Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined and novels. My only minus is it's a tad light on poetry coverage and sophocles/greek plays.

If you're a total beginner to eng lit get a more basics primer first and read this alongside as it's halfway between A level and degree level. Read it with a pencil for your margin notes too!

Ten star rating and more, 22 Mar 2007
This book achieves the impossible. It makes the difficult and obtuse polemical and theoretical debates of recent history easy to read. Yes, believe it or not! I cannot find enough congratulations to give for this excellent and learned book. The achievement of the age. Thank you for making clear sense of it all.My newly found bible for Literary Critical research.

A worthy introduction but only goes so far, 08 Mar 2007
This book is a useful tool for students wishing to grasp the basics, and sample a broad range, of critical approaches to literature. However, if you wish to explore a particular approach to a higher level, then this book will not be adequate on its own. For example, the fact that only a few pages are dedicated to the concept of 'gender' goes to show that this really is only an introductory work, and it could be argued that literary theory is not something that can be 'summed up' in the form of brief, introductory chapters.

Having said this, each chapter provides reading lists for additional relevant material, and therefore it is a good way to break into the field. Just be prepared to get in the library and seek out other books if a particular approach interests you. Don't expect to rely entirely on this.

I love this book!, 10 Nov 2006
Whilst trying to write an essay about desire, I became so confused I just wanted a book that would explain the various theories in simple language so that I would understand it. This book did just that. It provides introductions to complex topics and establishes a foundation of knowledge that you can build on with the handily referenced further reading, or reading of your own. Its now become my first port of call when writing essays, so I don't become tangled up in complex criticism and theories.

Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined and novels. My only minus is it's a tad light on poetry coverage and sophocles/greek plays.

If you're a total beginner to eng lit get a more basics primer first and read this alongside as it's halfway between A level and degree level. Read it with a pencil for your margin notes too!

Ten star rating and more, 22 Mar 2007
This book achieves the impossible. It makes the difficult and obtuse polemical and theoretical debates of recent history easy to read. Yes, believe it or not! I cannot find enough congratulations to give for this excellent and learned book. The achievement of the age. Thank you for making clear sense of it all.My newly found bible for Literary Critical research.

A worthy introduction but only goes so far, 08 Mar 2007
This book is a useful tool for students wishing to grasp the basics, and sample a broad range, of critical approaches to literature. However, if you wish to explore a particular approach to a higher level, then this book will not be adequate on its own. For example, the fact that only a few pages are dedicated to the concept of 'gender' goes to show that this really is only an introductory work, and it could be argued that literary theory is not something that can be 'summed up' in the form of brief, introductory chapters.

Having said this, each chapter provides reading lists for additional relevant material, and therefore it is a good way to break into the field. Just be prepared to get in the library and seek out other books if a particular approach interests you. Don't expect to rely entirely on this.

I love this book!, 10 Nov 2006
Whilst trying to write an essay about desire, I became so confused I just wanted a book that would explain the various theories in simple language so that I would understand it. This book did just that. It provides introductions to complex topics and establishes a foundation of knowledge that you can build on with the handily referenced further reading, or reading of your own. Its now become my first port of call when writing essays, so I don't become tangled up in complex criticism and theories.

Waste of time and money, 13 Jul 2008
Boring to read. Uninteresting characters. Not very good language. Too long. Very unlikely that we will send 100 scientist to Mars, at an enormous cost, without a really good way of controlling them.

Entertaining crash course in the practical side of planetary colonization, 09 Jan 2008
One of the most entertaining tours of physics, biology, sociology, and politics imaginable if you want to learn something from a novel as well as entertain yourself. Makes Asimov/Heinlein (I forget but one of them wrote something about colonizing the Moon...) look amateurish.

The thing that really struck me at the end was my usual puzzlement as to why there is no real political will these days for space colonization projects. Surely most of the voters out there would rather see governments pumping money into these kind of projects, that are highly unlikely to be privately financed, than the military when it is clear that eventually we will need a bolt hole somewhere. It was the government of the day that financed Columbus in his expedition not a corporation.

Is it just that NASA is rubbish ...?

It actually rates 6 stars!!!, 23 Jul 2007
Perhaps THE finest science fiction book I have ever read, and believe me I have read a lot of them. I am an avid sci-fi reader, having read anything from Star Trek & Star Wars to classics like Asimov, Clark & Herbert, to Philip K. Dick, Iain Banks, Ursula Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson etc etc etc... In all of these books I have found something to thrill my imagination. However, all of these authors usually emphasise one aspect of sci-fi, be it science, technology, philosophy, ethics, or simply genuine space opera with grand battles & laser guns. Nowhere have I found all of the above elements equally balanced. Robinson manages to create an account of a future Martian exploration that is simply breath-taking, both in conception and in execution.

Red Mars explores all posible aspects of a full-blown attempt to colonise Mars. Based on a solid, detailed & completely realistic account of the science and technology necessary for humans to colonise & terraform a new hostile world, Robinson goes on to explore the ethical, business, political, economical, religious and of course personal aspects of such an effort. What is amazing is that he manages to mesh everything into a coherent, albeit complicated, total, so much like real life itself that one cannot help but believe that once we decide to travel to Mars, that's how we are going to do it.

And he manages to do that without losing the human aspect! There are people among the First Hundred that we feel could live next door. Yes, they are brilliant scientists & cosmonauts, especially gifted and carefully selected, but they are also human like you & me, they have weaknesses, feelings, allegiances, preferences, agendas both obvious & hidden.... My personal favorites were Arkady, Nadia and Hiroko, but I loved the portrayal of each and every one of the characters, both good & evil.

I could go on writing pages, but I actually need only one word. The book is simply A MASTERPIECE. Read it, and then read it again (as I did). Because every time you read it, you will find something new to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you dream. Just read it.

One of the finest and best books on Mars, 23 Mar 2007
Incredible...after discovering this trilogy 10 years ago...I still feel the need to read and reread it.

The characters are well thought and beautifully constructed, the science incredibly plausible, the story complexe and fascinating and the hero of it all...MARS is impressive...this book just makes you want to jump in the first spaceship available to go and live on the red planet...

Great read, great story...5 stars for one of the best SF writter of all times!

Epic novel of colonisation, 31 Oct 2006
`Red Mars' is the first in Kim Stanley Robinson's massive trilogy of Martian colonisation, with this novel taking the story from the first one hundred colonists as they travel to Mars and begin to make the planet habitable, to the ultimate violent revolution of the colonists against the transnational corporations who want to exploit the planet for Earth. This is a novel based firmly on current scientific knowledge, so those expecting a more exotic science fiction outing will best look elsewhere, but despite its occasionally slow pace this is an intriguing speculation on how the colonisation of Mars could occur. Probably the most impressive aspect of Red Mars is that despite its obvious hard-sf nature Robinson works hard to put the characters at the forefront of the story. Occasionally heavy-going, but for those who appreciate serious science fiction this is an intelligent and interesting examination of the clash between preservation and terraforming, capitalist exploitation and colonisation. Good stuff - just don't expect any bug-eyed aliens!

Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined and novels. My only minus is it's a tad light on poetry coverage and sophocles/greek plays.

If you're a total beginner to eng lit get a more basics primer first and read this alongside as it's halfway between A level and degree level. Read it with a pencil for your margin notes too!

Ten star rating and more, 22 Mar 2007
This book achieves the impossible. It makes the difficult and obtuse polemical and theoretical debates of recent history easy to read. Yes, believe it or not! I cannot find enough congratulations to give for this excellent and learned book. The achievement of the age. Thank you for making clear sense of it all.My newly found bible for Literary Critical research.

A worthy introduction but only goes so far, 08 Mar 2007
This book is a useful tool for students wishing to grasp the basics, and sample a broad range, of critical approaches to literature. However, if you wish to explore a particular approach to a higher level, then this book will not be adequate on its own. For example, the fact that only a few pages are dedicated to the concept of 'gender' goes to show that this really is only an introductory work, and it could be argued that literary theory is not something that can be 'summed up' in the form of brief, introductory chapters.

Having said this, each chapter provides reading lists for additional relevant material, and therefore it is a good way to break into the field. Just be prepared to get in the library and seek out other books if a particular approach interests you. Don't expect to rely entirely on this.

