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"It is twenty-five years since China established the first colony on the moon, and the lives of three people are about to collide. American Fred Fredericks is making his first trip there, his purpose to install a communications system for China's Lunar Science Foundation. But hours after his arrival he witnesses a murder and is forced into hiding. It is also the first visit to the moon for celebrity travel reporter Ta Shu. He has contacts and influence, but he too will find that the moon can be a perilous place for any traveler. Finally, there is Chan Qi. Daughter of the Minister of Finance, and without doubt a person of interest to those in power. She is on the moon for reasons of her own, but when she attempts to return home to China, in secret, the events that unfold will change everything - on the moon, and on Earth"--… (more)
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Earth's Moon is figuratively red in 2047 because China has built much the largest base there, at its South Pole. Lunar development by China and other nations is peaceful and collegial, but no place is free of politics. An American, Fred Fredericks, is tasked with delivering a quantum-entanglement communications device to the chief of the Chinese station; the gadget will permit untappable communication with the unknown person at the device's other end. The chief is assassinated and Fred is framed for the murder, setting off a series of captures, escapes, and chases both on the Moon and on Earth.
Fred's fate becomes linked to Chan Qi, a Chinese "princessling". Her father, the "tiger" who heads up the Finance Ministry, is one of China's most powerful men, and she could inherit his power. But Qi has radical, dangerous ideas about transferring power from the Chinese Communist Party to the people. She is pursued or aided by various factions within the country. The two are observed, and helped, by Ta Shu, an elderly poet and media personality whose popularity as a broadcaster gives him a small measure of political power. Ta Shu also counts another powerful "tiger" as a former student. Meanwhile, an anonymous, powerful intelligence operative is training an AI to be an agent among the world's networks. Everyone's personal story is connected to a worldwide economic and governmental crisis in both China and the United States; civil unrest is rising in both societies, and may be put down with military violence. The quantum entanglement devices and computers, where Fred's expertise lies, serve as metaphor for the social, economic, and political entanglements connecting every human being. Can friendship compete with panopticon social media, capitalism, and governmental structures in refiguring a great nation? Fred is on the Asperger's spectrum, giving him an outsider's viewpoint on society that serves as an entryway for the reader. The Moon's lifeless, deadly surface reminds us of the fragility of the human world - as does Qi's pregnancy, progressing throughout the course of the story.
This novel feels like the author's attempt to get a handle on modern China and its march toward becoming the next world hegemon. We see a lot of China, and a lot about how things work there three decades from now. The sleek technology of the Moon settlements is contrasted with Ta Shu's older, more poetic sensibility - yet he, too, is involved in the modern world. Robinson is a utopian writer, but also a realist about history, seeing its complexity and rejecting easy tales of renewal. His utopian hopes are still there, but more shaded than in his 1990s books. His imagined "carboncoin," a blockchain-based money minted by removing CO2 from the biosphere, is a fun idea. If money is a socially constructed illusion, can we substitute a better one? But in the end carboncoin is satirical, and not fleshed out in any way.
The book ends rather abruptly, with Fred and Qi on the run, aided by powerful allies but still in peril. I fear this may indicate an unannounced sequel to come; a publishing practice we need less of. The story as it stands reads perfectly well; no such sequel is needed. I think Red Moon doesn't give us a real understanding of China here, but then what novel could?
We’re at one of those turning points in the world order, where one imperial power is
One candidate for the potential racism of this work—Robinson’s thesis that China is incomprehensible, necessarily too complex to understand. This sounds to me like the dejection of a jaded Westerner. At least it is safer than classifying China in an iconic or stereotypical manner, but leaves much to be desired. What is the essence of China? This is not a question “Red Moon" will sate.
Reservations aside, the questions explored in the book—How can capitalism and socialism evolve to serve people and planet? Is there a radical populism that can transcend the East/West divide? Can civilization mature to integrate the lessons that climate change has to offer? How can the social technology we call money build (rather than degrade) ecosystem health?—are some of the questions I spend my time pondering.
In some ways, the experience of reading this book brought me back to my time with “Moby Dick.” In this other book, maybe two percent of the book is spent in the presence of the whale—the other 98% involves the arduous preparation and search. To follow the analogy through to the subject at hand, “Red Moon” spends the bulk of its pages with its two main characters in hiding. This creates a simultaneously boring and anxious tone. Although Robinson’s treatment of this material is compelling in its own right, it makes for a sometimes arduous reading experience, and has one wondering if there might have been a more riveting and interesting story arc that might have been crafted.
Wrapping back around to the questions above: might there have been away that Robinson might have explored these topics more deeply while still utilizing an authentic story arc (as opposed to descending too far into blatant dogmatism, such as that illustrated by the work of Daniel Quinn)? I think so. There’s more than a little déjà vu sourced from my reading of “New York 2140”—the subtext of which involves an overhaul of the capitalist system, which yet fails to lay out any concrete exploration of what this means or how it happens.
