Rating: 
Summary: A technological utopia
Review: Probably only someone with whose cultural roots lay in the Orient could have written this book. We Europeans (I am an Englishman living in Italy) are suspicious of technology. Americans are starry-eyed about it. Neither attitude is a recipe for living well in the next millenium. One of the things I found most interesting and refreshing in Robinson's novel is the totally *instrumental* attitude towards the (often formidable)technology deployed by the protagonists. From the 'air-mining' complexes to the robotic transports needed for the daunting task of founding the colony, the technical resources are completely taken for granted and are seen as having the fundamental task of freeing the human agents for more important intellectual and political decisions. For the First Hundred, their technology is as essential and invisible as the air they breathe - but, as in the spectacular destruction of the space elevator, it can be discarded in an instant if it seems to pose an obstacle to human progress or evolution. This in an immensely sane attitude to the technology that surrounds us and a blueprint for a richer, more harmonious future - Unabomber please read.
Rating: 
Summary: 2 Thumbs Up! Way Up!
Review: This book is one of the best pieces of literature ever written.
It contains some of the best plot lines ever. Whether or not you like Sci-Fi, Go out and read this book.
You won't be sorry for it.
This is a masterpiece and should have a place in eveyone's Library.
You feel like you're there with John and Maya, and
when the exictement in the book heats up, you find
yourself heating up too! You won't be able to pull away from this book.
I command you to go out and buy the book now.
Rating:
Summary: Narrative & the Alluvial Fan of Facts: MOBY DICK on Mars....
Review: "Information" is vital in the novel. Recall the vast quantities of whaling lore in MOBY DICK. This alluvial fan of facts, of information -- the residuum of the novel's narrative flow -- is characteristic topography for the genre. (Fantasy, thus, is heavily handicapped in the quest for true novelistic distinction.) RED MARS certainly remedies THAT, giving us facts, factoids, and information -- all we could want and more. The geology, climate, geography, and lore of Mars (etc., etc.) are the fabric of this epic. And curiously enough, when writing about rheology, lichen, and the like, Robinson often excels. Even in the hot-air balloon of prose he can rise into the empyrean of lyricism when writing about rocks or weather or agriculture. But there are problems. The ending of RED MARS is not so much weak as provisional, a rabbet joint between RED MARS and GREEN MARS. But the characters are memorable: Quirky, obsessed, burdened with the agendas that typically stigmatize highly intelligent persons, "The First Hundred" -- whose saga this nominally is -- are drawn with deftness and skill unusual in SciFi. Robinson's POLITICS is -- well, certainly NOT conservative. In The Mars Trilogy, as well as in his short stories, AND in his wonderful California Trilogy (set in a near-future California just north of San Diego, after a "nuclear truck attack" has returned survivors to the land and the sea for sustenance), Robinson explores THE LIMITS OF LIBERTARIANISM -- mixed with a love for what one loses in renouncing it. The premise of a powerful Soviet-style communism (the Russians are partners in the technology and financing needed to colonize "Red Mars") is now anachronistic, of course -- but we should recall that "socialism," even "communism," is not dead, and Robinson needs the viewpoint to set up and enliven the novel's "meta-plot": The colonists' struggles to govern themselves and to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Remarkable in its minutiae, RED MARS attains, in its bigger themes, a sweep, grandeur, and meaning that are rare. It is "hard" SciFi with a "soft" heart -- somewhere in there
Rating:
Summary: An excellent thinking-person's sci-fi novel.
Review: This novel is one of the best science fiction novels I've read in years - I do not give 9's lightly. Part of the allure is that the story is written in a way that is quite plausible, and excites the imagination in those of us who think somewhat realistically about space exploration. This is not a story about three-eyed, green furred aliens, not that those don't have good points, but it gives a realistic and exciting version of a very possible future.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but anyone who rates this less than a seven probably just didn't get it. I've read "Green Mars", which is also quite good, and I can't wait until "Blue Mars" comes out in paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: A cliched, unscientific and boring tale of colonization.
Review: I had high hopes for this one, but they came crashing down soon after I began to read it. I did persevere and finish it, but regretted it. The characters (and it tries very hard to be a character study kind of novel) are one-dimensional and unbelievable (and I mean that in the worst way). The "science" is laughable and its perpetuation of national and religious stereotypes is inexcusable in a genre based on progressive thinking
Rating: 
Summary: Some compelling moments, but realism lacking
Review: This Mars-colonization story is of rather uneven quality; though fascinating in places, it drags in others. It is at its best in telling of first year of settlement - a rich depiction of a complete city and society being fashioned from sand, air, and a hundred people. This section is one of several short novellas into which the book is divided, and is a worthwhile effort in itself. Other chapters are less flattering to the human race - and to the author, who seems better at showing creation than destruction.
Apparently Robinson intended this novel to be of the ultra-realistic hard-sf type, but that's a goal it falls well short of. There are blunders here that Arthur C. Clarke would never make (even a windmill-powered aircraft, for goodness sake!) and the numbers don't appear to have been checked against real scientific laws. It's too bad the author seems to have lacked the technical background necessary to attempt a project like this.
Rating:
Summary: Great idea, great descriptive skills; poor plot,characters.
Review: I was impressed with Kim Stanley Robinson's knowledge of Mars but I felt he really did not have a handle on the characters and the plot. The focus on environment, i.e., the Red Planet, left the characters undeveloped, the plot meandering. Robinson could have used a good copy editor to tighten this work up. I think he has the same weakness as other hard science fiction writers, such as Arthur C. Clark, in that they are superb in describing the science and how things work but leave much to be desired in characterization and plotting. Because it was such hard going I do not have much of an urge to read the two other books in the triology
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Book
Review: It's one of the most compelling books in Science Fiction and in Literature. It depicts the lifes of the first colonists in Mars. How they strive to survive in an alien world. How they make it their own with the time. It is also a struggle of power and interest. It is a view of how we can change a planet. It is also about politics and human interactions. About how people change over the time. It tells us about all the conflict a new society goes through. If I had to pick only one book from any genre in literature it would be Red Mars
Rating:
Summary: utterly immersive, reality-based sci-fi
Review: Put simply, this is a thouroughly satisfying read for anyone who wonders what mankind's first interplanetary foray might _actually_ look like. Robinson's mastery of technology speculation is showcased on nearly every page, but he does not fall into the trap of sacrificing character development for plot acceleration. The personalities and conflict among the "First One Hundred" explorers help draw you in rather than distract you from rendering the stark beauty of a planet you've never seen up close
Rating:
Summary: A hard-science sf treat
Review: Robinson is one of those rare authors that does not write in a pretentious fashion yet nevertheless manages to leave you in awe of his genius. The ideas in this trilogy (Green Mars and Blue Mars follow) flow fast and thick. The well thought out and apparently plausible description of terraforming is merely the beginning. By the time the trilogy finishes, Robinson has taken us on journeys exploring the human psyche, the politics of a new world and the geology of the solar system.
Better yet, the writing is superb. As he first demonstrated in his Three Californias series, Robinson has a knack for character development and 'atmosphere' that leaves you blinking in surprise at reality when you finally surface from his hard-to-put-down plots.
A must read for any fan of hard sf, good writing or speculative fiction of the near future.
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