I love this book!, 10 Nov 2006
Whilst trying to write an essay about desire, I became so confused I just wanted a book that would explain the various theories in simple language so that I would understand it. This book did just that. It provides introductions to complex topics and establishes a foundation of knowledge that you can build on with the handily referenced further reading, or reading of your own. Its now become my first port of call when writing essays, so I don't become tangled up in complex criticism and theories.

Waste of time and money, 13 Jul 2008
Boring to read. Uninteresting characters. Not very good language. Too long. Very unlikely that we will send 100 scientist to Mars, at an enormous cost, without a really good way of controlling them.

Entertaining crash course in the practical side of planetary colonization, 09 Jan 2008
One of the most entertaining tours of physics, biology, sociology, and politics imaginable if you want to learn something from a novel as well as entertain yourself. Makes Asimov/Heinlein (I forget but one of them wrote something about colonizing the Moon...) look amateurish.

The thing that really struck me at the end was my usual puzzlement as to why there is no real political will these days for space colonization projects. Surely most of the voters out there would rather see governments pumping money into these kind of projects, that are highly unlikely to be privately financed, than the military when it is clear that eventually we will need a bolt hole somewhere. It was the government of the day that financed Columbus in his expedition not a corporation.

Is it just that NASA is rubbish ...?

It actually rates 6 stars!!!, 23 Jul 2007
Perhaps THE finest science fiction book I have ever read, and believe me I have read a lot of them. I am an avid sci-fi reader, having read anything from Star Trek & Star Wars to classics like Asimov, Clark & Herbert, to Philip K. Dick, Iain Banks, Ursula Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson etc etc etc... In all of these books I have found something to thrill my imagination. However, all of these authors usually emphasise one aspect of sci-fi, be it science, technology, philosophy, ethics, or simply genuine space opera with grand battles & laser guns. Nowhere have I found all of the above elements equally balanced. Robinson manages to create an account of a future Martian exploration that is simply breath-taking, both in conception and in execution.

Red Mars explores all posible aspects of a full-blown attempt to colonise Mars. Based on a solid, detailed & completely realistic account of the science and technology necessary for humans to colonise & terraform a new hostile world, Robinson goes on to explore the ethical, business, political, economical, religious and of course personal aspects of such an effort. What is amazing is that he manages to mesh everything into a coherent, albeit complicated, total, so much like real life itself that one cannot help but believe that once we decide to travel to Mars, that's how we are going to do it.

And he manages to do that without losing the human aspect! There are people among the First Hundred that we feel could live next door. Yes, they are brilliant scientists & cosmonauts, especially gifted and carefully selected, but they are also human like you & me, they have weaknesses, feelings, allegiances, preferences, agendas both obvious & hidden.... My personal favorites were Arkady, Nadia and Hiroko, but I loved the portrayal of each and every one of the characters, both good & evil.

I could go on writing pages, but I actually need only one word. The book is simply A MASTERPIECE. Read it, and then read it again (as I did). Because every time you read it, you will find something new to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you dream. Just read it.

One of the finest and best books on Mars, 23 Mar 2007
Incredible...after discovering this trilogy 10 years ago...I still feel the need to read and reread it.

The characters are well thought and beautifully constructed, the science incredibly plausible, the story complexe and fascinating and the hero of it all...MARS is impressive...this book just makes you want to jump in the first spaceship available to go and live on the red planet...

Great read, great story...5 stars for one of the best SF writter of all times!

Epic novel of colonisation, 31 Oct 2006
`Red Mars' is the first in Kim Stanley Robinson's massive trilogy of Martian colonisation, with this novel taking the story from the first one hundred colonists as they travel to Mars and begin to make the planet habitable, to the ultimate violent revolution of the colonists against the transnational corporations who want to exploit the planet for Earth. This is a novel based firmly on current scientific knowledge, so those expecting a more exotic science fiction outing will best look elsewhere, but despite its occasionally slow pace this is an intriguing speculation on how the colonisation of Mars could occur. Probably the most impressive aspect of Red Mars is that despite its obvious hard-sf nature Robinson works hard to put the characters at the forefront of the story. Occasionally heavy-going, but for those who appreciate serious science fiction this is an intelligent and interesting examination of the clash between preservation and terraforming, capitalist exploitation and colonisation. Good stuff - just don't expect any bug-eyed aliens!

The best of the Roman story writers, 21 Sep 2008
To my ear, John Maddox Roberts' tone is the one that rings least false. His Decius is a stoic, unsentimental Roman republican aristocrat. Not a chav in togs (Davis), not a time-traveling Spenser (Saylor), not a long-winded wisecracker (Wishart), not a hero on loan from Harlequin (McCullough - though she does get points for thoroughness).

Not unusually, I'm in the minority here. So I buy Decius stories in hardcover (well, I tried German paperbacks, which are ahead by a couple of releases, but my German isn't up to it). This is the only standing exception to my hard-line no-hardcover policy - fortunately they are fairly slim and well designed, not those heavy bricks probably aimed at giving "value for money" or something.

Oh, and Maddox Roberts tells ripping good yarns, as befits someone who cut his teeth writing Conan stories. But he also works in interesting details - such as Decius' participant description of a lustration in SPQR 8 (Tribune's Curse) - which I haven't found elsewhere. A light touch of humor (as in deriding opponents - not heavy handed pratfalls), an occasional hand-fight, and fast moving plots do not hurt.


Book Eleven in the SPQR Series, 20 Dec 2007

This is book number eleven in the SPQR series, John Maddox Roberts answer to the Roman series of books by Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor etc. I have read most of them as I am always a sucker for anything Roman, fact or fiction. As an aside I don't know why but for some reason Amazon seems to be one of the few places where you can actually purchase books by this author. Borders and Waterstones do not seem to stock them for some unknown reason. Personally I find them quite an enjoyable read and I am sure many other readers feel the same.

In this book Decius Caecilius Metellus has moved onward and upward with his life. Still a happy go lucky kind of guy but now with added responsibility. He is Praetor Peregrinus, a lofty title, and one that means he has to judge a few cases to earn a crust. But in the main these cases are outside the City boundaries and involve foreigners.

One of his port of calls is Campania and Decius and his wife Julia are more than willing to do the sight seeing tour of such a popular place. However the holiday feeling soon changes in a little town near Vesuvius, a girl, the daughter of one of the local priests is brutally murdered.. It falls on Decius to find the murderer and keep the towns people from falling on a young boy, who they all seem to blame for the death. Decius is not so sure but how is he going to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Perhaps his new found status is not all its cracked up to be . . .

Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined and novels. My only minus is it's a tad light on poetry coverage and sophocles/greek plays.

If you're a total beginner to eng lit get a more basics primer first and read this alongside as it's halfway between A level and degree level. Read it with a pencil for your margin notes too!

Ten star rating and more, 22 Mar 2007
This book achieves the impossible. It makes the difficult and obtuse polemical and theoretical debates of recent history easy to read. Yes, believe it or not! I cannot find enough congratulations to give for this excellent and learned book. The achievement of the age. Thank you for making clear sense of it all.My newly found bible for Literary Critical research.

A worthy introduction but only goes so far, 08 Mar 2007
This book is a useful tool for students wishing to grasp the basics, and sample a broad range, of critical approaches to literature. However, if you wish to explore a particular approach to a higher level, then this book will not be adequate on its own. For example, the fact that only a few pages are dedicated to the concept of 'gender' goes to show that this really is only an introductory work, and it could be argued that literary theory is not something that can be 'summed up' in the form of brief, introductory chapters.

Having said this, each chapter provides reading lists for additional relevant material, and therefore it is a good way to break into the field. Just be prepared to get in the library and seek out other books if a particular approach interests you. Don't expect to rely entirely on this.

I love this book!, 10 Nov 2006
Whilst trying to write an essay about desire, I became so confused I just wanted a book that would explain the various theories in simple language so that I would understand it. This book did just that. It provides introductions to complex topics and establishes a foundation of knowledge that you can build on with the handily referenced further reading, or reading of your own. Its now become my first port of call when writing essays, so I don't become tangled up in complex criticism and theories.

Waste of time and money, 13 Jul 2008
Boring to read. Uninteresting characters. Not very good language. Too long. Very unlikely that we will send 100 scientist to Mars, at an enormous cost, without a really good way of controlling them.

