Status Updates From Marte Rosu

Well, the plot has picked up a bit. But the characters are still flat. I appreciate the complexity of this book more than I like it. But it is worth reading (for me).

There appears to be an actual plot forming. Let’s see if it continues. The book is amazing. But it does not do what most fiction does. It takes more willpower for me to read it. But it is fascinating.

The book is trending towards three stars. But I'm just shy of 50% the way through. It's the lack of character writing that has made it hard for me to read this book.

You can tell what is important to an author by where they focus their attention. It is clear by the way Robinson writes that people are not that interesting to him. The characters are flat. Politics, the environment, Mars itself and science are what interests the author. If those things overlap your interests, the book is brilliant. If you need the author to be interested in people, this book will drive you crazy.

This book moves between long scientific asides, geology,politics, and very little traditional story telling. Almost zero character writing. Lots of problem solving, but written dryly. This is not a book for someone wanting to feel what the characters feel or to get a dopamine hit.

The thought and detail in the book are quite impressive and the portrait of Martian settler life. And so far the book has not really involved my emotions at all. It is like I am reading a history or textbook. It is fascinating but not interesting fiction.

The early part of the book alternates between personal story, science and politics. The transitions are clunky and I am not emotionally invested in anyone yet.