I had a difficult time with his Mars trilogy. The depth of research made me feel he could have use an editor. But after I completed the series, his work percolated in my mind. I began to appreciate the depth and the detail. This kind of attention is exactly what takes place in science.
Fiction has often informed our world. The flip phone came from Star Trek. The iPad from The Next Generation.
In this article, Alexandra Alter writes how KSR is focusing his fiction to solving the world's problems.
I am now very intrigued to read more from him. The Three Californias trilogy, the Science in the Capital trilogy, New York 2140 (Excellent by the way), and The Ministry for the Future.
Yes, he will digress into long expositions, but that is actually the point.
As a reader, I will be looking for his research, his lists of facts, his history lessons. I will be reading KSR as a jumping off point for further reading.
Climate change, geopolitics, and economic change, these things are important. I may not be able to do much to help create a better world, but I own the world my time to understand the problems.
Kim Stanley Robinson is an intelligent, thoughtful author whom I trust. I can't think of a better writer to guide the discussion.
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