Entertaining crash course in the practical side of planetary colonization, 09 Jan 2008
One of the most entertaining tours of physics, biology, sociology, and politics imaginable if you want to learn something from a novel as well as entertain yourself. Makes Asimov/Heinlein (I forget but one of them wrote something about colonizing the Moon...) look amateurish.

The thing that really struck me at the end was my usual puzzlement as to why there is no real political will these days for space colonization projects. Surely most of the voters out there would rather see governments pumping money into these kind of projects, that are highly unlikely to be privately financed, than the military when it is clear that eventually we will need a bolt hole somewhere. It was the government of the day that financed Columbus in his expedition not a corporation.

Is it just that NASA is rubbish ...?

It actually rates 6 stars!!!, 23 Jul 2007
Perhaps THE finest science fiction book I have ever read, and believe me I have read a lot of them. I am an avid sci-fi reader, having read anything from Star Trek & Star Wars to classics like Asimov, Clark & Herbert, to Philip K. Dick, Iain Banks, Ursula Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson etc etc etc... In all of these books I have found something to thrill my imagination. However, all of these authors usually emphasise one aspect of sci-fi, be it science, technology, philosophy, ethics, or simply genuine space opera with grand battles & laser guns. Nowhere have I found all of the above elements equally balanced. Robinson manages to create an account of a future Martian exploration that is simply breath-taking, both in conception and in execution.

Red Mars explores all posible aspects of a full-blown attempt to colonise Mars. Based on a solid, detailed & completely realistic account of the science and technology necessary for humans to colonise & terraform a new hostile world, Robinson goes on to explore the ethical, business, political, economical, religious and of course personal aspects of such an effort. What is amazing is that he manages to mesh everything into a coherent, albeit complicated, total, so much like real life itself that one cannot help but believe that once we decide to travel to Mars, that's how we are going to do it.

And he manages to do that without losing the human aspect! There are people among the First Hundred that we feel could live next door. Yes, they are brilliant scientists & cosmonauts, especially gifted and carefully selected, but they are also human like you & me, they have weaknesses, feelings, allegiances, preferences, agendas both obvious & hidden.... My personal favorites were Arkady, Nadia and Hiroko, but I loved the portrayal of each and every one of the characters, both good & evil.

I could go on writing pages, but I actually need only one word. The book is simply A MASTERPIECE. Read it, and then read it again (as I did). Because every time you read it, you will find something new to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you dream. Just read it.

One of the finest and best books on Mars, 23 Mar 2007
Incredible...after discovering this trilogy 10 years ago...I still feel the need to read and reread it.

The characters are well thought and beautifully constructed, the science incredibly plausible, the story complexe and fascinating and the hero of it all...MARS is impressive...this book just makes you want to jump in the first spaceship available to go and live on the red planet...

Great read, great story...5 stars for one of the best SF writter of all times!

Epic novel of colonisation, 31 Oct 2006
`Red Mars' is the first in Kim Stanley Robinson's massive trilogy of Martian colonisation, with this novel taking the story from the first one hundred colonists as they travel to Mars and begin to make the planet habitable, to the ultimate violent revolution of the colonists against the transnational corporations who want to exploit the planet for Earth. This is a novel based firmly on current scientific knowledge, so those expecting a more exotic science fiction outing will best look elsewhere, but despite its occasionally slow pace this is an intriguing speculation on how the colonisation of Mars could occur. Probably the most impressive aspect of Red Mars is that despite its obvious hard-sf nature Robinson works hard to put the characters at the forefront of the story. Occasionally heavy-going, but for those who appreciate serious science fiction this is an intelligent and interesting examination of the clash between preservation and terraforming, capitalist exploitation and colonisation. Good stuff - just don't expect any bug-eyed aliens!

The best of the Roman story writers, 21 Sep 2008
To my ear, John Maddox Roberts' tone is the one that rings least false. His Decius is a stoic, unsentimental Roman republican aristocrat. Not a chav in togs (Davis), not a time-traveling Spenser (Saylor), not a long-winded wisecracker (Wishart), not a hero on loan from Harlequin (McCullough - though she does get points for thoroughness).

Not unusually, I'm in the minority here. So I buy Decius stories in hardcover (well, I tried German paperbacks, which are ahead by a couple of releases, but my German isn't up to it). This is the only standing exception to my hard-line no-hardcover policy - fortunately they are fairly slim and well designed, not those heavy bricks probably aimed at giving "value for money" or something.

Oh, and Maddox Roberts tells ripping good yarns, as befits someone who cut his teeth writing Conan stories. But he also works in interesting details - such as Decius' participant description of a lustration in SPQR 8 (Tribune's Curse) - which I haven't found elsewhere. A light touch of humor (as in deriding opponents - not heavy handed pratfalls), an occasional hand-fight, and fast moving plots do not hurt.


Book Eleven in the SPQR Series, 20 Dec 2007

This is book number eleven in the SPQR series, John Maddox Roberts answer to the Roman series of books by Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor etc. I have read most of them as I am always a sucker for anything Roman, fact or fiction. As an aside I don't know why but for some reason Amazon seems to be one of the few places where you can actually purchase books by this author. Borders and Waterstones do not seem to stock them for some unknown reason. Personally I find them quite an enjoyable read and I am sure many other readers feel the same.

In this book Decius Caecilius Metellus has moved onward and upward with his life. Still a happy go lucky kind of guy but now with added responsibility. He is Praetor Peregrinus, a lofty title, and one that means he has to judge a few cases to earn a crust. But in the main these cases are outside the City boundaries and involve foreigners.

One of his port of calls is Campania and Decius and his wife Julia are more than willing to do the sight seeing tour of such a popular place. However the holiday feeling soon changes in a little town near Vesuvius, a girl, the daughter of one of the local priests is brutally murdered.. It falls on Decius to find the murderer and keep the towns people from falling on a young boy, who they all seem to blame for the death. Decius is not so sure but how is he going to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Perhaps his new found status is not all its cracked up to be . . .

Mediocre at best, poor at worst, 02 Jan 2008
As mentioned in a previous review, it was said as this is not written by Raymond E. Feist and is the other author's interpretation of the world of Midkemia to be true, as the major inconsistency I found was the use of swearing. I can understand that the author may have wanted to create a veneer of authenticity for his "rough and ready" mercenaries and I personally do not have anything against swearing in literature as long as it's consistent with the setting and relevant to the work. Unfortunately I can't say that here. Overall I found the story line mediocre and the interpretation of Feist's world to be poor.

One star only!, 21 Dec 2007
Murder in Lamut was a poor compared to Honoured enemy and Jimmy the Hand, the other two Legend's of the Riftwar books.

I thought the idea of writing of collaborations was a good one but in this instance the result was disappointing. It just wasn't my cup of tea and i really struggled to finish it, the story never got near to grabbing hold unlike most of Raymond Feist's stories.

One star and a waste of time!

A different aproach, 29 May 2006
I must say that I have really enjoyed this particular book!! I have been a Feist fan for many years now and was excited with this book because:

1)With all the grand saga's popping up all around us, this was a refreshing break without travelling too far from the main plots of Feist his books. (There are several referals & names that a Feist reader would recognize from the Rift War Saga).

2)The three main characters are versatile and definately not the regular hero's you would expect in a Fantasy novel:-) Which makes it a somehow different approach but certainly not less than other Feist books.

3)Easy to read and definately with a degree of humour & without the need to read all the other Feist books to understand the world in which it is playing.

All in all it is different: with three very unlikely hero's being drawn into something they certainly do not want to be a part of. And an investigation for a murderer with a solution that describes the 3 hero's perfectly.....



Mystery in the Rift War, 29 Jul 2005
This book was definately of a very different flavour than the rest of Feist's novels, however I believe it definately worked. If you are looking for an epic volume in the grand scheme of the Riftwars then this book is not for you. However, if you have fallen in love with Midkemia and Kelewan and you want to explore nooks and crannies of these worlds then Murder in LaMut is excellent.

Rosenberg successfully exports Kethol, Piroji, and Durine from his Guardians of the Flame series and they are unlike any of Feist's normal characters. Most of the original Riftwar cast consists of nobles, Elves, and honourable folk. These three however, are only in it for the money. It is refreshing to realize that there are more than just despicable villians and honourable hereoes in Midkemia--we get a close view into the life of three commoners (albeit well traveled mercenary commoners ;-)).

