wanderinglynn's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
2.0
This is not a book for everyone. It's definitely not my cup of tea. It captures everything I dislike about the sci-fi genre. And so, I doubt I'll ever read book 2 or book 3 of this trilogy.
Red Mars goes into exhaustive detail describing the landscape features of Mars and inane details on some sciency stuff. Some of the sciency stuff was just exhausting. Likely because I am not a sciency person and so most of it sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to me. But my issue is a lot of the sciency stuff that KSR goes into great detail about was not necessarily essential to the story. Whereas other parts, parts that at least have some bearing on the story, are never discussed at all. The reader just has to figure it out from context. So I found that really frustrating.
And despite all the science, one of the biggest holes I think the story has is that the first 100 don't really seem to have any problems conquering this red planet with its thin poisonous atmosphere. Everything just seems to work, resources just seem to be there, and we have a settlement on Mars.
As for the characters, Nadia was one of the few that I could nearly fully picture and had any kind of development. The rest were flat. I could never really picture them except in stereotypical terms or as a caricature. And the changing POV would have worked better had there been better context instead of just jumping from one POV and time to another time and another POV.
The last half of the book, I really just skimmed. The exploration of the political implications of a newly habitable planet filled with resources for an overpopulated civilization just got boring. Basically, KSR tells us in the first section what will happen. The last 50%, I found occasional flashes of conversation surrounded by long descriptions of people driving endless distances around Mars and writing about the landscape in flat prose. Too much on the science and landscape, not enough on character development.
Red Mars goes into exhaustive detail describing the landscape features of Mars and inane details on some sciency stuff. Some of the sciency stuff was just exhausting. Likely because I am not a sciency person and so most of it sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to me. But my issue is a lot of the sciency stuff that KSR goes into great detail about was not necessarily essential to the story. Whereas other parts, parts that at least have some bearing on the story, are never discussed at all. The reader just has to figure it out from context. So I found that really frustrating.
And despite all the science, one of the biggest holes I think the story has is that the first 100 don't really seem to have any problems conquering this red planet with its thin poisonous atmosphere. Everything just seems to work, resources just seem to be there, and we have a settlement on Mars.
As for the characters, Nadia was one of the few that I could nearly fully picture and had any kind of development. The rest were flat. I could never really picture them except in stereotypical terms or as a caricature. And the changing POV would have worked better had there been better context instead of just jumping from one POV and time to another time and another POV.
The last half of the book, I really just skimmed. The exploration of the political implications of a newly habitable planet filled with resources for an overpopulated civilization just got boring. Basically, KSR tells us in the first section what will happen. The last 50%, I found occasional flashes of conversation surrounded by long descriptions of people driving endless distances around Mars and writing about the landscape in flat prose. Too much on the science and landscape, not enough on character development.
sirlancelot2021's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tvil's review against another edition
5.0
I've only read Aurora by KSR before, which I liked a lot, but I've also read stuff by Neal Stephenson (like Seveneves) that I feel scratch the same itches as this does.
I felt like all the First Hundred became my friends. I can't imagine how differently I would have felt about the Boone chapters if the book hadn't opened with the in media res flash-forward chapter.
I don't know if The Expanse was inspired by this book, but I noticed one potential parallel: Nemesis (an asteroid mentioned as a throwaway) and events that unfolded in [b:Nemesis Games|22886612|Nemesis Games (The Expanse, #5)|James S.A. Corey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407524221l/22886612._SY75_.jpg|42456264].
I felt like all the First Hundred became my friends. I can't imagine how differently I would have felt about the Boone chapters if the book hadn't opened with the in media res flash-forward chapter.
I don't know if The Expanse was inspired by this book, but I noticed one potential parallel: Nemesis (an asteroid mentioned as a throwaway) and events that unfolded in [b:Nemesis Games|22886612|Nemesis Games (The Expanse, #5)|James S.A. Corey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407524221l/22886612._SY75_.jpg|42456264].
veefuller's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Massive amounts packed into this epic tale of world building, quite literally. Right along with world-destroying.
altruest's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up.
This book was a roller-coaster. I love the concept, but I was expecting more Science and less political fiction. The middle of the book was an absolute slog, but the last 100 pages were thrilling. I'm not sure if I want to grab the rest of the series right now, but maybe I will in the future.
3.5 stars, read reviews before you pick it up.
This book was a roller-coaster. I love the concept, but I was expecting more Science and less political fiction. The middle of the book was an absolute slog, but the last 100 pages were thrilling. I'm not sure if I want to grab the rest of the series right now, but maybe I will in the future.
3.5 stars, read reviews before you pick it up.
thecatwood's review against another edition
3.0
Exhaustive in scope-- from the political, to environmental, to interpersonal relationships, and to religion-- but also exhausting in length. Overall, I was impressed with the extensive ground covered, including the molecular nature of said ground. But the last few chapters languished for over a month unread, and I don't know if I can gather the mental fortitude to brave the rest of the trilogy.
medea_jade's review against another edition
5.0
I have read this book three times. Each time I read it I find it even more interesting. It can be a slow read. There a lot of very scientific information. It is the truest form of science fiction. The slowness of the read is actually what appeals. You won’t want it to end. Thankfully it’s a trilogy!
reading_rainy's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't expect to like this book after reading many negative reviews, but was surprised to find that the political/emotional manipulation of the first 100 quite interesting. Of course Earth would want to fight over the rights of a new planet! Yes, the characters were pretty flat and unlikable most of the time. The book was meticulously researched, you’ll learn more about Mars than you every wanted to.
lizbusby's review against another edition
Like the Foundation books, but you care even less about the characters. A random wandering between which characters are sleeping with each other and cool terraforming ideas. Didn't have enough plot for me to want to listen to the last 10 hours of the audio.