Red Mars
Green Mars
Blue Mars

by Kim Stanley Robinson

1993 Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-09204-9
1995 Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-57239-3
1996 Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-10144-7

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy is extraordinary.

The story's premise follows a future where humankind establishes a fragile colony on Mars which finally grows to become a thriving community. In the books' three-hundred year time span, Mars suffers from ecological crises as its colonists terraform it, humans on both Earth and Mars struggle with genetics issues, and political conflicts run the gamut from murder to, finally, revolution. No simple synopsis can capture the complete scope of these books. They offer a sweeping history and touch many major themes in what combines to become a compelling and believable vision of the future.

Robinson's grasp on science is solid. Despite the massive amount of effort terraforming would require, he describes the process in ways that are believable and imaginable. Beginning with the first long journey from Earth to the "space elevator" used to ship cargo to and from Mars' orbit, Robinson grounds his story in science that, while advanced, gives the reader a true sense that it is all possible. More than many other science fiction books, the Mars trilogy does not read as fantasy but as a connected, possible, imaginable future.

Robinson also weaves exhaustive political issues into his future history of Mars. From the economics of colonization to the implications of genetics breakthroughs, Mars is forever spinning in a human orbit of intrigue and power. No event on Mars is isolated from the vicissitudes of its main characters or the power-struggles on Earth.

By using a consistent family of characters, Robinson ties the sweeping events of the story to a familiar cast as the stage around them boils over with natural and political conflicts. Rather than allow the story to become a historical dissertation, the author paints an opera in the foreground by which readers can bridge the gap between history and story. Its characters, though, may present readers the trilogy's one weakness: they're hard to like. By creating a human history of Mars, filled with all of humanity's stupidities and pettiness, the all too flawed characters can leave the reader dissatisfied. While the novels present a mature vision, science fiction fans may regret the lack of a trusted hero or heroine. While I suspect that Robinson would argue that this was his intention all along, some readers may be left exasperated by the fairly neurotic family they follow for some thousand plus pages.

Ultimately, however, Mars' characters blend well with the extreme conflicts in the story. The entire trilogy is filled with episodes of personal conflict shown against a backdrop of a world evolving. The novels are a triumph.

-- Scott Love
November 1997

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