jd_jinkies's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
A very hard science sci-fi read - a good and rewarding challenge of a read for those interested
tayloraishman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.5
Green Mars is the follow up to Red Mars. It takes the characters, their flaws, ideas, goals, hopes, and more and forces them into ever tightening circumstances. With a corporatocracy controlling Mars and hunting the main characters, they must work together to hold back the tide of guerrilla factions fighting the corporations. There’s lots of philosophical arguments on society in a vacuum and if you could rebuild it from the ground up how would you. There’s political intrigue and espionage as characters play cat and mouse with security forces and their former friends. There’s still lots and lots of science, just less so as freeing Mars takes priority over terraforming it currently.
drollgorg's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Great read as was the first one. I didn't find myself connecting as much with the new characters, Art and Nirgal, who feel less defined as compared to the characters of the original book, who were all firmly established in a viewpoint, set of experiences and characterization that really determined their perspectives on events and each other. I liked the early parts about Nirgal living in Zygote, they were very evocative and his narration was growing on me, but when he shows up throughout the rest of the book, I didn't feel like I got a distinct perspective from him.
Ann might be my favorite character in the series, her and Nadia, and I wish we got more of her, though the section of her narration we do get is probably the one that's staying with me the longest. Her radically different view from basically every other viewpoint character, rooted in and also further creating her deep alienation, is rendered so clearly, when I feel like so many authors fail to make characters feel relatable at the same time as they carry an extremely distinct view of the world. KSR clearly loves nonliving natural beauty almost as much as he loves the beauty in growing things, and Ann is a connection between humanity and everything not alive.
It does feel like more attention was given to the social world occupied by the characters than the physical one, there aren't quite as many of the rhapsodic passages of geology- which I actually like, and which make the Red love for the planet itself something you can actually understand instead of thinking of them as a bunch of weird geologists. But anyway, I felt like my mental picture of the setting wasn't always as clear here as it was in Red Mars, and the reality of the world was interpreted more through how the characters feel about their surroundings.
I also wish that we'd got some more perspectives on what the buildup to the second revolution looked like- we mostly have Maya running her meetings in Odessa during the time immediately leading up to the war, and while I like her section, I also would have liked to see what that period looked like for other groups given the diversity of the elements within the revolutionary arc on Mars. Also a side note but it is interesting to see how KSR's views on climate change as a contributor to social collapse on Earth have changed from here to Ministry for the Future.
These books are just so rich and KSR is clearly so steeped in so many fields of knowledge... my previous go-to for doorstopper sci fi books that include lengthy discussions of various scientific concepts was Neal Stephenson, and while I've still got to respect Neal I think that while he might beat out KSR on pure concept writing he comes nowhere close when it comes to capturing the human side of the equation.
Looking forward to the third, and interested to see where things go from here now that the question which has animated the plot for so long, that of independence for Mars, has finally been resolved. I assume a conflict between the Reds and the Greens, which is the main irreconcilable dichotomy of the Martian cultures.
Ann might be my favorite character in the series, her and Nadia, and I wish we got more of her, though the section of her narration we do get is probably the one that's staying with me the longest. Her radically different view from basically every other viewpoint character, rooted in and also further creating her deep alienation, is rendered so clearly, when I feel like so many authors fail to make characters feel relatable at the same time as they carry an extremely distinct view of the world. KSR clearly loves nonliving natural beauty almost as much as he loves the beauty in growing things, and Ann is a connection between humanity and everything not alive.
It does feel like more attention was given to the social world occupied by the characters than the physical one, there aren't quite as many of the rhapsodic passages of geology- which I actually like, and which make the Red love for the planet itself something you can actually understand instead of thinking of them as a bunch of weird geologists. But anyway, I felt like my mental picture of the setting wasn't always as clear here as it was in Red Mars, and the reality of the world was interpreted more through how the characters feel about their surroundings.
I also wish that we'd got some more perspectives on what the buildup to the second revolution looked like- we mostly have Maya running her meetings in Odessa during the time immediately leading up to the war, and while I like her section, I also would have liked to see what that period looked like for other groups given the diversity of the elements within the revolutionary arc on Mars. Also a side note but it is interesting to see how KSR's views on climate change as a contributor to social collapse on Earth have changed from here to Ministry for the Future.
These books are just so rich and KSR is clearly so steeped in so many fields of knowledge... my previous go-to for doorstopper sci fi books that include lengthy discussions of various scientific concepts was Neal Stephenson, and while I've still got to respect Neal I think that while he might beat out KSR on pure concept writing he comes nowhere close when it comes to capturing the human side of the equation.
Looking forward to the third, and interested to see where things go from here now that the question which has animated the plot for so long, that of independence for Mars, has finally been resolved. I assume a conflict between the Reds and the Greens, which is the main irreconcilable dichotomy of the Martian cultures.
emilyreistermorris's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ripj_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
cdurbzz's review against another edition
3.0
not proud to say I trudged through the first 200 pages in roughly 4 months. as with the first book, most of the scientific descriptions are perfectly inscrutable to me. thankfully, the back 400 pages, which I read in 2 weeks, lean heavily into the totally enrapturing colonial politics of mars, dealing with a deep factionalism among martian revolutionaries (sound familiar?). altogether interesting and engrossing!
axelpe's review against another edition
5.0
Personalmente lo considero el mejor de la trilogía, principalmente por el desarrollo del proceso de terraformación y los problemas en la tierra. We stan Art, aunque no me convence 100% la representación de Praxis como una transnat buenita y benévola.
tcgoetz's review against another edition
3.0
This review is for the re-read on the comment date.
There is a lot of navel gazing in this book. I find myself skimming forward often. I think editing it down would have improved the book. Too much long sections of yawn between anything happening. 90% build up and 10% action.
I do like the concept of terraforming and colonizing mars. The book shows a lot of research into that area.
There is a lot of navel gazing in this book. I find myself skimming forward often. I think editing it down would have improved the book. Too much long sections of yawn between anything happening. 90% build up and 10% action.
I do like the concept of terraforming and colonizing mars. The book shows a lot of research into that area.
sumeetv's review against another edition
4.0
KSR has always been a bit hard for me to read despite his beautiful prose. I went into this trilogy expecting more science fiction than a human narrative and was a caught a bit off guard by the first book. This one felt more honest to the soul of the series and KSR's familiar question of how we and our loved ones fit in the cosmos. it was slow at times, but the journey is absolutely worth it.