Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer. I've also read his 2312, which was reviewed here recently. Green Mars is the second book in his Mars Trilogy, coming after Red Mars and preceding Blue Mars.
In the wake of human settlement, the terraforming of Mars begins, altering the Martian landscape beyond recognition. At the same time the First Hundred, a group representing the initial wave of Martian settlers, is forced into hiding as the result of a failed revolution. While the First Hundred and their progeny argue the ins and outs of terraforming, the transnationals, enormous companies dictating events on Earth, attempt to seize power from a Transitional Authority on Mars.
All in all a good premise. For one thing we haven't seen it a thousand times already, and for another thing it seems to anticipate recent developments in space exploration. But aside from that premise there isn't a lot of character development in this book, and between the book's beginning and end lie lengthy (on might say oceanic) discussions of Martian geography, all framed around a number of people we never get to know that well.
I was really close to giving up on Green Mars. It's really long, it doesn't have much of a story, and a lot of the scientific discussions don't serve the plot. The only thing that kept me going was the price I paid for it. I bought it in an airport bookstore, and quitting halfway through just seemed like a waste of money.
I liked 2312 much more, and I might just be finished with Kim Stanley Robinson after this novel. I think I know what he's about now, and I doubt that his best is as good as other authors that I genuinely enjoy.
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