# The Book of Lists (Actually, Author Kim Stanley Robinson) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980 "2015-12-09T19:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/21 "2015-12-11T21:50:14Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I agree. {Cough}Tolkien songs and poetry{/cough} Yup. I’m a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, but cannot for the life of me finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The most painful attempt was listening to the audiobook with everything from Tom Bombadil narrated in a sing-song manner. If I were one of the hobbits, I’d have stabbed him right in the kneecap and asked the wraiths to kill me. (FWIW, I enjoyed the Hobbit.) **Meurglys** , I found the first two acts of Seveneves hard to put down. The third was an obligation. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/22 "2015-12-13T13:04:28Z")
You guys are seriously having issues with a short passage that was hard to read, which was in the book to illustrate that a computer wasn’t very good at writing a readable story? I mean, that was the WHOLE POINT of the list; it was SUPPOSED to be boring and unreadable. I mean, really, just skip the names if you don’t want to read them; it doesn’t take longer than the first line to realize what’s going on. I actually laughed out loud when I came to that bit. I’ve had the same trouble with KSR as many in this thread - never could get through the Mars books - but this book and, specifically, that passage sure isn’t an example of bad writing to me. So far, I’m very much enjoying “Aurora.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/23 "2015-12-13T14:07:35Z")
I _loved_ the Mars books. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/24 "2015-12-13T17:40:07Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > You guys are seriously having issues with a short passage that was hard to read, which was in the book to illustrate that a computer wasn’t very good at writing a readable story? I mean, that was the WHOLE POINT of the list; it was SUPPOSED to be boring and unreadable. I’m not sure “boring and unreadable on purpose” is much of an improvement over “boring and unreadable by accident.” Either way, it’s still boring and unreadable. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/25 "2015-12-13T19:22:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’m not sure “boring and unreadable on purpose” is much of an improvement over “boring and unreadable by accident.” Either way, it’s still boring and unreadable. Curious - what would you have _rather_ seen the author do to get across just how horribly the computer wrote at first? I mean, if a passage that takes approximately 10 seconds to read is too much for you, I’m wondering what you would have preferred? And as an aside - as far as dull passages go, it’s hardly the [catalog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalogue_of_Ships) of the [Achaean ships](http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad2.htm#_Toc239244713), which I had to read in the original Greek whilst in college. So it’s entirely possible I was forever ruined to dull passages in my youth. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/26 "2015-12-14T03:09:49Z")
I was very taken with KSR’s _Antarctica_, and thought _The Years of Rice and Salt_ was OK – interesting premise. Started _Red Mars_ – don’t recall having any problem with lists, but found the book excruciatingly dull; gave up before getting very far into it. I feel no great desire to try anything else by this author. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/27 "2015-12-14T17:00:06Z")
I’ve not read KSR for a long time, but remember finding the Mars books a bit of a strange departure for him. His early stuff marked him out as an exciting writer - there’s real quality to his short stories and I thought he would continue in a literary sort of direction. Maybe his bank manager had a word with him, because that sort of creative style was completely absent from the Mars trilogy and I don’t think I’ve picked him up since. I did like his passion for Mars in those books - the actual planet had more character than all of the people on it. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/28 "2015-12-18T16:54:31Z")
For what it’s worth, I finished Aurora a couple days ago, and all I can say is… Wow. Probably the best book I’ve read this year. Yes, there were parts that dragged. Yes, there were some logical inconsistencies. But there were also long, beautiful passages of some really incredible writing. The overall story was interesting, and not just a re-hash of standard sci-fi themes. I especially liked the ending, where the ship truly became sentient. The last few pages as the ship rounded the sun before blowing up were amazing; I cried as I read it, knowing that the ship would probably not make it. Really spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/29 "2015-12-18T21:36:56Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I was very taken with KSR’s _Antarctica_, and thought _The Years of Rice and Salt_ was OK – interesting premise. Started _Red Mars_ – don’t recall having any problem with lists, but found the book excruciatingly dull; gave up before getting very far into it. I feel no great desire to try anything else by this author. I’ve read the Mars trilogy a few times, and just bought them (rather than use a library) and re-read them a few months ago. Because of MARS, I bought The Years of Rice and Salt when it first came out but I couldn’t get past the first few chapters. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980/30 "2015-12-19T12:57:59Z")
I strongly suggest the OP doesn’t attempt his novel _2312_ but he may enjoy reading the contents page to see what he’s missing! 🙂 Use the ‘look inside’ feature on i[t’s Amazon page](http://www.amazon.com/2312-Kim-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0316098116)! Not sure if it’s the best new sf novel I’ve read this year, but it’s either 1st or 2nd, alongside _Station Eleven_ by **Emily St.John Mandel**. They are very different books though. A couple of other recent books also covering troubled expeditions to distant stars which I enjoyed are **Donald Moffitt** ’s novel _Children of the Comet_ and **Carter Schulz** ’s _Gypsy_ novella (published by PM Press with a couple of other stories, etc.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-of-lists-actually-author-kim-stanley-robinson/739980.md?page=1)