ovidusnaso's review against another edition
3.0
"Blue Mars" er forståelig nok ikke like nyskapende som "Red Mars", selv om den tar for seg flere spørsmål de andre bøkene ikke rører. Hva er formålet med å leve evig om du blir dement? Hvordan skal et post-knapphetssamfunn som også er demilitarisert forsvare retten sin til selvstyre? Hvilken form skal selvstyret ta? Hva om du gikk tur på Mars og plutselig møtte et rovdyr, hadde ikke det vært messed up? Hva om vi kan få Eskil til å føle savn, sympati, forakt og vemmelse over bare tredve sider? Det var definitivt verdt det.
neblig's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
5.0
An incredible book, and incredible series overall. Really dense to get into, but once it gets rolling a whole world opens up. Not just about setting mars, but great speculative fiction about the direction of humanity - with envisioned alternatives to capitalism, patriarchy, and war.
christophevdp's review against another edition
1.0
Put it away and read 3 better, shorter books in stead.
I read Red Mars and thought it was interesting, but boring.
I struggled through Green Mars and told myself I would never read anything as boring as that again.
Now - years later - Against my better judgement I started in Blue Mars and yeah...
DNF.
It's not that KSR is a bad writer. It's that he has the tendency to start and finish his books (in all three on display here) with something interesting. Action. Science. Politics. Nicely balanced, but in between those two extremities in his novels, he makes your eyes bleed from boredom.
I kinda forgot that that was what annoyed me so much about Green Mars. And when I started Blue, I was briefly fooled again! I thought "hey, this isn't as bad as I remember. Why did I instate that KSR moratorium?". And then after the first couple of chapters I realized I was reading about rocks. And moss. And a character driving around for pages and pages and pages, having an internal dialog about rocks. And moss. And the occasional crater. Which can best be described as a localized absence of rocks.
So I bailed on it. I gave three stars to Red. Two stars to Green. And this one gets one. Because that's my DNF rating. I rarely put books away unfinished. But I can read 3 other books by the time I struggle through another one of these. So that is what I will do.
I read Red Mars and thought it was interesting, but boring.
I struggled through Green Mars and told myself I would never read anything as boring as that again.
Now - years later - Against my better judgement I started in Blue Mars and yeah...
DNF.
It's not that KSR is a bad writer. It's that he has the tendency to start and finish his books (in all three on display here) with something interesting. Action. Science. Politics. Nicely balanced, but in between those two extremities in his novels, he makes your eyes bleed from boredom.
I kinda forgot that that was what annoyed me so much about Green Mars. And when I started Blue, I was briefly fooled again! I thought "hey, this isn't as bad as I remember. Why did I instate that KSR moratorium?". And then after the first couple of chapters I realized I was reading about rocks. And moss. And a character driving around for pages and pages and pages, having an internal dialog about rocks. And moss. And the occasional crater. Which can best be described as a localized absence of rocks.
So I bailed on it. I gave three stars to Red. Two stars to Green. And this one gets one. Because that's my DNF rating. I rarely put books away unfinished. But I can read 3 other books by the time I struggle through another one of these. So that is what I will do.
skeindalous's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jercox's review against another edition
1.0
I finished it, but only because I was sort of interested in some of the characters, and I like to finish things - probably should have written this series off a few chapters into book two. I repeatedly skipped tens of pages of random descriptions of people looking at the world, and thinking about their lives, with a little political or economic nihilism / utopianism thrown in. Very few things actually happen, and characters don't even communicate that much.
The description of the development of futuristic technologies is also ... well, I would call it technobabble. I understand it is science fiction, and some of hand waving is always there - it's the future, we don't know about it yet. But no reason to spend dozens of pages describing the process of developing the next memory treatment, when we all know that it is imaginary.
The description of the development of futuristic technologies is also ... well, I would call it technobabble. I understand it is science fiction, and some of hand waving is always there - it's the future, we don't know about it yet. But no reason to spend dozens of pages describing the process of developing the next memory treatment, when we all know that it is imaginary.
ivinklerkomaric's review against another edition
4.0
Ova knjiga (a i njene prethodnice Crveni i Zeleni Mars) mi je ostavila divan, ushićen osjećaj u grudima. Uopće ne mogu opisati što se sve divnog izdogađalo od samog početka. Robinson je osmislio moćnu priču o dolasku na Mars i njegovoj preobrazbi iz kamenog divljeg planeta bez atmosfere u divni plavo-zeleni svijet pun šuma, biljaka, životinja, rijeka, potoka i mora, zanimljivih ljudi, velikh gradova, malih mjesta, čudesnih izuma (terapija dugovječnosti je samo jedan od njih).
