Výklad alternativní historie. Mohli "indiáni" porazit Evropu?
Jakkoliv je dnes pojem „kolonizace“ notně negativním výrazem, těžko zpochybňovat historický význam evropských zámořských výprav a budování ...
The Years of Rice and Salt
Román Roky rýže a soli ( <anchor>The Years of Rice and Salt</anchor>) od prověřeného spisovatele Kima Stanleyho Robinsona si pohrává s možností, že morové rány vyhladily 99% evropské populace namísto "pouhé" třetiny. To by znamenalo delší čas pro obyvatele Ameriky vyvinout se na úroveň jiných končin, ale nikoliv na dlouho. Žezlo kolonizace by v Robinsonově vizi přebrala Čína – v autorské licenci poté, co je čínská invazní mise do Japonska spláchnuta tajfunem a její zbytky pacifickými proudy doplavou až do Nového světa. I tentokrát by americké domorodce sklátily především nemoci přinesené cizinci, tentokrát však Číňany.
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## Contents

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- (Top)

- [1Background](#Background)
- [2Plot](#Plot)Toggle Plot subsection  - [2.1Book One: _Awake to Emptiness_](#Book_One:_Awake_to_Emptiness)
  - [2.2Book Two: _The Haj in the Heart_](#Book_Two:_The_Haj_in_the_Heart)
  - [2.3Book Three: _Ocean Continents_](#Book_Three:_Ocean_Continents)
  - [2.4Book Four: _The Alchemist_](#Book_Four:_The_Alchemist)
  - [2.5Book Five: _Warp and Weft_](#Book_Five:_Warp_and_Weft)
  - [2.6Book Six: _Widow Kang_](#Book_Six:_Widow_Kang)
  - [2.7Book Seven: _The Age of Great Progress_](#Book_Seven:_The_Age_of_Great_Progress)
  - [2.8Book Eight: _War of the Asuras_](#Book_Eight:_War_of_the_Asuras)
  - [2.9Book Nine: _Nsara_](#Book_Nine:_Nsara)
  - [2.10Book Ten: _The First Years_](#Book_Ten:_The_First_Years)
- [3Style, themes and genre](#Style,_themes_and_genre)Toggle Style, themes and genre subsection  - [3.1Alternate history](#Alternate_history)
- [4Publication and reception](#Publication_and_reception)Toggle Publication and reception subsection  - [4.1Awards](#Awards)
- [5See also](#See_also)
- [6Notes](#Notes)
- [7References](#References)
- [8Further reading](#Further_reading)
- [9External links](#External_links)

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# _The Years of Rice and Salt_

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson

The Years of Rice and Salt [![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/TheYearsOfRiceAndSalt%281stEdUK%29.jpg/220px-TheYearsOfRiceAndSalt%281stEdUK%29.jpg)](/wiki/File:TheYearsOfRiceAndSalt(1stEdUK).jpg)

Cover of UK hardcover edition

Author[Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson")LanguageEnglishGenre[Alternate history](/wiki/Alternate_history_(fiction) "Alternate history (fiction)")Publisher[Bantam Books](/wiki/Bantam_Books "Bantam Books") (US)

[HarperCollins](/wiki/HarperCollins "HarperCollins") (UK)

Publication date

March 2002Publication placeUnited StatesMedia typePrint (hardback & paperback)Pages660Awards[Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel") (2003)[ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [0-553-10920-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-553-10920-0 "Special:BookSources/0-553-10920-0")[OCLC](/wiki/OCLC_(identifier) "OCLC (identifier)")[47894803](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47894803)

[Dewey Decimal](/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification "Dewey Decimal Classification")

813/.54 21[LC Class](/wiki/LCC_(identifier) "LCC (identifier)")PS3568.O2893 Y43 2002

_**The Years of Rice and Salt**_ is an [alternate history](/wiki/Alternate_history "Alternate history") novel by American science fiction author [Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson"), published in 2002. The novel explores how world history might have been different if the [Black Death](/wiki/Black_Death "Black Death") plague had killed 99 percent of Europe's population, instead of a third as it did in reality. Divided into ten parts, the story spans hundreds of years, from the army of the Muslim conqueror [Timur](/wiki/Timur "Timur") to the 21st century, with Europe being re-populated by Muslim pioneers, the [indigenous peoples of the Americas](/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas "Indigenous peoples of the Americas") forming a league to resist Chinese and Muslim invaders, and a 67-year-long world war being fought primarily between Muslim states and the Chinese and their allies. While the ten parts take place in different times and places, they are connected by a group of characters that are [reincarnated](/wiki/Reincarnation "Reincarnation") into each time but are identified to the reader by the first letter of their name being consistent in each life.

The novel explores themes of history, religion, and social movements. The historical narrative is guided more by [social history](/wiki/Social_history "Social history") than [political](/wiki/Political_history "Political history") or [military history](/wiki/Military_history "Military history"). Critics found the book to be rich in detail, realistic, and thoughtful. _The Years of Rice and Salt_ won the [Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel") in 2003. In the same year it was nominated for the [Arthur C. Clarke Award](/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke_Award "Arthur C. Clarke Award"), a [Hugo Award](/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel "Hugo Award for Best Novel"), and a [British Science Fiction Award](/wiki/BSFA_Award_for_Best_Novel "BSFA Award for Best Novel").

## Background

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Background")\]

At the time of publication in 2002, science fiction author [Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson") was 49 years old and living in [Davis, California](/wiki/Davis,_California "Davis, California"). He had conceived of the premise for _The Years of Rice and Salt_ in the 1970s while thinking about what alternate history scenario would result in "the biggest change that would still work in terms of comparison to our history".[\[1\]](#cite_note-1) He subsequently developed an interest in China and in [Buddhism](/wiki/Buddhism "Buddhism"), which he would study for this project.[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2)

Robinson's only other alternate history story prior to this project was the short story "The Lucky Strike" (1984),[\[a\]](#cite_note-3) where the _Enola Gay_ crashes in a training exercise and the secondary crew must complete the [Hiroshima bombing](/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki "Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki").[\[3\]](#cite_note-PW-4)

Robinson also wrote an essay titled "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" (1991),[\[b\]](#cite_note-5) comparing different theories of history and laws of science, such as the [covering law model](/wiki/Deductive-nomological_model "Deductive-nomological model"), to explain how alternate histories can be arrived at, using "The Lucky Strike" as an example.[\[c\]](#cite_note-6)

He explored the idea of non-Western influences creating a new culture while working on his [Mars trilogy](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy"), which involved a heavy Muslim influence in a Martian colony.[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2) The Mars trilogy gave Robinson a reputation for quality of writing and a richness of detail comparable to [James Michener](/wiki/James_A._Michener "James A. Michener"),[\[4\]](#cite_note-CameraFeb24-7) as well as winning him a [Nebula Award](/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novel "Nebula Award for Best Novel") for _Red Mars_ (1993) and two [Hugo](/wiki/Hugo_Award "Hugo Award") and [Locus Awards](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel") for _Green Mars_ (1994) and _Blue Mars_ (1996).[\[5\]](#cite_note-8) Robinson followed the Mars trilogy with the novel _[Antarctica](/wiki/Antarctica_(novel) "Antarctica (novel)")_ (1997), which won an [Alex Award](/wiki/Alex_Awards "Alex Awards"), and two short story collections, _The Martians_ (1999) and _Vinland the Dream_ (2001), before publishing _The Years of Rice and Salt_.

