Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favorite, working authors, and has been since I started reading his work in the late 1980’s. It’s nice to see that his older work is being reissued to be found by new audiences or re-discovered and re-enjoyed by those of us who’ve read it before.

The book Icehenge is a collection of three novellas, from three different points of view.

The first takes place in 2248 with Emma Weil narrating. Currently on board an asteroid mining ship, she becomes hostage to the ship’s crew who want her to help them to convert three stolen ships from the Mars Starship Association. They’d like the ships to be capable of ferrying passengers on centuries-long voyages. Born on Mars, Emma isn’t keen on doing favors for dissidents or revolutionaries stealing Mars property. But the longer she spends time with the dedicated crew, the more she sympathizes with them despite returning to her home.

The second story then takes place in 2547 and is narrated by Martian archaeologist Hjalmar Nederland. He discovers Emma Weil’s journal in the old ruins of a city dome and he now questions the Mars official story of the failed revolution 300 years ago. Also in her journal, Emma notes that she witnessed the revolutionaries’ starship builders making drawings of circular designs with comments about leaving a mark to prove they’d once been there. Is Icehenge nothing more than a designers ode to having been?

The final story follows Nederland’s nearly a century later, with Hjalmar’s great-grandson, Edmond Doya, setting out to prove that Hjalmar was wrong and that Emma Weil’s diary was a hoax. But if that’s all true, Icehenge could have a more terrifying origin….

This is not my favorite Robinson work. When I first read it in the late 80’s it took me two or three attempts to get through it. I wasn’t picking up on the fact that it was three separate, but related, stories at the time (we didn’t have the internet to tell us things back then, kids!) and I struggled to understand why we lost characters and picked up new ones. Today it makes much more sense to me, but it’s still not my favorite work. This feels like we’re brought in to watch a day in the life of Emma/Hjalmar/Edmond and then move on. Icehenge is our titular subject but it’s a prop to the lives of Hjalmar and Edmond (it’s nothing to Emma except in passing).

What I do see in this book is Robinson’s exceptional character study … the sort of study that he uses in the his very expansive epics. But the story itself isn’t there. Perhaps this has more to do with publishing and marketing – trying to make a novel out of stories?

As stories (or novellas), I like Emma’s a lot. It stands alone well and really does tell a story. Hjalmar’s is also interesting but it’s not as powerful as Emma’s. Edmond’s on the other hand, really doesn’t fare well for me. We don’t get enough time spent on how life/society has changed in the century, and it’s never clear to me why it’s so important to disprove Hjalmar’s theories on Icehenge and the revolution.

And if the stories got weaker as the progressed, then, as a novel, the run up to the climax gets less and less exciting.

As a novel, this doesn’t work well for me. As a collection of three related stories, it’s pretty good. But it’s never billed as three novellas (at least not in my collections). In fact this newest releases refers to it as “the award-winning author’s first Martian novel”. Hmm.

This is not the book I’d recommend to anyone wanting to try a Kim Stanley Robinson novel for the first time, but it’s still worth reading. My suggestion is to read it as three stories.

Looking for a good book? Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge is available again and worth a read for Robinson fans, but note that ‘novel’ might be stretching it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

*Fiasco* by Constance Fay is an engaging and dramatic exploration of personal turmoil and the consequences of poor decisions. The story centers around characters whose lives spiral out of control, each facing the fallout of their actions. Fay's writing is sharp and raw, capturing the emotional depth and complexity of her characters. The plot unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers hooked as they witness the characters' unraveling. Themes of redemption, failure, and self-realization are thoughtfully explored. *Fiasco* is a compelling read for those who enjoy character-driven stories that delve into human flaws and the messy realities of life.

This might seem like a short novel, but it's dense. Written as 3 different narratives, it explores the relationship between memory and legacy. In this future, no one dies anymore. They just keep on living... this means a couple of things: first, it means that there's no change by natural attrition. The people in power do everything they can to stay in power, and there's no hope for better successors because no one leaves their posts. Second, also in this world, people don't retain their memories for much longer than we do. Even though their lives have been extended, it doesn't mean they have the capacity to retain their foundational experiences. (There's a throwaway line about how people write and publish their autobiographies, in part so that they can remember their own pasts.)

In this environment, we read three different narratives. Emma Weil is caught up in the Martian revolution. A few hundred years later, Hjalmar Nederland discovers her diary, one of the few firsthand accounts remaining of the events. And a few hundred years after that, Edmond Doya posits that Nederland's discoveries were all a hoax. But if they were a hoax, what does that mean about the political reforms that Nederland was able to push through by revealing the atrocities of the Civil War - especially when many of the men in power are still in power?

Although portions of the book feel dated (the earliest year this takes place is 2248 and the two major powers of Earth are still the US and the USSR; although Emma Weil is the protagonist of the first "book," the powers that be are resolutely masculine), the themes still resonate. This might be short in terms of page count, but it took me a few days to get through, in part because I'd often set it down to think about the issues it raises. Definitely worth checking out!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of "Tor Essentials" edition of the book.

Genre: science fiction
Originally published in 1984, new release published 2024

Out on Pluto, there stands a massive monument, with words etched in Sanskrit, mimicking the henges of ancient Briton. How did they get there? When did they get there? Taking place hundreds of years into our future, Icehenge spans hundreds of years itself, in an era where humans can live centuries. It's the story of three people linked in some ways to the mysterious monument. Even in futuristic space travel, Pluto is still considered beyond the reach of many and wild theories circulate regarding the Icehenge creation, some linked to political unrest from Mars and some linked to theories of ancient humans.

This is one of Kim Stanley Robinson's earliest published books, getting a re-publication this year from Tor. I've never put down a book from KSR that didn't make me wonder and think and Icehenge is no different. In some ways it’s narrower in scope than the Red Mars series, and yet, in some ways it’s opening different doors to the stars in unexpected ways. It’s told in a format that mimics a memoir: highly reflective and pondering. And yet, the first and third books are driven by external plot (a coup! a threat to solving the mystery!) and the second book has an urgent pacing as the narrator spirals in his quest to discover the original journal writer (who is also the part one narrator.)

Icehenge is a reflection on human memory, especially memory as humans age hundreds of years, and how easy it is to change collective memory. It’s classic science fiction, tackling space, terraforming, and political turmoil, and yet remains approachable for a reader intimidated by hard sciences. This novel in particular leans more literary and speculative in tone.

Surprise bonus, this was published originally in 1984 and has a queer narrator for part two of the story.

Extra bonus, for those who know KSR... this is exceptionally short, at only 288 pages/12 hours on audio.

Icehenge reads like 3 novellas telling parts of the story at different times in history, progressing as we reach a different character. In this world, humans live for extended periods of life and humans have limitations on how much they can remember over these long lives. Even after reading the events from a character’s perspective when they were seeing them happen, you begin to question things along with the characters later in history as events have been revised to fit the ruling government’s views, but also because those that witnessed history may not be remembering it perfectly.

In part 1, I enjoyed the story, but was not yet fully sucked into it. By part 2, I was inching into the “loving this” category and by part 3 I was fully consumed by the story. The memory and extended lifespan views and commentary were brilliant and feel ahead of their time for when this was originally published.

This book was terribly formatted. Absolutely unreadable. This is a rerelease, why was it formated like the author sent it as a word vomit 15 minutes before they sent the file? Rating it one star on principle because this shouldn't have been sent out to people this way. It's one thing if it's a new release and formatting still needs to be figured out; can't understand why this wasn't done for a book that's been available for longer than I've been alive.