapters in but I have to say, so far I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting an exciting story of adventure, exploration and danger. Instead is seems a rather dry and uninteresting (to me at least) tale of politics and betrayal.

Am I unfairly prejudging this book? Does it get "better" as it progresses? Or is this book likely just not for me?

It's like reading a semi-realistic account of astronauts on Mars, and how over the years they change the planet and their relationship with each other and with Earth. It's not really an adventure in the traditional genre sense, but early on in the story some adventuring occurs, and there's always danger - from the climate and from other humans.

I meant to start on the 15th, but will start today. I'm excited because this is a series--and an author--I've long meant to read--a lot of catching up to do. Sounds like this book elicits intensity, both pro and con.

It does, Mallory. I've read scathing reviews and commentaries on this series as well as adoring ones. I overall love the series, but there are some parts I can easily do without.

I began this series in the middle, as Green Mars was the factor which most interested me, with the progress of terraforming and growing Earth plants. Then of course I had to buy the other two books.

Red Mars should be taken somewhat separately as the book is very much dominated by Earth, the journeys to Mars and radiation threat, and the pressure of building a safe habitation. Only when all that is accomplished can the real Mars adventure of the next two books get under way.

However Red Mars is vital to introduce the characters, who are able to remain with us through the device of artificially extending lifetimes. Thus they continue to present to us the arguments and counter-arguments surrounding terraforming a planet which we have barely begun to study.

Thanks, Clare! That helps. The extension of lifetimes is also a prominent theme in The Abyss Beyond Dreams: A Novel of the Commonwealth--a book with which I am totally enraptured--where it is done for the purpose of divergent experience.

I think Red Mars stands out as one of the more memorable series starts in recent SF. It is a reasonably plausable and pretty hard SF account of people moving to mars and making it livable. I did not feel the need to read beyond the first book and I did find it lagged in places but thought it was an enjoyable and interesting exploration.

Also it kind of highlights lots of the reasons why we do not get all that much hard SF - namely that it takes a lot of work to get the science right and that in a proper exploration of the science involved it can sometimes get in the way of a more character/narrative centred plot.

One of humanity's most resilient dreams, going for the stars, meets with the science it would take to make such dream come true in Red Mars. I was blown away by this book, by the courage and solid research it takes to envision the terraforming of Mars. And entirely believable too! The politicking is real, the challenges have reasonable solutions. You get the fact that it's still SF and hard, and dangerous, but Robinson makes it seem doable and manageable and real.

I loved the novel, read the second part Green Mars but didn't touch the third novel, yet. You can read the novel standalone - there is no cliffhanger and you don't need to continue reading the other parts of the trilogy.


KSR tends to write very dry Hard SF novels, mixing several topics like geology, sociology etc. into one large opus.
I find this immensely fascinating but I can see where lots of people don't like his work.

I've written a longer review going through the novel's seven parts in detail. Maybe you find it helpful.

For a good contrast, try Andy Weir's The Martian

I read Red Mars a while ago, but I really enjoyed it. It took quite a while for me to read as it's more thought-provoking than a page-turner. At the moment, I am trying to read Green Mars. Struggling a bit with that one.

I liked the political aspects of Red Mars. I also found the sociological aspects interesting. The ideas around a new mythology forming I found very intriguing and how even in the hyper-scientific crowd, myths start to form. I thought it was an interesting contrast with Shaman also by KSR, but at the other end of history with similar themes.

Clare wrote: "For a good contrast, try Andy Weir's The Martian
"

I think The Martian's over hyped and Red Mars is underrated. Red Mars is the only book on Mars for me.