Icehenge
Encyclopedia
Icehenge is a science fiction
novel by Kim Stanley Robinson
.
Though it was published almost ten years before Kim Stanley Robinson's acclaimed Mars trilogy
and takes place in a different version of the future, Icehenge contains elements that should be familiar to readers of the Mars series. Extreme human longevity, Martian political revolution, historical revisionism, and shifts between primary characters are all present.
three centuries later, and ultimately to a space station orbiting Saturn
, home to a reclusive and wealthy woman who may hold the key to solving a mystery spanning centuries.
.
The third part of Icehenge was originally published as the novella On the North Pole of Pluto in 1980 in the anthology Orbit 18 edited by Damon Knight
. Robinson gave the novella in rough form to Ursula K. Le Guin
to read and edit while he was enrolled in her writing workshop at UCSD
in the spring of 1977. Views of Saturn from the space station inhabited by the character Caroline Holmes in this section were inspired by images of Saturn taken during the Voyager
flybys.
Icehenge at ISFDB
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
.
Though it was published almost ten years before Kim Stanley Robinson's acclaimed Mars trilogy
Mars trilogy
The Mars trilogy is a series of award-winning science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the intensely personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost two centuries...
and takes place in a different version of the future, Icehenge contains elements that should be familiar to readers of the Mars series. Extreme human longevity, Martian political revolution, historical revisionism, and shifts between primary characters are all present.
Plot
Icehenge is part mystery, part psychological drama, and is set in three distinct time periods. The story shifts from a failed Martian political revolution of 2248, to an expedition to explore a mysterious monument on the north pole of PlutoPluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
three centuries later, and ultimately to a space station orbiting Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
, home to a reclusive and wealthy woman who may hold the key to solving a mystery spanning centuries.
Development history
The first part of this novel was originally published as the novella To Leave a Mark in the November 1982 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
.
The third part of Icehenge was originally published as the novella On the North Pole of Pluto in 1980 in the anthology Orbit 18 edited by Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
. Robinson gave the novella in rough form to Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
to read and edit while he was enrolled in her writing workshop at UCSD
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
in the spring of 1977. Views of Saturn from the space station inhabited by the character Caroline Holmes in this section were inspired by images of Saturn taken during the Voyager
Voyager program
The Voyager program is a U.S program that launched two unmanned space missions, scientific probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment of the late 1970s...
flybys.
Publication history
- 1984, United States, Ace Books ISBN 0441358543, Pub date 1984, paperback
- 1985, United Kingdom, Futura Orbit ISBN 0708881661, Pub date December 1985, paperback
- 1986, United Kingdom, MacDonald ISBN 0356124029, Pub date October 1986, hardback
- 1986, France, Denoël ISBN 2207304256, Pub date September 1986, paperback
- 1986, Italy, Editrice Nord ISBN 8842901717, Pub date 1986, paperback
- 1987, West Germany, Bastei-Lübbe ISBN 3404240928, Pub date 1987, paperback
- 1990, United States, Tor Books ISBN 0812502671, Pub date September 1990, paperback
- 1997, United Kingdom, Voyager ISBN 0006482554, Pub date 15 September 1997, paperback
- 1997, Croatia, Zagrebačka naklada ISBN 9536234262, Pub date 1997, paperback
- 1997, Bulgaria, Лира Принт ISBN 9548610183, Pub date 1997, paperback
- 1998, United States, Tor Orb ISBN 0312866097, Pub date July 1998, paperback
- 2001, People's Republic of China, 漓江出版社 ISBN 7540726105, Pub date 2001, paperback
- 2003, France, Gallimard ISBN 2070313042, Pub date December 2003, paperback
- 2004, Spain, Minotauro ISBN 8445074954, Pub date 09 March 2004, paperback
- 2009, United Kingdom, Voyager ISBN 9780007336746, Pub date 01 August 2009, paperback
External Links
The work of disenchantment never ends: Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge by Jo WaltonIcehenge at ISFDB