Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson: Hard SF Done Right [LOW SPOILER REVIEW]

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I anticipated this book being dry but was pleasantly surprised to find myself engrossed. If you're into Ursula K. LeGuin you will love Robinson. This would also be a great book for someone without a ton of reading experience in sci-fi, who wants a novel full of ideas that isn't intimidatingly technical.
Thumbnail photo by Anne McCarthy from Pexels

[@louisewainwright5438]

I first came to KSR through The Years of Rice and Salt, which is a completely immersive alternate history of the world had the Black Plague had wiped out the vast majority of Europeans, allowing for an outcome that puts Asiatic peoples at the forefront of global development. There's a Buddhist element that anchors the entire book, and which offers a unique take on the recursive nature of history: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. For anyone here who likes KSR, I highly recommend it (along with his Science in the Capitol series about climate impact).

[@DavidKetchin-gt5nj]

I found the YORAS really hard going. There are huge similarities with the mars series in terms of political commentary and evolution of cultures - but i found the mars series far more interesting.

[@hat_maker]

This trilogy deserves so much more love! my absolute favourite hard scifi… probably my favourite scifi full stop

[@TheMaginor]

There are also some parts of this book (series) that is a very clear reference to "the Moon is a harsh mistress" by Heinlein (and you could say that "the Dispossessed" is also in part a comment on that same book). Another reference is "Red star" by the Russian sci fi writer Aleksandr Bogdanov, who writes about a communist society on Mars (the character Arkady Bogdanov in Red Mars is named after him and Arkady Strugatsky, another important Russian sci fi writer). You also start to wonder if other characters in Red Mars like Ursula and Frank are name references like that :)

[@matthiasg.3645]

My favorite aspect of these books is the comprehensible depiction of terraforming and, as you said, the characters which really felt grounded and believable. The geological descriptions get a bit boring after a while, agreed. I really loved the first two books, somehow didn't finish Blue Mars.

[@expansivegymnast1020]

Same here. Loved the first two books and got bored through Blue Mars.

[@nickelazoyellow7360]

Aside from Left Hand of Darkness, this is my favorite sci-fi of all time. I should read them again, come to think of it.

[@alb0zfinest]

Both authors belong to the An-Com camp so it makes sense 😆

[@addama]

I really liked the first book - lots of what-ifs around how people separated from mother earth would really behave, and what systems would evolve out of that. I loved the mystique of the Coyote, and the dynamics between the characters, and between them and Mars, they really pull you along. It's funny you mention not giving a shit near the end about geology - I felt the same way. I hope you're ready to not give a shit about lichen, because the second book is the same formula, but lichen. What I really like is that it's a good 5-8 chapters of geology, lichens, math, and politics, one chapter of sex where the characters either hate eachother or are unsure about eachother, and then one chapter of HOLY SHIT THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. It creates a rhythm that makes it easier to sit through the relatively boring chapters to see what world-ending revelation comes next.

[@Bookpilled]

That got a big old lol out of me. I am looking forward to not giving a shit about lichen sometime soon after I finish not giving a shit about prophecies.

[@neilcampbell9383]

Hi first time checking out your channel and I really enjoyed your review of Red Mars. Its been 20 years since I read it and I had a very similar reaction to you. Thought provoking, beautifully written and I thought really emotionally engaging. I actually broke down and sobbed when I completed the trilogy. Not something I am prone to and never as a reaction to a book. I find it's reputation as some sort of dusty dry thought experiment strange. I consider it to be the most humane of books and the extended lifetimes in the sequels only add to it's poignancy. For something completely different but still excellent sci-fi try The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell and as an excellent and funny option the We Are Legion (We Are Bob) audiobook made me laugh out loud and there is not a lot of sci-fi that does that :)

[@richardbloemenkamp8532]

I agree 100% with your review of this KSR Red Mars. You touched exactly on all the points that came to mind. I didn't find it boring at all because I liked the characters and the switching between them. I think if your care less about characters and personalities and look for action then it can be boring.

[@EricKay_Scifi]

I went through a rough patch in life, and Red Mars got me back into reading. I had anxiety from all the things going on in life and took up a 'calming' hobby. The Red Mars trilogy was the right amount of interesting w/o being a thriller. I also liked Aurora, also by KSR, but thought the ending had a bit to heavy handed of a message. He also had a novella / long story about an alternate history where we missed bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that was an awesome story.

