Blue Mars

by Kim Stanley Robinson, Kim Stanley Robinson

Mass Market Paperback, 784 pages

English language

Published June 1, 1997 by Spectra.

ISBN:: 978-0-553-57335-0
OCLC Number:: 37042779

(70 reviews)

After declaring independence from Earth, Mars still faces problems: an impending ice age, a search for religious meaning, and immigration. New medical discoveries enable people to live 200 years, causing overpopulation on Earth and the Martians object to being swamped by Earthmen. A replay of New World problems in space. By the author of a trilogy, of which this is the last volume.

3 editions

Yashima reviewed Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars, #3)

Review of 'Blue Mars (Mars Trilogy)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I really liked the first one (Red Mars), I enjoyed the sequel (Green Mars) very much and while I craved for a continuation of the saga, I was somewhat disappointed by the finale. I liked the story that is told in Blue Mars but this time the amount of scientific descriptions and analysis put me off. I am not a scientist and especially I have no idea about physics and this book reached the point where I was simply annoyed! It took me a long time to read and that with skipping entire sciency paragraphs. So I have to deduct 2 stars for having too little story and too much science. So I guess if you want to read Red Mars go ahead, great book, the sequel is fine but this last one I would not read again.

nicknicknicknick reviewed Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars, #3)

Review of 'Blue Mars (Mars Trilogy)' on Goodreads

5 stars

1) ''The primal planet, in all its sublime glory, red and rust, still as death; dead; altered through the years only by matter's chemical permutations, the immense slow life of geophysics. It was an odd concept---abiologic life---but there it was, if one cared to see it, a kind of living, out there spinning, moving through the stars that burned, moving through the universe in its great systolic/diastolic movement, its one big breath, one might say. Sunset somehow made it easier to see that.''

2) '''My boy,' he said at last, dreamily. The whole city was quiet. Coyote muttered as if falling asleep. 'What does the hero do when the tale is over? Swim over the waterfall. Drift out on the tide.'''

3) '''Do you think this theory will be the end of physics?' he asked.
'Oh no. Although we might work out the fundamentals. You know, the basic laws. That might be possible, sure. But then every level of emergence above that creates its own problems. Taneev's work only scratches the surface there. It's like chess---we might learn all the rules, but still not be able to play very well because of the emergent properties. Like, you know, pieces are stronger if they're out in the center of the board. That's not in the rules, it's a result of all the rules put together.''

4) ''They stood there, looking back at the scattering of low hills that was Underhill.
'And here we are,' Sax said finally.
'Yes. Here we are.'''

joeyh reviewed Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars, #3)

Review of 'Blue Mars (Mars Trilogy)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Ran out of steam re-reading the whole enormous Mars trilogy on page 238. By my records I only read this volume once before, in 1996. Skipped to the last paragraph, which was beautiful and I find I want to get all the way from pp 238 to the end again, perhaps in a month or two (but need to read something different now).

The big surprise rereading this is I had misremembered the flooding as being caused by global warming, but no, it's a random ice sheet disaster! Also, much more Swiss stuff than I had remembered, including
some chapters set in Switzerland. (Perhaps I noticed this more having recently been there myself?)