U ovoj knjizi sam se posebno jako zbližila s glavnim likovima (iako su to većinom isti likovi kao i u prve dvije knjige), Sax, Ann, Nadja, Art, Kojot, pa čak i Maja, a posebno Nirgal (koji mi je prirastao srcu i postao najdraži lik), postali su mi jako dragi, navijala sam za njih, željela sam da ostanu živi do kraja knjige, da im se ništa loše ne dogodi. I tako je srećom i ispalo. Isto tako sam tužna za onima koji su tijekom knjiga otišli, prvenstveno John Boone, Arkadij, na kraju i Michel pa čak i Chalmers koji mi je tijekom života bio toliko antipatičan i na kojeg sam bila tako ljuta većinu vremena.
Knjige su prepune čudesa, Robinson je isčarobirao predivnu fascinantnu budućnost koja bi mogla biti i vjerojatna. Tijekom 200 godina kroz koje se proteže radnja trilogije, uspjeli su izbaciti Phobos iz orbite pa ga na kraju vratiti, uništiti Deimos, povezati Mars sa asteroidom u orbiti pomoću "svemirskog dizala", osmisliti fuzijski pogon koji je put od Zemlje do Marsa skratio na nekoliko dana, naseliti asteroidni pojas i ostale planete tj. njihove mjesece, osmisliti terapiju dugovječnosti koja je izbrisala skoro sve bolesti, u orbitu planeta raširiti posebnu soletu koja je ubrzavala zagrijavanje i ono najbolje, otopiti led, potaknuti nastajanje vode, oceana, rijeka, kiše i učiniti zrak dobrim za disanje. Čudesa! Bilo bi divno biti dio takvog svijeta. Nadam se da će se to jednom zaista i dogoditi.
U trećoj knjizi neki od likova kratko posjećuju Zemlju. To mi je bio posebno divan dio knjige jer su posjetili Provansu. I iako Provansa budućnosti nije ni blizu sadašnjoj (gradovi na obali poplavljeni su zbog otapanja Antarktika), svejedno mi je bilo posebno divno čitati jer su spominjali sva ona mjesta koje sam i ja prije nekoliko godina posjetila, Avignon, Arles, Nimes, Pont du Gard, Aix-en-Provence....
Knjizi dajem 4 zvjezdice iz jednog jedinog razloga, a to nije zato što je bilo koji dio knjige loš već zato što dijelove koji su pričali o fizici, biologiji i drugim znanostima nisam baš razumjela, a dijelovi koji govore o politici i ekonomiji me nisu baš zanimali.
Ali neizmjerno sam uživala u čitanju i ove knjige i prve dvije. Predivna fantazija koja će nadam se jednom postati i stvarnost.
U ovoj knjizi sam se posebno jako zbližila s glavnim likovima (iako su to većinom isti likovi kao i u prve dvije knjige), Sax, Ann, Nadja, Art, Kojot, pa čak i Maja, a posebno Nirgal (koji mi je prirastao srcu i postao najdraži lik), postali su mi jako dragi, navijala sam za njih, željela sam da ostanu živi do kraja knjige, da im se ništa loše ne dogodi. I tako je srećom i ispalo. Isto tako sam tužna za onima koji su tijekom knjiga otišli, prvenstveno John Boone, Arkadij, na kraju i Michel pa čak i Chalmers koji mi je tijekom života bio toliko antipatičan i na kojeg sam bila tako ljuta većinu vremena.
