Blue Mars

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying Conclusion to a Very Good Series
Review: All in all, a very rich series. Yes, it's not a rip-roaringly exciting read; if that's what you want there are any number of throwaway blockbusters out there to pass the time. If, however, you want a book to make you think and that you might actually learn something from, then consider the Mars Trilogy. For those of us with an attention span longer than 30 seconds, these are well-crafted, intelligent books, that offer a bold vision of the near future. The main criticisms are the slight fixation on geology/areology and the what in all likelihood is a considerably accelerated timeline of events. The political, social, technological and economic developments are on the whole fascinatingly plausible, and the series culminates nicely. Like any half-decent novel, there are dull passages, but this is of course necessary for you to keep the action of the story within context. Not classics though, but very good nontheless.

Rating:
Summary: Successful Completion of a Remarkable Terraforming Vision!
Review: Some disappointed readers seem to have missed the point of Blue Mars.This conclusion to the trilogy, rather than trying to outdothe earlier installments' brilliant technical vision, builds on them triumphantly! Of course, Mars is perceived differently by its inhabitants and earthlings alike when terraforming matures! The sheer struggle for survival evolves into much more sophisticated social interactions, between people (Robinson's cast of characters) and worlds. Who could fail to believe that terraforming of our close neighbor in the solar system would not lead to the expansion of the technique throughout the solar system as envisioned in Blue Mars. In the same way, as one reviewer noted, the character Ann matures in her ability to understand the ultimate impacts of terraforming. Not only the physical dimension evolves; the social dimension evolves just as fundamentally. Robinson's attention to the social aspects of his terraforming vision is really the strength of Blue Mars. His vision is powerful and detailed, just as were his earlier technical visions in Red and Green Mars. Interestingly, themes common to many recent cyberpunk works appear in this work as well. There seems to be a common vision of where our world humanity is destined to go, if not in physical space, then certainly in our inner spaces. Blue Mars was truly fulfilling as the culmination of this outstanding science fiction opus.

Rating:
Summary: Slow Way to End, But...
Review: On the one hand, I love this series. Robinson's recurring characters, the survivors of the "First Hundred" and their offspring, are memorable and fascinating. Another fascinating aspect of this story is the ever-unfolding terraforming of Mars. We start from the bare-minimum survivability achieved at the end of Green Mars, and eventually move on to seeing bees, sequoia trees, and even polar bears (albeit genetically altered to survive a thinner atmosphere).

Also, we "see" (believe me, Robinson's writing can do this) the changing of Vastitas Borealis into a Northern Sea; a channel burned into the surface to release volatiles turned into an actual, open-air canal; tented cities becoming seaside resorts; and the pink and brown sky gradually shift to an actual, Earthlike "sky blue." Out beyond Mars, the asteroids and outer moons are being colonized as a means of relieving population or prison pressures on Earth. And Earth, suffering from the flooding created by the Antarctic Ice Sheet, has space elevators that are so massive they have multiple tether points on the surface. This is world-building writ large, and Robinson makes it all seem marvelous and believable.

Naturally, that's just the technological angle. Politically, Mars is in the process of creating a world constitution. (You can read the full text of this constitution in The Martians.) There are some points about the constitution I don't like, mostly its emphasis upon the judiciary--particularly the environmental and other courts--to become the primary arbiter of power. There are some good things to like in the Martian Constitution system as well (like the "Australian ballot system"), but that's a talk for another day. Suffice to say, once the constitution is formed, life on Mars goes on, in semi-peaceful, matriarchal, environmentally-sensitive fashion.

The Martian matriarchy begins to export its technological products off-world, and in the process extending its political power. Jackie Boone's daughter Zoe (or Zo) is one of the primary matriarchs, and she is completely ruthless in her tactics. The still-ancient Ann Clayborne rightly calls her a "thug." Back on Mars, Jackie has become a power.

The First Hundred themselves are getting old, old, old. They're losing their memories, facing problems not curable by their gerontological treatments, and generally becoming strange. Old Sax Russell is still on hand, however, to apply his relentless intellect to their memory problems. This is where the book starts to slow down. How much information does a reader really need about the chemical process of aging? Other passages get old fast, especially if you're not interested in or an expert on genetic engineering or rock formations.

One cute bit in Blue Mars is the story's connection to the world portrayed in Robinson's The Memory of Whiteness. Obviously, KSR is attempting to make many or all of his stories into one comprehensive narrative. There are some continuity gaps, but you get the picture. Blue Mars completes the cycle of the series, and probably had to be written. However, the first two books make the best points and are much more fun to read.

