February Books 11) Forty Signs of Rain
11) Forty Signs of Rain, by Kim Stanley Robinson
C'mon folks. This is not the science fiction book of the year. I don't particularly mind when authors (especially when, like Robinson, they are authors with whom I basically agree) try to integrate their personal political messages into sf books as long as they also remember to include the sensawunda - so I was able to take the three long long Mars books, and the much more entertaining Years of Rice and Salt. But here, the front cover proclaims "CATASTROPHE BECKONS"; and guess what happens at the end of the book?
There are some good bits. The daily life of professionals in San Diego and Washington DC seems well observed. The description of the way the policy process works in Washington, and of how you might manage to bring an issue onto the Administration's agenda despite the President's professed indifference or hostility fits with my own limited experiences in a rather different field. But really, despite the momentous issues and difficult public policy choices ahead, it just isn't very exciting. Not on my Hugo ballot, I'm afraid.
C'mon folks. This is not the science fiction book of the year. I don't particularly mind when authors (especially when, like Robinson, they are authors with whom I basically agree) try to integrate their personal political messages into sf books as long as they also remember to include the sensawunda - so I was able to take the three long long Mars books, and the much more entertaining Years of Rice and Salt. But here, the front cover proclaims "CATASTROPHE BECKONS"; and guess what happens at the end of the book?
There are some good bits. The daily life of professionals in San Diego and Washington DC seems well observed. The description of the way the policy process works in Washington, and of how you might manage to bring an issue onto the Administration's agenda despite the President's professed indifference or hostility fits with my own limited experiences in a rather different field. But really, despite the momentous issues and difficult public policy choices ahead, it just isn't very exciting. Not on my Hugo ballot, I'm afraid.