- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Voyager (19 April 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002253585
- ISBN-13: 978-0002253581
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 960,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Martians (Mars Trilogy)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Robinson's Mars trilogy--Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars--was arguably the finest thing the SF field achieved during the 90s. Its account of the 'terraforming' of Mars, of revolts and repression and the creation of something approximating a Utopia, has an impressive sweep, but does not neglect the human dimension. The flawed but fascinating leaders of the original colony and their increasingly strange descendants interact and conspire down the decades; the discovery of longevity drugs at an early stage in the plot ensures that those characters who are not murdered, crushed, exploded or burned in warfare of the most inventively horrid kind just keep on going. The Martians is by way of a pendant-- several of the longer stories fill in background to the trilogy by telling us about relationships that happened mostly offstage. Sometimes Robinson tells us what would have happened in other circumstances--in two stories the colony never starts. And much of the rest of the book consists of the epiphanic evocations of exotic landscape which is yet another of the trilogy's strengths. The Martians is not the place to start with Robinson's Mars, but it is a nice addition. --Roz Kaveney
Review
Praise for Kim Stanley Robinson:
‘The ultimate in future history’
Daily Mail
‘One of the finest works of American SF’
The Times
‘Staggering… required reading for the colonists of the next century’
Arthur C. Clarke
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Okay, yes, I'll admit it - it was hard not to feel sad while reading this book, knowing that it was almost certainly the last time I'd be "on" Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars... like many fans of the epic trilogy of future martian colonisation and terraformation I've lost count of the number of tims I've read the books, they've become a very big and important part of my life, something I've grown up with in a way. So, when I opened the pages of THE MARTIANS for the first time it was with a mixture of excitement and fear, kind of the way you feel when you sit down to finally see a film you've been looking forwards to for sooooo long, wondering if it will live up to the hype or leave you disappointed...
I needn't have worried. THE MARTIANS is a fine climax to the series, and provides followers of the saga with a wonderfully moving "goodbye" to the Mars we've come to love so much.
This is a collection of short stories, essays, fictional documents and poems designed to both tie up loose ends and provide startling, intriguing glimpses into possible alternative KSR martian timelines... reading some of the stories offers tantalising glimpses of "What Might Have Been". Reading other parts of the book you learn about events from already-established Red Mars characters pasts' which have, until then, either only been hinted at or kept completely hidden. Other stories explore the physical and political landscapes of KSR's Mars through the eyes of new, original characters, or characters from previously-published - but hard to find - short stories set on KSR's Mars. The most common reactions I experienced while reading the book were: "Aaah, NOW I see..!" or "What?! I had no idea!" or even "You know, I actually wondered about that myself..."
As for the poems, they show the depth of Kim's love affair with Mars, and provide yet more background detail to the struggles of the colonists and terraformers. There's something for everyone in here: frustrated reds, impatient Greens, whatever your colour you're represented in the poetry.
I can definitely recommend THE MARTIANS to anyone already in love with KSR's Mars and its characters. Newcomers to the series definitely shouldn't start here however.
I didn't cry when I finished the book, just after midnight on the day I bought it, but probably only because of the clever way Robinson wraps the whole thing up in such a magically personal way. Instead I walked out into my yard and looked up at Mars itself, shining like a garnet above the trees, and wished it goodbye. For now. He'll be back, he won't be able to help himself. The guy's in love... :-)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Martians offers some unusual and intriguing extrapolations from the Mars trilogy. Robinson tempts the reader with glimpses of some of the characters and events from R/G/B Mars, sometimes enlightening, sometimes puzzling. There are also some alternative histories, which still sit well with the those more conventional items which attempt to fill in a few gaps from the original books.
I usually find short story Sci Fi quite dissatisfying, as if the author is presenting discarded ideas or plot strands didn't quite work out. In this degree, Robinson has done pretty well, and most of the collection left me content on such bite-sized morsels. For once, the whole exceeded the sum of the parts. However, this is not for readers who have not enjoyed the preceeding volumes.
For me, Robinson succeeds best in his wonderful landscape imagery, and the book continues to show you around the planet as looking through a lens. The Martians furthers the conviction that if you found yourself on Mars in a few years time, you would recognise it instantly - no guide book required.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Robinson revisits home territory in this book, adding some depth and width to what's essentially already in the "old" Mars trilogy. There's no point in reading this one unless you've already read (and enjoyed) Red, Green and Blue.
That said, it's a great read for those who did get through the earlier books. This one is short on action, but full of descriptions of Martian scenery (lots of rocks, as per usual...) and contains some gripping stories. It's also (unusally for SF) more concerned with people and politics than with shiny rockets. It makes for quality reading, and as always it's great to come across SF written for grown-ups - this book makes you think and even feel a bit. Hey, it even contains a constitution...
Let's hope Robinson finds a topic for his future books that fascinates him as much as Mars must have done. It's caused some great stuff to be published.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pretty Rubish
This appears to be the clippings left behind on the editing room floor from the 4 great Mars books. It should of been left there. Read more
Published 6 months ago by D. Waters
Interesting
If you are familiar with the Mars Trilogy, then this is a must-have: approximately 1/3 of the stories deal with an alternate reality within the storyline, where the 1st 100 never... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tuomas
Good, but can be unsettling
This is what KSR is good at - presenting multiple possibilities of the future (see his Orange County series). Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2002 by Ben Cooper
Not recommended, especially if you liked the trilogy
I was very disappointed. Much of the book is alternative histories to the material that appears in the main trilogy, yet this is not made clear. Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2001
The end...sniffle
If anyone tops this series I'll be mortified. A touching and astonishingly personal conclusion. Marvellous
Published on 22 Aug 2000
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