[@cassfonnesbeck8057]

Sorry you're not feeling up to par. I enjoyed listening to your review in your new voice. Thanks for making the effort to share it. I get bored with endless descriptions that don't move the story along. Thanks!

[@TheDMFW62]

The Mars trilogy requires a big investment from the reader and I totally understand that it isn't for everyone. However, as a bit of an astronomy geek, I relished the Martian geographical details whilst also appreciating the characters and their future history which felt grounded and realistic. I enjoyed the experiments with political theory and their presentation. Maybe just a little overlong for many people but not for me.

[@rickkearn7100]

BP, I was struck by your honest and unexpected revelation that you are leftist in your preferences of literature and your political lilt. This gave you a whole new dimension! I found this to be a bonus aspect of following your channel, which is top-shelf. That aside, I must read this book, as I have a keen interest in Mars regarding the future of society, and am grateful for your review, which convinced me to put this on my purchase list, and then my winter 2022 reading list. Your channel just keeps opening new vistas with each post I view. Remarkable. Do you write? Cheers.

[@ronc7743]

I picked up a battered copy of Red Planet in a used book store in Marseille. It sat on the shelf for a year because I thought because of its age it would be boring. Once I finally started I couldn't put it down. Now I gotta find the other two books!

[@filmandpage1138]

I read this book back in December of last year. I loved it. I could see that the authors of the Expanse series must have read these books. As this story could easily fit into that world, and work as a prequel to it.

[@CasperHulshof]

Just finished this book. Thanks for pointing out the relation with The Dispossessed - that's a great interpretation. I liked the obvious nod to Arthur C. Clarke, myself (and boy did that space elevator do a good job).

[@billkeon880]

As much as I enjoyed Red Mars and other of his…Aurora is in my top 10 all time sci fi books.

[@EarlCampbellQuantum]

The character development and arcs just keep getting better throughout the trilogy. The huge payoffs from this character development means Green and Blue Mars are even better. You should finish the trilogy! The end of Blue Mars, felt a bit to me like the end of some Iain M Banks books, take from that what you like.

[@stevetobin7495]

brilliant series...so much world building takes your breath away

[@Atop77]

Red Mars sounds pretty cool! Sounds a bit like 'Island' by Aldous Huxley but set on Mars. In the middle of Dune as well and really loving it, like billions of others before me. Looking forward to your review!

[@Queenfloofles]

One of my favorite trilogies, I find it quite exciting at times and you really get invested in some of the characters. Its like game of thrones in space...

[@Queenfloofles]

Also Im space and geology obsessed so that probably helped.

[@Mai-Gninwod]

What an incredible review of one of my all time favorite books

[@Tac0caT0]

The trilogy is such a wonderful arc of humanity looks like. Red Mars is a by far a gem, if you’re inoculated to hard sci fi. Neil Stephenson is another master of the genre. Reamde, Anathem, and Cryptonomicon+System of the World are lively tomes. Explaining the discovery of calculus, and yeh beginnings of physics (as we know it) maintained my interest in the character arcs of those books.

[@Nick-kb2jc]

Great review man. Very articulate. You’ve convinced me to finally give this book Red Mars a try. I’ve been on the fence for awhile. I’d love to hear your opinion on Stanislaw Lem. In particular, his novel called The Invincible. I just finished it last week and it immediately jumped into my top 5 Sci-Fi books.

[@paultoback3577]

Red Mars has a great social dynamic between all of the characters. I must confess i do not visualize too well but love dialogue and interaction between good characters. KSR is a product of the 1990s and i have yet to finish the Mars books...yet. Oh i love Leguine....The Lathe of Heaven ...an absolute must read.

[@davidmicalizio824]

Thank you for the review. I'm going to start with Red Mars.

[@jefffenton5932]

Just finished the book tonight. Have to agree with everything you said! Good review.

[@Amadeus451]

I hated Frank Chalmers until I read his section of the novel. So yeah, fully-conceived characters, and the author took pains to get the science right (or as close as possible for the 90's).

[@sbu_englishclub]

I was scared to read this book because the way it was pitched to me was like you said-I thought I wasn’t gonna be smart enough. Finally started the other day and I’m enjoying it but I’m really mad at people for creating this idea it’s some kind of obtuse science textbook. I would have loved this in highschool! I’m not good at math and science but it’s not hard at all to get at minimum the jist of what’s going on

[@timbushell8640]

Lucky you... ... plenty KSR to catch up on. Some of the best stories every... ... the Mars trilogy (+1 of short stories which appear to be beefed up "from cutting room floor" as it were.) Catch the Green and Blue - fast, it is really one epic. The flip to either the very recent environmental stories of the older ones... ...