## Plot

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Plot")\]

The story is divided into ten parts.

### Book One: _Awake to Emptiness_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: Book One: Awake to Emptiness")\]

Bold and Psin, scouts in [Timur](/wiki/Timur "Timur")'s army, discover a [Magyar](/wiki/Hungarian_people "Hungarian people") city where all the inhabitants have died from a plague. Timur turns his army around and orders the scouting party executed to avoid the plague, but Bold escapes and wanders through the dead lands of Eastern Europe, encountering only one lone native. Upon reaching the sea he is captured by Turkish Muslim slave-traders and sold to [Zheng He](/wiki/Zheng_He "Zheng He")'s [Chinese treasure fleet](/wiki/Chinese_treasure_fleet "Chinese treasure fleet"). Bold befriends a young African slave, named Kyu, whom he cares for after the Chinese castrate him.

In China, they are kept as kitchen slaves until Kyu burns the restaurant and convinces Bold to escape with him. The pair make their way north to Beijing where they find work at the palace of [Zhu Gaozhi](/wiki/Hongxi_Emperor "Hongxi Emperor"), heir to the [Yongle Emperor](/wiki/Yongle_Emperor "Yongle Emperor"). The vengeful Kyu, hating the Chinese for what they have done to him, incites violence between the [eunuchs](/wiki/Eunuch "Eunuch") and the [Confucian](/wiki/Confucianism "Confucianism") administrative officials. After his scheming is discovered, Kyu is assassinated.

Kyu and Bold reunite in the [bardo](/wiki/Bardo "Bardo"), where Bold explains to Kyu the concepts of cyclical reincarnation alongside one's [jati](/wiki/J%C4%81ti_(Buddhism) "Jāti (Buddhism)"). He explains that their jati also includes Psin, the restaurant owners Shen and I-li, and an unknown number of others, and that their group has been especially close since an avalanche in Tibet killed them all at once in a previous cycle. Kyu resolves to do better in his next life.

### Book Two: _The Haj in the Heart_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: Book Two: The Haj in the Heart")\]

In [Mughal India](/wiki/Mughal_India "Mughal India"), two Hindu girls named Kokila and Bihari grow up together studying traditional medicine. Kokila is married to the son of an unpopular village headman. Her husband's brother gets Bihari pregnant, and Kokila is too late to save her from dying in a miscarriage. In revenge, Kokila uses her knowledge of herbs to fatally poison her brother-in-law and father. She is executed for her crime.

Kokila reincarnates as a tiger named Kya, who saves Bistami, a [Sufi](/wiki/Sufism "Sufism") mystic of [Persian](/wiki/Persian_people "Persian people") origin, from an attack by Hindus. After seeing Bistami beaten by his older brother, Kya kills the brother, and is trapped and killed by the villagers in retaliation.

Bistami goes on to become a judge for the [Mughal Emperor](/wiki/Mughal_emperors "Mughal emperors") [Akbar](/wiki/Akbar "Akbar"), but later falls into his disfavour and is exiled to [Mecca](/wiki/Mecca "Mecca"). Bistami spends a year in Mecca before learning that he is being blamed for Akbar forsaking Islam, and departs again, traveling to the [Maghreb](/wiki/Maghreb "Maghreb") and [Iberia](/wiki/Iberia "Iberia") (Al-Andalus). Accompanied by Ibn Ezra, a follower of the historian [Ibn Khaldun](/wiki/Ibn_Khaldun "Ibn Khaldun"), Bistami joins a caravan led by Sultan Mawji and his wife Katima, who seek to found a new city on the other side of the [Pyrenees](/wiki/Pyrenees "Pyrenees").

The caravan members found a city called Baraka on the abandoned former site of [Bayonne](/wiki/Bayonne "Bayonne"), France, and create a model society based on Katima's feminist interpretation of the [Quran](/wiki/Quran "Quran"). After Mawji dies, Katima rules the community on her own. Believing this to be heresy, the Caliph of Al-Andalus sends an army against Baraka. Bistami, Katima, Ibn Ezra, and their remaining followers flee again, this time founding the city of Nsara (near [Nantes](/wiki/Nantes "Nantes"), France).

### Book Three: _Ocean Continents_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: Book Three: Ocean Continents")\]

The [Wanli Emperor](/wiki/Wanli_Emperor "Wanli Emperor") orders a fleet under Admiral Kheim to invade Nippon (Japan). When the wind fails to arrive, the huge fleet is swept out to sea by the [Kuroshio Current](/wiki/Kuroshio_Current "Kuroshio Current") and set adrift on the unexplored Pacific Ocean. Deciding that their only hope of returning home is to ride the [North Pacific Gyre](/wiki/North_Pacific_Gyre "North Pacific Gyre"), the fleet navigates all the way to the [New World](/wiki/New_World "New World").

The sailors land on the West coast of North America and make contact with the peaceful [Miwok people](/wiki/Miwok_people "Miwok people"). Kheim befriends a girl named Butterfly and begins teaching her to speak Chinese. Once Kheim discovers they have infected the indigenous people with disease, he orders his crew to leave at once, but a sailor named Peng jumps ship to remain with his Miwok lover. Butterfly comes aboard the fleet, intending to voyage with Kheim back to China.

Continuing south, Kheim's fleet encounters the [Inca Empire](/wiki/Inca_Empire "Inca Empire"). They are taken prisoner, and both Kheim and Butterfly are set to be ritually sacrificed; Kheim escapes by awing the natives with his flintlock pistol. On the return trip to China, Butterfly is fatally injured during a storm and soon dies. Kheim tells the Emperor that the Inca are militarily weak and rich in gold. In the bardo, a grieving and enraged Kheim attacks the goddess [Kali](/wiki/Kali "Kali") with his sword, but is unable to wound her.

### Book Four: _The Alchemist_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: Book Four: The Alchemist")\]

Khalid, an alchemist from [Samarkand](/wiki/Samarkand "Samarkand"), attempts to fool the Khan into believing that he has discovered the [Philosopher's stone](/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone "Philosopher's stone"). The Khan's aide discovers the fraud and Khalid's hand is severed as punishment. Khalid becomes disenchanted with alchemy and decides to destroy all his books. His friend Iwang, a Tibetan Buddhist mathematician, and son-in-law Bahram, a Sufi blacksmith, instead convince Khalid to test the claims in the books through practical experiments, particularly those of [Aristotle](/wiki/Aristotle "Aristotle").

Khalid and Iwang devote themselves to demonstrations that use the [scientific method](/wiki/Scientific_method "Scientific method") to greatly progress knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and weaponry. Their discoveries inspire Samarkand's other [madrasa](/wiki/Madrasa "Madrasa") scholars to conduct scientific investigations of their own. However, the Khan still sees Khalid as a con artist, and demands that he prove his worth by inventing new weapons to fight the rising Chinese threat to the East. The Chinese attack never comes; in the end, everyone at Khalid's lab is killed by an outbreak of plague, implied to have resulted from the Khan's refusal to listen to Khalid and Iwang's suggestions to improve the city's sanitation.

