2312 Paperback – June 25, 2013

My favorite Kim Stanley Robinson novel since his Red Mars trilogy. Written in entirely the same vein. That is to say, our A-story involves a kind of “earth-porn.” The author is so good at the hard sci-fi elements, and so captivated by the realities of living on various worlds, moons, and asteroids within our solar system that it becomes a visceral experience for the reader who truly feels teleported to these locations. I can’t think of any other author who will make you feel like you’ve inhabited real worlds in our solar system better than this guy. Nor can anyone else make the setting such a central character in a story to such compelling ends. As such, Robinson’s greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. The story elements always take a backseat to the sheer exhilaration of being off-world. The hard sci-fi elements literally crush the story, or at the very least, background it. This is how it is with all his books, and I still can’t get enough of him. Hard sci-fi enthusiasts are like that, I suppose. If no one does the hard sci-fi elements better, then you have a captive audience.That said, the story, such as it is, is a good one. Attacks are commencing against solar system inhabitants, and no one can understand the provocation or reason for them. It takes a seasoned solar system detective to help get to the root of things. But he himself would be lost were it not for an earth-porn devotee herself, who helped to design many of the asteroid worlds.I would like to have seen the A-story flipped with the B-story and have the physical worlds be somewhat less of the central characters. But then I wouldn’t be reading Kim Stanley Robinson. I went with 4 stars for the simple reason that it’s strange for a storyteller to disrespect the art of storytelling itself. This reads more like docudrama. But then, I’d rather read a 4 star story from Kim than a 5 star story from most any other writer. And I’m looking forward to Aurora.

This is the 4th novel I've read by Kim Stanley Robinson, the first three being part of his Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars). I was a voracious science fiction reader as a kid, but gave it up when actual science fiction seemed to be replaced by dragons and fantasy. Then a rave review in the Washington Post and a free e-book offer convinced me to read Red Mars a couple of years ago, and I was hooked.This is "hard" science fiction, that is, it is SF based on the best of actual, known science. It's not "Buck Rogers," though there is conflict, economic and political, including terrorism and some cold-war type standoffs between the settled planets, moons and asteroids of the solar system.There is also a lot of slow, but fascinating descriptions of how these planetary bodies might be terraformed, or made habitable for humans; about the effect of global warming on our own planet (think New York turned into a 24th Century Venice, with skyscrapers rising from its flooded streets); and political and economic critiques of a capitalist economy.There is also a hint of romance between two of the main characters, and settings that are charming. That may sound strange, but underneath their domed cities, space dwellers have created attractive parks, plazas and terraced, tile-roofed towns. There are a number of expository excerpts that break up the actual storyline. Some are greater scientific details and others are excerpts by historians in a future some decades or more after the events of 2312, analyzing that year. These can be both fascinating and annoying.I'm not the fastest of readers, and reading on a Kindle, I kept pausing to consult my pop-up dictionary for unfamiliar words. So it took me a month to finish reading 2312. But having read the author's earlier novels, I expected a long, thoughtful and ultimately satisfying read, and I got what I expected.

Best known for his work with the Mars trilogy, and The Years of Rice and Salt, Kim Stanley Robinson is a visionary author whose works have challenged readers' views about nearly every aspect of society, from government, to business, to global warming and religion itself. His latest novel, 2312 takes place three hundred years in the future, and provides a glimpse at a very believable humanity that's spread to the other planets.It's always difficult to find fault with Robinson's works. His use of vocabulary and stage-setting is without equal, and continues to impress in 2312 as well. It seems that the perfectly appropriate word is used in every circumstance, which enriches the strength of the story. He writes of many places and situations that humans have never before been associated with, but in a way that's purely authentic; indeed, it would be thoroughly surprising if reality differs from Robinson's depictions by much at all. He portrays a web of humanity that has spread to nearly every conceivable location in our solar system, and even beyond, by the later chapters of the book. From the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, to the terrariums built out of asteroids, the book reads almost as a history of the future.As always, Robinson's choice of characters is both excellent, and profoundly believable. Characters with real flaws always tell the best stories, and those in 2312 are not only realistic, but very flawed, each in their own way. The primary character, Swan Er Hong is moody, eclectic, often quick to anger, and not even particularly sympathetic, yet the reader is forced to care deeply about her, thanks to Robinson's work. In the same way that the book seems to tell the history of events that haven't yet happened, the characters in 2312 feel so real, it's as if they just haven't been born yet.The dialogue is equally astute, and shows that these characters live in their world, and have been a part of it long before the reader picked up the novel. Though there are a lot of terms that should be foreign to the reader, they are somehow not. The author does a great job of weaving story, characters, and dialogue together as to make the page disappear, and the plot live on in the readers' mind.Kim Stanley Robinson books are typically slow-burning, and 2312 is no exception. Often times, it's difficult to place exactly where the climax is coming from, as events necessarily build toward a specific point. However, 2312 does build up, only with small, but significant sections. The plot comes together very quickly, and once it does, readers will be rewarded with an excellent consolidation of seemingly minor plot points, that suddenly mean everything. The book takes place in so many locations as to be a whirlwind, but it never feels that way. Majestic vistas, from the bright side of Mercury, to the rings of Saturn, and even the shattered locations of Earth are portrayed perfectly in the book; it's completely understandable how these locations have come to be the way they are by 2312.Perhaps some of the most surprising aspects of this novel are the depictions of places like New York City, and the terrariums themselves. Terminator on Mercury is also an intriguing locale, though Robinson perhaps could have spent some more time describing and exploring that section of the book. Still, the idea of New York City as a drowned metropolis, yet being converted into a bustling Venice-like city of glass towers reflecting on water seems magical. Most works that detail New York City being flooded seem to portray people as abandoning it to rot and collapse back on itself. It's refreshing to find an author who sees how people would likely really see the city. It's also unusual to hear New York City sound as if it's better for having been drowned.For all the good this novel does, however, there are a few things that tend to get in the way of the enjoyment. The challenges to genders in 2312 seem rather confusing, and are never explained particularly well. It seems that the idea of male and female have been transformed tremendously, and yet it never seems to affect the characters all that much. With the exception of a sex scene, it's almost as though gender doesn't matter, yet Robinson goes to great lengths in certain sections to describe the various genders. It seems that in only three hundred years, gender is essentially removed from the equation, which feels somewhat far-fetched in this novel. Still, it's perhaps a unique insight into how Robinson sees us moving forward as a species, and the trends that today's societal roles see changing.2312 does a fantastic job of building a new fiction universe for Robinson to continue working in. The book itself seems to tell only a part of a very large story that takes place in this futuristic reality of 2312, and it would truly be a shame to not see more of this particular future that he has so masterfully created. 2312 is world-building at its finest, and no author accomplishes it quite as successfully as Kim Stanley Robinson.

