Rating: 
Summary: Probably KSR's worst novel
Review: I am a big KSR fan, and enjoyed the first two volumes of this triptych, but this novel was very disappointing. It seems as if Robinson set out in the beginning to write three novels, he had three concepts in mind, but when it came time to write this one, the concept was still there but the passion was gone and the ideas were lacking. This book is extremely boring and bland, especially for what claims to be a utopian novel. I want to give specifics to back up my opinion as any good review should, but I'm finding myself at a loss trying to think of a descriptive, creative way to explain just how lacking this book was in plot, characters, and everything else. When I was two thirds of the way through the book and nothing had happened yet, I simply stopped reading. And again, I'm actually a very big KSR fan, and I hardly ever stop reading a book in the middle, let alone a KSR book. Unfortunately Stan just lost his way with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Probably KSR's worst novel
Review: I enjoyed the first 2 of KSR's "Three Californias," but this one was disappointing (see my reviews). It is simply not as morally or aesthetically compelling as his other books. The plot drags its anemic self through predictable interludes, leaving the reader surprised at the missed possibilities. The characters, even the lead, come off as rather cardboard-thin. In fact, it becomes apparent that KSR has more or less a set of stock characters: the athletic idealist who's rather dumb (Kevin = John Boone from the Mars set); a dark scheming male who's Kevin's romantic rival (Alfredo = Chalmers); a sexy Ramona both men fight for, and who uses both ( = Maya), et al.: Doris is the Russian woman from the Mars books, and Oscar is equivalent to the big guy who shows up in Green Mars (I forget his name at the moment - is it Arthur?). Not only are characters repeated but so are settings. Spas seem of great interest in all 3 Mars and all 3 California books. So are socio-economic-idealistic battles involving the environment + sports + romantic struggles. All very interesting the first time, but rather tiresome by the nth iteration. One nice point was Tom Barnard's appearance in all 3 books. I liked how this theme character set off colorful motifs in this California "triptych," as KSR terms it. It's interesting to see how KSR puts Tom in relation to the global events of each book: (1) post-apocalyptic storyteller, (2) drowning in the nursing home as a forgotten inmate of suburbia, or (3) the depressed-but-then-revived old attorney who sails off into the wild blue of utopia. Another point: "Pacific Edge" as a utopia - does it work? I can't speak to this question, since this is the first utopia I've read (not counting Plato's Republic or Critias (?)). I haven't read St. Thomas More's "Utopia," which KSR seems to take as a prime reference. All the same, KSR's points is likely that utopia is actually nowhere in the original sense of the Greek word. The setting's idyllic, but the undercurrents are not. People get hurt, get sad, die, lose. Seen as an experiment or hypothesis rather than as a finished statement, then, "Pacific Edge" does the job.
Rating: 
Summary: One of KSR's weaker books
Review: I enjoyed the first 2 of KSR's "Three Californias," but this one was disappointing (see my reviews). It is simply not as morally or aesthetically compelling as his other books. The plot drags its anemic self through predictable interludes, leaving the reader surprised at the missed possibilities. The characters, even the lead, come off as rather cardboard-thin. In fact, it becomes apparent that KSR has more or less a set of stock characters: the athletic idealist who's rather dumb (Kevin = John Boone from the Mars set); a dark scheming male who's Kevin's romantic rival (Alfredo = Chalmers); a sexy Ramona both men fight for, and who uses both ( = Maya), et al.: Doris is the Russian woman from the Mars books, and Oscar is equivalent to the big guy who shows up in Green Mars (I forget his name at the moment - is it Arthur?). Not only are characters repeated but so are settings. Spas seem of great interest in all 3 Mars and all 3 California books. So are socio-economic-idealistic battles involving the environment + sports + romantic struggles. All very interesting the first time, but rather tiresome by the nth iteration. One nice point was Tom Barnard's appearance in all 3 books. I liked how this theme character set off colorful motifs in this California "triptych," as KSR terms it. It's interesting to see how KSR puts Tom in relation to the global events of each book: (1) post-apocalyptic storyteller, (2) drowning in the nursing home as a forgotten inmate of suburbia, or (3) the depressed-but-then-revived old attorney who sails off into the wild blue of utopia. Another point: "Pacific Edge" as a utopia - does it work? I can't speak to this question, since this is the first utopia I've read (not counting Plato's Republic or Critias (?)). I haven't read St. Thomas More's "Utopia," which KSR seems to take as a prime reference. All the same, KSR's points is likely that utopia is actually nowhere in the original sense of the Greek word. The setting's idyllic, but the undercurrents are not. People get hurt, get sad, die, lose. Seen as an experiment or hypothesis rather than as a finished statement, then, "Pacific Edge" does the job.
