2312
By Kim Stanley Robinson
- Release Date: 2012-05-22
- Genre: Science Fiction
Description
From the acclaimed author of New York 2140 and Red Mars, this NYT bestselling novel tells the story of a future where humanity has populated miraculous new habitats engineered across the solar system -- and the one death that triggers a precarious chain of events that could destroy it all.
The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system on moons, planets, and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present, and its future.
The first event takes place on Mercury, on the city of Terminator, itself a miracle of engineering on an unprecedented scale. It is an unexpected death, but one that might have been foreseen. For Swan Er Hong, it is an event that will change her life. Swan was once a woman who designed worlds. Now she will be led into a plot to destroy them.
Reviews
$4 wasted
1By Reader9725Couldn’t tell what the whole book was about. I gave up after 30 pages.Slow. Not a believable story arc.
2By atpalermoI tried to read this novel 3 times. The third time I pushed further hoping at some point the story would accelerate. I finally stopped halfway - something I never do - because it was just too much. Too much non-story. Too many diversions. I’d rather not read about how Saturns F ring was formed while the characters are gravity surfing after they were just attacked. Is that believable? Would they really do that? This book just didn’t grab me and keep me turning pages like those of Alastair Reynolds and now Peter F Hamilton.The Future???
1By winterbeachmodernI thought this would be a good read since this book was nominated for all the awards. I was wrong! The authors politics came through in spite of the length of the vastly boring tale. Global warming (not climate change, but warming), sexual ambiguity, and a cover from the artist famous for "spirit cooking". Sadly, wasted money...The most boring book I have read completely.
1By Captain A-dogI pushed through this one only because it numbed my mind. I can't believe anyone likes this book. I expected more from a Nebula award winner. I will stay away from KSR. He just doesn't reach me.Meanders
2By rangertauInteresting concept. Uneven writing. Worth being a novella but a drag to read as a full novel.Couldn't Finish
1By Clancy’s GhostRare is the novel I've been unable to finish, but sadly this was one. I'm a fan of space operas, but this work is long on fluff and short on substance. I could sum up the plot from the first 200 pages in about four words: Existential angst ad nauseum. Those looking for a gripping plot and even a modicum of action should look elsewhere.Good but verbose
3By cyclopsedI enjoyed the book, but Mr Robinson always seems to use ten words when five would do. The Lists while an interesting alternative way of conveying the story become something more akin to filler at points. I eventually cared about the characters... But only barely. Maybe that was intended.Where is the story?
1By ilgaarAfter reading the sample I decided I couldn’t waste a penny on the book. In the prologue section it’s just trying so hard to be complicated by big words and uncommon vocabularies. The author spends paragraphs after paragraphs and pages after pages on trying to describe and picture the world man kind inhabits in the future in details, but there is so little plot here. The story, I think... well, if there is one I missed to notice it.Puzzled
2By Bitter ArugulaNot quite sure why this was even a Nebula contender. It feels disjointed throughout and features a highly unsympathetic protagonist.Price of genius
5By Michael M CollierOne of the smartest books I've ever read. A true multi-disciplinary accomplishment. Likely to be criticized for the difficulty and effort that's required to penetrate its genius.Over rated.
1By DammitsammitGood Lord, why is this book so well reviewed? Barely a plot; barely-there character development. Long winded. Skip it.A world to strive for
5By CalvibikeKim Stanley Robinson is the best writer of the future working now, comparisons to Asimov don't do justice to his work, while his vision is equal, his characters are far more real and complicated. Leaving the scifi aspects behind the pure literary talent makes it a joy to read.- 2By Danno1234321The story line is okay, at best, but KSR seems to go out of his way to prove his vocabulary...at the expense of the plot. It drags on and on and on, ad infinitum. Read the sample and buyer beware.
Awesome
5By lorenbBrilliant vision of the future, the kind of sci-fi book I've been looking for for years. Hardly ever write reviews but I'm perplexed but some of the other ones. Sci-fi implies science and there's quite a bit of it in this story. Beautifully woven together. Awesome.Ummm....
2By stunaThere's a plot in here that's original and interesting, but the form taken by the author... Ugh.... Personally, I think about 70% of this should be rewritten... The author seems to go out out the way with descriptions at the cost of the story. Sorry, but the best I can say is that I finished the darn thing....(audiobook review only!) TERRIBLE READER.
3By RobomasaRun away, run away. I've been listening to recorded books for decades. and this is the worst reader I've ever encountered. Imagine William Shatner's delivery style (flat. and. halting. and. scarcely. changing) combined with the Mac's Victoria synthetic voice, and you'll be pretty close. I could almost wonder if the reader has somehow digitized her own voice and then plugged in the text of the book. I have the hardback, started reading it, and decided this would be a great, fun book to listen to, so this morning I dropped another $25 on the audio version. Doubt if I will be able to stand it, though. How could the publisher possibly make such a choice of readers? Jaw-droppingly bad.The Science Projections Were Great
3By edmilbWhile the projections were great, the underlying story was, at best OK. I purchased this book after reading the review in Analog. I guess I'll have to be more critical of reviews in the future.Complicated
2By Oreooreo009Very long, extremely confusing. If you aren't an astronomer or a scientist in that field, half of these words don't make any sense. I find myself looking up the words every few seconds.Meh
2By JoeStroutThe story is mildly interesting, but no more than that. There are only a couple moments of action, and even those are presented with very little suspense. The characters are also no more than mildly interesting. The story was apparently too short, because half the book is full of unformatted random filler - lists and stream-of-consciousness nonsense that just gets in the way. Finally, if you don't think that she-males are the greatest idea ever, then you probably won't appreciate the author's indulgence in bisexual fantasies. On the plus side, it does portray a realistic future from a technological point of view, and those are hard to find. It's just a shame the plot, characters, and writing couldn't live up to the potential of the setting.
