Paperback, 561 pages
English language
Published Oct. 27, 2013 by Orbit.
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.
I liked it but found it so sloooooooooooooooow.
It starts as a “murder mystery” but then it wanders around. Not that it's bad. More bait-and-switchy.
Kim Stanley Robinson's books are full of big questions and big ideas, and 2312 does not disappoint in this regard. This look into humanity's future 300 years from now brushes on many topics, ranging from sexual identification to artificial intelligence, to space habitats and environmental concerns.This book is painted with a very broad brush.
The book may feel a bit difficult as you start, but eventually it does grow on you. Some portions of it, like the "extracts" and "lists" may take a while to realize their relevance to the story. And I found the attempted prose meant to mimic the thinking of an artificial intelligence to be interesting; it certainly was done in a way that made it feel alien. Some jumps between scenes can span a large amount of time, but this seems necessary when trying to present such a complex story than spans the solar system.
The …
Kim Stanley Robinson's books are full of big questions and big ideas, and 2312 does not disappoint in this regard. This look into humanity's future 300 years from now brushes on many topics, ranging from sexual identification to artificial intelligence, to space habitats and environmental concerns.This book is painted with a very broad brush.
The book may feel a bit difficult as you start, but eventually it does grow on you. Some portions of it, like the "extracts" and "lists" may take a while to realize their relevance to the story. And I found the attempted prose meant to mimic the thinking of an artificial intelligence to be interesting; it certainly was done in a way that made it feel alien. Some jumps between scenes can span a large amount of time, but this seems necessary when trying to present such a complex story than spans the solar system.
The picture revealed in this story is simply grand. It is an inspiration for humanity to acknowledge it's faults and to overcome them, to go beyond the divided nature we currently endure on this single planet, and to forge a future where we can reach for the stars.
