Kim Stanley Robinson is insufferable. He has so many deep misunderstanding about politics, economics, and even things like climate science and limits to growth

Kim Stanley Robinson is insufferable. He has so many deep misunderstanding about politics, economics, and even things like climate science and limits to growth that are his core schtick. And the flaws are so embedded into the central plots of his books that it is really hard to suspend disbelief and ignore. I originally encountered the Mars Trilogy as a teen and it is fair to say that it changed my life. I feel in love with the romantic portrayal of Mars colonization, and eventually ended up working at NASA. Recently I decided to go back and re-read the trilogy and found myself unwilling to finish even the first book. I just couldn't stand it. So you're not alone. You might like Icehenge though. It works more as a stand-alone novel (or 3 novellas, really) set in the same universe, but with a focused plot and the politics mostly relegated to the background. It's a very under-rated book, being overshadowed by the more well-known RGB Mars trilogy that followed.