A review by crowfood
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
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.