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Forty Signs of Rain (Robinson, Kim Stanley)
 
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Forty Signs of Rain (Robinson, Kim Stanley) (Hardcover)

by Kim Stanley Robinson (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Spectra Books (May 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0553803115
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553803112
  • Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.4 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,574,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #82 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > R > Robinson, Kim Stanley

Product Description

Product Description
The first of three linked novels set in the strife-torn world of big science, operating out of the corrupt political heart of the developed world In the interface between big science and big business lies the potential for the absolute destruction or salvation of our world, as new discoveries open ever more remarkable doorways into the future. And while good intentions may underlie the science that leads to these discoveries, human greed, on an individual, political or corporate basis, will always seek a way to exploit each and every new development. Combining superb narrative and beautiful writing, these will not only be highly entertaining thrillers but will also offer the reader a privileged insight into and greater understanding of the bigger picture and how the jigsaw pieces of science, politics and business operate in the modern world. The events of the books will focus on: a science-industrial spy, based in part on the amazing multiple-lives of FBI spy Ronald Hansen; a US patent office lawyer; a venture capitalist; a Washington lobbyist; a Congressional aide; a Buddhist scientist, recently arrived in the West; a Senator and several scientists at a biotech lab outside Washington: and the storylines will include births, deaths, marriages and murder, as well as all the political, scientific and espionage elements: life on the micro, as well as the macro, level. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author
Kim Stanley Robinson was born in 1952 and, after travelling and working around the world, has now settled in his beloved California. He is widely regarded as the finest science fiction writer working today, noted as much for the verisimilitude of his characters as the meticulously researched hard science basis of his work. He has won just about every major sf award there is to win and is the author of the massively successful and lavishly praised Mars series. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Forty Signs of Rain (Robinson, Kim Stanley)
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Forty Signs of Rain (Robinson, Kim Stanley) 3.3 out of 5 stars (6)
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars West Wing meets The Day After Tomorrow?, 25 May 2004
This review is from: Forty Signs of Rain (Hardcover)
When you buy Robinson you expect beautiful description, genuine motivation and left wing ideology. Forty Signs of Rain does not disappoint - a story of big science and big politics in the face of ecological disaster; spiced up with cleverly observed moments of individual lives: dinner parties, childcare, meetings, coffee breaks. Robinson can really create those "yes, that's what it's like!" moments and then move on to surrealistic images of tigers roaming the backgardens of Washington.

Robinson continues to mature as a writer - he is more free with his brand of gentle humour, more relaxed and realistic with the romantic scenes. Above all, he disciplines his descriptions of nature and landscape - focusing on the telling detail rather than the pages and pages of description which occaisionally marred the Mars trilogy.

It's not packed with action. There are no laser guns, spaceships or aliens. It is thoughtful, intellectual, witty, moving, vivid, defiantly high brow and engagingly 'new age'.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Seems like the first third of a larger volume., 13 May 2005
This review is from: Forty Signs of Rain (Paperback)
I have read most of Kim Stanley Robinson's books since coming upon the Orange County books and enjoyed them greatly. I'm sorry to say that this was a disappointment. The quality of writing remains excellent, but as the characters and plot develop, you realise that you are 200 odd pages into the book, with ~100 remaining, and little has happened. I presume that this is the first in a series of books and the story will develop in "50 Degrees Below" out later this year. However, this would be like publishing the masterpiece "Red Mars" in thirds rather than one volume. Has this been a Publisher's decision rather than author?

A good first book in a series but standing alone is a little disappointing.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Slow Slow Slow, 10 Mar 2008
By A. Hallett (Central England, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Forty Signs of Rain (Paperback)
I'm quite ticked off with this book. I've read the Mars trilogy and one of the reviews lead me to believe that this book would not be so heavy on description. I did not find that to be the case. For example if you are interested in the finest details of the scientific community (at least 5 pages were dedicated to the mechanism by which grants were approved...fascinating stuff let me tell you), or what it's like to be a man looking after a small child whilst your wife works (including warming up bottles of breast milk, I now consider myself an expert breast milk extraction)and of course rock climbing then this book is for you.

I do not mind character development, I consider it important but there is a point where it becomes self indulgent. There is not much plot to talk of in the first 200 pages and very little drama either. NOTHING HAPPENS and when it does there's an absence of drama there too. The cover of the book should classify as miselling. for perspective I've read the last of the orange county books and adored it, not a lot happened there either but there was drama and I felt for the characters. As far as this book is concerned I feel only the slightest of interest in Frank and the others could get killed in the most gruesome fashion and I would struggle to feel moved one iota. It's not a bad book, different people like different things, but it is very slow and takes an interesting theme and makes it tedious.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An ambitious work and a convincing vision of climate change
"Forty Signs of Rain" is the first novel in Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Science in the Capital' trilogy, exploring the potential impact of global warming as well as science's role in... Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Aitcheson

4.0 out of 5 stars important storytelling
i enjoyed this book. ksr's trademark descriptions of nature and the landscape serve to root this novel into our greater world. Read more
Published 22 months ago by S. Egan

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing after the 'Mars' trilogy
No, this is not as billed - most of the story is lost in the minutia of venture capital funding and the mechanics of scientific research. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2004

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