Rating:
Summary: Promising trilogy comes to bloated, sloppy conclusion
Review: Let's face it: the best book in Robinson's Mars trilogy is the first one. After that, he coasts for another 1300+ pages, perhaps realizing that many readers will finish the trilogy either on principle or out of some internally driven obsessive compulsion (I probably fit into the latter category).

The final book in the trilogy is easily the weakest. The plot is plodding and uninteresting, the descriptions of the planet as its "terraforming" process continues are excessive and often boring, and the now-ancient surviving members of the "First Hundred" are insufferably always the same. Robinson knows a LOT about many contemporary fields of science, and it's to his credit that he attempts to share this knowledge with his readers. However, his presentations of this information usually take the form of long, cul-de-sac-like digressions which left me with the impression that Robinson chose to use this final Mars novel as a kind of bully pulpit to publi! cize his particular viewpoints regarding various scientific controversies. He also shows a vigorous and sometimes refreshing interest in the possibilities for new political and economic structures in the future, but ultimately, his ideas seem a muddle. He introduces, for example, the notion that there might be a "good" transnational corporation in the future that can play the financial and technological White Knight for those who wish to be free of interplanetary imperialistic capitalism. How this ultimately works, however (and what really makes "Praxis" different from its competitors), is left to our imaginations. The corporate spy sent by Praxis to Mars in *Green Mars* goes native in a hurry and then simply becomes another "good guy" in the story.

The book is badly in need of editing. There are loose ends everywhere--solid, stolid Nadia, for example, becomes Free Mars' first President, and then predictably begins to exhibit despotic tende! ncies. Just as this latest manifestation of the old adage ! that "power corrupts" begins to gather steam, however, that thread is dropped--forever. And what DID ever happen to the quasi-mystical Hiroko? Did Robinson forget to tell us, or are we simply supposed to intuit our own version of what her mysterious fate might be?

One of the strong points of *Red Mars* was its overall apparent credibility. As one read the book, it really seemed that the various twists and turns in the plot were prophetic as to what might well happen if and when Mars is ever colonized. In *Blue Mars*, however, things start going "Buck Rogers." Consider this: in the future, humans will colonize Mercury by building an enclosed city that moves constantly on big railroad tracks around and around the planet to escape that world's temperature extremes. Hmmmmm. Other people will build cities for the near-weightless on the moons of Uranus, and still others will burrow into asteroids to create little mini-colonies that travel hither and yon. ! I also confess to finding it hard to believe that through scientific legerdemain Mars will (or can) be turned into a kind of mirror of earth, complete with genetically engineered polar bears and puffins. By the end, the entire trajectory of the "terraforming" process strains reader credulity. Yeah, I guess I lack imagination. On the other hand, even "Star Trek" never has gone to such extremes in its claims for future technological breakthroughs.

Overall, I recommend that readers buy and read *Red Mars*, and then skip the final two books of the trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: The final phase of the transformation of Mars...
Review: This is the third and last of the "Mars" series (Red Mars, Green Mars). The focus of this book is the development of a new culture on Mars in an ever shrinking Solar System, as mankind stretches its colonial reach to other planets and planetesimals. The increasingly growing Earth population is threatening the new Mars society, old thinking against the new, old lifestyles against the new freedoms of life on Mars. Kim Stanley Robinson continues to make the First One Hundred settlers our eyes and ears as we are taken through the development of a new global constitution, the wonders of scientific exploration, the unknowns of extended aging and the limits of memory. The last of these takes us full circle and revisits how it all began in Red Mars, elegantly closing loose threads and bringing this epic story to a satisfying conclusion.

The entire series is a must, if long read. Robinson never dumbs down to his readers, instead he requires one to contemplate an onslaught of fascinating scientific information that truly demonstrates the author has done his homework, and that there is so much for us to learn.

Rating:
Summary: Slow Way to End, But...
Review: On the one hand, I love this series. Robinson's recurring characters, the survivors of the "First Hundred" and their offspring, are memorable and fascinating. Another fascinating aspect of this story is the ever-unfolding terraforming of Mars. We start from the bare-minimum survivability achieved at the end of Green Mars, and eventually move on to seeing bees, sequoia trees, and even polar bears (albeit genetically altered to survive a thinner atmosphere).

