Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson is the first book in The Mars Trilogy. It opens with a celebration that is all about the progress being made to turn Mars into an actual habitable planet. The celebration quickly goes downhill when one of the original settlers is attacked and killed. It then jumps back to when those original settlers were just setting out on their journey. We meet them as they are still in transit and learning how to work together as they make the journey to Mars. Upon arriving they work on setting up places to live and starting their various types of research, there are several different fields amongst the original 100 settlers. As they do they start debating about what kind of life they want to create on Mars and how they want to live there. A debate that gets increasingly hard when the topic of terraforming gets brought up due to all of the different stances on the topic. As time progresses they welcome other settlers and slowly start cultivating Mars as they adapt to having a permanent life there.
This book was interesting in that it shows the early stages of colonization that is often overlooked in science-fiction books. A lot of books gloss over some of the things that this book covers in depth such as the debate about the ethics of terraforming and the debate about what kind of lifestyle and culture that they want to have there. Typically books that cover space colonization are based far in the future with way more advanced technology and civilizations but this one was obviously recognizable as being from around our time and with our general level of technology so it was definitely different. At the same time it also made it way easier to connect to and relate to the characters. They came from our world and our cultures, at least some of them anyway, so we know generally how they might approach things so it altered the feel of the story. I think it made it more accessible in many ways because of that. At the same time it was obviously focused on the idea of creating a colony in space and everything that would go with that. I say that because it covers a wide range of related things that you don’t typically see in this kind of work, such as the ethics of terraforming. This book is all about exploring the idea of a space colony but it is also about the idea of whether it is right to do so. That adds some rather unique ideas and elements to the text that definitely make it richer overall. I like the nuance and depth that it adds to the story. It just feels like this is an incredibly well thought out and well written story that has absolutely incredible depth to it and that I found extremely enjoyable to read. A great book and one that I am happy to give 4.5 out of 5 stars.
This is an incredible example of science-fiction and one that I hope all science-fiction fans will consider trying. It might also hold appeal for other readers but I know it will hold the most appeal for readers who prefer sci-fi. The book is aimed at adult readers and I would mostly agree with that as there are minor adult references sprinkled throughout though none of it is overly explicit. In all honesty this book could be read by older teens and young adults as well though I would only suggest those who are older than about fifteen or sixteen as the book does handle some complex topics and themes at times. It is still a good book though so I hope you will consider trying it anyway. If you do consider sharing your thoughts in the comments.