Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars.

I don’t remember how I first heard of them or where I read the strong recommendation of them. It certainly came as I was busy (as I still am) digging into science fiction and fantasy.

These books by Kim Stanley Robinson are definitely in the genre of hard science fiction – which is to say, sci fi that works very hard to scientifically accurate. My friend Ryan once told me that the best sci fi (and he is definitely someone who prefers hard sci fi to its counterpart, space opera) has single scientific conceit. Something not currently believed to “real” or possible – faster than light travel, some kind of mutation… whatever – and then extrapolates everything else from there based on known science.

In this case, it is the settlement, colonization, and slow terraforming of the planet Mars.

I am currently just beginning the third and (I think) final book.

It is definitely not space opera. It focuses primarily on two things: the socio-political implications of the colonization of Mars (who controls it? what would ‘martian nationalism’ look like? what factions would arise?) and how would a realistic terraforming process evolve? Robinson’s main conceit, used to keep the original colonists present in a multi-generational epic, is the development of a gerontological process to extend life spans dramatically.

So far, I have read them all on my Nook. In fact, it could be said that I deliberately purchased the last one on for my Nook just to keep up the tradition.

I still won’t say that hard science fiction is my absolute preference, but these are definitely great books. Well written, detailed in their science. Not always completely compelling, but always able to pull you along based on the underlying belief that the author is, within the boundaries of science fiction, trying to put forth a truly realistic depiction of how things could (would?) play out.