Also, we "see" (believe me, Robinson's writing can do this) the changing of Vastitas Borealis into a Northern Sea; a channel burned into the surface to release volatiles turned into an actual, open-air canal; tented cities becoming seaside resorts; and the pink and brown sky gradually shift to an actual, Earthlike "sky blue." Out beyond Mars, the asteroids and outer moons are being colonized as a means of relieving population or prison pressures on Earth. And Earth, suffering from the flooding created by the Antarctic Ice Sheet, has space elevators that are so massive they have multiple tether points on the surface. This is world-building writ large, and Robinson makes it all seem marvelous and believable.

Naturally, that's just the technological angle. Politically, Mars is in the process of creating a world constitution. (You can read the full text of this constitution in The Martians.) There are some points about the constitution I don't like, mostly its emphasis upon the judiciary--particularly the environmental and other courts--to become the primary arbiter of power. There are some good things to like in the Martian Constitution system as well (like the "Australian ballot system"), but that's a talk for another day. Suffice to say, once the constitution is formed, life on Mars goes on, in semi-peaceful, matriarchal, environmentally-sensitive fashion.

The Martian matriarchy begins to export its technological products off-world, and in the process extending its political power. Jackie Boone's daughter Zoe (or Zo) is one of the primary matriarchs, and she is completely ruthless in her tactics. The still-ancient Ann Clayborne rightly calls her a "thug." Back on Mars, Jackie has become a power.

The First Hundred themselves are getting old, old, old. They're losing their memories, facing problems not curable by their gerontological treatments, and generally becoming strange. Old Sax Russell is still on hand, however, to apply his relentless intellect to their memory problems. This is where the book starts to slow down. How much information does a reader really need about the chemical process of aging? Other passages get old fast, especially if you're not interested in or an expert on genetic engineering or rock formations.

One cute bit in Blue Mars is the story's connection to the world portrayed in Robinson's The Memory of Whiteness. Obviously, KSR is attempting to make many or all of his stories into one comprehensive narrative. There are some continuity gaps, but you get the picture. Blue Mars completes the cycle of the series, and probably had to be written. However, the first two books make the best points and are much more fun to read.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious
Review: Political tripe set on another planet so it can masquerade as science fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Robinson needs an editor
Review: I've read almost all the Hugo and Nebula winners and I don't know of any works less deserving of these awards than the Mars trilogy. If all three books (1900 pages or so) had been condensed to one 300 pager, it might have had enough plot, exciting characters, intriguing ideas, to have been worth it. For a classic tale of Mars colonization, I much prefer "The Martian Chronicles."

Rating:
Summary: A Great Conclusion to a Great Trilogy
Review: After reading "Blue Mars", I can safely conclude that Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy is in fact one of the most ambitious projects ever attempted in science fiction. There are, of course, countless projects that tried to tell the entire story of human history and feature huge plot events where the fate of entire planets hangs in the balance. But nobody, to my knowledge, has ever done so with the same incredible level of detail that Robinson gives us.

"Blue Mars" begins just minutes after where "Green Mars" ended, as various factions fight against UNTA and each other in the ongoing outburst of violence. The battles only take up about fifty pages at the start of the book, and that's followed by a segment devoted to the survivors attempting to establish a system of government on Mars. But while "Green Mars" focused almost entirely on the underground movements and the preparations for the climactic revolt, "Blue Mars" tells a more freewheeling story. As the author frequently reminds us, Mars is a big place, with space for a huge number of communities and individuals to explore and develop.

The story told in this book, simply put, is huge. It goes all over the solar system and beyond, looking at how life changes in the future for a gigantic cast of characters. Some of it may seem far-fetched, but all of it is well-written and exciting. There are, as in the previous two books, a lot of passages of descriptive writing, as Robinson tries to help you visualize what he has in mind in terms of setting. In my humble opinion, these passages are the master stroke. They draw the reader into the world that the author creates, making it more real than any other science fiction novel that I can think of. "Blue Mars" is a masterpiece, and a vast improvement over the slower-paced "Green Mars".

Rating:
Summary: Great Finish
Review: Blue Mars provides a superb end to a great Trilogy. More than a century after the First Hundred colonized Mars millions of people now live on her surface. In Blue Mars Robinson speculates not only on what the future of the Fourth Planet may be like decades after colonization, but also delves into the future of intra-Solar System space flight, the future of medicine, as well as a whole host of other probable technologies. The only draw back is that this novel can, at times, mire itself in politics and seemingly forget that Mars is really big and has a lot more to offer than seemingly endless governmental meetings. This slight drawback (and it really is slight) does not however overcome the grandeur and scope of Robinson's final book in the Trilogy.