### Book Five: _Warp and Weft_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=7 "Edit section: Book Five: Warp and Weft")\]

The [Iroquois](/wiki/Iroquois "Iroquois") people, referred to throughout by their own name of Hodenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) hold a ceremony to raise a foreigner named Fromwest to the rank of Chief. After distinguishing himself in a game of [lacrosse](/wiki/Lacrosse "Lacrosse"), Fromwest tells the story of how he came to the northeast of the continent he calls Yingzhou. Formerly a [samurai](/wiki/Samurai "Samurai") named Busho, he fled to the New World after the Chinese conquered Japan. He was eventually captured by a war party of [Sioux](/wiki/Sioux "Sioux") and rescued by warriors from the [Seneca people](/wiki/Seneca_people "Seneca people").

In an ecstatic vision, Fromwest appears to remember his past lives. He realizes that Peng (from "Ocean Continents") made his way to the Hodenosaunee and taught them about [variolation](/wiki/Variolation "Variolation"), blunting the impact of [smallpox](/wiki/Smallpox "Smallpox") epidemics on their civilization. Fromwest reveals that he has come to organize the Hodenosaunee into a larger defensive alliance capable of resisting Chinese and Muslim colonizers, and offers to teach them how to mass-produce their own firearms.

After their next deaths, the jati members apply scientific reasoning to the bardo, and manage to resist drinking the tonic of forgetting before being reincarnated.

### Book Six: _Widow Kang_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=8 "Edit section: Book Six: Widow Kang")\]

During the reign of the [Qianlong Emperor](/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor "Qianlong Emperor"), Chinese widow Kang Tongbi takes in a Buddhist monk and his son whom she finds scavenging. The monk, Bao Ssu, is wrongly implicated in a series of [queue](/wiki/Queue_(hairstyle) "Queue (hairstyle)") cuttings and dies in prison. Later, Kang meets a [Hui](/wiki/Hui_people "Hui people") Muslim scholar named Ibrahim ibn Hasam, and they perform a ritual that allows them to remember their past lives.

Kang and Ibrahim marry and move to [Lanzhou](/wiki/Lanzhou "Lanzhou") in western China, where they work to try to reconcile Islamic and Confucian beliefs. Kang anthologizes proto-feminist poetry and becomes a well-known writer. The [Jahriyya](/wiki/Jahriyya "Jahriyya") Islamic movement gains adherents in the west but faces intolerance from the Qing administration, leading to a revolt that the Qing crush with massive force. Lanzhou is swamped by a dramatic flood; Bao Ssu's son rescues a pregnant Kang from the rising waters. In a work based on Kang's ideas, Ibrahim publishes his thoughts on the Four Great Inequalities: warriors and priests over farmers, men over women, men over children, and certain races over other races.

### Book Seven: _The Age of Great Progress_

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=9 "Edit section: Book Seven: The Age of Great Progress")\]

In the equivalent of the Christian 19th century, the Indian state of [Travancore](/wiki/Travancore "Travancore") has overthrown the [Mughals](/wiki/Mughals "Mughals") and the [Safavids](/wiki/Safavids "Safavids") and developed [steam engines](/wiki/Steam_engine "Steam engine"), [ironclad warships](/wiki/Ironclad_warship "Ironclad warship"), and [military balloons](/wiki/History_of_military_ballooning "History of military ballooning"). Using these new weapons, they sail to [Kostantiniyye](/wiki/Kostantiniyye "Kostantiniyye") and easily topple the [Ottoman Empire](/wiki/Ottoman_Empire "Ottoman Empire"). A Muslim Armenian doctor named Ismail ibn Mani al-Dir, who had served the Ottoman Sultan, is captured and sent to Travancore, where he happily joins the hospital of Travancore and works in anatomy and physiology. Ismail eventually meets their ruler, the [Kerala](/wiki/Kerala "Kerala") of Travancore, who aims to drive out the Muslim invaders and unify India -- and eventually the whole world -- into a democratic confederation.

Later, during the [Xianfeng Emperor](/wiki/Xianfeng_Emperor "Xianfeng Emperor")'s reign, the Japanese enclave known as [Gold Mountain](/wiki/Gold_Mountain_(toponym) "Gold Mountain (toponym)") (in the real-world San Francisco Bay Area) has been subjugated by Chinese colonists. A Japanese slave named Kiyoaki is swept out to sea by the [Great Flood of 1862](/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1862 "Great Flood of 1862"). Along with a pregnant Chinese refugee, Peng-ti, Kiyoaki manages to flee to the great coastal city of Fangzhang.[\[6\]](#cite_note-9) There, Kiyoaki joins a Japanese freedom movement supported by Travancore, with Ismail acting as a liaison.

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_%28Pre-War_Map%29.png/360px-The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_%28Pre-War_Map%29.png)](/wiki/File:The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_(Pre-War_Map).png) Map of the world of _The Years of Rice and Salt_ in the year 1333 AH (1915 AD), showing the four major blocs and alliances on the eve of the "Long War".

* * *

Dar al-Islam (multiple nations in alliance during the war)

Travancori League

China & her Colonies

Hodenosaunee League

### Book Eight: _War of the Asuras_

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Book Eight is set in the 20th century, during the "Long War". The world has become divided into four great alliances: the Chinese Empire and its colonies, the fractured Muslim world ( [Dar al-Islam](/wiki/Dar_al-islam "Dar al-islam")), and the democratic Indian and Hodenosaunee Leagues. At the outbreak of war, the Muslim states put aside their differences to fight the larger threat of China. The Indian and Hodenosaunee Leagues stay neutral at first, but eventually ally with China, seeing the Muslims as their greater enemy. The war drags on for decades and causes major changes in human society, including rapid industrialisation, mass conscription, and mass casualties. New devastating weapons and methods are employed, including [trench warfare](/wiki/Trench_warfare "Trench warfare"), [chemical warfare](/wiki/Chemical_warfare "Chemical warfare"), and air strikes.

Chinese officers Kuo, Bai, and Iwa fight in the trenches of the [Gansu Corridor](/wiki/Hexi_Corridor "Hexi Corridor"), where the ground has been blasted down to [bedrock](/wiki/Bedrock "Bedrock") by sixty years of bombardments. Kuo is killed when a shell penetrates their bunker. Bai and Iwa are ordered to move with their company south through [Tibet](/wiki/Tibet "Tibet") to support their Indian allies. At a pass in the Himalayas, they witness Muslim artillery destroying the top of [Mount Everest](/wiki/Mount_Everest "Mount Everest") so that the tallest mountain in the world will be in Muslim lands. Bai is plagued by visions of his dead friend Kuo, who tells him that he is already dead, killed by the same shell that killed Kuo.

After extreme difficulties, Bai and Iwa's forces manage to breach the Muslim defences at the pass. The Chinese army pours through to join forces with the Indians, turning the course of the war in their favor. The Chinese and Indian Buddhists unite to share a ritual beside the destroyed [Bodhi Tree](/wiki/Bodhi_Tree "Bodhi Tree").

### Book Nine: _Nsara_

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A young Muslim woman named Budur and her aunt Idelba live in Europe in the aftermath of the Long War. Budur and Idelba escape Budur's restrictive traditional family in the Alps and move to the more liberal and cosmopolitan city of Nsara. They stay at a [zawiyya](/wiki/Zawiya_(institution) "Zawiya (institution)"), a refuge for women, where Idelba restarts her work in physics and Budur enrolls in university to study history. She grows close to Kirana, a [feminist](/wiki/Feminism "Feminism") history lecturer who questions everything about Muslim society and argues for [emancipation](/wiki/Women%27s_rights "Women's rights") and [liberation](/wiki/Women%27s_liberation_movement "Women's liberation movement"). The two have a brief affair.

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_Map.PNG/360px-The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_Map.PNG)](/wiki/File:The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_Map.PNG) The world of _The Years of Rice and Salt_ in 1423 AH (2002 AD), after the "Long War".

* * *

I. Yingzhou

II. Inka

III. Firanja

IV. Maghrib

V. Sahel

VI. Zanj

VII. Ingoli

VIII. Botswana

IX. Skandistan

X. Iran

XI. Arabia

XII. Greater Japan

XIII. China

XIV. Indian League

XV. Burmese League

XVI. Mindanao

XVII. Aozhou

XVIII. Maori

Life in Nsara becomes increasingly difficult as the Islamic world faces the effects of losing the Long War, including [hyperinflation](/wiki/Hyperinflation "Hyperinflation"), [food shortages](/wiki/Famine "Famine"), and [strikes](/wiki/Strike_action "Strike action"). Many governments in Dar al-Islam are overthrown by coups. When the military attempts to overthrow the legitimate government of Nsara, Budur and Kirana incide mass protests. Eventually, the Hodenosaunee League send a fleet from their naval base at [Orkney](/wiki/Orkney "Orkney") to back the protestors in Nsara, forcing the military to surrender.

Meanwhile, Idelba's work in atomic physics lead her to the disturbing discovery that it is possible to build a [devastating weapon](/wiki/Nuclear_weapon "Nuclear weapon") from [nuclear chain reactions](/wiki/Nuclear_fission "Nuclear fission"). The government learns of her work and raids the zawiyya, but Budur manages to hide Idelba's papers. Idelba dies of radiation poisoning and leaves all her research to Budur, who has begun using the principles of radiation to develop [Radiocarbon dating](/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating "Radiocarbon dating").

Budur's work in archaeology gets her invited to an international conference of scientists in [Isfahan](/wiki/Isfahan "Isfahan"), Iran. There, she convenes a group of scientists from all the major world powers, all of whom agree to convince their various governments that nuclear weapons are too impractical to manufacture. The group initates an international scientific movement to break down barriers between cultures. In the halls of the conference, Budur is overcome by an exhibit about a Tibetan village preserved by an avalanche, but cannot explain why.

### Book Ten: _The First Years_

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Bao Xinhua is a revolutionary in China, who works under the leadership of his friend Kung Jianguo. Bao and Kung successfully overthrow the oppressive Chinese government, but Kung is assassinated on the cusp of their victory. Disillusioned, Bao leaves China and serves as a diplomat all over the world, eventually marrying and settling down to raise two children in Fangzhang (San Francisco).

After his wife dies, Bao accepts a diplomatic post in [Myanmar](/wiki/Myanmar "Myanmar"), where he reunites with comrade from his revolutionary years named Isao Zhu. Zhu poses many macrohistorical questions, attempting to arrive at a unified theory of history; in a moment of [Metafiction](/wiki/Metafiction "Metafiction"), Zhu and Bao contemplate using the bardo as a narrative device to illustrate the gradual improvement of human society. Bao later returns to Fangzhang to teach history in a village implied to be located near real-life [Davis, California](/wiki/Davis,_California "Davis, California"). At the end of the novel, he meets a new student named Kali, implied to be Kung reborn.

## Style, themes and genre

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The novel is divided into ten chapters that each act as a short story, linked by the use of a group of people who appear in each story. After spending time in [bardo](/wiki/Bardo "Bardo"), the group (or [jāti](/wiki/J%C4%81ti_(Buddhism) "Jāti (Buddhism)")) are reincarnated into different times and places.[\[7\]](#cite_note-SDUT-10)[\[8\]](#cite_note-SunSentinel-11) While characters in each story are unique, they share some characteristics with their previous incarnations and are linked, for convenience, by the first letter of their name. The characters whose names begin with the letter _K_ are "combative, imprudent and prone to getting himself (or herself) killed"[\[9\]](#cite_note-WaPo-12) and "striking blows against injustice that typically lead to more suffering".[\[10\]](#cite_note-NYTBR-13) The _B_ characters are "more comfortable in the world, meliorist and optimistic"[\[9\]](#cite_note-WaPo-12) and "survivors, nurturing friends and family through bad times and patiently waiting for something better".[\[10\]](#cite_note-NYTBR-13) The _I_ characters are "the ones who care, who follow the other two, and may be necessary if their works are to flourish, but who tend to the domestic and always find the world worth loving."[\[11\]](#cite_note-EdmJ-14) The style of writing also changes every chapter to reflect the style of writing associated with the culture being depicted. For example, the first chapter is written similarly to _[Monkey's Journey to the West](/wiki/Journey_to_the_West "Journey to the West")_[\[12\]](#cite_note-Scotsman-15) and a later chapter incorporates [postmodernism](/wiki/Postmodernism "Postmodernism").[\[13\]](#cite_note-NPR-16) Also, later chapters take on [metafictional](/wiki/Metafiction "Metafiction") elements, with characters discussing the [nature of history](/wiki/Philosophy_of_history "Philosophy of history"), whether it is [cyclical](/wiki/Cyclic_history "Cyclic history") or linear, whether they believe in [reincarnation](/wiki/Reincarnation "Reincarnation"), and feelings that some people are intrinsically linked.[\[7\]](#cite_note-SDUT-10)[\[9\]](#cite_note-WaPo-12)

Robinson incorporated utopian themes in his previous works but reviewers were divided on whether _The Years of Rice and Salt_ qualified as a utopian story.[\[14\]](#cite_note-17) Those that did call the world described in the story as utopian cited the story's illustration of [progress](/wiki/Progress_(history) "Progress (history)").[\[12\]](#cite_note-Scotsman-15)[\[15\]](#cite_note-18) However, those that wrote _The Years of Rice and Salt_ was not a utopian story say that the world history presented is not necessarily better or worse than the real history, just different.[\[16\]](#cite_note-DenPo-19) Robinson calls himself a "utopian novelist" in that he claims "all science fiction has a utopian element, in that it tends to say that what we do now matters and will have consequences".[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2) Several other themes were identified by reviewers. Robinson had previously used the theme of memory (or identity) and incorporates it into this story with characters who are reincarnated versions of previous characters and who only recognize each other while in the bardo, but sometimes feel a connection between themselves while on earth.[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2) The reviewer in _[The Globe and Mail](/wiki/The_Globe_and_Mail "The Globe and Mail")_ identified feminism and "struggles over the nature of Islam" as recurring themes.[\[17\]](#cite_note-G&M-20)

### Alternate history

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=14 "Edit section: Alternate history")\]

> ...the complaints about alternative histories being "too much like" our history are always balanced, sometimes in the same commentator, by complaints that it is "too different to be possible," and I have concluded that really one can't win: alternatives to our world history are in some deep sense unthinkable. The alternative history then becomes an exercise in pushing at that limit and always
> asking "why" to one's responses concerning "plausibility" or the like.

—Kim Stanley Robinson[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2)

_The Years of Rice and Salt_ belongs to the [alternate history](/wiki/Alternate_history "Alternate history") subgenre of [speculative fiction](/wiki/Speculative_fiction "Speculative fiction"). The novel starts at the [point of divergence](/wiki/Point_of_divergence "Point of divergence") with [Timur](/wiki/Timur "Timur") turning his army away from Europe where the [Black Death](/wiki/Black_Death "Black Death") killed 99 percent of Europe's population, instead of a third. Robinson explores world history from that point in [AD](/wiki/Anno_Domini "Anno Domini") 1405 (807 [AH](/wiki/Islamic_calendar "Islamic calendar")) to about [AD](/wiki/Anno_Domini "Anno Domini") 2045 (1467 [AH](/wiki/Islamic_calendar "Islamic calendar")) with [Mughal Emperor](/wiki/Mughal_Emperor "Mughal Emperor") [Akbar](/wiki/Akbar "Akbar") being the last character with a real-world counterpart.[\[13\]](#cite_note-NPR-16)

Robinson's take on alternate history is that because it "is set in the same lawful universe as ours, its science must be the same \[and\] because its people have the same basic human needs, their societies resemble ours."[\[10\]](#cite_note-NYTBR-13) Therefore, despite the difference in who specifically is there, "the great majority of humanity \[is\] doing their work, and that work would tend to forge along at a certain pace as people tried to solve the problems of making themselves more comfortable in this world."[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2)

While most alternate histories use the [Great Man theory](/wiki/Great_Man_theory "Great Man theory") of history, focusing on leaders, wars, and big events, Robinson writes more about [social history](/wiki/Social_history "Social history"), similar to the [Annales School](/wiki/Annales_School "Annales School") of historical theory and [Marxist historiography](/wiki/Marxist_historiography "Marxist historiography"), focusing on the lives of ordinary people living in their time and place.[\[2\]](#cite_note-SFS-2) This is reflected in the title of the novel, _The Years of Rice and Salt_, which refers to the everyday chores of raising a family, often performed by women, despite the politics and wars of men.[\[11\]](#cite_note-EdmJ-14)

Reviewers noted this allows for the "history \[to be\] experienced by readers on a human scale"[\[18\]](#cite_note-SLJ-21) and "an implicit but thorough rebuke to the kind of war-gaming determinism that most alternate histories embody."[\[9\]](#cite_note-WaPo-12) The novel has characters that explore subjects like philosophy, theology, history, and scientific theory.[\[19\]](#cite_note-22)[\[20\]](#cite_note-23)

## Publication and reception

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=15 "Edit section: Publication and reception")\]

> Robinson takes advantage of the romance inherent in the idea of reincarnation; it's a lovely, seductive concept, and it adds much mystical texture to the narrative. But that does not mean the author is any less tough-minded here than in his other books. Indeed, _The Years of Salt and Rice_, for all of its fantastic elements, is essentially a character-driven — which is to say, literary — series of novelettes.

—Chauncy Mabe, Books Editor, _[South Florida Sun-Sentinel](/wiki/Sun-Sentinel "Sun-Sentinel")_[\[8\]](#cite_note-SunSentinel-11)

Released in March 2002, the book was published in North America by [Bantam Books](/wiki/Bantam_Books "Bantam Books") and in the United Kingdom by [HarperCollins](/wiki/HarperCollins "HarperCollins"). The paperback was released in 2003 along with a Spanish translation. In the subsequent years, other translated versions were published, in French, Polish, Chinese, and Hungarian.

The novel was well received by critics who variously called it "thoughtful",[\[4\]](#cite_note-CameraFeb24-7)[\[7\]](#cite_note-SDUT-10)[\[12\]](#cite_note-Scotsman-15)[\[21\]](#cite_note-Independent-24) "realistic",[\[3\]](#cite_note-PW-4)[\[4\]](#cite_note-CameraFeb24-7) and "rich".[\[4\]](#cite_note-CameraFeb24-7)[\[9\]](#cite_note-WaPo-12)[\[16\]](#cite_note-DenPo-19) In _[Publishers Weekly](/wiki/Publishers_Weekly "Publishers Weekly")_, the reviewers called it a "highly realistic and credible alternate history",[\[3\]](#cite_note-PW-4) and in the _[School Library Journal](/wiki/School_Library_Journal "School Library Journal")_, Christine Menefee called it "an addictive, surprising, and suspenseful novel".[\[18\]](#cite_note-SLJ-21) The _[Library Journal](/wiki/Library_Journal "Library Journal")_ "highly recommended" it, saying that its "superb storytelling and imaginative historic speculation make \[it\] a priority choice for all SF and general fiction collections".[\[22\]](#cite_note-25) The critic at _[Kirkus Reviews](/wiki/Kirkus_Reviews "Kirkus Reviews")_ found it "overlong, but blessed with moments of wry and gentle beauty".[\[23\]](#cite_note-26) Likewise, [Roz Kaveney](/wiki/Roz_Kaveney "Roz Kaveney") stated that "if there is a weakness in Robinson's work, it is perhaps this; his characters are so intelligent that they never shut up".[\[21\]](#cite_note-Independent-24) For _[The Globe and Mail](/wiki/The_Globe_and_Mail "The Globe and Mail")_, Sol Chrom lauded the epic scope, calling it a "magnificent achievement",[\[17\]](#cite_note-G&M-20) and for _[The Belfast News Letter](/wiki/The_News_Letter "The News Letter")_, the reviewer called the novel "extraordinary, ambitious, poetic and powerful".[\[24\]](#cite_note-27) Science fiction critic [Paul Kincaid](/wiki/Paul_Kincaid "Paul Kincaid") concluded that it is "a huge, complex and highly enjoyable book".[\[25\]](#cite_note-28)

### Awards

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=16 "Edit section: Awards")\]

It won the 2003 [Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel") and was nominated for the [Hugo Award](/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel "Hugo Award for Best Novel"), the [Arthur C. Clarke Award](/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke_Award "Arthur C. Clarke Award"), and the [British Science Fiction Award](/wiki/BSFA_Award_for_Best_Novel "BSFA Award for Best Novel").

## See also

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=17 "Edit section: See also")\]

Other alternate-history novels where the Black Death was much deadlier in Europe, which was subsequently colonized in whole or part by Muslims:

- _[The Gate of Worlds](/wiki/The_Gate_of_Worlds "The Gate of Worlds")_, by [Robert Silverberg](/wiki/Robert_Silverberg "Robert Silverberg"), published in 1966,
- _[The Crystal Empire](/wiki/The_Crystal_Empire_(novel) "The Crystal Empire (novel)")_, by [L. Neil Smith](/wiki/L._Neil_Smith "L. Neil Smith"), published in 1986, and
- _[In High Places](/wiki/In_High_Places_(Turtledove_novel) "In High Places (Turtledove novel)")_, by [Harry Turtledove](/wiki/Harry_Turtledove "Harry Turtledove"), published in 2005.

