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Red Mars

By: Kim Stanley Robinson
Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy. Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.

For centuries, the red planet has enticed the people of Earth. Now an international group of scientists has colonized Mars. Leaving Earth forever, these 100 people have traveled nine months to reach their new home. This is the remarkable story of the world they create - and the hidden power struggles of those who want to control it.

Although it is fiction, Red Mars is based on years of research. As living spaces and greenhouses multiply, an astonishing panorama of our galactic future rises from the red dust. Through Richard Ferrone's narration, each scene is energized with the designs and dreams of the extraordinary pioneers.

©1993 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2000 Recorded Books

Critic Reviews

  • Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1993

"Generously blending hard science with canny insight into human strengths and weaknesses, this suspenseful sf saga should appeal to a wide range of readers." (Library Journal)
"The ultimate in future history." (Daily Mail)

What listeners say about Red Mars

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Not a good audiobook

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

this story sounded good and I was looking foward to listening to this but the narrator is just dull and my mind kept driffting of a listen to the start 3 times and still have no idea what the book is about as i just cant concentrate

Has Red Mars put you off other books in this genre?

no but it will be awhile before I spond money on a mars book

How could the performance have been better?

yes did they even audition this narrator or just picked some old man from the nursing home.

What character would you cut from Red Mars?

didnt even get that far

Any additional comments?

plot sounded good will give another go if another narrator read this.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

What?

This book is all over the place and explains nothing about its characters. So confusing avoid at all costs.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Stopped listening one hour in

After one hour in, I found the story tedious, characterisation thin and narrator dull. Made me think of academic infighting - yawn.

Maybe it has a longer ramp up before getting good - I'll never know. So many other great books that will have hooked readers in by the 1 hour mark, whereas I wasn't invested in this one at all.

Hard sci-fi is all well and good, but I prefer a good story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very interesting take on life on another planet.

Very interesting take on life on another planet. Seems that a whole lot of research was done and I loved that it dealt with so many aspects I had never thought about. It wasn't the best "story" I found in regards to entertainment value.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hard Science Fiction at the Cutting Edge

This book has aged really well. The discussions about technologies and the science behind them are still rock solid.

Although this book felt a little like Dune in places (particularly with the discussions of morals) it is a very very solid piece of work and definitely stands on its own.

If you want an action packed science fiction novel, this is not the book for you. If you want a nuanced exploration of feudalism/capitalism and the relationship of mankind with technology and the environment, this is the perfect book.

The narration was also really very good.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Slow pace….

Reading this book was painful…the action was SLOW, there are way too many irrelevant details about the crew,the interactions between them and the way everyone feels… i do hope Book 2 and 3 are more engaging and have a quicker pace….

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

MB

Read this when first published. It hasn’t aged perfectly but still one of my favourites.
Yes there are a few hiccups, add a decade or two to the timeline and it will flow that much better.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Dan
  • 03-07-2023

a marathon struggle

I should have been paid to listen to this it was painful going not helped by the narration

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

1/3 in and I want to punch every single character.

seriously these characters are on Mars and they seam like the most bitter unhappy people ever, determined to cause drama with each other and be unhappy. it's very very bizarre.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Confusing start, but superb later on.

I nearly abandoned this book from its confusing start as I found it unrealistic due to its lack of tech on how they established a Martian colony. It was all about politics and personalities. But then the book finally got past its confusing start and got on with the original mission to Mars and it was fantastic from there on, and just gets better from there on. The confusing flash forward in time start does makes sense later on. Definitely worth persisting with this high drama Sci-FI classic. It’s an important work worthy of your time, with superb science and the most comprehensive Mars story I have ever come across in book and on screen.

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