Red Mars
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinsonby Kim Stanley Robinson
Shares rank 88 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
People recommend it as a deep, cautiously hopeful story about settling Mars, too rich for a movie. Critics find it dry and slow, with a lot of space politics.
People recommend it as a deep, cautiously hopeful story about settling Mars, too rich for a movie. Critics find it dry and slow, with a lot of space politics.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Too much depth for a movie
“There's way too much depth in this (wonderful, cautiously hopeful) series to pack into a movie, or even a trilogy.”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “Author of Red Mars calls 'bullshit' on emigrating to the planet” Story payoff comes full circle
“Some of the most interesting stuff starts happening to them and it comes full circle”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “Author of Red Mars calls 'bullshit' on emigrating to the planet” Vivid visuals
“The visuals are vivid. They were tedious to digest.”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “As deep-sea mining race ramps up, mission will assess whether ecosystems recover”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Dry, slow space politics
“I found it much drier than I expected. It's been a lot of space politics so far”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “The visuals are vivid. They were tedious to digest.”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “As deep-sea mining race ramps up, mission will assess whether ecosystems recover”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Red Marsby Kim Stanley RobinsonThis page | 5 | 3 | 63% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it seems pretty colonised already, and the racism has already set in”
“Mars is the only Kim Stanley Robinson book I liked.”
“I found it much drier than I expected. It's been a lot of space politics so far”
“Some of the most interesting stuff starts happening to them and it comes full circle”
“Red Mars was the book that killed my enthusiasm for reading for nearly a year.”
“he had to invent a decent amount of magic technology (the radiation proof tent material for just one example)”
“There's way too much depth in this (wonderful, cautiously hopeful) series to pack into a movie, or even a trilogy.”
“The visuals are vivid. They were tedious to digest.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.