Red Mars again

[ailbhe]

Lord of the Flies in space with grownups - this time, with women! Still all white and straight though. Except for some token Mysteriously Spiritual Meditative East Asian bits.

I liked it well enough to start Green Mars though.

Comments

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed them both, though don't recall much plot as read them a long time ago. I think there's a Blue Mars now too.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Yes, and a Green Mars.

[barakta]

I think without spoilering it that there is a "progress" of sorts with shifts in society to an expected "ideal" and then sort of beyond it with the classic "Oh yeah but that prejudice doesn't exist any more so those 'extremer' types aren't needed anymore"...

It's not perfect and I think arguably it's too simplistic overall, but it doesn't seem to glorify war, while acknowledging the adrenalergic and "ok shit hitting fan lets deal".

I still haven't thought of anything which is as good without at least historical horrificness or excessive "femme-normativity" in the protagonist.

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

IIRC, it gets more progressive over time - can't really point out how without spoilering, but I reckon it's deliberate, representing the movement from establishment-selected people to a wider society.

KSR is a great writer, and I'd recommend his Science in the Capital trilogy as well, which I reckon falls within your preferred parameters.

[songster.livejournal.com]

I found that the trilogy started by being compelling and ended up as eat-your-own-leg-off appalling. This has very little to do with plot or characterisation, and much more to do with the fact that the actual science in Red Mars is mostly physics, whereas in Green and Blue Mars he starts dabbling in biology. The physics seemed solid, while the biology and psychology are awful. Probably a physicist would say the opposite :-)