Review:Antarctica

Well, I finished reading Kim Stanley Robinson's new fiction book Antarctica, and had a few comments to make on it. The nutshell is that as is usually the case with Robinson, he has his facts straight and weaves a good tale. Let me know what what you thought, if you've read it.

Kim Stanley Robinson is a name well known to any follower of modern science fiction-or rather, science fact. His Hugo and Nebula winning Mars series was seen by many as the heir apparent to Ray Bradbury and Heinlein. I would go so far to argue that Robinson's treatment of the planet, both in terms of the story and the factual nature advanced the cause for the colonization of Mars further then any recent phenomena.

The Mars series, starting with Red Planet and continuing through Blue and Green takes the reader through an incredible planetscape, showing through word pictures and scientific numbers the beauty of the Red Planet. One of the interesting aspects of doing the research for the Mars novels, Robinson has noted, was how often he heard about Antarctica in the same way. People testing for Mars with prototypes down there, comparasions in past history, temperature-the gamut of similaraties. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation Robinson was able to spend time in the Ice Planet, as a "Woo" (Read the book-that'll make sense). His time down there was an example of well-spent government money.

The story that comes out of his time down there is a detailed, well-told story. Set in the not-so-distant future, he addresses many of the issues that we are starting to grapple with today. From the problems of capitolism, to the degradation of the enivronment, and the relationship between men and women, the book takes on a lot. Yes, of course there is the gee-whiz element of technology, but Robinson knows his technology and his facts of science well enough to make that believable, and not turn it into an action-adventure movie.

So why should you read this book? Well, Robinson is an author who knows how to tell a story, for one. The story alone makes the book worth reading. But what he does with the story, and the issues that he addresses through here are what make the book a compelling read. Look at the book as a symposium paper masked as a fiction story. Should you get it? Well, if you like science fact, and like a good story, yes. If you like non-fiction, then probably not.

Some of the stuff he addresses in here is things that I have been doing some thinking about lately. So, if you have thoughts about this, talk below, or drop me a line.

Buy this book at Amazon.