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Sometimes I need a shove to get me moving. I've had this book out of the library for a while, but hadn't felt inspired to tackle it. I knew there would be a pile of (for me) yawn-inducing detail, both scientific and political. I'm sure Robinson must have read Frank Herbert's Dune series, but despite some similarities, that world captivated me and I struggle to care about this version of Mars. At any rate, I didn't click “renew" when I should have and found myself with only 5 days to read over 700 pages. I don't know whether to thank or curse the person who requested this title.

The anti-aging treatments that keep the original Mars settlers going and going seem to me to kind of petrify the new society. With little generational turnover, young people are stuck dealing with these elders who are rich in experience but short on flexibility. Like the Baby Boomers, they refuse to get out of the way and let younger folk explore new possibilities. Can you imagine if George Washington or Winston Churchill were still wandering around, wizened old things still trying to be relevant, sure they knew what was best for present societies? Perish the thought! Rather like the rock stars of the sixties struggling to stay hip without breaking a hip.

I thought it was quite perceptive of Robinson to have Maya approaching a youngish man at a gathering and being glad that he didn't act like she was “Helen of Troy or Lucy the habilene Fossil.� Close to the end of the book, as the ultra-elderly start dying, it gets a bit sad, but ask any 90 year old today about it. They are going through the same thing. My 86 year old aunt was watching all her friends die until she joined them. It gets lonely if you have a long life.

The issues that plague Mars society are also things that we are dealing with today. The Red Mars faction are devoted environmentalists who want to severely restrict development. There are debates over immigration from Earth and shady side deals are struck. Settlers are plunging onto the Martian surface illegally. Mars society is fractured into many groups with different world views and values. Leadership is essential, but its difficult for anyone to lead when public opinion is so splintered. Not to mention the generational differences mentioned above. In many ways Robinson seems to anticipate in 1996 many of the problems that face us in 2020.

I've got to hand it to Robinson, he has obviously done piles of research on terraforming, ground water management, space travel, geology, engineering and human memory & psychology among many other subjects. I wonder if Sax Russell is a kind of alter ego? It seems like they are both very familiar with obsessively researching interesting subjects. Like Sax, the whole trilogy held me at arm's length, not giving me much emotional purchase and making it difficult for me to truly connect with the story. Despite that, I did find the ending rather bittersweet and I'm ultimately glad that I read until the end. So, thank you, unknown requester of this library book, you got me to put some welly into the reading process and knock this title off this year's planned reading list.

Book number 375 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

Cross posted to my blog: