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.

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.

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.

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...

East coast meets west coast.

I love this series. Nostalgic, informative and entertaining. I've never been to California but now, I feel like I have and I definitely want to go.

Wonderful glance into a possible future

I read a lot and this is now one of my top 25 books. This is a credible, better future shared in a way that is very interesting. Relationships, the working of government and really evocative descriptions of the experiences the protagonists are having make this book a real pleasure.

Need some Geoscience understanding

I found the book interesting and a good testimony to the issues surrounding water in the western United States. I would suggest this book to anyone that has been studying Geoscience.

We need more utopian novels to give us vision and joy!

One of the best books ever written! Vivid, slice of life, relatable and moving. Meta analysis of the writing process included as a preamble to most chapters. This book has all the highs and lows of real life. It is filled with allegory, metaphors, poetry, social references, political commentary, macro and micro views of the world, and an astute synthesis of meaning taken from history and fused with hope for a healthy future. Why not save the last undeveloped hilltop in sacrifice of profit? Who better to protect the local community and environment than a regular guy, working with a network of average people who each have their own eccentric flairs? Compromise is nuanced throughout the novel as though it is an omnipresent force. Still, I’m happy as a reader who didn’t get what they expected.

Would love to live in this time and place

I've read almost all of Robinson's books. The ones I like the most aren't necessarily the highest rated. I like this one. I diolove close to the area of the novel, so I think it is well described. This book and the first segment, of the trilogy The Wild Shore contain characters that you'd like to hang out with, and a glimpse of trying to sustain utopian goals in a non-utopian world.

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.

Solarpunk!

Here is a future, not perfect but dynamic and living. I love the desert, and this author clearly loves theirs just as much. Highly recommended for young adults.