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Summary: The "Mars Series" is great for the teenage male in your life
Review: The three books in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars Trilogy" are my absolute all-time-favorites. He is truly gifted at writing about advanced science and technology and equally adept at creating "real" characters, because he understands psychology. This is a rare talent: to be scientifically knowledgable and a master at creating believable characters. The books are part action, part scientific explanation (like Michael Crichton of Jurassic Park fame), and part character development. In "Red Mars" (the first in the series) Robinson paints a totally believable picture of what our future might be like as we get ready to explore and colonize Mars. Mega-corporations, earthly power struggles, and the selection process for determining who might get to be the first to go to Mars, are all very possible and Robinson crafts a story around these topics with ease. In the second book, "Green Mars," Robinson portrays the struggle to get vegetation growing and to create a breathable atmosphere. He also describes more political struggles between those on Earth and those on Mars. This was probably my favorite of the three, but mainly because I am more interested in the science that would be needed in this phase of colonization. In the third book, "Blue Mars," the planet become more Earth-like. The atmosphere is more developed, water travel becomes possible, and more. (I don't want to give it all away!) The books can be kind of scholarly at times, but I was so impressed with these books that I gave them to my teenage brother. He was so impressed with them, that he gave them to one of his very best pals. And we all had a blast discussing them together. If there is a teenage male in your life -- or if you love sci-fi and have always wondered what it might be like to go to Mars -- then this trilogy is definitely for you. Very highly recommended!
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Summary: Hang on to the bright spots...
Review: Green Mars, like Red Mars before it, is a very realistic novel about what we might expect an actual Mars colonization to be like. As such, it sometimes plays more like a documentary rather than a novel, an approach which has obviously impressed as many readers as it has disappointed. For me, the book was almost too true to life in many ways. Business dealings, political bickering, flawed characters ... I could get any of these from TIME magazine. Bright spots included our look at how Mars itself is changing physically and some of the technology available to the characters. Robinson's treatment of the character's incredibly extended age is worthy of a novel in itself, especially the memory lapses and deja vu. Overall, an above average novel. Although it gets bogged down (for me anyway) in geography and politics, there are enough bright spots to make it a good read.
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Summary: A masterpiece of hard SF...
Review: Let's be clear: this book is long, incredibly in-depth and can be hard work to read. While reading its predecessor, I had to put it down for a while before finishing, and this book is a worthy sequel to Red Mars. That being said... it is absolutely a masterpiece. The characters are deep, the science is dead-on and the story is a broad, grand arc encompassing many small events in an overall future history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it's my favorite of the trilogy. Just be ready to take your time.
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Summary: Mars' greening is long and tedious
Review: Using Heinlein's classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress as a blueprint, Robinson tries to portray a second Martian revolution in this sequel to his brilliant novel, Red Mars. Disappointingly, this volume is almost completely consumed by character and setting, perhaps trying to make up for the shortage of action, which doesn't really take off until the last few dozen pages. Admittedly, the crisply drawn characters and realistically invoked Martian landscapes were perhaps the best parts of the earlier book, but readers may remember that some of the best characters from Red Mars were killed off, and the new characters introduced are remarkably wooden and dull, while their contributions to the plot are so negligible that one suspects they were added merely as padding, and not because they needed to be there. As a result, this novel takes forever to get moving - the first 470 pages could easily be cut to a quarter of that length without any harm to the story whatever. In Red Mars the interior monologues informed the readers of the action taking place as well as providing intimate portraits of the men and women who colonized the planet. In this installment the monologues seem more like vague ruminations that don't move the plot at all (the first sentence of this review tells you more about the plot than the first couple of hundred pages of this tome), nor do they tell us anything terribly interesting about the characters, let alone make us like them. Robinson clearly had enough material here for a very short novel, and filled it out with the same techniques that worked so well for him in Red Mars, but by keeping the plot effectively a secret from his readers, he leaves us with nothing to do but admire the scenery and listen to some fairly unpleasant (even fanatical) people. While not exactly a bad book, it's a serious letdown from the majesty of Red Mars.
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Summary: Best of Three...
Review: Green Mars is the best of a great Trilogy. Fast paced and once again depicting vividly imagined Martian vistas this book is the quickest read of Robinson's Trilogy. Also, with the introduction of several new characters Robinson continues to explore in immense detail how people are constantly shaping Mars...and how Mars returns the favor to those living on her.
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Summary: Tolerable middle
Review: Robinson's Mars Trilogy begins as admirably written hard science fiction, based for the most part on physics and geology. As the story progresses, the plot is based more and more upon Robinson's previous suppositions than on fact - in short, he begins to extrapolate. By the last page of the last book, we're asked to believe that human beings can postpone death almost indefinitely, have solved the problem of war, and are ready to colonize space, all in about three hundred years. My willing suspension of disbelief wore out about two-thirds of the way through the last book.
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Summary: Second volume in Mars series
Review: The colonists revolt has been crushed and Earth's metanational corporations now control the planet. The "first hundred" colonists have been forced underground and bide their time before organising another attempt to gain independence and control their own destiny and that of Mars. In style, this is much like the previous instalment, Red Mars. It is slow moving and filled with loving geological and geographical descriptions of the planet. Again, hard core sci-fi fans will enjoy this book however personally I found it at times long drawn out and tedious.