Those of you whom are cryptocurrency and permaculture enthusiasts—Robinson drops a few deliciously crumbs in “Carbon Coin” and “Virtual USD.” Unfortunately, these ideas are left mostly undeveloped in the text.
In conclusion, Robinson is a science fiction author with a soft spot for financial and ecological speculation. I wish this balance was flipped on its head; I long for some meaty financial and ecological fiction.
But Robinson has written many other worthy and delightful books, all with fidelity to the science, linguistic experimentalism, and an introspective narrative voice, distinct and unmistakable.
In Red Moon, he turns his attention to the near-future politics of lunar life, China having gained ascendancy there. It is no surprise that his vision of the human experience on the moon is convincing and informed, from the challenges of locomotion to the perception of Sun and Earth from the lunar surface. As with many of Robinson’s novels, his utopian aspirations and concerns for the future of humanity rest close at hand. This inspires some and tires others. I’m in the former camp. This book also feels like the author’s attempt to grapple with the rise of the world’s future hegemon. Chinese society thirty years hence is energetic and vibrant, riven and restrictive. I found the grand stew that is Red Moon quintessential Robinson.
The tone of the novel recalls the work of Philip K. Dick at times, with Fred Fredericks’ character and actions closely resembling Frank Frink from The Man in the High Castle. Fredericks, despite being at the center of the primary conflict of the murder, mostly moves through the story with things happening to him rather than playing much of an active role. Robinson may have intended this connection, however, as his Ph.D. research focused on Dick’s work. Robinson refers on multiple occasions to Ta Shu’s Antarctic experience, which may be a connection to his earlier novel, Antarctica, or simply Robinson’s way of further drawing upon his trip to Antarctica with the National Science Foundation in the 1980s. Like his Mars Trilogy, economic justice and ecology play a large role in the plot, with Ta Shu reflecting on several occasions about China’s efforts to repair environmental damage from the twentieth century and restore deforested areas. Disenfranchised workers in both China and the U.S. lead the global protests that occur throughout the last third of the novel, with Robinson exploring how a large enough uprising could secure economic justice.
The not-too-distant-future setting and themes will appeal to fans of Robinson’s work as well as those who appreciate more hard science fiction rather than space fantasy. The political thriller aspects of the story may help more general audiences find the science fiction approachable.
The plot is a slow-moving tale of political intrigue. The Chinese government is in the process of selecting a new President and General Secretary. Chan Qi is the daughter of one of the leading candidates. Qi is the leader of a faction dedicated to replacing the present form of government (with a never described alternative). She traveled to the moon on her own and dropped out of sight for five months. Qi is pregnant and now being forced to return to Earth because childbirth on the moon is forbidden. Fred is a manufacturer’s representative who was sent to the moon to deliver an “entangled” telephone to the governor of the Chinese settlement. The governor died while Fred was meeting with him and Fred is accused of murder. Ta Shu is a renowned poet and travel commentator who was planning to broadcast a series of features on the moon. Peng Ling, a former student of Ta, is another contender. Ta has been asked to escort Fred and Qi back to earth.
The location moves back and forth from the moon to earth, but the emphasis is on the characters and social setting rather than plot development. Mystery and intrigue are held in abeyance as locale after locale is visited and the weaknesses —but seldom the strengths— of the present governments are analyzed. Robinson provides detailed descriptions of every community the travelers visit, down to the streets they walk, the architecture and landscaping they observe, and the rooms they occupy. Just as you begin to wonder if anything will ever happen, Qi, Fred, and Ta move on to another location which is described in great detail, and the new setting provides another opportunity to debate political philosophy.
On the moon, for example, there are several settlements with differing approaches to community living and governance. Each is described in detail. Digressions embedded at points explain how the solar system, the earth, and the moon formed, the relative tilt of the Earth and moon, and how to walk on the moon. A six-page chapter provides speculations about the effects on human vision of the contrasting light and dark areas on the moon, and on how to walk on the moon.
“Red Moon” focuses primarily on Qi and Ta, and Fred tags along as an emasculated male whose role is to contrast and emphasize Qi’s strength of character and Ta’s wisdom and humanity. Fred was such a weak character I began to speculate that he would somehow be transformed into a heroic figure in the last 10 pages, and indeed, that occurs to some extent. However, it’s more accurate to say that the book just fades away with Fred and Qu leaving the moon on a rocket.
“Where are we headed?” Qu asks. “I don’t know,” Fred replies
Fred Fredericks, to be kind, is a rather shy, naïve young American traveling to the moon to deliver some communications hardware to the Chinese colony for his Swiss employer. It is Fred’s first trip to the moon, making it easy for him to befriend the elderly Chinese poet/television personality who is also landing on the moon for the first time. The two men bond over their shared fear that their landing craft is approaching the moon’s surface much too rapidly for anyone to survive the looming crash. By the time that a landing so gentle that neither man felt it has been accomplished, the two are fast friends.