Now that I think about it I believe I would have been disappointed if this novel had followed the usual Feist fantasy "formula" (not that his writing is truly formulaic) and been some sort of a grand quest. This novel was meant to be a divergent view into Midkemia and it succeeds admirably in my view. It isn't just the books that I enjoy, it is the worlds Feist has shown us and Murder in LaMut exposes an entirely new dimension of Midkemia.

One last point, the murder mystery proper doesn't show up until the end of the book--however I believe this is a mistake on the publisher's part when they wrote the description for the back of the book. Really this book is about Kethol, Pirojil, and Durine more than just the murder. Furthermore, the mystery may not be polished--but this isn't a world of precise police procedure, or modern investigative methods, and the three mercenaries aren't professional detectives. :-)

I would also reccomend The Empire Trilogy written with Janny Wurts for a similarly expansive and different view of Feist's world.

Better than the reviews I read before the book., 24 Jan 2005
THE STORY:
Durine, Kethol and Pirojil find themselves stuck in LaMut during an especially harsh winter of the Riftwar. When a Kingdom noble and his wife are murdered in their beds, the three mercenaries have to find the killer or face dire consequences.

WHAT'S GOOD:
I know this is an unpopular book, but I think that's largely because it's such a radical change of pace and scale to Feist's other books, which puts Feist fans off. Personally, I was interested to see how a very different type of story could be played out against the familiar background of the Riftwar. What we get is a classically-styled murder mystery, but where the sleuth's aren't Poirot or Miss Marple, but a trio of cynical, self-interested mercenaries. This clever twist is capped nicely by the final result of the investigations (I won't tell you whodunnit). .

WHAT'S BAD:
To be honest, apart from being set on Midkemia, there's very little fantasy to this story, which will put off those looking for wizards and dragons etc. Similarly, fans of 'Magician' will find this book too small scale and differently styled.

Kim Stanley Robinson has earned a reputation as the master of Mars fiction, writing books that are scientific, sociological and, better still, fantastic. Green Mars continues the story of humans settling the planet in a process called "terraforming". In Red Mars, the initial work in the trilogy, the first 100 scientists chosen to explore the planet disintegrated in disagreement--in part because of pressures from forces on Earth. Some of the scientists formed a loose network underground. Green Mars, which won the 1994 Hugo Award, follows the development of the underground and the problems endemic to forming a new society.

Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined and novels. My only minus is it's a tad light on poetry coverage and sophocles/greek plays.

If you're a total beginner to eng lit get a more basics primer first and read this alongside as it's halfway between A level and degree level. Read it with a pencil for your margin notes too!

Ten star rating and more, 22 Mar 2007
This book achieves the impossible. It makes the difficult and obtuse polemical and theoretical debates of recent history easy to read. Yes, believe it or not! I cannot find enough congratulations to give for this excellent and learned book. The achievement of the age. Thank you for making clear sense of it all.My newly found bible for Literary Critical research.

A worthy introduction but only goes so far, 08 Mar 2007
This book is a useful tool for students wishing to grasp the basics, and sample a broad range, of critical approaches to literature. However, if you wish to explore a particular approach to a higher level, then this book will not be adequate on its own. For example, the fact that only a few pages are dedicated to the concept of 'gender' goes to show that this really is only an introductory work, and it could be argued that literary theory is not something that can be 'summed up' in the form of brief, introductory chapters.

Having said this, each chapter provides reading lists for additional relevant material, and therefore it is a good way to break into the field. Just be prepared to get in the library and seek out other books if a particular approach interests you. Don't expect to rely entirely on this.

I love this book!, 10 Nov 2006
Whilst trying to write an essay about desire, I became so confused I just wanted a book that would explain the various theories in simple language so that I would understand it. This book did just that. It provides introductions to complex topics and establishes a foundation of knowledge that you can build on with the handily referenced further reading, or reading of your own. Its now become my first port of call when writing essays, so I don't become tangled up in complex criticism and theories.

Waste of time and money, 13 Jul 2008
Boring to read. Uninteresting characters. Not very good language. Too long. Very unlikely that we will send 100 scientist to Mars, at an enormous cost, without a really good way of controlling them.

Entertaining crash course in the practical side of planetary colonization, 09 Jan 2008
One of the most entertaining tours of physics, biology, sociology, and politics imaginable if you want to learn something from a novel as well as entertain yourself. Makes Asimov/Heinlein (I forget but one of them wrote something about colonizing the Moon...) look amateurish.

The thing that really struck me at the end was my usual puzzlement as to why there is no real political will these days for space colonization projects. Surely most of the voters out there would rather see governments pumping money into these kind of projects, that are highly unlikely to be privately financed, than the military when it is clear that eventually we will need a bolt hole somewhere. It was the government of the day that financed Columbus in his expedition not a corporation.

Is it just that NASA is rubbish ...?

It actually rates 6 stars!!!, 23 Jul 2007
Perhaps THE finest science fiction book I have ever read, and believe me I have read a lot of them. I am an avid sci-fi reader, having read anything from Star Trek & Star Wars to classics like Asimov, Clark & Herbert, to Philip K. Dick, Iain Banks, Ursula Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson etc etc etc... In all of these books I have found something to thrill my imagination. However, all of these authors usually emphasise one aspect of sci-fi, be it science, technology, philosophy, ethics, or simply genuine space opera with grand battles & laser guns. Nowhere have I found all of the above elements equally balanced. Robinson manages to create an account of a future Martian exploration that is simply breath-taking, both in conception and in execution.

Red Mars explores all posible aspects of a full-blown attempt to colonise Mars. Based on a solid, detailed & completely realistic account of the science and technology necessary for humans to colonise & terraform a new hostile world, Robinson goes on to explore the ethical, business, political, economical, religious and of course personal aspects of such an effort. What is amazing is that he manages to mesh everything into a coherent, albeit complicated, total, so much like real life itself that one cannot help but believe that once we decide to travel to Mars, that's how we are going to do it.

And he manages to do that without losing the human aspect! There are people among the First Hundred that we feel could live next door. Yes, they are brilliant scientists & cosmonauts, especially gifted and carefully selected, but they are also human like you & me, they have weaknesses, feelings, allegiances, preferences, agendas both obvious & hidden.... My personal favorites were Arkady, Nadia and Hiroko, but I loved the portrayal of each and every one of the characters, both good & evil.

I could go on writing pages, but I actually need only one word. The book is simply A MASTERPIECE. Read it, and then read it again (as I did). Because every time you read it, you will find something new to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you dream. Just read it.

One of the finest and best books on Mars, 23 Mar 2007
Incredible...after discovering this trilogy 10 years ago...I still feel the need to read and reread it.

The characters are well thought and beautifully constructed, the science incredibly plausible, the story complexe and fascinating and the hero of it all...MARS is impressive...this book just makes you want to jump in the first spaceship available to go and live on the red planet...

Great read, great story...5 stars for one of the best SF writter of all times!

Epic novel of colonisation, 31 Oct 2006
`Red Mars' is the first in Kim Stanley Robinson's massive trilogy of Martian colonisation, with this novel taking the story from the first one hundred colonists as they travel to Mars and begin to make the planet habitable, to the ultimate violent revolution of the colonists against the transnational corporations who want to exploit the planet for Earth. This is a novel based firmly on current scientific knowledge, so those expecting a more exotic science fiction outing will best look elsewhere, but despite its occasionally slow pace this is an intriguing speculation on how the colonisation of Mars could occur. Probably the most impressive aspect of Red Mars is that despite its obvious hard-sf nature Robinson works hard to put the characters at the forefront of the story. Occasionally heavy-going, but for those who appreciate serious science fiction this is an intelligent and interesting examination of the clash between preservation and terraforming, capitalist exploitation and colonisation. Good stuff - just don't expect any bug-eyed aliens!

The best of the Roman story writers, 21 Sep 2008
To my ear, John Maddox Roberts' tone is the one that rings least false. His Decius is a stoic, unsentimental Roman republican aristocrat. Not a chav in togs (Davis), not a time-traveling Spenser (Saylor), not a long-winded wisecracker (Wishart), not a hero on loan from Harlequin (McCullough - though she does get points for thoroughness).

