His Book Review: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1993)

Why he read it: Read commentaries referencing this as great series; mentor in college recommended it years ago

Would he recommend it: Yes, if you are interested in colonizing Mars

His review: I can understand the praises this novel (and subsequent series) has received. The details of Martian landscape and the politics of terraforming are extensive, and are the strengths of the novel. While I couldn’t visually keep up with all the details of the various areas across the planet, I clearly understood the complexity of the land, the size of the land, and how the Earth settlers were building on that land.

I also appreciated the political discussion and conflicts over terraforming Mars, something I hadn’t thought much about. It is like going back to the primordial earth, with futuristic technology. Of course it would seem like a blank tablet, ripe for creation, as well as an escape from the damage that “creation” had caused back on Earth.

I wasn’t as fond of the plot devices—a staged murder, secretive baby labs, and the ‘sacrificial’ death of a complex character. These felt unnatural, and pulled me out of the realism of the novel. At some point, I’ll read the others in the series, but more out of interest in what happens than in full admiration of this novel.