But Fred, unbeknownst to him, had more than a lunar landing to worry about because almost immediately he is caught up in a Chinese power struggle that leaves him on the run with Chan Qi, the pregnant daughter of an influential Chinese politician. Fred is accused of a crime he has no memory of, and Chan Qi is believed to be behind the massive political protests taking place on Earth. Now both of them are running for their lives, and neither Earth nor the moon is a big enough place for them to hide.
Red Moon has a lot going for it. Robinson always takes the “science” part of “Science Fiction” seriously, and among the other aspects of colonial life on the moon he explores, he has particular fun revealing the difficulties of moving around in a gravity only one-sixth of Earth’s – which proves to be a major problem for someone as unathletic as Fred. The book’s plot is certainly thriller-like, but Robinson never gets in a big hurry to move it along. Instead, he spends as much time developing his main characters – especially the budding relationship between Fred and Chan Qi – as he does moving them in and out of danger. The novel is highly atmospheric, even to the point that Robinson is never afraid to slow the action down long enough to describe an earthrise or some exotic lunar location Fred and Chan Qi are traveling through.
Bottom Line: Red Moon is science fiction with a message. It manages to combine philosophy, politics, and scientific speculation in a manner that remains entertaining from the first page to the last, and it moves along at just the right pace to do that. But if you prefer your thrillers to maintain a frantic pace from beginning to end, Red Moon may not be for you. My one quibble with the book is that it ended before I expected it to end, leaving me with a few unanswered questions to wonder about.
Fred Fredericks is an American businessman who sells secure quantum communications equipment. He flew to the Moon to meet with a Chinese gentleman who is poisoned during the meeting. The Chinese man was
The other is Chan Qi, the pregnant daughter of a rich and influential Chinese politician that leads the finance ministry. She is also taken by the authorities for her ideals about returning power in Chine to the people from the Communist party.
From here, it turns into an adventure story taking the two from the Moon to Hong Kong and back to the Moon. They survive by their wits, Qi’s friends and some unknown influences.
I found the book enjoyable up to the end where several plot points didn’t sit well with me.
First, the whole situation was explained by a US government agent who appeared and, after enabling their rescue, felt the need to explain what was going on.
Second, a woman who didn’t know the aforementioned agent, listened to an explanation of how the two (Fred and Qi) were to be extradited, they were rescued, someone is trying to kill them and then accepted the story and agree to cooperate without asking any questions or worrying about her own life.
Third, the story ended too soon. They escaped the Moon a second time in a programmed ship with no idea where they were heading. It felt like little was resolved, although there is plenty of information to find your own resolution.
I enjoyed the book, it is told well, the writing is enjoyable, but the end felt weak.
A mildly autistic (stereotypes kick in from the first character) engineer is on his way to one of the chinese moon bases to aid with the installation of a quantum phone - entangled and guaranteed secure communication but only between the two arties with handsets, He meets and aged and famous chinese poet cum internet star but before they can really discuss much Fredericks the engineer is caught up in the death of the local base governor. Ta Shai investigates his disappearance and manages to arrange for his return to earth, on the same shuttle as another local problem, a pregnant daughter of the ruling Party hierarchy. These two Fredericks and Chaing spend the rest of the book together,but neither really develop any personality at all. She attempts to continue contacts with some dissident contacts to spite her father, and the two bounce between the moon and earth trying to find somewhere out of the reach of political arms.
It ends very very abruptly with much left untold and although it's clear where the action was going to lead KSR is normally more tidy than that. I can only assume a sequel is planned.
KSR bold and sweeping plans and idea remain every present, but these aren't the best characters he's ever used to showcase them, and the setting itself is likewise lacking in the inventiveness and grandeur that he cna manahge on his best work.
The world is very interesting, as usual with Robinson and makes up for everything
Fred Fredericks, on his first trip to the Moon, witnesses a murder and is forced into hiding with Chan Qi, daughter of an influential Chinese minister, and an outspoken advocate for political change in China. As these two evade capture they become catalysts for major regime change in both China and America.
As is often the case with Robinson the plot is rather nebulous and there are too many scenes with two people talking about some political or scientific theory. The main pleasure here is in the richly drawn and well thought out depictions of everyday life in this time and place. What we see today as future technical marvels have become mundane and quotidian, barely registered by the people using them. The cleverness here is that some things have moved on and some have stayed pretty much as they are today.
There are a couple of missteps where real history and Robinson’s vision are misaligned: he paints President Xi in a more benevolent light than appears to be the case today; he implies that China honours the agreements over the treatment of Hong Kong; and, he has no place for any mention, let alone resolution, to the Taiwan problem.
This is a thought provoking book with some interesting ideas about the future of lunar exploration and the future of the two largest political groups on Earth, if you can get to grips with the rather strange no action action of Robinson’s style.