Red Mars
Not only has it been a while since I wrote a blog post (only broken by this flurry today), but it’s been a while since I read a novel. I think I’ve read a few non-fiction books, but no work of fiction since the trip to Spain and the darn jPod by Douglas Coupland.
Well, I did it. I finished a novel, Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. I fell back into my love for science fiction and decided to pick up one of the better hard science fiction books out there. It seems that this novel is beloved by sci-fi fans. And after breezing through it for the past 10 days. I can understand why.
The story follows the colonization of Mars in the middle of this century by 100 men and women scientists. They establish a toehold of civilization on the red planet. Once mankind has landed, then it was inevitable that things started to change. The story weaves through a couple of decades as mankind begins to terraform amd mine the planet bending it to mankind’s needs. Eventually, like Heinlen’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, this outpost must decide to break from the control of its masters, and like the British colonies, a revolution is staged to make Mars and its population the governors of the fate of Mars.
The story segues from scientific exploration of life and living on Mars to that of politics of independence and colonization to social order of capitalism versus benevolent communism and to religious and spirituality of a new world order. The themes permeate the book. And the author tells the story of the first 100 from several perspectives.
It ends with the death of the red mars. A small contingent of survivors ready to bring about a new green mars. And the bevy of corporations ready to take over.
My first reaction to the book was one of a good read. I probably breezed through the first 200 pages in a night. Then I came back nightly reading a few chapters before I fell asleep. That is until the John Boone chapters which were difficult to get through. It dealt with him becoming the legend that he is, but was not as fun as the other narrators. Not until after his part did things really move forward to the revolution and it became hard to put the book down.
So, now I’m finished it. It’s just the first installment of the three books of Mars. Why is it always a trilogy? Yet, I don’t know if I can read the next two. I was bogged down in the middle there worried about the politics of creating a new martian order, so I am worried that the next will be the same. It’s like when I read The Golden Compass did I want to read the next three. But that wasn’t as good a read as this book. I might have to.
Grade: A-