Part mystery, part political, this is three novellas that are interconnected. They look at a single event from different perspectives of age, and leave the reader to resolve the answer in the end - possibly with another mystery.

In this version of the future, lifespans have been increased far beyond today (500 years is not uncommon), and humanity has populated many places in the solar system, including many bases on Mars. A terraforming project is underway behind the scenes also, because by the end the Martian atmosphere is breathable with slight oxygen assistance.

Politically, the Soviet Union still exists (as we thought it would in 1984), and Russians make up half the colonists. Soviet-American politics aren't the focus, however - it is the Martian colonist versus the "Development Committee" which leads to the Martian civil war of the first novella.

By the end of the book, we also see colonies on other worlds and moons (Titan!), and body surf in a methane wave-pool on an asteroid converted into a wildly orbiting pleasure craft. I enjoyed this survey of Robinson's future vision, which definitely falls into the hopeful category.

It's been many years since I read anything larger than a short story from Kim Stanley Robinson, and his Mars trilogy is still on my to-read list. This book is the authors second published novel, and the first two of the three novellas were previously published also. That said, this novel is unlike many of the books available at the time, and I really enjoyed reading it. 4 stars.