- _[Lion's Blood](/wiki/Lion%27s_Blood "Lion's Blood")_, by [Steven Barnes](/wiki/Steven_Barnes "Steven Barnes") published in 2003, also takes place in a world dominated by Islam.

## Notes

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=18 "Edit section: Notes")\]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)**"The Lucky Strike" was first published in _[Universe](/wiki/Universe_(anthology_series) "Universe (anthology series)") #14_ ( [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [0-385-19134-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-385-19134-0 "Special:BookSources/0-385-19134-0")) and was nominated for a [Hugo](/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novelette "Hugo Award for Best Novelette") and a [Nebula Award](/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novelette "Nebula Award for Best Novelette")
2. **[^](#cite_ref-5)**"A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" was first published in _[Author's Choice](/wiki/List_of_Author%27s_Choice_Monthly "List of Author's Choice Monthly") #20_ ( [OCLC](/wiki/OCLC_(identifier) "OCLC (identifier)") [23764754](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23764754))
3. **[^](#cite_ref-6)**Both "The Lucky Strike" and "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions" were published together in the 2009 booklet _The Lucky Strike_ by [PM Press](/wiki/PM_Press "PM Press") ( [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [9781604860856](/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781604860856 "Special:BookSources/9781604860856")) as part of their Outspoken Authors series.

## References

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=19 "Edit section: References")\]

01. **[^](#cite_ref-1)**[Bisson, Terry](/wiki/Terry_Bisson "Terry Bisson") (2009). "A Real Joy to be Had: Outspoken Interview with Kim Stanley Robinson". _The Lucky Strike_. Outspoken Authors. [Oakland, California](/wiki/Oakland,_California "Oakland, California"): [PM Press](/wiki/PM_Press "PM Press"). pp. 77–107. [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [9781604860856](/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781604860856 "Special:BookSources/9781604860856").
02. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-2) [_**d**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-3) [_**e**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-4) [_**f**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-5) [_**g**_](#cite_ref-SFS_2-6)[Szeman, Imre](/wiki/Imre_Szeman "Imre Szeman"); Maria Whiteman (July 2004). "Future Politics: An Interview with Kim Stanley Robinson". _[Science Fiction Studies](/wiki/Science_Fiction_Studies "Science Fiction Studies")_. **31** (2): 177–188.
03. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-PW_4-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-PW_4-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-PW_4-2)Zaleski, Jeff; Peter Canon (January 7, 2002). "The Years of Rice and Salt". _[Publishers Weekly](/wiki/Publishers_Weekly "Publishers Weekly")_. **249** (1): 51.
04. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-CameraFeb24_7-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-CameraFeb24_7-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-CameraFeb24_7-2) [_**d**_](#cite_ref-CameraFeb24_7-3)Evans, Clay (February 24, 2002). "New worlds - Two giant new 'alternative histories' vividly explore Islam ascendant". _[Daily Camera](/wiki/Daily_Camera "Daily Camera")_. [Boulder, Colorado](/wiki/Boulder,_Colorado "Boulder, Colorado"). p. DD6.
05. **[^](#cite_ref-8)**Evans, Clay (June 13, 2004). "Real, but not real fun: - Robinson's new global-warming trilogy gets off to a slow star". _[Daily Camera](/wiki/Daily_Camera "Daily Camera")_. [Boulder, Colorado](/wiki/Boulder,_Colorado "Boulder, Colorado"). p. E5.
06. **[^](#cite_ref-9)**["The years of rice and salt \| KimStanleyRobinson.info"](https://www.kimstanleyrobinson.info/tags/years-rice-and-salt).
07. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-SDUT_10-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-SDUT_10-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-SDUT_10-2)Hopper, Jim (March 10, 2002). "Grand opportunity to go reelin' in the 'Years'". _[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/wiki/U-T_San_Diego "U-T San Diego")_. San Diego, California. p. BOOKS-7.
08. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-SunSentinel_11-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-SunSentinel_11-1)Mabe, Chauncy (March 31, 2002). "Trio's Lives Intertwine — Again and Again". _[South Florida Sun-Sentinel](/wiki/South_Florida_Sun-Sentinel "South Florida Sun-Sentinel")_. [Fort Lauderdale, Florida](/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale,_Florida "Fort Lauderdale, Florida"). p. 10D.
09. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-WaPo_12-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-WaPo_12-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-WaPo_12-2) [_**d**_](#cite_ref-WaPo_12-3) [_**e**_](#cite_ref-WaPo_12-4)Feeley, Gregory (April 7, 2002). "Past Forward". _[The Washington Post](/wiki/The_Washington_Post "The Washington Post")_. Washington, D.C.
10. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-NYTBR_13-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-NYTBR_13-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-NYTBR_13-2)Jonas, Gerald (April 28, 2002). "Science Fiction". _[The New York Times Book Review](/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Book_Review "The New York Times Book Review")_. New York. p. 20.
11. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-EdmJ_14-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-EdmJ_14-1)Barbour, Douglas (March 17, 2002). "Islam and Buddhism clash in believable alternate history". _[Edmonton Journal](/wiki/Edmonton_Journal "Edmonton Journal")_. [Edmonton, Alberta](/wiki/Edmonton "Edmonton"). p. D11.
12. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-Scotsman_15-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-Scotsman_15-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-Scotsman_15-2)Wilson, Andrew (June 15, 2002). "Worlds of wonder". _[The Scotsman](/wiki/The_Scotsman "The Scotsman")_. [Edinburgh, Scotland](/wiki/Edinburgh "Edinburgh"). p. 10.
13. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-NPR_16-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-NPR_16-1)[Robinson, Kim Stanley](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson") (April 14, 2002). "Profile: Kim Stanley Robinson's Book "The Years Of Rice And Salt"". _[Weekend Edition Sunday](/wiki/Weekend_Edition "Weekend Edition")_ (Interview). Interviewed by [Neda Ulaby](/wiki/Neda_Ulaby "Neda Ulaby"). National Public Radio.
14. **[^](#cite_ref-17)**Powers, John (June 2002). "The West Coast of Utopia: Kim Stanley Robinson and the science fiction of hope". _[The American Prospect](/wiki/The_American_Prospect "The American Prospect")_: 45.
15. **[^](#cite_ref-18)**Pierleoni, Allen (July 14, 2004). "Warming Up —- Kim Stanley Robinson's latest is the first in a sci-fi trilogy about a catastrophic ice age". _[The Sacramento Bee](/wiki/The_Sacramento_Bee "The Sacramento Bee")_. [Sacramento, California](/wiki/Sacramento,_California "Sacramento, California"). p. E1.
16. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-DenPo_19-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-DenPo_19-1)Cleaver, Fred (March 24, 2002). "Intrigue envelops Russian poet, student Marvelous language fills "The Translator'". _[The Denver Post](/wiki/The_Denver_Post "The Denver Post")_. [Denver, Colorado](/wiki/Denver,_Colorado "Denver, Colorado"). p. EE-02.
17. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-G&M_20-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-G&M_20-1)Chrom, Sol (June 15, 2002). "World without West". _[The Globe and Mail](/wiki/The_Globe_and_Mail "The Globe and Mail")_. [Toronto, Ontario](/wiki/Toronto "Toronto"). p. D30.
18. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-SLJ_21-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-SLJ_21-1)Menefee, Christine (August 2002). "The Years of Rice and Salt". _[School Library Journal](/wiki/School_Library_Journal "School Library Journal")_. **48** (8): 222.
19. **[^](#cite_ref-22)**Fisher, George (October 2002). "The Years of Rice and Salt". _[New Internationalist](/wiki/New_Internationalist "New Internationalist")_ (350): 31.
20. **[^](#cite_ref-23)**Shaw, Elizabeth (July 14, 2002). "Salt' insight into alternate history". _[The Flint Journal](/wiki/The_Flint_Journal "The Flint Journal")_. [Flint, Michigan](/wiki/Flint,_Michigan "Flint, Michigan"). p. F03.
21. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-Independent_24-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-Independent_24-1)[Kaveney, Roz](/wiki/Roz_Kaveney "Roz Kaveney") (March 5, 2002). "Tuesday Book: After the Black Death, 700 Years of New Life". _[The Independent](/wiki/The_Independent "The Independent")_. London, England. p. 5.
22. **[^](#cite_ref-25)**Cassada, Jackie (February 15, 2002). "The Years of Rice and Salt". _[Library Journal](/wiki/Library_Journal "Library Journal")_. **127** (3): 180.
23. **[^](#cite_ref-26)**"The Years of Rice and Salt". _[Kirkus Reviews](/wiki/Kirkus_Reviews "Kirkus Reviews")_. **70** (1): 23. January 2002.
24. **[^](#cite_ref-27)**Abernethy, Daphne (March 11, 2002). "Book review: History as it might have been". _[The News Letter](/wiki/The_News_Letter "The News Letter")_. [Belfast, Northern Ireland](/wiki/Belfast "Belfast").
25. **[^](#cite_ref-28)**[Kincaid, Paul](/wiki/Paul_Kincaid "Paul Kincaid") (March 25, 2002). "Big Death". _[New Scientist](/wiki/New_Scientist "New Scientist")_. **173** (2335): 50.