Not unusually, I'm in the minority here. So I buy Decius stories in hardcover (well, I tried German paperbacks, which are ahead by a couple of releases, but my German isn't up to it). This is the only standing exception to my hard-line no-hardcover policy - fortunately they are fairly slim and well designed, not those heavy bricks probably aimed at giving "value for money" or something.

Oh, and Maddox Roberts tells ripping good yarns, as befits someone who cut his teeth writing Conan stories. But he also works in interesting details - such as Decius' participant description of a lustration in SPQR 8 (Tribune's Curse) - which I haven't found elsewhere. A light touch of humor (as in deriding opponents - not heavy handed pratfalls), an occasional hand-fight, and fast moving plots do not hurt.


Book Eleven in the SPQR Series, 20 Dec 2007

This is book number eleven in the SPQR series, John Maddox Roberts answer to the Roman series of books by Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor etc. I have read most of them as I am always a sucker for anything Roman, fact or fiction. As an aside I don't know why but for some reason Amazon seems to be one of the few places where you can actually purchase books by this author. Borders and Waterstones do not seem to stock them for some unknown reason. Personally I find them quite an enjoyable read and I am sure many other readers feel the same.

In this book Decius Caecilius Metellus has moved onward and upward with his life. Still a happy go lucky kind of guy but now with added responsibility. He is Praetor Peregrinus, a lofty title, and one that means he has to judge a few cases to earn a crust. But in the main these cases are outside the City boundaries and involve foreigners.

One of his port of calls is Campania and Decius and his wife Julia are more than willing to do the sight seeing tour of such a popular place. However the holiday feeling soon changes in a little town near Vesuvius, a girl, the daughter of one of the local priests is brutally murdered.. It falls on Decius to find the murderer and keep the towns people from falling on a young boy, who they all seem to blame for the death. Decius is not so sure but how is he going to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Perhaps his new found status is not all its cracked up to be . . .

Mediocre at best, poor at worst, 02 Jan 2008
As mentioned in a previous review, it was said as this is not written by Raymond E. Feist and is the other author's interpretation of the world of Midkemia to be true, as the major inconsistency I found was the use of swearing. I can understand that the author may have wanted to create a veneer of authenticity for his "rough and ready" mercenaries and I personally do not have anything against swearing in literature as long as it's consistent with the setting and relevant to the work. Unfortunately I can't say that here. Overall I found the story line mediocre and the interpretation of Feist's world to be poor.

One star only!, 21 Dec 2007
Murder in Lamut was a poor compared to Honoured enemy and Jimmy the Hand, the other two Legend's of the Riftwar books.

I thought the idea of writing of collaborations was a good one but in this instance the result was disappointing. It just wasn't my cup of tea and i really struggled to finish it, the story never got near to grabbing hold unlike most of Raymond Feist's stories.

One star and a waste of time!

A different aproach, 29 May 2006
I must say that I have really enjoyed this particular book!! I have been a Feist fan for many years now and was excited with this book because:

1)With all the grand saga's popping up all around us, this was a refreshing break without travelling too far from the main plots of Feist his books. (There are several referals & names that a Feist reader would recognize from the Rift War Saga).

2)The three main characters are versatile and definately not the regular hero's you would expect in a Fantasy novel:-) Which makes it a somehow different approach but certainly not less than other Feist books.

3)Easy to read and definately with a degree of humour & without the need to read all the other Feist books to understand the world in which it is playing.

All in all it is different: with three very unlikely hero's being drawn into something they certainly do not want to be a part of. And an investigation for a murderer with a solution that describes the 3 hero's perfectly.....



Mystery in the Rift War, 29 Jul 2005
This book was definately of a very different flavour than the rest of Feist's novels, however I believe it definately worked. If you are looking for an epic volume in the grand scheme of the Riftwars then this book is not for you. However, if you have fallen in love with Midkemia and Kelewan and you want to explore nooks and crannies of these worlds then Murder in LaMut is excellent.

Rosenberg successfully exports Kethol, Piroji, and Durine from his Guardians of the Flame series and they are unlike any of Feist's normal characters. Most of the original Riftwar cast consists of nobles, Elves, and honourable folk. These three however, are only in it for the money. It is refreshing to realize that there are more than just despicable villians and honourable hereoes in Midkemia--we get a close view into the life of three commoners (albeit well traveled mercenary commoners ;-)).

Now that I think about it I believe I would have been disappointed if this novel had followed the usual Feist fantasy "formula" (not that his writing is truly formulaic) and been some sort of a grand quest. This novel was meant to be a divergent view into Midkemia and it succeeds admirably in my view. It isn't just the books that I enjoy, it is the worlds Feist has shown us and Murder in LaMut exposes an entirely new dimension of Midkemia.

One last point, the murder mystery proper doesn't show up until the end of the book--however I believe this is a mistake on the publisher's part when they wrote the description for the back of the book. Really this book is about Kethol, Pirojil, and Durine more than just the murder. Furthermore, the mystery may not be polished--but this isn't a world of precise police procedure, or modern investigative methods, and the three mercenaries aren't professional detectives. :-)

I would also reccomend The Empire Trilogy written with Janny Wurts for a similarly expansive and different view of Feist's world.

Better than the reviews I read before the book., 24 Jan 2005
THE STORY:
Durine, Kethol and Pirojil find themselves stuck in LaMut during an especially harsh winter of the Riftwar. When a Kingdom noble and his wife are murdered in their beds, the three mercenaries have to find the killer or face dire consequences.

WHAT'S GOOD:
I know this is an unpopular book, but I think that's largely because it's such a radical change of pace and scale to Feist's other books, which puts Feist fans off. Personally, I was interested to see how a very different type of story could be played out against the familiar background of the Riftwar. What we get is a classically-styled murder mystery, but where the sleuth's aren't Poirot or Miss Marple, but a trio of cynical, self-interested mercenaries. This clever twist is capped nicely by the final result of the investigations (I won't tell you whodunnit). .

WHAT'S BAD:
To be honest, apart from being set on Midkemia, there's very little fantasy to this story, which will put off those looking for wizards and dragons etc. Similarly, fans of 'Magician' will find this book too small scale and differently styled.

Mars book 2, 24 Nov 2006
Following on from the failed revolution at the end of `Red Mars' this second book in Kim Stanley Robinson's epic trilogy follows the revolutionists as they go underground, while clashes between multinational corporations and ecological disaster on Earth eventually herald the start of another attempt to gain independence for Mars. As with it's predecessor this is at times a rather heavy-going read, with the pace often slowing to a crawl, but for those with the mental stamina this is ultimately a rewarding future history.

Just as good as "Red Mars", 17 Sep 2005
"Green Mars" seamlessly follows on from where "Red Mars" left off and it is just as well written and convincing as the first book of the trilogy. Once again the whole feel of the book is like an historical narrative written after the event by some kind of time traveller , rather than an imaginative work of futuristic fiction by a talented writer . The plot is thoroughly gripping, the characterisation immense and the geographical, geological and biological detail is phenomenal. "Green Mars" sees the development of a "Martian Underground" resistance which tries to gain political independence from Earth and the transnational corporations that control it. The main characters are all infused with a steely determination to stop Mars becoming an Earth Mark 2 and the book explores their collective struggle to forge a separate Martian identity and society amidst the climate changes brought about by ongoing "terraforming" which is steadily "greening" Mars and creating large areas of surface ice. It is remarkable how the author has brought Mars to life so vividly ;his fantastic world of space elevators, tented cities, genetically engineered flora and Platonic "Scientist-King" revolutionaries is quite astounding. "Green Mars", despite the scientific minutiae is a very readable book. I raced through the 800 page epic in 7 days and I hope that the final book in the trilogy ,"Blue Mars", is just as good as the first two.

Dry and verbose, but interesting, 05 Jan 2005
Like the first book, Red Mars, at times this can read more like a history textbook than a novel. The book is broken up into sections, each written from the point of view of various characters. This gives each part a personal spin, but breaks up the overall narrative somewhat, leaving the reader a bit dislocated. It also lacks the exploring-the-unknown, hard science aspects of Red Mars, but that was inevitable given the plot.

