Red Mars Trilogy: Difference between revisions

* [[Incest Is Relative]]: In ''Green Mars'', we learn that {{spoiler|all the children in the Martian Underground colony are technically half-siblings, as Hiroko is all their mother and all their fathers come from the sperm samples of all the male First Hundred colonists. Coyote calls Hiroko out on creating an "incest camp" but Hiroko in her capacity as [[Mother Goddess]] figure has no problem with this.}}

* [[Inscrutable Oriental]]: Perhaps unduly influenced by [[Japan Takes Over the World|the paranoia about Japan's economic successes that was prevalent at the time of writing]], the Japanese are described as the closest things to aliens mankind is ever likely to encounter (albeit by a character who's not meant to be entirely sympathetic), a sentiment embodied in the personage of the enigmatic (and probably insane) "Queen" Hiroko.

* [[Lego Genetics]]: Later in the series, people splice animal genes into their DNA in the process of getting longevity treatments.

** One character is shown getting some leopard genese splice in so that she can have leopard spots on her skin, while another character gets some of the polar bear's cold-adaptation genes to help him live on Mars more easily.

** Eventually, most nations on Earth are forced to adopt a two-child-per-couple law {{spoiler|until the oldest people finally start dying off at around age 200-250}}.

* [[Purple Prose]]: One of the stories in ''The Martians,'' entitled "Purple Mars."

* [[The Red Planet]]: Obviously. The series is considered quite seminal to the Mars sub-genre of sci-fi.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Saxifrage Russell goes from a meek and apolitical scientist at the beginning of the series to the most realistic sort of [[Mad Scientist]] you can imagine after being abducted and interrogated by the [[Secret Police]]. He plays a significant role in the second revolution, occasionally referred to as "General Sax".

* [[Shown Their Work]]: And how!

* [[Space Elevator]]: Mars gets one first; by the end of the trilogy, Earth also has several.

* [[Terraform|Terraforming]]: A central focus of the trilogy. The series is considered a realistic potrayal of what terraforming Mars would take (albiet extremely optimistic and in a short period of time, relatively speaking).

* [[There Are No Therapists]]: Played with; there is a therapist, but he [[Critical Psychoanalysis Failure|ends up being the one who needs therapy]]. Apparently they should've sent ''two'' therapists.

* [[Tsundere]]: Maya, who at least has the excuse that she actually is bipolar.

* [[The War of Earthly Aggression]]: ''Red Mars'' leads up to a failed rebellion against Earth; ''Green Mars'' is about a successful one. ''Blue Mars'' features a war that, while brief, is primarily resolved through what amounts to hugging.

* [[Zero-G Spot]]: This happens frequently on the initial voyage to Mars. One of the Russian characters also apparenty experimented with many forms of zero-G sex while on ''Novy Mir''.