KSR postulated that the whole thing would start in around 50 years, and then take only 150 years. His trilogy has characters that start the settlement and then due to a "gene spell checker" live extraordinarily long lives and get to see a Mars that is breathable. (With a tiny bit of genetic tinkering with the humans living on Mars, taking on some kind of crocodile Gene that allows humans to process oxygen and deal with Co2 more efficiently somehow).
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His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the 15 years of research and lifelong fascination with Mars, which culminated in his most famous work. Because of his fascination with that planet, he became a member of the Mars Society.
Robinson's work has been labeled by reviewers as literary science fiction.
Robinson will be an instructor at the Clarion Workshop in 2009. In 2010, Robinson will be the guest of honor at the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia.[1]
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It deals a lot with corporations getting up to strange business, such as creating that giant solar powered magnifying glass that floats around in the upper atmosphere, frying the regolith to release mass into the atmosphere, and of course the robot powered asteroids that take 10 or 20 years to smash into Mars' atmosphere. He also seems very optimistic about the quantity of water on Mars that could be released as it warms up, and this of course having an effect on the atmosphere as well.
