2312: A Review

I recently had the good fortune of being asked to review Kim Stanley Robinson's newest novel 2312. He sent me a personally signed copy of the thick book, which I have been digesting slowly for the past couple of months. An excerpt of my review is below. For the full review, please see Moonandback.com.

Imagine a future where people have escaped a crowded, environmentally ravaged Earth to inhabit the entire solar system. From vulcanoids near the Sun to Pluto in the Kuiper Belt and everywhere in between, your passport to this inspiring reality is Kim Stanley Robinson’s newest book 2312. In it, he masterfully paints a utopian picture where humanity has terraformed almost every world possible and used the technological advancements made possible by space exploration to extend human lifespans and liberty.

However, poverty, greed, and strife still exist in this brave new future, especially on Earth, which has never been able to shake its historical baggage like the space colonies have. At the center of this story is a very human drama of relationships with love, sorrows, fears, and joys that make you really care about the characters. The main protagonist is Swan Er Hong, a spry middle-aged supercentenarian artist who once designed worlds but now finds herself in the middle of an interplanetary terrorist plot to destroy them. Mercury’s roving city Terminator, Venus shaded by an enormous sunshield, Saturn's rings, and an Earth flooded by global warming induced sea level rise are a few of the destinations along her journey to solve one of the biggest threats ever to face the human race. It’s the stuff blockbuster movies are made of.

... Continue reading at Moonandback.com


Read an excerpt from 2312 and build your own asteroid terrarium on the publisher Orbitbooks website. See what others think of 2312 at Wired, Wall Street Journal, Space.com, LA Times, The Guardian, Strange Horizons, SF Signal, and SF Site.

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