Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
The first in a trilogy, Red Mars tells the story of the first colonists on the planet. It is mainly the story of the “First 100,” a mixed group of Americans, Russians and a few other nationalities who are sent away to begin the process of colonizing it.
The story begins at the end with a festival to celebrate the creation of the newest martian city, and the death of one of the most influential of the “First 100.” It then backtracks to how the 100 were picked, and follows them on their voyage through space to live on there.
Throughout the book, two main factions develop: Those who want to terraform, and make it more Earth-like (the Greens), and those who want to wait and see how the it reacts to colonization before making major changes to it. This is also complicated by pressure from funding corporations back on earth, huge TransNationals that have become nearly city-states in their own right instead of just companies.
This science fiction novel continues on through the arrival of more colonists, the aftermath of the shocking death in the prologue and further. It follows building the colony, accidents that occur, intentional sabotage and the divisions between the 100.
Robinson paints a vivid picture of what life is like for these first colonists. From the selection process to the trip over to the eventual arrival of new colonists, the story is both engaging and very believable. While I can’t pretend to understand what the real-life science would involve if we were to actually colonize another in space, everything in the book seemed reasonable.
The characters were a varied bunch, as would be expected in a cast this large. One thing I did find was that I didn’t really identify with any one of them. I found them to be both likeable and unlikeable in nearly equal parts. While this didn’t necessarily take away from the story, I found it to be somewhat distancing. The reader is most definitely an outsider witnessing the characters thoughts and actions. There was no sense of being drawn in or “lost” in the story. Since I enjoy that total lack of outside awareness when I am reading, I disliked this aspect of the book. For others, it may pose no problem.
Even with that one complaint, the book is incredibly well-written and complete. In a way, the planet itself is the main character, and I continued on with the series to find out what happened to it, not the other characters.
The novel is followed by a sequel and third episode. Robinson has also written a collection of short stories about the colonists called The Martians.
You can get Red Mars 
Return to list of the best selling sciencefiction novels from Red Mars
My top list