Green Mars

The nice thing about giving your characters longevity treatments is that you can keep the same bunch of characters throughout your epic series, no matter how long the time span. It's like having a bunch of Gandalfs running around.

This second installment of the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson rectifies the weaknesses of the first novel, Red Mars. Characters are stronger and their interactions are more interesting. Mars remains the focal point, and the descriptions of engineering and scientific feats are just as heavy-handed as before, but that's not a bad thing. KSR writes science like a poet. Sometimes it slows down the prose, but it's not as clunky as its predecessor. Green Mars is longer than Red Mars, but I read it in less time and in fewer sittings.

Do you need to read Red Mars in order to understand Green Mars? No, but as much as it drags, the literal world-building in Red Mars, and its introduction to the characters is a valuable supplement to the Green Mars portion of the story. I would recommend the completionist approach to this series. We will see if I feel that way after the next installment, Blue Mars. Click the link below to see my full review!