That said, it's superbly well thought out, and utterly, completely convincing. If you liked Red Hars, this is worth the follow-up.

an intelligent and believable sequel, nice characters, 13 Oct 2001
The first book in the Mars series brought us into a newly settled world and made us want to be there - although maybe not having to deal with all those fascinating problems with concrete. Green Mars continues developing characters that we met in the first book and tracking the political and ecological developments of a terraforming world. Unlike much sci fi involving habitation of a new planet, Robinson takes an intelligent understanding of anthropology and social theories and applies it to a well written and engaging plot. I will admit now to reading the whole series already and enjoying almost every moment of them and yearning to see the expansive red landscapes and the gradual terraforming mutating the planet, slowly but surely. If you've read the first book(Red Mars), don't worry about the sequel letting you down. If you haven't read the first one, then read it first, or Green Mars won't make sense.

Very good if you have read Red Mars, 09 Mar 2000
Very good if you have read Red Mars. As it is a continuation. I am into the 3rd book, and they all are very good. He makes the stories very believeable

The final volume of a trilogy that began with Red Mars and continued with Green Mars, Blue Mars completes the story of the "First Hundred", a pioneering group of explorers who have overseen a terraforming project that transformed Mars from a lifeless planet into a world habitable by humans. An anti-ageing breakthrough has kept the First Hundred alive for three centuries and in that time, their motives, desires and passions have evolved in ways that parallel the changes on Mars itself. Conceptually complex and daring, the publication of Blue Mars marks the completion of a modern science fiction masterpiece.

Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined and novels. My only minus is it's a tad light on poetry coverage and sophocles/greek plays.

If you're a total beginner to eng lit get a more basics primer first and read this alongside as it's halfway between A level and degree level. Read it with a pencil for your margin notes too!

Ten star rating and more, 22 Mar 2007
This book achieves the impossible. It makes the difficult and obtuse polemical and theoretical debates of recent history easy to read. Yes, believe it or not! I cannot find enough congratulations to give for this excellent and learned book. The achievement of the age. Thank you for making clear sense of it all.My newly found bible for Literary Critical research.

A worthy introduction but only goes so far, 08 Mar 2007
This book is a useful tool for students wishing to grasp the basics, and sample a broad range, of critical approaches to literature. However, if you wish to explore a particular approach to a higher level, then this book will not be adequate on its own. For example, the fact that only a few pages are dedicated to the concept of 'gender' goes to show that this really is only an introductory work, and it could be argued that literary theory is not something that can be 'summed up' in the form of brief, introductory chapters.

Having said this, each chapter provides reading lists for additional relevant material, and therefore it is a good way to break into the field. Just be prepared to get in the library and seek out other books if a particular approach interests you. Don't expect to rely entirely on this.

I love this book!, 10 Nov 2006
Whilst trying to write an essay about desire, I became so confused I just wanted a book that would explain the various theories in simple language so that I would understand it. This book did just that. It provides introductions to complex topics and establishes a foundation of knowledge that you can build on with the handily referenced further reading, or reading of your own. Its now become my first port of call when writing essays, so I don't become tangled up in complex criticism and theories.

Waste of time and money, 13 Jul 2008
Boring to read. Uninteresting characters. Not very good language. Too long. Very unlikely that we will send 100 scientist to Mars, at an enormous cost, without a really good way of controlling them.

Entertaining crash course in the practical side of planetary colonization, 09 Jan 2008
One of the most entertaining tours of physics, biology, sociology, and politics imaginable if you want to learn something from a novel as well as entertain yourself. Makes Asimov/Heinlein (I forget but one of them wrote something about colonizing the Moon...) look amateurish.

The thing that really struck me at the end was my usual puzzlement as to why there is no real political will these days for space colonization projects. Surely most of the voters out there would rather see governments pumping money into these kind of projects, that are highly unlikely to be privately financed, than the military when it is clear that eventually we will need a bolt hole somewhere. It was the government of the day that financed Columbus in his expedition not a corporation.

Is it just that NASA is rubbish ...?

It actually rates 6 stars!!!, 23 Jul 2007
Perhaps THE finest science fiction book I have ever read, and believe me I have read a lot of them. I am an avid sci-fi reader, having read anything from Star Trek & Star Wars to classics like Asimov, Clark & Herbert, to Philip K. Dick, Iain Banks, Ursula Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, William Gibson etc etc etc... In all of these books I have found something to thrill my imagination. However, all of these authors usually emphasise one aspect of sci-fi, be it science, technology, philosophy, ethics, or simply genuine space opera with grand battles & laser guns. Nowhere have I found all of the above elements equally balanced. Robinson manages to create an account of a future Martian exploration that is simply breath-taking, both in conception and in execution.

Red Mars explores all posible aspects of a full-blown attempt to colonise Mars. Based on a solid, detailed & completely realistic account of the science and technology necessary for humans to colonise & terraform a new hostile world, Robinson goes on to explore the ethical, business, political, economical, religious and of course personal aspects of such an effort. What is amazing is that he manages to mesh everything into a coherent, albeit complicated, total, so much like real life itself that one cannot help but believe that once we decide to travel to Mars, that's how we are going to do it.

And he manages to do that without losing the human aspect! There are people among the First Hundred that we feel could live next door. Yes, they are brilliant scientists & cosmonauts, especially gifted and carefully selected, but they are also human like you & me, they have weaknesses, feelings, allegiances, preferences, agendas both obvious & hidden.... My personal favorites were Arkady, Nadia and Hiroko, but I loved the portrayal of each and every one of the characters, both good & evil.

I could go on writing pages, but I actually need only one word. The book is simply A MASTERPIECE. Read it, and then read it again (as I did). Because every time you read it, you will find something new to make you think, to make you laugh, to make you dream. Just read it.

One of the finest and best books on Mars, 23 Mar 2007
Incredible...after discovering this trilogy 10 years ago...I still feel the need to read and reread it.

The characters are well thought and beautifully constructed, the science incredibly plausible, the story complexe and fascinating and the hero of it all...MARS is impressive...this book just makes you want to jump in the first spaceship available to go and live on the red planet...

Great read, great story...5 stars for one of the best SF writter of all times!

Epic novel of colonisation, 31 Oct 2006
`Red Mars' is the first in Kim Stanley Robinson's massive trilogy of Martian colonisation, with this novel taking the story from the first one hundred colonists as they travel to Mars and begin to make the planet habitable, to the ultimate violent revolution of the colonists against the transnational corporations who want to exploit the planet for Earth. This is a novel based firmly on current scientific knowledge, so those expecting a more exotic science fiction outing will best look elsewhere, but despite its occasionally slow pace this is an intriguing speculation on how the colonisation of Mars could occur. Probably the most impressive aspect of Red Mars is that despite its obvious hard-sf nature Robinson works hard to put the characters at the forefront of the story. Occasionally heavy-going, but for those who appreciate serious science fiction this is an intelligent and interesting examination of the clash between preservation and terraforming, capitalist exploitation and colonisation. Good stuff - just don't expect any bug-eyed aliens!

The best of the Roman story writers, 21 Sep 2008
To my ear, John Maddox Roberts' tone is the one that rings least false. His Decius is a stoic, unsentimental Roman republican aristocrat. Not a chav in togs (Davis), not a time-traveling Spenser (Saylor), not a long-winded wisecracker (Wishart), not a hero on loan from Harlequin (McCullough - though she does get points for thoroughness).

Not unusually, I'm in the minority here. So I buy Decius stories in hardcover (well, I tried German paperbacks, which are ahead by a couple of releases, but my German isn't up to it). This is the only standing exception to my hard-line no-hardcover policy - fortunately they are fairly slim and well designed, not those heavy bricks probably aimed at giving "value for money" or something.

Oh, and Maddox Roberts tells ripping good yarns, as befits someone who cut his teeth writing Conan stories. But he also works in interesting details - such as Decius' participant description of a lustration in SPQR 8 (Tribune's Curse) - which I haven't found elsewhere. A light touch of humor (as in deriding opponents - not heavy handed pratfalls), an occasional hand-fight, and fast moving plots do not hurt.


Book Eleven in the SPQR Series, 20 Dec 2007

This is book number eleven in the SPQR series, John Maddox Roberts answer to the Roman series of books by Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor etc. I have read most of them as I am always a sucker for anything Roman, fact or fiction. As an aside I don't know why but for some reason Amazon seems to be one of the few places where you can actually purchase books by this author. Borders and Waterstones do not seem to stock them for some unknown reason. Personally I find them quite an enjoyable read and I am sure many other readers feel the same.