Rating: 
Summary: Memorable trilogy
Review: I haven't read this book for several years, but it popped up on a search and when I saw the low rating I felt compelled to comment. Kim Stanely Robinson is one of the best sci-fi writers working today; in fact, I find him one of the most intelligent and talented writers in any genre. Scenes from these books (originally published separately) come into my mind frequently. The people living in storage containers. The "perfect fast food meal." The last book was somewhat utopian, very mellow and uplifting. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: What are you people talking about?
Review: I'm dumbfounded at all these bad reviews. I've read this book several times, as it touches me pretty deeply every time. It seems the main complaint is about anemic story lines. I personally don't agree, but think the book is fascinating for its search for utopia. Even though all these characters are searching for different things, and no one is completely happy with the current status, the very act of working towards creating their idea of utopia is utopic. "Dynamism" is a term used in the book to describe that effort to improve things. Dynamism is the utopia. It's the possibility of creating utopia (through dynamism) out of less-than-ideal situations that helps the book manage to be hopeful even in the face of some not-so-good things happening. I've read The Wild Shore and was sorely disappointed after Pacific Edge. Seeing as all these reviewers liked the other two so much more, I don't think I'd dig the other one.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good despite a few weaknesses
Review: This book is fantastic--I'm amazed that no one has reviewed it. The setting is Southern California in a future following an ecological collapse. Some will find it utopian, others will be disappointed to find no galactic empires, but everyone should enjoy this extremely well-written story and its finely-wrought, believable characters. Robinson debates technowhizzery versus the New Age, and finds no easy answers--indeed, the issue is still up for grabs at the end--but this is SF at its best, thought-provoking and intense. Still rates #2 on my all-time list, and I've read a ton of SF.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing story, fine writing and characterization.
Review: This book is fantastic--I'm amazed that no one has reviewed it. The setting is Southern California in a future following an ecological collapse. Some will find it utopian, others will be disappointed to find no galactic empires, but everyone should enjoy this extremely well-written story and its finely-wrought, believable characters. Robinson debates technowhizzery versus the New Age, and finds no easy answers--indeed, the issue is still up for grabs at the end--but this is SF at its best, thought-provoking and intense. Still rates #2 on my all-time list, and I've read a ton of SF.
Rating:
Summary: Utopian Gnats
Review: This book is part of Robinson's 'Three Californias" triptych about alternate futures seen from the perspective of Orange County, California. Gold Coast is a dystopia, The Wild Shore is post-apocalyptic, and this book completes the thematic triangle as a utopia. Here we find a future that is a melding of socialism, capitalism, democracy, and strong ecological concerns. Personal income and business sizes have strict upper limits, everyone is required to devote some of their labor hours to community projects (usually involving some form of ecological cleanup), most people live as part of communal co-operatives, but at the same time people are free to chose their own jobs, live where they wish, have a voice in community affairs, and can say what they want. Like most utopias, there are a few flies in the ointment, and it is around these that the story line is based. Here we find Alfredo, the town mayor, scheming a way to go beyond the personal income limit, and the company he is associated with has become involved in shady deals to try and sidestep the limits on company size. The object of the scheming is an undeveloped hill commanding a great aesthetic view of the town and valley it sits in, and the book starts with an attempt to rezone the hill for commercial development. The book's protagonist, Kevin, something of an idealist and nature lover, not terribly politically astute but stubborn, stalls the attempt, but the battle is joined. As counterpoint to the political battle, Kevin becomes romantically involved with Alfredo's long-time lover Ramona, who has just split up with Alfredo. Unfortunately, these story threads are only mildly interesting. There is little work done to explore either the pluses or minuses of the envisioned society, Kevin's personal problems are not strong enough, do not have enough angst, to make the reader become terribly involved in them, the basic object of the battle, the hill, does not seem deserving of all the energy devoted to it. This seems to be a typical problem with utopian novels - at their heart, utopias are necessarily dull, not having any strong points of contention on which to base a story. All of the actions of this book seem somewhat inconsequential, the object of contention is really a molehill, not a mountain. The prose style is easy, the main characters are reasonably well developed, the plot line is coherent. But this is at best an average book, not nearly as good as The Wild Shore.