Knjige su prepune čudesa, Robinson je isčarobirao predivnu fascinantnu budućnost koja bi mogla biti i vjerojatna. Tijekom 200 godina kroz koje se proteže radnja trilogije, uspjeli su izbaciti Phobos iz orbite pa ga na kraju vratiti, uništiti Deimos, povezati Mars sa asteroidom u orbiti pomoću "svemirskog dizala", osmisliti fuzijski pogon koji je put od Zemlje do Marsa skratio na nekoliko dana, naseliti asteroidni pojas i ostale planete tj. njihove mjesece, osmisliti terapiju dugovječnosti koja je izbrisala skoro sve bolesti, u orbitu planeta raširiti posebnu soletu koja je ubrzavala zagrijavanje i ono najbolje, otopiti led, potaknuti nastajanje vode, oceana, rijeka, kiše i učiniti zrak dobrim za disanje. Čudesa! Bilo bi divno biti dio takvog svijeta. Nadam se da će se to jednom zaista i dogoditi.
U trećoj knjizi neki od likova kratko posjećuju Zemlju. To mi je bio posebno divan dio knjige jer su posjetili Provansu. I iako Provansa budućnosti nije ni blizu sadašnjoj (gradovi na obali poplavljeni su zbog otapanja Antarktika), svejedno mi je bilo posebno divno čitati jer su spominjali sva ona mjesta koje sam i ja prije nekoliko godina posjetila, Avignon, Arles, Nimes, Pont du Gard, Aix-en-Provence....
Knjizi dajem 4 zvjezdice iz jednog jedinog razloga, a to nije zato što je bilo koji dio knjige loš već zato što dijelove koji su pričali o fizici, biologiji i drugim znanostima nisam baš razumjela, a dijelovi koji govore o politici i ekonomiji me nisu baš zanimali.
Ali neizmjerno sam uživala u čitanju i ove knjige i prve dvije. Predivna fantazija koja će nadam se jednom postati i stvarnost.
sirlancelot2021's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nickfourtimes's review against another edition
5.0
1) ''The primal planet, in all its sublime glory, red and rust, still as death; dead; altered through the years only by matter's chemical permutations, the immense slow life of geophysics. It was an odd concept---abiologic life---but there it was, if one cared to see it, a kind of living, out there spinning, moving through the stars that burned, moving through the universe in its great systolic/diastolic movement, its one big breath, one might say. Sunset somehow made it easier to see that.''
2) '''My boy,' he said at last, dreamily. The whole city was quiet. Coyote muttered as if falling asleep. 'What does the hero do when the tale is over? Swim over the waterfall. Drift out on the tide.'''
3) '''Do you think this theory will be the end of physics?' he asked.
'Oh no. Although we might work out the fundamentals. You know, the basic laws. That might be possible, sure. But then every level of emergence above that creates its own problems. Taneev's work only scratches the surface there. It's like chess---we might learn all the rules, but still not be able to play very well because of the emergent properties. Like, you know, pieces are stronger if they're out in the center of the board. That's not in the rules, it's a result of all the rules put together.''
4) ''They stood there, looking back at the scattering of low hills that was Underhill.
'And here we are,' Sax said finally.
'Yes. Here we are.'''
2) '''My boy,' he said at last, dreamily. The whole city was quiet. Coyote muttered as if falling asleep. 'What does the hero do when the tale is over? Swim over the waterfall. Drift out on the tide.'''
3) '''Do you think this theory will be the end of physics?' he asked.
'Oh no. Although we might work out the fundamentals. You know, the basic laws. That might be possible, sure. But then every level of emergence above that creates its own problems. Taneev's work only scratches the surface there. It's like chess---we might learn all the rules, but still not be able to play very well because of the emergent properties. Like, you know, pieces are stronger if they're out in the center of the board. That's not in the rules, it's a result of all the rules put together.''
4) ''They stood there, looking back at the scattering of low hills that was Underhill.
'And here we are,' Sax said finally.
'Yes. Here we are.'''
daytonm's review against another edition
4.0
Overall not as strong as Red Mars or Green Mars--it lagged a bit in the middle, and I didn't love every character choice--but when it soars, it soars. At its most compelling, I think, exploring tensions between green and red, the terraformed (or areoformed) young biosphere and primal Mars. What a trilogy!
As a whole the three books get a robust five stars, and I'm eager to read more of Robinson's books. Philosophically challenging, fascinating characters, exciting politics, and there's just something about Mars!
As a whole the three books get a robust five stars, and I'm eager to read more of Robinson's books. Philosophically challenging, fascinating characters, exciting politics, and there's just something about Mars!
danielgwood's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0