jeffaudio's review against another edition
1.0
If this book was a short story, it might have been ok. Unfortunately, the plot was hidden so deeply in between random lists, descriptions, and unrelated scenes, that the book left much to be desired. Some of the aspects to the universe were interesting, but even the most exciting points seemed uneventful.
taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson may well be one of the worst books I’ve read to date. I know that seems harsh, and I hate that it is, but truthfully, making it through this book took everything in me. I wanted this to be a good sci-fi with crazy world building, which I guess, I got what I asked for in the latter. There is so much fluff, that I could not genuinely tell you the plot until about 100 pages from the end. That may not sound bad for a book that’s 150 pages, but this book is 650 pages, and the plot that I did find, wasn’t worth a second of it. There were some incredibly creepy moments in here and I think that everything had a glaze of science textbook over it, dialog included. If someone told me everyone was robots in here I’d have no choice but to believe it, because that’s how they talked. There was nothing to ground yourself in, over explanation of simplistic topics coupled with vast oversights in the complex, and not a single character that I wanted to know more about. I couldn’t stand the back and forth, between here and there. Honestly it was pointless. Why can’t they just call one another like the civilized futuristic people they are saying they are? I’m not sure what compelled anyone to give this more than 1 star, truthfully, because I could barely get through it (and I only finished it so I could tell all of you that no, it does not get better. It is boring and pointless and uninspiring throughout). I respect that Robinson is a well accomplished author, and I would be happy to read something else by him if anyone suggested that it might be a better representation of his writing, but I can’t in good conscious recommend a book to any of you that I literally threw across the room in frustration time after time while reading it. The language is dense, the characters are flat/cookie cutter, and overall it was just a painfully long, boring read. Again, I respect that Robinson wrote it—it’s more than I’ve done as a writer and I’m the first to admit and congratulate that, but this could have easily been a great novella, that was blown so far out of proportion I need to take a break from sci-fi altogether.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
matluka21's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Intellectual sci-fi, not a crazy ending but extremely cool world building based on mostly possible future scenarios.
crowfood's review against another edition
3.0
"One had impressions of other people, nothing more.
Never to hear them think, only to hear what they said; it
was a drop in an ocean, a touch across the abyss. A hand holding your hand
as you float in the black of space. It wasn't much. They couldn't
really know each other very well. So they said he is like this, or she is
like that, and called that the person. Presumed to make a judgment.
It was such a guess. You would have to talk with someone for years
to give the guess any kind of validity. And even then you wouldn't know."
As with his other works which I've read, 2312 is less about focusing on a story, than it is about exploring an idea. In this case, what would it be like living in the distant future, one in which Humanity has spread across the solar system, with extended lifespans? What would life on Mercury, Titan, etc, be like? The characters and story are strictly secondary. Knowing this, the exploration of these ideas can be enjoyable, but takes a certain mindset.
Never to hear them think, only to hear what they said; it
was a drop in an ocean, a touch across the abyss. A hand holding your hand
as you float in the black of space. It wasn't much. They couldn't
really know each other very well. So they said he is like this, or she is
like that, and called that the person. Presumed to make a judgment.
It was such a guess. You would have to talk with someone for years
to give the guess any kind of validity. And even then you wouldn't know."
As with his other works which I've read, 2312 is less about focusing on a story, than it is about exploring an idea. In this case, what would it be like living in the distant future, one in which Humanity has spread across the solar system, with extended lifespans? What would life on Mercury, Titan, etc, be like? The characters and story are strictly secondary. Knowing this, the exploration of these ideas can be enjoyable, but takes a certain mindset.
ergogretchen's review against another edition
2.0
I'm absolving myself of trying to read the last 50 pages of this book so I can move on with my life. Fascinating concepts, sweeping scope, incredible worldbuilding... utterly flat storytelling, unrelatable characters, zero plot. This book is exhausting.
sonofthe's review against another edition
5.0
Reading this makes me appreciate the world around me, makes me want to look at the sky more. Really, the novel is an idea-bomb exploding in my head giving me so many things to think about, but the beauty described in the solar system, especially the lack of regard people living on earth have for their own planet, makes me want to take more notice of things around me.
The language here is much more dense than the stuff I've been reading lately, but it was a refreshing change of pace, especially given how masterfully Robinson writes. I've had books of his sitting on my shelf for a while, but reading this will move them to the top of my to-read pile.
There were things in 2312 that excited me so much when I realized what was going on, how KSR had woven things into the story and used the characters and language to set off a wonderful idea later. Talking about them would be spoilery though, so I'll just say to read this book.
EDIT AFTER BROWSING A COUPLE NEGATIVE REVIEWS:
The things I've been reading lately (and have very much enjoyed) have been most of Scalzi's books in the Old Man's War world, Red Dragon, Throne of the Crescent Moon, and others. Those stories are fun, but they all mostly fit into the standard story structure currently found in popular novels and movies.
This is not that type of story. Which is not to say that there isn't any story here, as a couple reviews suggested. There is certainly a main story, and a world so rich that there can be a hundred others, but the story doesn't try to bring its standard events to the expected highs in the expected ways.
Hope this helps.
The language here is much more dense than the stuff I've been reading lately, but it was a refreshing change of pace, especially given how masterfully Robinson writes. I've had books of his sitting on my shelf for a while, but reading this will move them to the top of my to-read pile.
There were things in 2312 that excited me so much when I realized what was going on, how KSR had woven things into the story and used the characters and language to set off a wonderful idea later. Talking about them would be spoilery though, so I'll just say to read this book.
EDIT AFTER BROWSING A COUPLE NEGATIVE REVIEWS:
The things I've been reading lately (and have very much enjoyed) have been most of Scalzi's books in the Old Man's War world, Red Dragon, Throne of the Crescent Moon, and others. Those stories are fun, but they all mostly fit into the standard story structure currently found in popular novels and movies.
This is not that type of story. Which is not to say that there isn't any story here, as a couple reviews suggested. There is certainly a main story, and a world so rich that there can be a hundred others, but the story doesn't try to bring its standard events to the expected highs in the expected ways.
Hope this helps.
breyjoyous's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
One of those books that when you finish the story it tells you the story didn’t matter. Ugh.