In this book Decius Caecilius Metellus has moved onward and upward with his life. Still a happy go lucky kind of guy but now with added responsibility. He is Praetor Peregrinus, a lofty title, and one that means he has to judge a few cases to earn a crust. But in the main these cases are outside the City boundaries and involve foreigners.

One of his port of calls is Campania and Decius and his wife Julia are more than willing to do the sight seeing tour of such a popular place. However the holiday feeling soon changes in a little town near Vesuvius, a girl, the daughter of one of the local priests is brutally murdered.. It falls on Decius to find the murderer and keep the towns people from falling on a young boy, who they all seem to blame for the death. Decius is not so sure but how is he going to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Perhaps his new found status is not all its cracked up to be . . .

Mediocre at best, poor at worst, 02 Jan 2008
As mentioned in a previous review, it was said as this is not written by Raymond E. Feist and is the other author's interpretation of the world of Midkemia to be true, as the major inconsistency I found was the use of swearing. I can understand that the author may have wanted to create a veneer of authenticity for his "rough and ready" mercenaries and I personally do not have anything against swearing in literature as long as it's consistent with the setting and relevant to the work. Unfortunately I can't say that here. Overall I found the story line mediocre and the interpretation of Feist's world to be poor.

One star only!, 21 Dec 2007
Murder in Lamut was a poor compared to Honoured enemy and Jimmy the Hand, the other two Legend's of the Riftwar books.

I thought the idea of writing of collaborations was a good one but in this instance the result was disappointing. It just wasn't my cup of tea and i really struggled to finish it, the story never got near to grabbing hold unlike most of Raymond Feist's stories.

One star and a waste of time!

A different aproach, 29 May 2006
I must say that I have really enjoyed this particular book!! I have been a Feist fan for many years now and was excited with this book because:

1)With all the grand saga's popping up all around us, this was a refreshing break without travelling too far from the main plots of Feist his books. (There are several referals & names that a Feist reader would recognize from the Rift War Saga).

2)The three main characters are versatile and definately not the regular hero's you would expect in a Fantasy novel:-) Which makes it a somehow different approach but certainly not less than other Feist books.

3)Easy to read and definately with a degree of humour & without the need to read all the other Feist books to understand the world in which it is playing.

All in all it is different: with three very unlikely hero's being drawn into something they certainly do not want to be a part of. And an investigation for a murderer with a solution that describes the 3 hero's perfectly.....



Mystery in the Rift War, 29 Jul 2005
This book was definately of a very different flavour than the rest of Feist's novels, however I believe it definately worked. If you are looking for an epic volume in the grand scheme of the Riftwars then this book is not for you. However, if you have fallen in love with Midkemia and Kelewan and you want to explore nooks and crannies of these worlds then Murder in LaMut is excellent.

Rosenberg successfully exports Kethol, Piroji, and Durine from his Guardians of the Flame series and they are unlike any of Feist's normal characters. Most of the original Riftwar cast consists of nobles, Elves, and honourable folk. These three however, are only in it for the money. It is refreshing to realize that there are more than just despicable villians and honourable hereoes in Midkemia--we get a close view into the life of three commoners (albeit well traveled mercenary commoners ;-)).

Now that I think about it I believe I would have been disappointed if this novel had followed the usual Feist fantasy "formula" (not that his writing is truly formulaic) and been some sort of a grand quest. This novel was meant to be a divergent view into Midkemia and it succeeds admirably in my view. It isn't just the books that I enjoy, it is the worlds Feist has shown us and Murder in LaMut exposes an entirely new dimension of Midkemia.

One last point, the murder mystery proper doesn't show up until the end of the book--however I believe this is a mistake on the publisher's part when they wrote the description for the back of the book. Really this book is about Kethol, Pirojil, and Durine more than just the murder. Furthermore, the mystery may not be polished--but this isn't a world of precise police procedure, or modern investigative methods, and the three mercenaries aren't professional detectives. :-)

I would also reccomend The Empire Trilogy written with Janny Wurts for a similarly expansive and different view of Feist's world.

Better than the reviews I read before the book., 24 Jan 2005
THE STORY:
Durine, Kethol and Pirojil find themselves stuck in LaMut during an especially harsh winter of the Riftwar. When a Kingdom noble and his wife are murdered in their beds, the three mercenaries have to find the killer or face dire consequences.

WHAT'S GOOD:
I know this is an unpopular book, but I think that's largely because it's such a radical change of pace and scale to Feist's other books, which puts Feist fans off. Personally, I was interested to see how a very different type of story could be played out against the familiar background of the Riftwar. What we get is a classically-styled murder mystery, but where the sleuth's aren't Poirot or Miss Marple, but a trio of cynical, self-interested mercenaries. This clever twist is capped nicely by the final result of the investigations (I won't tell you whodunnit). .

WHAT'S BAD:
To be honest, apart from being set on Midkemia, there's very little fantasy to this story, which will put off those looking for wizards and dragons etc. Similarly, fans of 'Magician' will find this book too small scale and differently styled.

Mars book 2, 24 Nov 2006
Following on from the failed revolution at the end of `Red Mars' this second book in Kim Stanley Robinson's epic trilogy follows the revolutionists as they go underground, while clashes between multinational corporations and ecological disaster on Earth eventually herald the start of another attempt to gain independence for Mars. As with it's predecessor this is at times a rather heavy-going read, with the pace often slowing to a crawl, but for those with the mental stamina this is ultimately a rewarding future history.

Just as good as "Red Mars", 17 Sep 2005
"Green Mars" seamlessly follows on from where "Red Mars" left off and it is just as well written and convincing as the first book of the trilogy. Once again the whole feel of the book is like an historical narrative written after the event by some kind of time traveller , rather than an imaginative work of futuristic fiction by a talented writer . The plot is thoroughly gripping, the characterisation immense and the geographical, geological and biological detail is phenomenal. "Green Mars" sees the development of a "Martian Underground" resistance which tries to gain political independence from Earth and the transnational corporations that control it. The main characters are all infused with a steely determination to stop Mars becoming an Earth Mark 2 and the book explores their collective struggle to forge a separate Martian identity and society amidst the climate changes brought about by ongoing "terraforming" which is steadily "greening" Mars and creating large areas of surface ice. It is remarkable how the author has brought Mars to life so vividly ;his fantastic world of space elevators, tented cities, genetically engineered flora and Platonic "Scientist-King" revolutionaries is quite astounding. "Green Mars", despite the scientific minutiae is a very readable book. I raced through the 800 page epic in 7 days and I hope that the final book in the trilogy ,"Blue Mars", is just as good as the first two.

Dry and verbose, but interesting, 05 Jan 2005
Like the first book, Red Mars, at times this can read more like a history textbook than a novel. The book is broken up into sections, each written from the point of view of various characters. This gives each part a personal spin, but breaks up the overall narrative somewhat, leaving the reader a bit dislocated. It also lacks the exploring-the-unknown, hard science aspects of Red Mars, but that was inevitable given the plot.

That said, it's superbly well thought out, and utterly, completely convincing. If you liked Red Hars, this is worth the follow-up.

an intelligent and believable sequel, nice characters, 13 Oct 2001
The first book in the Mars series brought us into a newly settled world and made us want to be there - although maybe not having to deal with all those fascinating problems with concrete. Green Mars continues developing characters that we met in the first book and tracking the political and ecological developments of a terraforming world. Unlike much sci fi involving habitation of a new planet, Robinson takes an intelligent understanding of anthropology and social theories and applies it to a well written and engaging plot. I will admit now to reading the whole series already and enjoying almost every moment of them and yearning to see the expansive red landscapes and the gradual terraforming mutating the planet, slowly but surely. If you've read the first book(Red Mars), don't worry about the sequel letting you down. If you haven't read the first one, then read it first, or Green Mars won't make sense.

Very good if you have read Red Mars, 09 Mar 2000
Very good if you have read Red Mars. As it is a continuation. I am into the 3rd book, and they all are very good. He makes the stories very believeable

Drags terribly, no plot., 28 Dec 2008
Red Mars, the first book of KSRs trilogy, is an extremely interesting and worthwhile account of how mankind might possibly settle on Mars. Green Mars is slower, but still a decent read.

