The Gold Coast, by Kim Stanley Robinson ISBN

The Gold Coast forms the second volume of the Californias Trilogy written by Kim Stanley Robinson . All three novels present three different future worlds of California . The Gold Coast is set in somewhere after the mid-twenty first century , and shows the hyper-urbanized , postmodern Orange County ' California is a maze of gigantic shopping malls , freeways with thriving businesses of drugs arms and ammunition - America 's business is weaponry . On the very first page Robinson introduces us to the idea and concept of the word autopia ' which can clearly sum up the entire theme

of the book . The world has come to an age of madness , where people are becoming more and more dependent on machines and technology

The protagonist , Jim McPherson is confused and lost , adrift in a twisted fast-paced urban society . He is twenty-something , plays around with women , does two-part time jobs that he has no interest in , and is still dependent on his parents . He has a diverse group of friends , and has developed an interest in writing poetry . At the beginning , Jim is just an ordinary self-centered individual , just another one of the hundreds of thousands of insignificant people . Jim 's father is an engineer who works in a military-industrial complex and believes that he can help end wars by making non-nuclear missiles

A number of conflicts form the basis of the book . Jim finds himself becoming increasingly disconnected from the monotonous and tedious society around him . Earlier , Jim goes to see Tom , a friend in an old home , where Tom tells him of the beauty and the warmth of the Orange County in his younger days , and the wonders of nature . Thinking him stupid , Jim ignores him , to go back into his hasty life of urban hum drum

Gradually , Jim begins to realize the emptiness and the life around him In ia dramatic and profound journey of self-discovery decides to join an anti-military campaign , with his friends , intending to destroy power plants , and quite predictably , he efforts are aimed at destroying the very project his father is working on . And from here on , we see a jumble of bitter post-modern society against individualistic thought and emotion . Jim begins to wonder about the past of the Orange County Thinking of what Tom had said , Jim visits him again . He develops a keen interest in the history of California , and begins writing about it

In fact , Throughout , Robinson gives us snapshots of the Orange County 's past , from a very early time , when native Americans settled there , to the coming of the Spanish , to its agricultural boom , its rapid industrialization after the second world war , and finally , culminating in an age of autopia ' Robinson 's tone often seems despondent and low . California is an insane mechanical jungle , with a nameless faceless culture of tools and machines . Human ethnicity , heritage and culture are just mere things of the past . Life here is hectic , fast and inhuman

Robinson portrays the characters with great depth and creativity . The book is captivating to...