Now I can dig science jargon - but if you're listening to an audiobook on the motorway, as I do, and your the sort of person who likes to picture the story, you might struggle to imagine some of the environments unless the scientific terms are supported with a bit of ordinary english, to help you work out whether, for example the geological description means that the terrain is crunchy and unstable or frozen and smooth. I like a long listen, but (for example) some of the accounts of events like conferences are as unwieldy and turgid as conferences can actually be in real life - who needs that? So after 50 hours of 2 books I really need a break and am not actually looking forward to the third book right now - although I'll get past that and am pleased it's out there for when I'm ready.

These books are VERY long and felt like they could have benefitted from a firmer editorial hand. His social interactions also seem reasonably plausible. I'm enjoying this series, it has interesting and often credible science ideas. I'd assumed that he must have a science background but, no - he's a writer writer (although he seems to have good science connections). I've listened to 2 of the 3 Mars trilogy books by Kim Stanley Robinson. Richard Ferrone's robust narration of this thrilling, timeless tale captures the fascinating diversity of Robinson's compelling characters, taking listeners to the farthest frontier of humanity's struggle to survive. Their decisions and actions will ultimately determine whether Mars will simply be a sanctuary for scientists, a source of raw materials for Earth, or something much more. Now, the second generation of settlers continues the struggle to survive the hostile yet strangely beautiful environment of the red planet. This led to a war that threatened the lives of billions of people on both Mars and Earth. The initial Martian pioneers had fierce disagreements about how the planet should be used by humans.

In this stunning sequel to that Nebula Award-winning novel, Robinson takes the colonization of Mars to a new generation, with a new set of problems and concerns.

In Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson imagined a near future in which humankind established the first colonies on Mars and began to make the planet inhabitable for humans.

Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson