Kim Stanley Robinson
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  Kim Stanley Robinson
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Author Topic: Kim Stanley Robinson  (Read 1567 times)
atheist4thecause
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« on: February 17, 2020, 02:42:47 AM »

I highly recommend Kim Stanley Robinson's books. He is clearly a Progressive, and I absolutely am not (I'm more of a Liberal), but I still really enjoy his books.

New York 2140
"New York 2140" is an interesting book about what New York would be like after the effects of Climate Change. I know some people don't believe in it, but that doesn't really matter as the book is fiction anyways. Others believe that we have more time than the sometimes touted 10-12 years, but the year 2140 allows for that. But anyways, onto the style.

One thing that he always gets rights in his books is that he shows the story from multiple perspectives. In 2140, there's a cop, blue collar criminals, a white collar criminal, a professor treasure hunter, financial investors, a renter, and many others. All of these perspectives come together to create overlapping storylines as well as their own mini-subplots.

2312
"2312" brings us to a year where the solar system has been colonized. It's basically a mystery where a crime is being investigated. The investigation takes the investigators to multiple different planets and moons. The book does a great job of not focusing too much on the main plot, creating lots of subplots, showing a lot of the cultures in the future and how people are impacted by things like genetic manipulation, etc.

Be prepared for a lot of typically Progressive ideals once again, but I stick to the argument that this shouldn't ruin the book for you. There are many gender identities, but it's perfectly reasonable to see how that could be in the future. Kim does a great job building this kind of stuff into the setting so it's not just there to be there.

Kim Stanley Robinson has many other books. Of the ones I've read, these two are by far my favorites. If you were to pick just one, I'd say go with "2312" just because of how cool and well-done the concept of basically solar investigators are. If you aren't as much into space stuff and you are really interested in Climate Change then go with "New York 2140". Also, if you are really interested in economics/stock market then "New York 2140" will be really interesting to you. These books fall more under realism than utopia or dystopia in my opinion.
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Middle-aged Europe
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« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2020, 06:03:39 AM »

Personally, I always found Robinson's books a bit dry and dull and his characters a bit thin. While his ideas and his world-building are sound and interesting his writing style isn't particularly good IMO. I've always wondered what a better writer would do with his pitches.
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Harry
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« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2020, 05:29:54 PM »

I liked the Mars trilogy. Haven't read anything else, but I do have The Years of Rice and Salt and plan to get around to it someday.
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World politics is up Schmitt creek
Nathan
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« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2020, 02:52:42 PM »

He is clearly a Progressive, and I absolutely am not (I'm more of a Liberal), but I still really enjoy his books.

This isn't that impressive. My favorite author is a midcentury Tory.
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atheist4thecause
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« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2020, 11:32:08 PM »

He is clearly a Progressive, and I absolutely am not (I'm more of a Liberal), but I still really enjoy his books.

This isn't that impressive. My favorite author is a midcentury Tory.

Edgy. What does this have to do with my post about Kim Stanley Robinson books?
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World politics is up Schmitt creek
Nathan
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« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2020, 11:39:04 PM »

He is clearly a Progressive, and I absolutely am not (I'm more of a Liberal), but I still really enjoy his books.

This isn't that impressive. My favorite author is a midcentury Tory.

Edgy.

I'd hardly describe Tolkien as "edgy".
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