The Years of Rice and Salt

With the same unique vision that brought his now classic Mars trilogy to vivid life, bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson boldly imagines an alternate history of the last seven hundred years. In his grandest work yet, the acclaimed storyteller constructs a world vastly different from the one we know. . . .

“A thoughtful, magisterial alternate history from one of science fiction’s most important writers.”—The New York Times Book Review 

It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur—the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe’s population was destroyed.  But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been—one that stretches across centuries, sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, and spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation.  

Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson navigates a world where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions, while Christianity is merely a historical footnote. Probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power—and even love—in this bold New World.

“Exceptional and engrossing.”—New York Post

“Ambitious . . . ingenious.”—Newsday

“PRAISE FORThe Years of Rice and Salt "Hugo winner Robinson follows three characters over seven centuries on an alternate Earth in which Islam and Buddhism are the dominant religions...Blessed with moments of wry and gentle beauty as friends and antagonists rediscover each other under different guises in exotically dangerous locales." -Kirkus Reviews PRAISE FOR KIM STANLEY ROBINSON'SRed MarsWINNER OF THENEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL "A tremendous achievement." The Washington Post Book World "An absorbing novel...a scientifically informed imagination of rare ambition at work." The New York Times Book Review "Promises to become a classic...This is epic science fiction in the best sense of the termthoughtful, provoking, and haunting." St. Louis Post-Dispatch Green MarsWINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL "Dense as a diamond and as sharp; it makes even most good novels seem pale and insignificant by comparison." The Washington Post Book World "Has the breathtaking scope, plausible science and intellectual daring that madeRed Marsa hit." Daily News of Los Angeles Blue MarsWINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL "If I had to choose one writer whose work will set the standard for science fiction in the future, it would be KIM STANLEY ROBINSON.Blue Marsrepresents a breakthrough even from his own consistently high level of achievement....Beautifully written...a landmark in the history of the genre." The New York Times Book Review "A complex and deeply engaging dramatization of humanity's future...exhilarating." The Philadelphia Inquirer From the Hardcover edition.”

“A thoughtful, magisterial alternate history from one of science fiction’s most important writers.”—The New York Times Book Review 

“Exceptional and engrossing.”—New York Post

“Ambitious . . . ingenious.”—Newsday

PRAISE FOR KIM STANLEY ROBINSON’S Red Mars WINNER OF THE NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL

“A tremendous achievement.”—The Washington Post Book World

“An absorbing novel . . . a scientifically informed imagination of rare ambition at work.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Promises to become a classic . . .This is epic science fiction in the best sense of the term–thoughtful, provoking, and haunting.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Kim Stanley Robinson is a winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. He is the author of more than twenty books, including the bestselling Mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below, Sixty Days and Counting, The Years of Rice and Salt, and Galileo’s Dream. In 2008 he was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Environment.” He serves on the board of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute. He lives in Davis, California.

It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur-the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been-one that stretches across centuries, sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, and spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson navigates a world where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions, while Christianity is merely a historical footnote. Probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power-and even love-in this bold New World.

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