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mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition
2.0
The problem with this book is that this is hard hard hard science. Like crazy hard. Its about terraforming all the planets and moons in our solar system and I just could not follow it for the life of me. Humans have evolved into many different forms as a result of habitating all these far off worlds, but again, it was too much to visualize. Throughout our passages of transcripts of the state of humankind, it read like broken computer fragments. And at the base of all this is a hard boiled detective story which guess what? I couldn't follow either. A lot of discussion on the roles of AI and how many evolved humans have just had them inserted into them and then turning against them.
There was just so much terminology for the terraforming, planet bases, that makes me believe that this could be a REALLY GREAT TV series. But the book, couldn't do it. I did like this author's Shaman, which was a fictional account of shamans in the neolithic period, that one was really good. Not this one though.
There was just so much terminology for the terraforming, planet bases, that makes me believe that this could be a REALLY GREAT TV series. But the book, couldn't do it. I did like this author's Shaman, which was a fictional account of shamans in the neolithic period, that one was really good. Not this one though.
nianyigexiaodu's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
xover's review against another edition
2.0
Robinson can write in pure technical terms (the language is good; which is sadly not guaranteed for all hyped books these days), but clearly has no idea how to tell a story. Long sections of "listing stuff I looked up on Wikipedia", random excerpts from scientific articles with very little bearing on the story, any actual action is described—usually at a distance—instead of shown, the plot is meandering, incoherent, and unoriginal, the characters both unrelatable and implausible (what few of them there are).
But its most damning feature is the constant sneaking suspicion that the author is inserting their politics and worldview into the text. I have no idea what Robinson's politics are in real life, but after reading this I feel confident I could make a good guess on any number of topics. And if you're not better able to mask your own politics from the reader you're serving them polemic, not fiction.
After the first quarter or so I turned my audiobook playback speed up to 2x, and for the last half I was hate-reading (well, hate-listening).
But its most damning feature is the constant sneaking suspicion that the author is inserting their politics and worldview into the text. I have no idea what Robinson's politics are in real life, but after reading this I feel confident I could make a good guess on any number of topics. And if you're not better able to mask your own politics from the reader you're serving them polemic, not fiction.
After the first quarter or so I turned my audiobook playback speed up to 2x, and for the last half I was hate-reading (well, hate-listening).
bradypunch's review against another edition
4.0
Brilliant. Nearly every page had some breathtaking description, turn, image, or phrase. My favorite Robinson so far.
rocksandroles's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A letdown :/ I was expecting a vast space opera with a reality shaking conclusion. All throughout the book there are bits and pieces that hint toward this paradigm shift that happens in the titular 2312, but blink and you'll miss it. At the very end there's sort of a shrug and admission that okay maybe not EVERYTHING changed in 2312.
The gender politics of this book also read like they're from the mid 80s. 'Bisexuals have tits and cocks'? Okay buddy. You ever read a book and know with extreme certainty that the author has some very particular fetish?
The gender politics of this book also read like they're from the mid 80s. 'Bisexuals have tits and cocks'? Okay buddy. You ever read a book and know with extreme certainty that the author has some very particular fetish?
zeusandhera's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the sci-fi elements, but the plot points were few and far between. Can't say I like the characters very much either.
christopherc's review against another edition
1.0
It is hard to see Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel 2312 as anything but a second go at his Mars trilogy (beginning with Red Mars), maintaining the epic scope of future expansion in space and terraforming of other planets, but reflecting the advances in science and culture in the two decades since he wrote that magnum opus.
For example, though the Mars trilogy takes place from the 21st to the 24th centuries, personal computing is missing and the issue of merging of man and machine, "transhumanism", never comes up. In 2312, however, wearable and implantable computing, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence are major themes.
The Mars trilogy also had invariably heterosexual love affairs, but as gay relationships and gender norm-defying artists have become more visible and more accepted in society, it is clear that love/sex/romance/identity in the future will be far more diverse than we used to imagine. 2312 depicts a society where gender is a spectrum explored in every detail. Nearly all of the characters here have undergone harmone therapies or surgical alterations, and some even change the pronoun used to refer to them over the course of the book ("he" one chapter, "she" the next). There’s a fairly graphic sex scene between two hermaphroditic characters.
Finally, the third new concern here is global warming and biosphere collapse. Earth in the future has seen its coastlines innundated due to melting polar ice, and most animal species are extinct. The inability of lawmakers to preserve the environment, even as science offers new, sustainable solutions, has made Earth the sick man of the solar system while the space colonies are flourishing.
So those are the ideas that Robinson explores in this new book, and they are thoughtprovoking. The plot itself, however, is disappointing and really half-baked. Some attacks happen on Mercury, and the characters have to figure out who is responsible. This plot is so barebones it’s almost like in outline form, and at one point, unforeshadowed and without any setup, he leaves it aside to suddenly go in a totally different direction (really, a character just ups and says “Hey, guys, let’s go to X and do Y”, and they do), before then returning to the main story. If the plot is meagre, the descriptive passages are grotesquely huge in comparison. We get pages and pages describing how a character whistles his favourite classical pieces, pages of descriptions of the landscapes of other planets (it was OK in the Mars trilogy, but here it’s getting old), pages of descriptions of animal migrations across a biosphere.
