Pacific Edge

The Three Californias Triptych, Book 3

By: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

North America, 2065. In a world that has rediscovered harmony with nature, the village of El Modena, California, is an ecotopia in the making. Kevin Claiborne, a young builder who has grown up in this "green" world, now finds himself caught up in the struggle to preserve his community's idyllic way of life from the resurgent forces of greed and exploitation.

The final volume in Kim Stanley Robinson's Three Californias triptych, Pacific Edge is a brilliant work of science fiction and an outstanding literary achievement.

©2013 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. and Skyboat Media, Inc.

No escapism here

Because this book is set only 50 years in the future (2065), it doesn't offer a strong feeling of escape and otherworldliness, as science fiction might. Rather, we are trapped in a realistic near future in which the effects of climate change are starting to be felt, and the lines between governments and corporations are blurred. So it's not a particularly easy listen, nor is it particularly up-lifting.

There was one aspect to the story that I found fascinating, however, and that was the discussion of "green" architecture--how architecture had to change because of the warming climate. One of the main characters is an architect, and there's much discussion of the mechanics of tearing down 20th-Century buildings and re-making them.

As to the narrator, I sometimes had a hard time telling the different characters apart. It was also hard to tell when the point of view shifted between different characters, so perhaps this book would be more easily digested in print.

best in series

for me this was by far the best of the three californias books. the story was very thoughtful, well developed, provocative. i personally identified with kevin, the protagonist, although he is straight and white, unlike me. i wonder if this was the narrator's favorite, too, since the narration was far superior to the other books in the series.

The Utopian of the Three

Pacific Edge is Robinson's utopian novel in the triptych. Set in 2065, in Orange County (again, of course), our protagonist Kevin Clairborne is in a battle to save an undeveloped hilltop in the town of El Modena from development. The antagonist in this book is Alfredo Blair, the town mayor, who wants to re-zone the hilltop. The elder character Tom, who also appears in the first two books of the triptych, is Kevin's grandfather and (again) a former lawyer. Tom is writing a book (also a recurring activity) and has a personal connection to the hilltop.

What is a utopian society like? It seems that a progressive tax rate is in place along with limits to personal income levels. Society is governed by strong environmental regulations and some of the old buildings and existing roads are being razed and recycled as they are no longer needed. Energy, water, and land are nationalized. There is more of a sense of community in that citizens are expected to volunteer time regularly to perform tasks such as watch children (not my idea of a utopia). Technology is more in the background than in The Gold Coast. People communicate via video chats on TV screens. The first human landing on Mars takes place during the novel, but we don't learn much else about what's going on in the rest of the world as far as technological advancements.

The chapters are told mostly from Kevin's point of view, with a few from Tom's, and a few from town attorney Oscar's point of view. Kevin and his nemesis Alfredo are on the City Council so there is plenty of political drama surrounding city decisions and who supports who in the council. What else went on? There is the ever-present relationship drama between four of the characters. There are some glider flights, a lot of hiking in the woods, and a lot of softball as it seemed like the whole town played in the town league. Kevin's softball exploits took me out of the story. He never made an out and had this impossible hitting streak which is highly unlikely with ten fielders and only two strikes as well. I mean you are going to pop one up or hit one at someone eventually. I played a lot of baseball back in the day and this felt ridiculous to me. Another thing that I thought was goofy was that two of the characters were professional wrestlers. Professional wrestling in 2065? I hope not.

Anyway, I rather liked this overall. There was little in the way of action but the conflict in the story became increasingly interesting as the story went on. Unlike the first two books, I felt that it did drag in places but I never lost interest. It was slower than the other two books but still really well written with well developed characters.

All three books in the triptych were narrated by Stefan Rudnicki who had a really deep voice but did a great job with all the voices. I picked up all three books free on Audible. What a great membership perk! I initially felt this was a three star book but the more I dwell on it the better I feel about it so I'm giving it a fourth. I'm looking forward to reading more by KSR

oh ma gosh

I absolutely love Stefan Rudnicki. In other stories he makes it come alive and the people can be real and believable.

But in my opinion there was no hope for this story. Kim Stanley Robinson has a an agenda. And that agenda is to prove there is room for a utopian society. In every book we are bashed with how badly we have wrecked our natural habitats. we have killed the planet. He even went to Mars so government beurocracy would not impede scientific exploration. It really is just to much.

So I tried I really really tried to finish. It just went on with the dialog and not much plot. sorry Kim I am not a writer and I am not qualified to say your books are bad . But they are just not for me.

California Tryptich

This is the third in a futuristic series of Orange County .. OC .. in S CA .. three possibilities. .. This last one is as if conservation and Green concerns had taken hold ..

The narrator sounds exactly like Negan from TWD

I wanted to like this but I couldn’t get past the narrator. Personal thing nothing against the book I’ll have to try the print version to see if I can get into the story.

California dreaming

Kim Stanley Robinson's Pacific Edge is the third offering in his California Triptych where he offers three very different perspectives on the evolution of his stomping grounds. In this version, set in 2065, there's a pseudo-utopia where humanity has reconciled itself to some accommodation with nature. Without much in the way of a big picture global view (other than large corporations having lost out to small business), the focus is mainly at the local level. The main conflict concerns the disposition of the last undeveloped hill within a community. Opposition is led by a young idealist, while larger forces, never fully revealed are at play. Into this mix is a parallel love triangle that further complicates the matter.

Robinson looks furthest out here, and the story suffers from not aging well. While there are interesting leisure activities, such as human powered (from cycling) flight, for the most part, the small town seems a throwback to an earlier, more pastoral time. He does envision a sort of internet, but accessed through television, while the digital revolution is missed entirely. There's a feeling of isolation throughout, while at the same time his parents are in space and a sister is working in a foreign country on diseases of poverty. Locally there is no interest in this. It seems hard to believe that softball will become the major pastime.

Rudnicki does an excellent job of narration, however his booming bass voice is not exactly the right tone or pitch for what amounts to a light-hearted tale where very little action of significance actually occurs.

It's not really about anything

This book is about a contested zoning issue in town government. It wants to be something more, and it's pages are full of Kim Stanley Robinson's wonderful characters, poetry, love triangles, and even personal tragedy.

But it's not about anything interesting. And it doesn't have a satisfying ending.

good, but be aware: NOT a trilogy

Good enough as a free standing novel, as long as you don't expect a chronological trilogy. I like post-apocalyptic pulp , so I loved the first novel. But this book is set in a semi-utopia, that's just not my thing...

didn't finish

a turgid account of bureaucratic maneuvers and zoning law in a future California that is the same as the present but different because it is the future.