Green Mars

I enjoyed Green Mars as much, if not more than, the previous installment, Red Mars. I was bit wary going into it, because I heard that it wasn’t as well received, but I think it manages to build upon the previous novel and take the story in new places.

Red Mars was a sci-fi in both the technological sense, but it also in how technology impacts the human condition. Personally, I find this last aspect to be what makes good sci-fi good and Green Mars delivers much, much more on this aspect. The conference section was especially a favorite of mine. It reminded me of conferences and seminars I’ve been to in youth activism and Scouting and in those chapters I almost felt nostalgic — especially since I was reading this during the pandemic, where such events were impossible. Robinson managed to capture the intensity and rythms of a political conference and it really struck me since I’ve been able to share this feeling with so few.