Rating:
Summary: Utopian Gnats
Review: This book is part of Robinson's 'Three Californias" triptych about alternate futures seen from the perspective of Orange County, California. Gold Coast is a dystopia, The Wild Shore is post-apocalyptic, and this book completes the thematic triangle as a utopia. Here we find a future that is a melding of socialism, capitalism, democracy, and strong ecological concerns. Personal income and business sizes have strict upper limits, everyone is required to devote some of their labor hours to community projects (usually involving some form of ecological cleanup), most people live as part of communal co-operatives, but at the same time people are free to chose their own jobs, live where they wish, have a voice in community affairs, and can say what they want. Like most utopias, there are a few flies in the ointment, and it is around these that the story line is based. Here we find Alfredo, the town mayor, scheming a way to go beyond the personal income limit, and the company he is associated with has become involved in shady deals to try and sidestep the limits on company size. The object of the scheming is an undeveloped hill commanding a great aesthetic view of the town and valley it sits in, and the book starts with an attempt to rezone the hill for commercial development. The book's protagonist, Kevin, something of an idealist and nature lover, not terribly politically astute but stubborn, stalls the attempt, but the battle is joined. As counterpoint to the political battle, Kevin becomes romantically involved with Alfredo's long-time lover Ramona, who has just split up with Alfredo. Unfortunately, these story threads are only mildly interesting. There is little work done to explore either the pluses or minuses of the envisioned society, Kevin's personal problems are not strong enough, do not have enough angst, to make the reader become terribly involved in them, the basic object of the battle, the hill, does not seem deserving of all the energy devoted to it. This seems to be a typical problem with utopian novels - at their heart, utopias are necessarily dull, not having any strong points of contention on which to base a story. All of the actions of this book seem somewhat inconsequential, the object of contention is really a molehill, not a mountain. The prose style is easy, the main characters are reasonably well developed, the plot line is coherent. But this is at best an average book, not nearly as good as The Wild Shore.
Rating:
Summary: Do we really need two more Californias after this one?
Review: This is billed as science fiction. I'd hesitate to call it that. Yes, it's set in 2065, and yes, it's set on Earth with radical changes in place, but these things seem to take a back seat to the main story. All good science fiction is character- and plot-driven, of course, but much of it still seems to have that obsessive fascination with technology; Robinson muses on the properties of a new thing or two, but ultimately, the story is about something we've all likely seen over the last twenty years: a zoning fight. Kevin Claiborne is coming of age in the Orange County of 2065, a kind of leftist tree-hugging utopia that's all about water control. If you control the water, you have the world in your hands. (Not surprisingly, the water is controlled by Los Angeles, but that's another story.) Kevin is the newest member of the city council, replacing his friend, the newly-elected mayor Alfredo Blair. In his first meeting as mayor, and Kevin's first meeting as council member, Alfredo tries to get a hill by Kevin's house rezoned for commercial use. Kevin opposes, as do two or three other council members, including the town's new attorney. And thus the battle begins. Things are complicated when Alfredo's longtime lover leaves him, a woman with whom Kevin's been in love since the two were kids. Obviously, there's a lot going on here, and any one of the subplots probably would have been enough to fill a novel. As Kevin, Oscar (the attorney), and Kevin's ex-girlfriend Doris dig a little deeper into Alfredo's company, they start finding the beginnings of something that would have made a bang-up spy/intrigue novel. The story of the changing relationships between Ramona/Kevin/Alfredo and Kevin/Doris/Oscar (it's tough being the point of two triangles at once!) could have made for a good pseudo-romance/comedy. The story of Kevin's granfather Tom, a retired lawyer who Kevin and Oscar convince to come out of retirement to join in the investigation, could have been a story in and of itself. It seems almost as if Robinson had a series of books planned around Kevin Claiborne and the battle for Rattlesnake Hill, and he decided at the last moment to condense the whole thing into one book. Cheaper for the consumer, sure, but ultimately nowhere near as satisfying. Threads of the investigation get left off, never to be picked up again; both triangles are dealt with, at the end, in such a short and artificial manner that one wonders if Robinson didn't just get sick of writing the book; the burgeoning relationship between Doris and Oscar deserved at least another fifty pages of air time. I may end up trying out another Robinson novel in the coming years, but this one hasn't made it any higher a priority.
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