Antarctica (novel)

Kim Stanley Robinson’s 1997 science fiction novel Antarctica follows a range of people living or visiting a research station on the southern continent. The story mostly takes place at McMurdo Station, the United States’ largest Antarctic base, and uses Robinson’s trademark multiple viewpoints to explore polar life. Among the characters are X, an idealistic young General Field Assistant; Val, a trek guide growing more bitter; and Wade Norton, an aide to California Senator Phil Chase (both Wade and Phil later appear in Robinson’s Science in the Capital trilogy). The plot also visits the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, the Shackleton Glacier, the McMurdo Dry Valleys, and a South American drilling platform near Roberts Massif.

The novel revisits themes common in Robinson’s work, such as sustainable living and surviving in a harsh environment, much like his Mars trilogy. It contrasts Antarctica’s role as a “continent for science” with the need to support the staff who keep the place running. Other recurring ideas include rock climbing, physical fitness, the nature of science, resource extraction, and the emergence of cooperative or anarchic social structures.

Robinson’s 1995 stay in Antarctica through the National Science Foundation’s Artists and Writers Program heavily shaped the book. Antarctica was nominated for a Locus Award in 1998. Though thoroughly researched and generally realistic, some reviews noted that heavy technical and historical details occasionally slowed the narrative.