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Kim Stanley Robinson SF Science Fiction Book

Three Californias

This trilogy is also referred to as the Orange County trilogy. The component books are titled The Wild Shore (1984), The Gold Coast (1988) and Pacific Edge (1988). It is not a trilogy in the traditional sense; rather than telling a single story, the books present three different future Californias.

The Wild Shore portrays a California struggling to return to civilization after having been crippled, along with the rest of America, by a nuclear war. The Gold Coast portrays an over-industrialized California increasingly obsessed with and dependent on technology and torn apart by the struggles between arms manufacturers and terrorists. The Pacific Edge presents a California in which ecologically sane, manageable practices have become the norm and the scars of the past are slowly being healed.

Though they initially appear unconnected, the three books actually work together to present a unified statement. The first shows humanity crippled by a lack of technology, the second humanity swamped and almost completely dehumanized by too much technology (along with the attendant environmental damage), and the third a workable, livable compromise between the two. Although the third is, in effect, a Utopian novel, there is still conflict, sadness, and tragedy. The stories all contain a common character, whose circumstances serve to put the three alternatives in perspective.

The Mars trilogy

This trilogy is Robinson’s best-known work. It is an extended work of science fiction that deals with the first settlement of the planet Mars by a group of scientists and engineers. Its three volumes are Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars, the titles of which mark the changes that the planet undergoes over the course of the saga. The tale begins with the first colonists leaving Earth for Mars in 2027 and covers the next 200 years of future history. By the conclusion of the story, Mars is heavily populated and terraformed, with a flourishing and complex political and social dimension.

Many threads of different characters’ lives are woven together in the Mars Trilogy. The reader may come to sympathize with one particular character as a protagonist, only to have the story line switch focus so that another character whom the reader might begin to perceive as antagonistic is then presented in a protagonistic manner. Science, sociology, and politics are all covered in great detail, evolving realistically over the course of the narrative. Robinson’s fascination with science and technology is clear, although he balances this with a strong streak of humanity. Robinson’s personal interests, including ecological sustainability, sexual dimorphism, and the scientific method, come through strongly. His passion for mountain climbing also shows through clearly.

The Martians

Billed as a companion piece, The Martians (1999) is a collection of short stories that involves many of the same characters and settings introduced in the Mars trilogy. Some stories occur before, during, or instead of the events of the trilogy; some expand on existing characters, and others introduce new ones. It also includes the Constitution of Mars and poetry written in character by a Martian citizen.

Antarctica

Antarctica (1997) follows very closely in the footsteps of the Mars trilogy, and it covers much of the same ground despite the differences in setting. It is set on the icy continent of the title, much closer to the present day, but it evokes many of the same themes, dealing as it does with scientists in an isolated environment, the effect that this has on their personalities and interactions, and economic systems. It even evokes the same sense of beauty and wonder in a bleak, hostile environment.

As with all of Robinson’s later work, ecological sustainability is a major theme in Antarctica. Much of the action is catalysed by the recent expiration of the Antarctic Treaty and the threat of invasion and despoiling of the near-pristine environment by corporate interests.

The Years of Rice and Salt

The Years of Rice and Salt (2002) is an epic work of alternate history that concerns a world in which the Black Plague wiped out 99 percent of the European population (instead of the actual generally estimated 30 percent), leaving the world free for Asian expansion. It covers ten generations of history, focusing on the successive reincarnations of the same few characters as they pass through varying genders, social classes, and, in one notable example, species.

The Years of Rice and Salt features Muslim, Chinese, and Hindu cultures and philosophies. Not only because of the long time scale, but because of its realistic Utopian elements and the frequent reflections about human nature, The Years of Rice and Salt resembles the Mars books brought to Earth.

Science in the Capital series

The Science in the Capital series encompasses three novels: Forty Signs of Rain (2004), Fifty Degrees Below (2005), and Sixty Days and Counting (2007). This series explores the consequences of global warming, both on a global level and as it affects the main characters—several employees of the National Science Foundation and those close to them. A recurring theme of Robinson’s that returns in this series is that of Buddhist philosophy, which is represented in the series by the agency of ambassadors from Khembalung, a fictional Buddhist micro-state located on an offshore island in the Ganges delta. Their state is threatened by rising sea levels, and the reaction of the Khembalis is compared to that of the Washingtonians.