Blue Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson (1996)

 

Rating: Excellent

Blue Mars continues the epic story of humanity colonising and terraforming the planet Mars, but in being the conclusion of the trilogy it has some inherent differences to the first two, Red Mars (1992) and Green Mars (1993). Perhaps the biggest difference is that Blue Mars features fewer singular events, rather, the focus is more evenly spread across political, scientific and geological themes as the planet has become much more dominated by water, along with a terraformed habitable climate. Blue Mars is much more of a travelogue than the first two books, taking the reader back to Earth, which is beset with environmental problems, and across most of the major areas of Mars, in particular the northern ocean, now teeming with life. On Mars the changed landscape is seen through the eyes of many of the remaining first hundred, but also some new characters, such as Zo, a young arrogant woman who embodies the hubris of new generations who are free of Earth's influence and high on the possibility of living for centuries due to further refinements to the longevity treatments invented on Mars by scientists from the first hundred. The clash between generations, between political movements and the demands of an ailing Earth drive the tensions that play out across the novel. As usual Robinson handles weighty themes and significant plot developments with aplomb. It's epic in scope, yet Robinson's detailed and highly descriptive prose style is as dense as ever, which all makes for an absorbing read.

I particularly enjoyed the sections in which the character Sax Russel features (in fact he is one of my all time favourite characters in science fiction). Sax is one of the first hundred and was behind the push to terraform Mars. His scientific perspective and philosophical musings regarding the clash between the terraforming of Mars and the 'Red Mars' movement's aim to preserve as much of Mars primal state as possible, are endlessly fascinating. Sax gives voice to Robinson's thoughts about science and philosophy, which, across all three novels, is a recurring theme. In Blue Mars this includes the notion as to whether geographical places have rights. Do rocks and geological formations have some kind of consciousness and do they have the right to remain 'unchanged', and what is 'unchanged' in any case? Sax slowly comes around to Ann Clayborne's views about keeping Mars as red as possible, although much of his terraforming work has born fruit. Also fascinating is the exploration of not just the physiological effects, but also the psychological effects of living for a very long time. As the remainder of the first hundred succumb to side effects of living so long, Sax makes up his mind to do something about it, and the resulting treatment and aftermath is one of the highlights of the novel, bringing together all of the remaining first hundred for a nostalgic send-off. Humanity is also branching out to other parts of the solar system and beyond, which is explored in a speculative, yet very convincing way by Robinson. The ending has a satisfying emotional impact and wraps up what really is one of the great trilogies in modern science fiction. Once again, perhaps stay away if you mostly enjoy space operas or soft science fiction, but for those who love hard science fiction, the Mars trilogy is highly recommended.

Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson (1993)

 

Rating: Excellent

Yet another large novel, this one 780 pages of hard science fiction. Green Mars is set fifty years after the conclusion of Red Mars (1992), a science fiction novel I consider to one one of the best out there. Green Mars isn't quite up to the same standard, but it does come close. Mars has changed, terraforming has come a long way, with the atmosphere thickening and warming enough for genetically engineered plants and microorganisms to begin to flourish. The survivors of the first hundred are in hiding, mostly in a habitat under the South Pole. Most of the key characters from the first novel have survived, thanks to the longevity treatments developed in the first novel, which is great for continuity, but also not an impossible premise considering research into longevity has been going on for decades in what passes for reality. There's also a host of new characters, mostly offspring of the first hundred, known as the Nisei, bred by the mystic, Hiroko. In the same manner as the first novel Robinson gives large sections of the narrative over to different characters in turn, and it is through one of the Nisei, Nirgal, that the new Mars is revealed to the reader. The legendary stowaway, Coyote, takes Nirgal out onto the surface and introduces him to all of the secret underground communities. Mars exists in a tense split between the transnational corporations and the underground, who want to make Mars their own, away from the corrupt capitalism of Earth promoted by the transnationals.