## Further reading

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=20 "Edit section: Further reading")\]

- Marden, William (June 23, 2002). "Welcome to Strange, Alternate Worlds". _[Orlando Sentinel](/wiki/Orlando_Sentinel "Orlando Sentinel")_. [Orlando, Florida](/wiki/Orlando,_Florida "Orlando, Florida"). p. F9.
- Evans, Clay (December 8, 2002). "Boulder County writers (plus a few others) will please bibliophiles on your gift list". _[Daily Camera](/wiki/Daily_Camera "Daily Camera")_. [Boulder, Colorado](/wiki/Boulder,_Colorado "Boulder, Colorado"). p. DD6.
- "Science fiction paper". _[Sioux City Journal](/wiki/Sioux_City_Journal "Sioux City Journal")_. [Sioux City, Iowa](/wiki/Sioux_City,_Iowa "Sioux City, Iowa"). July 6, 2003.
- Salm, Arthur (July 4, 2004). "Robinson explores what-if of the future". _[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/wiki/U-T_San_Diego "U-T San Diego")_. San Diego, California. p. F-3.
- Abbott, Carl (Spring 2003). ["Falling into History: The Imagined Wests of Kim Stanley Robinson in the "Three Californias" and Mars Trilogies"](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=usp_fac). _The Western Historical Quarterly_. **34** (1): 27–47. [doi](/wiki/Doi_(identifier) "Doi (identifier)"): [10.2307/25047207](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F25047207). [JSTOR](/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier) "JSTOR (identifier)") [25047207](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25047207).

## External links

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt&action=edit&section=21 "Edit section: External links")\]

- [The Years of Rice and Salt](http://kimstanleyrobinson.info/node/345) at [KimStanleyRobinson.info](http://www.kimstanleyrobinson.info/)
- [Retrospective review](https://www.tor.com/2009/05/14/goodbye-europe-kim-stanley-robinsons-the-years-of-rice-and-salt/) by [Jo Walton](/wiki/Jo_Walton "Jo Walton")

- [v](/wiki/Template:Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Template:Kim Stanley Robinson")
- [t](/wiki/Template_talk:Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Template talk:Kim Stanley Robinson")
- [e](/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Special:EditPage/Template:Kim Stanley Robinson")

[Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson")

[Bibliography](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson_bibliography "Kim Stanley Robinson bibliography")

Novels

Standalone novels

- _[Icehenge](/wiki/Icehenge "Icehenge")_ (1984)
- _[The Memory of Whiteness](/wiki/The_Memory_of_Whiteness "The Memory of Whiteness")_ (1985)
- _[A Short, Sharp Shock](/wiki/A_Short,_Sharp_Shock "A Short, Sharp Shock")_ (1990)
- _[Antarctica](/wiki/Antarctica_(novel) "Antarctica (novel)")_ (1997)
- _The Years of Rice and Salt_ (2002)
- _[Galileo's Dream](/wiki/Galileo%27s_Dream "Galileo's Dream")_ (2009)
- _[2312](/wiki/2312_(novel) "2312 (novel)")_ (2012)
- _[Shaman](/wiki/Shaman_(novel) "Shaman (novel)")_ (2013)
- _[Aurora](/wiki/Aurora_(novel) "Aurora (novel)")_ (2015)
- _[New York 2140](/wiki/New_York_2140 "New York 2140")_ (2017)
- _[Red Moon](/wiki/Red_Moon_(novel) "Red Moon (novel)")_ (2018)
- _[The Ministry for the Future](/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future "The Ministry for the Future")_ (2020)

_[Three Californias](/wiki/Three_Californias_Trilogy "Three Californias Trilogy")_

- _[The Wild Shore](/wiki/Three_Californias_Trilogy "Three Californias Trilogy")_ (1984)
- _[The Gold Coast](/wiki/Three_Californias_Trilogy "Three Californias Trilogy")_ (1988)
- _[Pacific Edge](/wiki/Three_Californias_Trilogy "Three Californias Trilogy")_ (1990)

_[Mars](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy")_

- _[Red Mars](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy")_ (1992)
- _[Green Mars](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy")_ (1993)
- _[Blue Mars](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy")_ (1996)
- _[The Martians](/wiki/Mars_trilogy#The_Martians_–_Short_stories "Mars trilogy")_ (1999)

_Science in the Capital/Green Earth_

- _[Forty Signs of Rain](/wiki/Forty_Signs_of_Rain "Forty Signs of Rain")_ (2004)
- _[Fifty Degrees Below](/wiki/Fifty_Degrees_Below "Fifty Degrees Below")_ (2005)
- _[Sixty Days and Counting](/wiki/Sixty_Days_and_Counting "Sixty Days and Counting")_ (2007)

Collections

- _[The Planet on the Table](/wiki/The_Planet_on_the_Table "The Planet on the Table")_ (1986)
- _[Escape from Kathmandu](/wiki/Escape_from_Kathmandu "Escape from Kathmandu")_ (1989)
- _Remaking History_ (1991)
- _Vinland the Dream_ (2001)
- _The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson_ (2010)

