gengelcox's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the longest book I’ve read in some time, but then I read it while engaging in one of the longest trips I’ve ever taken, a visit to the Antarctic peninsula by a 130-person capacity cruise ship called the Sylvia Earle. While Jill read the primary documents about the continent—accounts of the Scott and Shackleton expeditions—I let Stan Robinson summarize those for me in his near future SF about people who want to work and live in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. Perfect fodder for a writer whose previous books were about terraforming Mars. Robinson’s book came from his own visit to Antarctica as a fellow for the NSF U.S. Antarctic Program’s Artists and Writers’ Program in 1995. The first third of the book, after a small action hook, is a slow burn through the details of what it is like to be in Antarctic as well as recaps of those adventurers who had strived to be the first: the first to go the farthest south, the first to the pole, the first to traverse or climb this or that. Halfway through, Robinson’s plot finally begins (somewhat predictably), leading to a climax that allows him to postulate about many, many things, from the effects of population growth, resource extraction, climate change, and sustainable living, to feng shi and employee co-ops and scientific endeavors. The paperback edition I read is 650 pages and Robinson packs it with a lot of thought experiments.
I enjoyed it, but some of that may have been the fact that I could look out my window, or reflect on the continental landing I had just completed, as Stan writes about the beauty of ice fields and the glassy ocean and how the cold hits your nose and tries to freeze the snot in your sinuses. While I did not engage in any of the hardships suffered by his characters or the explorers before them, it was certainly less difficult for me to imagine what they went through by being so close to the places it happened. I have no doubt that Robinson got his research right, nor that he spent long nights contemplating the Antarctic Treaty and its tenuous hope for a world where science rules over politics, or at least calls the shots. What he creates in this novel, however, is no utopian solution, recognizing such a thing is hopeless, but he does provide some clues as to how people might work towards something other than the dystopia we seem to be barreling towards. In the decades since this book was first published, science fiction has seen the birth of a burgeoning subgenre alternatively termed solarpunk or hopepunk. If that subgenre ever becomes a thing, Robinson’s Antarctica surely seems to be an early example if not precursor.
daytonm's review against another edition
5.0
What a thrill! Likable main characters, a suspenseful plot, still plenty of room for the author’s typical scientific and philosophical detours. I would tentatively say it’s my favorite of his non-Mars books – not necessarily the one I would recommend first, as it’s maybe not quite as thematically ambitious or politically relevant as some of his others (although this starts to change toward the end), but delightful to read. His loving descriptions of the icescape partly make me want to visit Antarctica, partly it sounds pretty cold.
Also of note that it’s a novel written in the 1990s that takes place at an unspecified time this century in which climate change is a reality people are dealing with. It’s not a book about climate change, just one in which climate change is a factor and relevant to a couple subplots. Even if some of the environmental politics now feel dated, overall ahead of its time.
Also of note that it’s a novel written in the 1990s that takes place at an unspecified time this century in which climate change is a reality people are dealing with. It’s not a book about climate change, just one in which climate change is a factor and relevant to a couple subplots. Even if some of the environmental politics now feel dated, overall ahead of its time.
led's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
katmarhan's review against another edition
4.0
8/10
An intimate, dynamic portrait of Antarctica, chock full of history, science, and ecological and social commentary, all of which occasionally gets in the way of some engaging characters and interesting storylines. No one can say that author Kim Stanley Robinson doesn't do his homework; the research was extensive, including time spent on the icy continent itself. A thought-provoking read, even almost 20 years after it was first published.
An intimate, dynamic portrait of Antarctica, chock full of history, science, and ecological and social commentary, all of which occasionally gets in the way of some engaging characters and interesting storylines. No one can say that author Kim Stanley Robinson doesn't do his homework; the research was extensive, including time spent on the icy continent itself. A thought-provoking read, even almost 20 years after it was first published.
robertrivasplata's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This novel feels like 45% Mitchner, 35% Crichton, 5% Ballard, 5% PKD, & 10%... unknown. Although Antarctica is set in the future & includes some speculation about the geological impacts of the Anthropocene on Antarctica, this novel is really mostly about the “thin” human history of Antarctica. Has some characteristics of the “90s thrillers that teach you real facts” genre, but with more of Robinson’s trademark optimism, & a little bit of PKD or Ballardian absurdism. The idea of Antarctic adventure tourism taking off, and in the form of punishing, guided trips in the footsteps of the heroic-age Antarctic explorers feels like something out of a PK Dick or JG Ballard story, as do the expeditions to “repatriate” the explorers’ artifacts to where they were abandoned in Antarctica. The Chinese geomancer character felt especially like someone from a PK Dick novel. Antarctica is my favorite of the 4 or 5 Kim Stanley Robinson books I’ve read, & Robinson’s writing about those early polar explorers is the best aesthetically & style-wise that I’ve seen him. The explanation of “Gotterdammerung capitalism” on page 57 is extremely relevant to understanding our present & recent history. I liked how the action did not get in the way of the vibes. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find that the "action" half of the novel is more like the "utopian vision" half of the novel. Robinson depicts an "artificial indigenous" egalitarian society which seems to subsist on seafood, hydroponics, remote work, & youtube follows (before youtub was invented). I liked the parts with the would-be “indigenous” or “feral” people, but I kind of feel like the book would have been stronger if they’d been left as more of a mystery, the way Viktor was. The part that felt most dated about this 25-year-old sci-fi book was its ideas about the political power of scientists & technocrats. Overall a great read that makes me want to read more about the polar explorers of both yesteryear and today.
pulcinella's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0