As with Red Mars, this novel takes its time, giving you long descriptions of the geological landforms of Mars. To get the most out of the novel you must either be really into geology, or appreciate just how vivid Robinson's descriptions of Mars are, so vivid they give you a strong sense of really being there on the surface. Robinson makes it totally believable and even desirable that one day humans would be on Mars in a similar situation. Although there is plenty of focus on the planet itself, often the narrative leans toward the philosophical, scientific and the political. The characters are roughly grouped in this manner, with Hiroko and her followers espousing a profound sense of connection with the planet itself, viriditas. The magnificently named Saxifrage 'Sax' Russell continues his mission to terraform Mars, in fact he is perhaps the key character, an influential 'scientist as hero' (the title of part four in fact). Politics is everywhere throughout Green Mars, via the underground, Nirgal, Coyote and the intense Russian femme fatale, Maya Toitovna. Through Maya the physiological effects of the longevity treatment are explored, what it does to the psyche, the memory and perception, which is generally fascinating stuff. These are merely some of the many themes explored throughout the novel; Robinson really packs an enormous amount of information and detail within the 780 pages, it was almost an exhausting endeavour to get through, however it is well worth it and I'm looking forward to reading Blue Mars (1996) in the near future.

 

Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson (1992)

 

Rating: Sublime

I put off reading Red Mars for a long time, thinking that it would be a pretty dry narrative, with Robinson being the reigning king of realistic hard science fiction. How wrong I was! I could not believe just how compelling Red Mars is and how well Robinson captures both the practical difficulties of colonising Mars and the drama of the endeavour, not to mention the personal stories of the ensemble of characters, all of whom are brilliantly well rounded. It didn't take me long to realise just how special this novel is, the opening section, 'Festival Night' is set well after colonisation, and acts to pique interest, with a number of conflicts between the 'First Hundred' on display. The next section, 'The Voyage Out', is a stunning depiction of what a voyage to Mars might be like. It's completely fascinating and kept humming along by Robinson's efficient, yet engaging narrative style. Robinson is a superb writer, getting the balance between depicting characters interior lives and the practicalities of voyaging through space absolutely right. Robinson juggles the multitude of characters perfectly throughout the novel, all with their own strengths and weaknesses, flawed, like any humans would be, even though they are the chosen elite, dubbed the 'First Hundred'. Robinson deals with the problem of balancing so many characters by concentrating on around a dozen, establishing them as the principle protagonists; my favourites being the Russians, Nadia Chernyshevski, Maya Toitovna and the redoubtable Arkady Bogdanov, who has very different ideas about what should happen on Mars. The Americans are interesting in their own way, the good-guy hero John Boone, the sociopathic Frank Chalmers and the Asperger-like scientist Saxifrage Russell. Often long sections of the narrative are extrapolated via the perspective of one of these characters and you really get to know them and their personal and professional struggles whist you are exploring the surface of Mars.

The planet in question

As the novel progresses it becomes increasingly absorbing, with superb descriptions of the Martian landscape. Robinson perfectly evokes the alien beauty of the planet, particularly when several of the characters journey to the North Pole in order to set up an automated supply chain of blocks of ice to provide the fledgling colony with fresh water. Throughout the novel the hard science of building habitats, beginning terraforming and dealing with the politics of the situation, both within the 'First Hundred' and the authorities on Earth, is depicted so well that I just can't imagine any other writer doing a better job. Red Mars is totally epic in scale and things get really interesting once more and more people start arriving and infrastructure, such as a space elevator, is built. To reveal more would risk the intrigue of the novel for new readers; all I will say is that the novel has more drama and mystery than would you'd expect. Robinson also explores the philosophical aspects of humanity being on Mars and altering it forever, through individual musings and a rift between those in the "First Hundred' who are for terraforming and those who are against humanity, yet again, altering an environment for their own ends. At one point there is an amazing debate about this issue, which left me amazed at Robinson's insight and erudition. The novel's long endgame is exciting and unpredictable. Once it resolved I was bereft at losing access to Robinson's incredible world-building. Fortunately being the first in a trilogy, with Green Mars (1993) and Blue Mars (1996) to come, I'll be able indulge myself again in the near future. If you are a fan of hard science fiction, you should indulge yourself too....