The last 2012 Nebula nominee I am reviewing is also the winner: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is the story of a future in which humans have moved out into the solar system, having terriformed, or at least tamed, other planets, moons, and asteroids. The main character is Swan Er Hong, a 100+-year-old resident of Mercury, who is mourning the recent loss of her grandmother Alex. But there is much more to the story than a personal loss. Alex had been involved in some controversial research, which she had decided not to share with her granddaughter, even after her death. The only thing Swan received from her was a mission to travel to Titan.
Swan meets two men, who knew Alex and were very familiar with Alex’s studies, Inspector Genette and Wahram. They believe there is some kind of conspiracy surrounding Alex’s death and involve Swan in the investigation, but only up to a point. Swan crisscrosses the galaxy, accompanied by Pauline, a tiny quantum computer called a qube, which is inserted in her head. She relies on Pauline, but finds that Genette and Wahram do not trust the qube. Could qubes be involved in the conspiracy somehow? That is left for Swan to discover.
I really enjoyed 2312. I don’t read a lot of science fiction these days, involving myself mostly in fantasy, but I loved it as a kid. I cut my scifi teeth on the greats, such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Robert Bloch, and remember them fondly. As a science fiction novel, 2312 did not in any way disappoint me, compared to these giants. As a matter of fact, I could see the influence of Clarke and Heinlein in its pages.
In addition to creating an involving story, Robinson also imparts some interesting ways of world-building in chapters entitled “Excerpts” and “Lists”. These chapters give us insight into some of the science and technology of 2312, as well as getting us more into the mind of Swan.
I liked diving into the universe Robinson creates, imagining traveling inside of an asteroid, riding an elevator from Earth’s surface into space or getting involved in the system-wide politics of the 24th century. It was definitely a good read, and I agree that it deserved the Nebula over the other books I reviewed here. Well worth a read.