[@superfly2449]

I tried this one, but weren’t there some initial chapters that were about committee meetings and administration matters that went on and on and on? I probably gave up too soon.

[@BOBSCOTTONLINE]

First comment! That's all the algo needs :-) Thanks for the review - Goodreads list now reaching 1200

[@belinda35_77]

My current favorite hard scifi that I've been really loving over the last 6 yrs is The Expanse series by James SA Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) Maybe I'll give Red Mars another try. I've started it a couple times but always pick up something else and ended up leaving it behind.

[@deckiedeckie]

I liked a lot too!!....read it a couple of times afterwards...

[@DKBiedron]

I’m reading this for the first time and it is hard to love it even though I want to continue bc of the hard sci do aspect. I really prefer Clifford D. Simak and Philip K Dick . . . need some referrals!

[@gulzkrypty4857]

Hey man I just found your channel. I love your stuff, I just started getting more into Sci-Fi. I am from Poland so a lot of stuff I read is Eastern EU SF so I wanted to recommend you some stuff: "Solaris" by Lem; "Other Songs" by Dukaj and "Monday Starts on Saturday" by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky.

[@Bookpilled]

I've read Solaris and hold it in high esteem. Thanks for the recommendations, I haven't heard of the others.

[@kavinmolhyp.s5054]

Please review Kim Stanley Robinson's. Forty signs of rain..

[@deckiedeckie]

NO ES ABURRIDO!!.....Is NOT boring......at all!!

[@vasari9198]

I abandoned Eon to read this and then abandoned this to read anything that wasn’t sci-if.

[@sandyhausler5290]

Another book we don’t agree on - thought it was one of the most boring SF books I have read (no’s as boring as Dhalgren)! I know a lot of readers differ with me, and that’s fine.

[@havocmaverick]

I DNF this book a couple years back for being slow and boring. I will try to start it again in the future.

[@NiteOwlVibes]

I just finished today, awesome first couple chapters, boring middle political chapters, awesome final 2- 1/2 chapters.

[@deckiedeckie]

Much better than Dune......REAL SF!!

[@owenbutler5624]

try KSR The Ministray for the Future for a more fun version of the same humanistic principles

[@dlsamson]

A utopian novel & one of my favorite SF works (I prefer "conjectural fiction")

[@Bookpilled]

Hadn't occurred to me to think of it as a Utopian book but I guess it does make sense

[@HelenLannister]

Interesting that you considered it to be leftist sci-fi… I’m conservative, and I didn’t see anything that seemed to be “author preaching” against conservatism. The different factions clearly (at least to me) represented a number of different political viewpoints, and none seemed of be held up above the others as being more virtuous.

[@paultoback3577]

Dune is a tough read . Try Seven Pillars of Wisdom !

[@michaelmacleod2665]

I've just finished the trilogy. First book was good but I struggled more and more as the series went on. Even had to get the talking book to assist with the final book as it was a real slog (And I hate talking books normally).

[@williamcase426]

LOW SPOILER REVIEW

[@chrisjzh]

Redpilled

[@Emdee5632]

As I remember the trilogy, Red Mars still felt fresh and exciting but was already riddled by politics. Green Mars was great too. For some reason there was a long time before I read the last one, Blue Mars. It felt different from the first two. More leisurely.

[@northof-62]

It is boring! Sorry but I fell asleep early reading Red Mars And I have two more books in the series to go! Send help. . Yawn

[@epiphoney]

Good luck with Dhalgren lol. At least it has some sex.

[@n1mbusmusic606]

Don't like communism.l but Robinson does have a certain charm and humor.

[@PalimpsestProd]

anyone why describes Red Mars as boring has a limited intellect.

[@owenbutler5624]

like Simak was a pastoral writer so Robinson reminds me of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Michener - geological

[@tectorgorch8698]

I've been sniffing around KSR's books for a long time, never jumped. This is super helpful to me. (That literary term is, I believe, "free indirect", James Wood goes on and on (and onandnonandon....) about this in How Fiction Works.

[@Bookpilled]

Thanks for that tidbit, I've never heard that phrase, and was unaware of the book. Give Red Mars a hundred pages, you'll know if it's for you.