Plus I had a hard time suspending disbelief. These characters have lived with powerful quantum computing for over a century, but they still have long conversations about issues that would have been very familiar to them, like “How do you know if a computer is really conscious?” The protagonist is 130 years old and a venerable, respected figure, but at one point KSR has her threaten to scream to get what she wants in a meeting.
I really wanted to like 2312 because the ideas are so powerful. Like in the Mars trilogy, alternative economic models play a big role in the book, and I found that KSR was already thinking like me about the possibility that modern capitalism may preclude a Singularity, because entrenched interests would be unwilling to undergo the adaptation to a post-scarcity economy. However, the storytelling is just so godawful, even for a fan of this author, and I really wish I could find some non-fiction treatment of these issues. If you haven’t read KSR yet, definitely start with the Mars trilogy.
For example, though the Mars trilogy takes place from the 21st to the 24th centuries, personal computing is missing and the issue of merging of man and machine, "transhumanism", never comes up. In 2312, however, wearable and implantable computing, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence are major themes.
The Mars trilogy also had invariably heterosexual love affairs, but as gay relationships and gender norm-defying artists have become more visible and more accepted in society, it is clear that love/sex/romance/identity in the future will be far more diverse than we used to imagine. 2312 depicts a society where gender is a spectrum explored in every detail. Nearly all of the characters here have undergone harmone therapies or surgical alterations, and some even change the pronoun used to refer to them over the course of the book ("he" one chapter, "she" the next). There’s a fairly graphic sex scene between two hermaphroditic characters.
Finally, the third new concern here is global warming and biosphere collapse. Earth in the future has seen its coastlines innundated due to melting polar ice, and most animal species are extinct. The inability of lawmakers to preserve the environment, even as science offers new, sustainable solutions, has made Earth the sick man of the solar system while the space colonies are flourishing.
So those are the ideas that Robinson explores in this new book, and they are thoughtprovoking. The plot itself, however, is disappointing and really half-baked. Some attacks happen on Mercury, and the characters have to figure out who is responsible. This plot is so barebones it’s almost like in outline form, and at one point, unforeshadowed and without any setup, he leaves it aside to suddenly go in a totally different direction (really, a character just ups and says “Hey, guys, let’s go to X and do Y”, and they do), before then returning to the main story. If the plot is meagre, the descriptive passages are grotesquely huge in comparison. We get pages and pages describing how a character whistles his favourite classical pieces, pages of descriptions of the landscapes of other planets (it was OK in the Mars trilogy, but here it’s getting old), pages of descriptions of animal migrations across a biosphere.
Plus I had a hard time suspending disbelief. These characters have lived with powerful quantum computing for over a century, but they still have long conversations about issues that would have been very familiar to them, like “How do you know if a computer is really conscious?” The protagonist is 130 years old and a venerable, respected figure, but at one point KSR has her threaten to scream to get what she wants in a meeting.
I really wanted to like 2312 because the ideas are so powerful. Like in the Mars trilogy, alternative economic models play a big role in the book, and I found that KSR was already thinking like me about the possibility that modern capitalism may preclude a Singularity, because entrenched interests would be unwilling to undergo the adaptation to a post-scarcity economy. However, the storytelling is just so godawful, even for a fan of this author, and I really wish I could find some non-fiction treatment of these issues. If you haven’t read KSR yet, definitely start with the Mars trilogy.
merrieberrie's review against another edition
3.0
It took me awhile to get into this book... I wasn't really hooked until about 20% through (reading on kindle) and even then I could have done without the lists between every chapter. I would have liked the book a lot more if it was about ~200 pages less. The author seemed to spend WAY too much time on things I didn't really care about and WAY too little time on things that seemed vastly more important such as the aftermath of Swan's kidnapping, or how/when/what/why the qube people existed... who/what really made them?
rickwren's review against another edition
5.0
I am so glad Kim Stanley Robinson got over his infatuation with cause novels and got back to writing about science, the solar system, and people that matter to each other. Whew! I'd almost given up on him.
This harkens back to the the Mars Trilogy.
Let me start on Mercury. It's so cool that there's a city on a Mercury that circles the planet on giant railroad tracks to keep it on the night side. I mean that's a great idea. And the asteroids - let me tell you that hollowing out asteroids in order to make crafted biomes created by artists in which communities live and thrive. Why else would you read science fiction if not for the fantastic ideas. People are different as well. They have longevity treatments and they have AI-like implanted networks of quantum computers.
It's a mystery adventure story as well, with side stories and wild twists. It's great. Read it.
This harkens back to the the Mars Trilogy.
Let me start on Mercury. It's so cool that there's a city on a Mercury that circles the planet on giant railroad tracks to keep it on the night side. I mean that's a great idea. And the asteroids - let me tell you that hollowing out asteroids in order to make crafted biomes created by artists in which communities live and thrive. Why else would you read science fiction if not for the fantastic ideas. People are different as well. They have longevity treatments and they have AI-like implanted networks of quantum computers.
It's a mystery adventure story as well, with side stories and wild twists. It's great. Read it.