Blue Mars

The final volume of a trilogy that began with Red Mars and continued with Green Mars, Blue Mars completes the story of the "First Hundred", a pioneering group of explorers who have overseen a terraforming project that transformed Mars from a lifeless planet into a world habitable by humans. An anti-ageing breakthrough has kept the First Hundred alive for three centuries and in that time, their motives, desires and passions have evolved in ways that parallel the changes on Mars itself. Conceptually complex and daring, the publication of Blue Mars marks the completion of a modern science fiction masterpiece.

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Mars - Rated
after red mars you want more , so you should go through green and finish on blue ..... nothing to add Kim Stanley Robinson you love it or hate it ;) you will definitely love it

Drags terribly, no plot. - Rated
Red Mars, the first book of KSRs trilogy, is an extremely interesting and worthwhile account of how mankind might possibly settle on Mars. Green Mars is slower, but still a decent read.

But Blue Mars is extraordinarily dull. I ploughed my way through over a 1000 plotless pages wondering if the editorial team had given up entirely and simply let KSR write whatever came to mind. A failure of a novel, only to be read by those who feel they must complete the trilogy - but hardly worth the effort.

Wonderful conclusion to an epic trilogy - Rated
"Blue Mars" continues direstly from where "Green Mars" left off. The Martians have gained their independence from Earth and now set about establishing new forms of government and developing their own way of life, rather than have it decided for them by the Terran meta-nationals. The book focuses heavily on the actions of the remnants of the First Hundred, such as Sax,Ann,Maya and Nadia plus new characters like Zo and Nirgal.

"Blue Mars" as the title suggests is set on a fully terraformed Mars. The atmosphere has thickened and heated up and the ice seas have melted and created a hydrosphere similar to Earth. The masks and walkers have now been disposed of. The scientific substance of the book now concentrates on developing the longevity treatment, ecopoesis and the psychological difficulties of coping with living for 200 years plus.

I didn't find "Blue Mars" to be as fascinating and exciting as the first two books of the trilogy and was a bit overlong. Perhaps that was due to over familiarity with the setting and characters and it was only when Nirgal and Zo featured heavily that "Blue Mars" had a character of its own and came to life , but unfortunately most of the book concentrated on the First Hundred whose lifes work was more or less complete by the end of "Green Mars". I would have liked to have read more about "The Accelerando" instead. I also didn't like the prolonged ending to "Blue Mars"; I thought it was lacking in impact somewhat and didn't bring the Trilogy to the spectacular end it deserved.

However "Blue Mars" is still a wonderful book, full of impressive and credible scientific detail, and if Mars is to be colonised then this trilogy is a perfect guidebook for its terraformation. However the timeframe for the colonisation set out by Robinson is slightly over-optimistic I think ; maybe by a hundred years or so. I cant see antelope roaming the forests of Mars until the 23rd Century at least ! Although technology is advancing all the time.

As I read through the Mars Trilogy, I couldnt help but think that science, in its entirety, the geology,biology,physics,chemistry and all its subdivisions , is nothing more than Man progressively trying to get into the mind of God, to be God. They are a very humanist and rationalist series of novels, however they promote a form of intellectual elitism. Science is worshipped,science can provide the answers to everything and highly intelligent elitists know best. There is no room for religion or the supernatural in this vision.

"Blue Mars" is a must read for those who have read the first two books, it would be incomprehensible if you haven't. It is a fitting conclusion to a remarkable series of novels. It is also easy to read ; I raced through its 800 pages in 9 days, so theres no excuse for not reading the whole series now !

Vast, Slow, Bold and Beautiful - Rated
On the US mirror site, the usual tedious carping from groupthinking right-wingers that accompanied 'RED' and 'GREEN' has been accompanied by a significant strand of criticism for the slow pace and meandering structure of the final volume of KSRs astonishing 'Mars' trilogy.

Granted, slowing down an already fairly ponderous narrative to a contemplative near-halt is a counterintuitive move, but consider the following:

1) Anyone not ready for a big, slow, character driven journey where literary style is as important as driving plot should have given up halfway through 'RED'. Why continue catering for them?

2) How much more disappointing would it have been if, having shown us the struggle to build a living world, the author fails to describe how people actually live in it?

I think this is what the final trilogy does - which is why the actual plot points sometimes feel a little forced - certainly the mild political wrangling that goes on doesn't deserve the same sort of treatment as the revolutionary fervour of the first two books. Presumably there was more than a little editorial pressure to add at least a little bit of direction - personally I could have done without it, and would have been just as happy with a series of incidents - vignettes showing the fascinating characters in the series enjoying (or otherwise) the fruits of their sacrifices while a new generation expands upon their work.

As to the sudden expansion of human colonisation - the 'Accelerando' - well, Stan's been so good about keeping everything within our own scientific horizons. Why not allow him a few flights of fancy? Remember, also, that this is two hundred years into our future - think back to the early 1800s. In any case, it allows him to have a happy ending on the cosmic as well as the personal scale. While the most tragic character - Ann, who saw so much of what she loved destroyed - finally achieves a rapprochement with the new Mars, we watch humanity overcoming its limitations, learning to grow without destroying everything around it and finding a thousand ways to live and work together. At its best, Science Fiction can express a profound, humanist vision that counteracts the pettiness of everyday life in a truly mind-expanding way - and this trilogy is Science Fiction at its very, very best.

A disappointing end to the trilogy - Rated
The first two books of this trilogy were good, although full of incomprehensible science (but I only took single science GCSE, so most science is incomprehensible to me, if you know about that sort of stuff you'll probably be fine), but you can get by understanding the plot without the science. There were feelings, but not so many that you got overwhelmed and thought you were reading something trashy with a bright pink cover. Unfortunately, this has all ended with the final installation, which is all feelings and discussions about the composition of soil. Too long and rambling for my liking, especially when there was so much potential.