Green Mars

Lore & Background

Green Mars takes its title from the stage of terraforming that has allowed plants to grow. The story begins with the collapse of the ice dome of Hiroko Ai's base under the south pole, forcing the survivors to escape into an underground organization known as the Demimonde. Among the expanded group are the First Hundred's children, the Nisei, a number of whom live in Hiroko's second secret base, Gamete. As unrest in the multinational control over Mars' affairs grows, various groups form with different aims and methods. The CEO of the Praxis Corporation sends a representative, Arthur Randolph, to organize resistance movements, culminating in the Dorsa Brevia agreement, in which nearly all underground factions take part. Preparations are made for a second revolution beginning in the 2120s, including converting moholes to missile silos, sabotaging orbital mirrors, and propelling Deimos out of Mars' gravity well so it could never be used as a weapons platform. Sax Russell infiltrates the transnat terraforming project under a fake identity as Stephen Lindholm. The newly evolving Martian biosphere is described at great length, with changes aimed at warming the surface, including continent-sized orbital mirrors, a new space elevator (using an anchored asteroid dubbed 'New Clarke'), melting the northern polar ice cap, and digging moholes deep into the planet.

Reader's Guide

Green Mars is significant as the middle volume of the Mars trilogy, bridging the initial colonization and revolution of Red Mars with the later, more established society of Blue Mars. It won both the Hugo Award and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1994, reflecting its critical acclaim. The novel deepens the trilogy's exploration of sociological and scientific advances on Mars, particularly the ongoing terraforming process and the political struggle against Earth-based transnational corporations. It introduces the second generation of Martians, the Nisei, and sets the stage for the second revolution that reshapes Martian society. The book's focus on ecological transformation—from a red, barren world to one where plants can grow—mirrors the broader themes of human intervention and the ethical debates between the 'Green' and 'Red' positions personified by Sax Russell and Ann Clayborne. Its legacy lies in its detailed, character-driven portrayal of a world in transition, and its influence on the science fiction genre's treatment of terraforming and planetary politics.

Did You Know?

• Green Mars won the Hugo Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1994.
• The novel picks up 50 years after the events of Red Mars, in the dawn of the 22nd century.
• The collapse of the ice dome of Hiroko Ai's base under the south pole forces the survivors into an underground organization called the Demimonde.
• Preparations for a second revolution include propelling Deimos out of Mars' gravity well so it could never be used as a weapons platform.