This is an interesting read, although as ever with KSR I found a few sections less interesting than others – I suppose having read many of the author’s books, it should not be a surprise.The world building is as ever excellent. We jump forward three centuries; the Solar System is colonised and ‘humans’ are not just humans anymore – a vast array of genetic modifications means there are dozens of types of people. All are represented – spacers, smalls, mixed sex, the list goes on. Our lead is Swan, a middle-aged artist, adventurer and well, all sorts. Her home is Terminator, a city on Mercury that moves with the sun to avoid burning up. Here KSR takes us on an evocative tour of the planet, and later we get the same treatment for asteroids turned into farms, spacecraft, zoos, and tourist attractions, we tour the moons and rings of Saturn, the skies of Venus and a climate change devasted Earth. Swan is slowly pulled into the world of politics, following in her grandmother’s footsteps as an unofficial representative of one of the main power blocks in the Solar System.There are some oddities. The book is littered with chapters called ‘extracts’ which appear to be, well, random extracts from some text or other, and ‘lists’ which are, lists of stuff. I am not entirely sure of the purpose of these sections and I could have done without them. There is also a long chapter where Swan and another character as stuck in a long tunnel – perhaps there is some deeper meaning to it, but it passed me by.Overall, this is worth a read for the world-building if nothing else – it is absolutely superb. The surfing on Saturn, the sailing on an ocean terrarium (terraformed asteroids), the trips around the ‘drowned’ planet Earth, which is always central to people – the homeland as it were.

I couldn't find the story telling or characterisations in this at all. After reading 10% I was still no the wiser what was going on or who the players were. Should I have been delighted by the references to ancient Greek and Roman stories? I buy books like this for entertainment, not to be baffled by the story or "alien" made up words and ideas that are never introduced into the story but rather just appear.Sorry, I suppose I wasn't target market...

This is an odd book. If you want to read about terraforming the Solar System, then there are more than enough details here for you. The locations move effortlessly ( in litle time, and apparently no cost) fom Mercury to Pluto. The small cast move around mainly to deliver messages and hold meetings - seems odd in 2312.But, there's virtually no plot, no story, no arc of problems overcome. The protagonists are not attractive; being selfish, irritating and barely even character sketches. At least, Red Mars had some memorable people. I was disappointed.

I'm giving this four stars because I liked it, but only just. I can certainly understand the very mixed reviews, as the book has moments of great promise but also a disappointing lack of "something". The main plot seems to lurk in the background, and the resolution was anti-climactic, but there is a very coherent and interesting amount of world building (literally, in some instances!) going on as you would expect from the author. It's just a shame the potential wasn't fully realised.If you're looking for a strong plot and a pacy style, this isn't the right book for you. For an exploration of the world of "2312", there's more of interest here. Coming to this after just finishing Aurora, and being a huge fan of the Mars trilogy, it's clear that the book has some links between both. 2312 seems to exist in a slightly alternative version of the Mars trilogy universe, and echoes some of the themes explored more fully in Aurora. It was these links and the exploration of the world that helped save the story for me.

This is a adifficult book to read. One has to mentally translate to the worlds of 2312 for the, many, interludes to make sense.The basic premise is that the dying earth has seeded the solar system with habitats; enormous hollowed out asteroids forming their basic structure. Mars, Venus, even Mercury are colonised. The moons of the gas giants have their own politie. Humans are transcending evolution and are becoming gender-combined chimera. A new form of sentience embodied in artificial bodies, based on quantum processing is emerging.Some of the other reviewers have described this as being plotless. I disagree; but much of the story line is there to immerse the reader in the worlds of 300 years hence which KSR believes will be very different to the present. However, the moral of the story is one familiar to many: that mankind, mired on Earth, is unwilling and unable to save itself, requires the intervention of a "higher" power to save itself and destroys the enabler of its salvation through ignorance and fear. Only the enlightened artists keep the faith.