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Summary: SOMETIMES REVOLUTIONS DO COME TRUE
Review: The first book of Kim Stanley Robinson's epic trilogy, RED MARS, wone the 1993 Nebula Award for Best Novel. This sequel, GREEN MARS, won the 1994 Hugo Award. Except for the last Hugo, which went to a Harry Potter novel (something which will taint the award forever), this award is not given lightly. Green Mars deserved all the honors that could be heaped upon it. In some ways it reminds me of Peter Jackson's Two Towers film, in that it is a middle chapter in a much greater landmark saga. Green Mars starts out about 40 years after the failed revolution by elements of the original settlers to free itself of the rule of Earth. That revolution caused much destruction and thousands of deaths but in the end it failed. It failed because there was no coordination among the disparate groups. Some were fighting to keep Mars as it was, some to change it, some were out merely to seize power for themselves. Now the legendary First Hundred settlers have been hunted down and reduced to just 39. Those that are alive must live in secret sanctuaries hidden throughout the landscape or take on fake identities. And all the while, Mars is beginning to show life on its surface. Hope springs eternal, for the metanational corporations, the real force that controls Mars, from Earth, are about to embark on a civil war amongst themselves. Also, a new generation of Martians are coming of age and doing something their predecessors didn't. Organizing themselves into a united and coordinated front. Establishing goals and having patience for the right moment to strike. Kinda like a twelve step program for revolution. In Green Mars, different parts of the book are divided into the perspective of the various characters. Nirgal, the first to be introduced, is a young ectogene, a cellular descendent of the First Hundred, who is taught by Hiroko, the weird and reclusive religious cult figure from the first book. He will try to be the bridge between the old and the new Mars, gathering support from the young generation who see themselves as Martians, not settlers. Art Randolph is from Earth, sent by the CEO of Praxis, a leading metanational company, to infiltrate the underground movement of Mars. His mission is not to harm it, but to help it. Sax Russell's identity is changed by plastic surgery so he can spy on the metanationals. Ann Clayborne, the eco-terrorist from the first book must find her will to fight again. Maya Toitovna must come to terms with her past and find the ground to stand on to become a leader for the new generation as well. Only together will all these elements, will all these different camps be able to defeat the powers of Earth. This book was great. Robinson's science fiction is not that of Star Wars. His vision of Mars is something to me that could truly happen. In fact, these books have read like future history, if there is such a thing. The settlers didn't land on Mars to fight aliens. They had to fight about what they wanted their world to be like in terms of politics, environment, and society, freedom. This book is a good treatise on what it takes to make a revolution. I mean, to make a good one. The book is really about finding commonality and being able to act as one. Kim is a masterful studier of character. There is no cuteness as in immature sf writers who know nothing of relationships except what they see in movies. This book is strong. It cannot be read alone though, meaning Red Mars must be read first. In some ways, reading this book is like looking at the problems faced by our founding fathers 200 years ago. The formation of a nation. Seek this book out.
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Summary: Excellent sequel
Review: "Green Mars" is a very well-written sequel, and it will definitely satisfy anyone who really liked "Red Mars". Much of the book focuses on the continuing terraforming effort on Mars. Near the start of "Green Mars", we are introduced to some of the new tactics that are being employed to adjust the Martian atmosphere and surface temperature. Gigantic roving machines are liberating water from the regolith, and a series of mirrors are placed so as to increase the amount of sunlight incident on the planet. Robinson's depiction of the scientific reality that would have to underlie a terraforming effort remain convincing throughout this volume. He keeps a record of how the atmosphere and the surface life forms are changing without ever getting excessively bogged down in the scientific details. The overall story arc in "Green Mars" is still quite strong. It begins with the news that one of the huge corporations headquartered on Earth is interested in contacting members of the Martian underground, a loose collection of various groups that are considered to be outlaws by the corporate-controlled Martian government. On Mars, the resistance groups and the Authority figures have reached a sort of stalemate. Police forces raid several settlements with impunity, but the resistance groups are becoming better organized. The planning and preparations for another rebellion against the United Nations Authority are a major focus of "Green Mars". Robinson gives a great deal of thought to the logistics of such a revolt, and he provides a convincing portrayal of the conflicts between different rebel groups. My biggest gripe with "Green Mars" is that the author seems to be growing a little bit too attached to some of his characters. We learn early on that the population of Mars has swelled into the millions, both because of immigration from Earth and because of new generations that were born and raised on Mars. But despite this fact, the overwhelming majority of the story is told from the perspective of surviving members of the first hundred, most of whom seem to be running out of interesting things to say. Only one very brief segment is told from the perspective of someone on the 'other side', a representative from one of the metanational corporations on Earth, and we get fairly few glimpses of what life is like for those born and raised on Mars. I feel that "Green Mars" could have benefited quite a bit from a broader perspective. Nevertheless, it is still a quite impressive effort overall, and I am eagerly awaiting a chance to read the final entry in the trilogy
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Summary: A credible future
Review: Green Mars, the sequel to Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars continues the future history of the colonation of our red planet neighbor. This book makes some presumptions about how humans will interact with each other and scientific advancement which are a little far fetched, but fit well within her future universe. The author brings these things up in a credible manner which will bring the reader into the Martian reality. Far less technical than the first book in the series, it is an easier read. The author's insight is staggering in the comprehensive oversight of Martian terraforming projects. A brilliant work.
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