Kim Stanley Robinson: Mars trilogy

The first time I saw this trilogy, I was browsing a bookstore in search of new reading material, and I was immediately hooked, buying the trilogy after reading two pages of Red Mars. Robinson’s “what if” is simple: what if humankind colonised Mars? But he works out this thought in thorough detail across 3 hefty volumes.

A team of one hundred scientists, experts in their fields, are painstakingly selected to colonise Mars, with no expectation that they will ever return to Earth. In the process of travelling to and colonising Mars, Robinson includes many plot twists and changes in point of view, until one feels as if one is a member of the team experiencing and modifying this amazing new world.

Throughout the series, Robinson uses his knowledge of fields as diverse as geology, biology, psychology, politics, gerontology, hydrology, physics, solar astronomy, vulcanism, meteorology, and many more, to paint a totally believable picture of mankind expanding out from Earth.

This trilogy feels like history which hasn’t occurred yet; and that is IMHO the highest possible praise for a work of science fiction.

Enjoy!