But Blue Mars is extraordinarily dull. I ploughed my way through over a 1000 plotless pages wondering if the editorial team had given up entirely and simply let KSR write whatever came to mind. A failure of a novel, only to be read by those who feel they must complete the trilogy - but hardly worth the effort.

Wonderful conclusion to an epic trilogy, 04 Oct 2005
"Blue Mars" continues direstly from where "Green Mars" left off. The Martians have gained their independence from Earth and now set about establishing new forms of government and developing their own way of life, rather than have it decided for them by the Terran meta-nationals. The book focuses heavily on the actions of the remnants of the First Hundred, such as Sax,Ann,Maya and Nadia plus new characters like Zo and Nirgal.

"Blue Mars" as the title suggests is set on a fully terraformed Mars. The atmosphere has thickened and heated up and the ice seas have melted and created a hydrosphere similar to Earth. The masks and walkers have now been disposed of. The scientific substance of the book now concentrates on developing the longevity treatment, ecopoesis and the psychological difficulties of coping with living for 200 years plus.

I didn't find "Blue Mars" to be as fascinating and exciting as the first two books of the trilogy and was a bit overlong. Perhaps that was due to over familiarity with the setting and characters and it was only when Nirgal and Zo featured heavily that "Blue Mars" had a character of its own and came to life , but unfortunately most of the book concentrated on the First Hundred whose lifes work was more or less complete by the end of "Green Mars". I would have liked to have read more about "The Accelerando" instead. I also didn't like the prolonged ending to "Blue Mars"; I thought it was lacking in impact somewhat and didn't bring the Trilogy to the spectacular end it deserved.

However "Blue Mars" is still a wonderful book, full of impressive and credible scientific detail, and if Mars is to be colonised then this trilogy is a perfect guidebook for its terraformation. However the timeframe for the colonisation set out by Robinson is slightly over-optimistic I think ; maybe by a hundred years or so. I cant see antelope roaming the forests of Mars until the 23rd Century at least ! Although technology is advancing all the time.

As I read through the Mars Trilogy, I couldnt help but think that science, in its entirety, the geology,biology,physics,chemistry and all its subdivisions , is nothing more than Man progressively trying to get into the mind of God, to be God. They are a very humanist and rationalist series of novels, however they promote a form of intellectual elitism. Science is worshipped,science can provide the answers to everything and highly intelligent elitists know best. There is no room for religion or the supernatural in this vision.

"Blue Mars" is a must read for those who have read the first two books, it would be incomprehensible if you haven't. It is a fitting conclusion to a remarkable series of novels. It is also easy to read ; I raced through its 800 pages in 9 days, so theres no excuse for not reading the whole series now !

Vast, Slow, Bold and Beautiful, 17 Jun 2005
On the US mirror site, the usual tedious carping from groupthinking right-wingers that accompanied 'RED' and 'GREEN' has been accompanied by a significant strand of criticism for the slow pace and meandering structure of the final volume of KSRs astonishing 'Mars' trilogy.

Granted, slowing down an already fairly ponderous narrative to a contemplative near-halt is a counterintuitive move, but consider the following:

1) Anyone not ready for a big, slow, character driven journey where literary style is as important as driving plot should have given up halfway through 'RED'. Why continue catering for them?

2) How much more disappointing would it have been if, having shown us the struggle to build a living world, the author fails to describe how people actually live in it?

I think this is what the final trilogy does - which is why the actual plot points sometimes feel a little forced - certainly the mild political wrangling that goes on doesn't deserve the same sort of treatment as the revolutionary fervour of the first two books. Presumably there was more than a little editorial pressure to add at least a little bit of direction - personally I could have done without it, and would have been just as happy with a series of incidents - vignettes showing the fascinating characters in the series enjoying (or otherwise) the fruits of their sacrifices while a new generation expands upon their work.

As to the sudden expansion of human colonisation - the 'Accelerando' - well, Stan's been so good about keeping everything within our own scientific horizons. Why not allow him a few flights of fancy? Remember, also, that this is two hundred years into our future - think back to the early 1800s. In any case, it allows him to have a happy ending on the cosmic as well as the personal scale. While the most tragic character - Ann, who saw so much of what she loved destroyed - finally achieves a rapprochement with the new Mars, we watch humanity overcoming its limitations, learning to grow without destroying everything around it and finding a thousand ways to live and work together. At its best, Science Fiction can express a profound, humanist vision that counteracts the pettiness of everyday life in a truly mind-expanding way - and this trilogy is Science Fiction at its very, very best.

The end of a great saga (but not really), 24 Mar 2004
When I finished reading Arthur C. Clarke's "Rama" series, I believed that I had just read the greatest science fiction series ever written. While that is still probably true, Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" series ("Red Mars", "Green Mars," "Blue Mars") is definitely a contender. The series tells the story of the birth and growth of a human civilzation on Mars, with "Blue Mars" taking the First Hundred colonists into a place where Humankind has never gone before: extreme age. That might not sound like the basis for gripping reading, but it is. Of course, all of the politics and strife of the Mars colony and its tense relationship with Earth, is still present. Is this a conclusion to the series? Not really. But, then life does not have a conclusion when looked at globally, either. By the way, if you think the names of the books are unimaginative (I did before reading them), you'll find that they have underlying meanings that make them appropriate.

While the "Mars" books are technically a trilogy, Robinson's "Antarctica" is a very good prequel (like "The Hobbit" is to the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy), and his "The Martians" is a good follow-up, albeit somewhat melancholy.

Why do I like these books?

1. The writing itself is excellent. You find few, if any, editing mistakes or contradictions. The viewpoint shifts between main characters to give you a fuller picture (also done brilliantly in George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series).

2. The characters are believable, engaging, and very three-dimensional. You come away feeling that you know these people, and that these would be the types of people who would be sent to colonize Mars and come out of a new Martian civilization, as set up in the two previous books.

3. Hard issues are dealt with in realistic ways. Do they reshape Mars to fit humans (and lose the harsh beauty of Mars and its geological record), or do they reshape themselves to fit Mars (which is much harder and limits the inhabitability of Mars)? Do they do government and economy and society according to one or more existing models, do they follow the dictates of Earth, or do they (and can they?) create something new? What happens when (some, chosen) people stop dying?

4. There is a healthy dose of adventure in this book, although there is a slightly melancholy tone to it as well.

5. The technology involved in the story contiues its believable, albeit rapid, progression from the previous books in the series.

If you're new to science fiction, start either with the "Mars" series or Clarke's "Rama" series. Either one will make you a lifelong fan.

A disappointing end to the trilogy, 25 Mar 2003
The first two books of this trilogy were good, although full of incomprehensible science (but I only took single science GCSE, so most science is incomprehensible to me, if you know about that sort of stuff you'll probably be fine), but you can get by understanding the plot without the science. There were feelings, but not so many that you got overwhelmed and thought you were reading something trashy with a bright pink cover. Unfortunately, this has all ended with the final installation, which is all feelings and discussions about the composition of soil. Too long and rambling for my liking, especially when there was so much potential.

This strange, ambitious science fiction novel has already won enough attention for its first-time author to make it a selection by both the Book of the Month and QPB clubs. Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist, heads a team of scientists and explorers on an expedition to the planet Rakhat, where contact has been established with two apparently primitive races, the Runa and the Jana'ata. The narrative shifts back and forth between 2016, when contact is first made, and 2060, to a Vatican inquest interrogating the maimed and broken Sandoz. A palaeoanthropologist, Russell makes the descriptions of the inhabitants of Rakhat both convincing and unsettling.

Academic text, 02 Dec 2008
I used this as part of a module at University. The book is divided into useful chapters which allow the ease of use of this book. The writing is clear and effective and the writers are clever and though-provoking. However, if you are not so widely-read as the authors, you might have trouble following their lines of argument at times.

All in all, a good academic text.

Easier to comprehend than most - odd lapses into pseudyness, 28 Oct 2008
I like this book, it explains Eng Lit without indulging in too many nerdy 'Fry and Laurie' type "well I saw six levels", "oh well I saw eight levels" pseudy intellectual onanism type of 'inpenetetrable gobs***e' that is so often a problem with other self-indulgent textbooks.

The useful thing with this book is the authors provide further reading on each subject a glossary list of examined