Subject: Review of Kim Stanley Robinson's _Pacific Edge_

From: [email-masked] (Jeff Hildebrand)
Date: 5 Aug 91 19:16:49 GMT

_Pacific Edge_ by Kim Stanley Robinson
              Review Copyright (c) 1991 by Jeff Hildebrand

[Bibliographic info at end --AW]

     Read this book.

     The important matters taken care of, here are some details.  Kim
Stanley Robinson's Orange County Trilogy is a very unusual type of trilogy.
The books do not depend on one another plot-wise. You can read each one
separately, since Robinson has chosen to examine three different possible
futures in the three books, all set in the same location around the same
time. However the three work as a whole by offering countering futures,
which highlight the values each future takes on. Having read Pacific Edge
first I can confidently say that it stands on it's own in terms of plot of
thematic development.

     The future Robinson explores here is that of an ectopia. There has been
massive reforestation, pollution is way down, and prosperity is the norm.
With a scenario like this you might expect an epic story, a wide ranging
narrative giving the history that led to this condition or perhaps a rich
description of wonders this world holds. Neither is the case. Instead the
plot revolves around a community political intrigue, a love triangle or two,
and the day to day life of a small number of people. It is the seemingly
unambitious scope of this book that makes it succeed so brilliantly in the
end.

     The residents of El Modena, California lead a quiet life in general.
The government is a town council that runs its meetings in the style of
Quaker public meetings. The main ongoing social event is the local slow
pitch softball league. We are introduced to several of the people living in
the town. The main character is Kevin Claiborne, a builder and member of the
town council.  Circulating around him are Romana Sanchez, who he falls head
over heels in love with, Alfredo Blair, her ex-lover and town mayor, Tom
Barnard, Kevin's grandfather, Oscar Baldarramma, the town lawyer, and
several others. Robinson does a good job drawing the reader into the lives
of these characters. Despite the lack of cosmic importance, we see that
events which seem trivial to an outsider can be important to the people
involved.  Then once he has our attention, he surprises us by doing
something more.

     Guided by a series of 50-year-old diary entries (which lead off every
chapter) Robinson examines the concepts of utopia, showing that life will
always go on and humans can get themselves into individual troubles, no
matter how stable and prosperous the society.  However it is the way the
society around the troubled individuals reacts that really makes a utopia
work.  There is undoubtedly a political context to this story and it might
be tempting, upon seeing the setup of the story as an ectopia, to dismiss
Robinson as a dreaming eco-freak.  This would be a great mistake because he
combines an environmental world with praise of small town and family life
that would seem to come straight from a Ronald Reagan campaign speech.
(Although there are admittedly some differences in the family structure he
outlines.) Incredibly, out of these seemingly paradoxically diverse elements
he draws a convincing society.  And a very thoughtful one which leaves a lot
of interpretation open for the reader.

     No short review can do justice to the rich depth of this book.  If you
want wall to wall action and adventure, you won't find it here, but if you
want a fascinating look at a possible future you will find it here. In
comparison to the 1990 Nebula and Hugo nominees that I've read (_Tehanu_,
_Fall of Hyperion_, _Earth_, _Queen of Angels_ and _The Vor Game_) _Pacific
Edge_ stands up exceedingly well. In fact to my mind, it is a superior book.

%A Robinson, Kim Stanley
%T Pacific Edge
%I Tor, A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book
%C New York
%D November 1990 (hardback), June 1991 (paperback)
%G ISBN 0-812-50056-3
%P 326 pp
%S The Orange County Trilogy
%V Volume 3
%O paperback $4.99