A very strong start; compelling prose and good character studies. The shifting POV and clear differences in perspective between characters kept things fresh, and complemented a developing theme of observation and perception being at odds with experience and interaction. It’s a thought-provoking book. There are the scientific and technological aspects typical of hard sci-fi, but also a lot of philosophising as characters try to make sense of their new world and put forward their own beliefs about what a Martian society should or could possibly look like. Take this quote about the concept of nature:

But ultimately it seemed like the themes and ideas being toyed with were discarded in favour of a basic nationalist narrative; “transnat” corporations vs a burgeoning Martian identity, their incompatibility largely taken as a given and not explored with the depth that might be expected. Maybe that’s deliberate? Maybe philosophical debates about nature and beauty and spirituality are frivolous, and unimportant in the face of material reality and hegemonic power. Yet so much of that philosophising is wrapped up in the material conditions of establishing a colony on Mars and political implications of doing so.

I will read the rest of the trilogy (eventually) but for now I have only Red Mars to evaluate and I really don’t know what to make of it. I liked it. I loved parts of it. John’s section dragged on far too long (again, deliberate? His directionless rambling really was a waste of time.) The momentum was lost and was never really recovered, even with one cataclysm after another taking place. The latter half of the book is pretty bleak. Some of the more interesting characters were sidelined or removed from the narrative. In the end it felt like setup for the next book, irritatingly, rather than a story which stands up on its own.

Anyway...