- [v](/wiki/Template:Locus_Award_Best_SF_Novel "Template:Locus Award Best SF Novel")
- [t](/wiki/Template_talk:Locus_Award_Best_SF_Novel "Template talk:Locus Award Best SF Novel")
- [e](/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Locus_Award_Best_SF_Novel "Special:EditPage/Template:Locus Award Best SF Novel")

[Locus Award](/wiki/Locus_Award "Locus Award") for [Best Science Fiction Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel")

1980s

- _[Titan](/wiki/Titan_(Varley_novel) "Titan (Varley novel)")_ by [John Varley](/wiki/John_Varley_(author) "John Varley (author)") (1980)
- _[The Snow Queen](/wiki/The_Snow_Queen_(Vinge_novel) "The Snow Queen (Vinge novel)")_ by [Joan D. Vinge](/wiki/Joan_D._Vinge "Joan D. Vinge") (1981)
- _[The Many-Colored Land](/wiki/The_Many-Colored_Land "The Many-Colored Land")_ by [Julian May](/wiki/Julian_May "Julian May") (1982)
- _[Foundation's Edge](/wiki/Foundation%27s_Edge "Foundation's Edge")_ by [Isaac Asimov](/wiki/Isaac_Asimov "Isaac Asimov") (1983)
- _[Startide Rising](/wiki/Startide_Rising "Startide Rising")_ by [David Brin](/wiki/David_Brin "David Brin") (1984)
- _[The Integral Trees](/wiki/The_Integral_Trees "The Integral Trees")_ by [Larry Niven](/wiki/Larry_Niven "Larry Niven") (1985)
- _[The Postman](/wiki/The_Postman "The Postman")_ by [David Brin](/wiki/David_Brin "David Brin") (1986)
- _[Speaker for the Dead](/wiki/Speaker_for_the_Dead "Speaker for the Dead")_ by [Orson Scott Card](/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card "Orson Scott Card") (1987)
- _[The Uplift War](/wiki/The_Uplift_War "The Uplift War")_ by [David Brin](/wiki/David_Brin "David Brin") (1988)
- _[Cyteen](/wiki/Cyteen "Cyteen")_ by [C. J. Cherryh](/wiki/C._J._Cherryh "C. J. Cherryh") (1989)

1990s

- _[Hyperion](/wiki/Hyperion_(Simmons_novel) "Hyperion (Simmons novel)")_ by [Dan Simmons](/wiki/Dan_Simmons "Dan Simmons") (1990)
- _[The Fall of Hyperion](/wiki/The_Fall_of_Hyperion_(novel) "The Fall of Hyperion (novel)")_ by [Dan Simmons](/wiki/Dan_Simmons "Dan Simmons") (1991)
- _[Barrayar](/wiki/Barrayar "Barrayar")_ by [Lois McMaster Bujold](/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold "Lois McMaster Bujold") (1992)
- _[Doomsday Book](/wiki/Doomsday_Book_(novel) "Doomsday Book (novel)")_ by [Connie Willis](/wiki/Connie_Willis "Connie Willis") (1993)
- _[Green Mars](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy")_ by [Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson") (1994)
- _[Mirror Dance](/wiki/Mirror_Dance "Mirror Dance")_ by [Lois McMaster Bujold](/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold "Lois McMaster Bujold") (1995)
- _[The Diamond Age](/wiki/The_Diamond_Age "The Diamond Age")_ by [Neal Stephenson](/wiki/Neal_Stephenson "Neal Stephenson") (1996)
- _[Blue Mars](/wiki/Mars_trilogy "Mars trilogy")_ by [Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson") (1997)
- _[The Rise of Endymion](/wiki/The_Rise_of_Endymion "The Rise of Endymion")_ by [Dan Simmons](/wiki/Dan_Simmons "Dan Simmons") (1998)
- _[To Say Nothing of the Dog](/wiki/To_Say_Nothing_of_the_Dog "To Say Nothing of the Dog")_ by [Connie Willis](/wiki/Connie_Willis "Connie Willis") (1999)

2000s

- _[Cryptonomicon](/wiki/Cryptonomicon "Cryptonomicon")_ by [Neal Stephenson](/wiki/Neal_Stephenson "Neal Stephenson") (2000)
- _[The Telling](/wiki/The_Telling "The Telling")_ by [Ursula K. Le Guin](/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin "Ursula K. Le Guin") (2001)
- _[Passage](/wiki/Passage_(Willis_novel) "Passage (Willis novel)")_ by [Connie Willis](/wiki/Connie_Willis "Connie Willis") (2002)
- _The Years of Rice and Salt_ by [Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Kim Stanley Robinson") (2003)
- _[Ilium](/wiki/Ilium_(novel) "Ilium (novel)")_ by [Dan Simmons](/wiki/Dan_Simmons "Dan Simmons") (2004)
- _[The Baroque Cycle](/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle "The Baroque Cycle")_ by [Neal Stephenson](/wiki/Neal_Stephenson "Neal Stephenson") (2005)
- _[Accelerando](/wiki/Accelerando "Accelerando")_ by [Charles Stross](/wiki/Charles_Stross "Charles Stross") (2006)
- _[Rainbows End](/wiki/Rainbows_End_(Vinge_novel) "Rainbows End (Vinge novel)")_ by [Vernor Vinge](/wiki/Vernor_Vinge "Vernor Vinge") (2007)
- _[The Yiddish Policemen's Union](/wiki/The_Yiddish_Policemen%27s_Union "The Yiddish Policemen's Union")_ by [Michael Chabon](/wiki/Michael_Chabon "Michael Chabon") (2008)
- _[Anathem](/wiki/Anathem "Anathem")_ by [Neal Stephenson](/wiki/Neal_Stephenson "Neal Stephenson") (2009)

2010s

- _[Boneshaker](/wiki/Boneshaker_(novel) "Boneshaker (novel)")_ by [Cherie Priest](/wiki/Cherie_Priest "Cherie Priest") (2010)
- _[Blackout/All Clear](/wiki/Blackout/All_Clear "Blackout/All Clear")_ by [Connie Willis](/wiki/Connie_Willis "Connie Willis") (2011)
- _[Embassytown](/wiki/Embassytown "Embassytown")_ by [China Miéville](/wiki/China_Mi%C3%A9ville "China Miéville") (2012)
- _[Redshirts](/wiki/Redshirts_(novel) "Redshirts (novel)")_ by [John Scalzi](/wiki/John_Scalzi "John Scalzi") (2013)
- _[Abaddon's Gate](/wiki/Abaddon%27s_Gate "Abaddon's Gate")_ by [James S. A. Corey](/wiki/James_S._A._Corey "James S. A. Corey") (2014)
- _[Ancillary Sword](/wiki/Ancillary_Sword "Ancillary Sword")_ by [Ann Leckie](/wiki/Ann_Leckie "Ann Leckie") (2015)
- _[Ancillary Mercy](/wiki/Ancillary_Mercy "Ancillary Mercy")_ by [Ann Leckie](/wiki/Ann_Leckie "Ann Leckie") (2016)
- _[Death's End](/wiki/Death%27s_End "Death's End")_ by [Liu Cixin](/wiki/Liu_Cixin "Liu Cixin") (2017)
- _[The Collapsing Empire](/wiki/The_Collapsing_Empire "The Collapsing Empire")_ by [John Scalzi](/wiki/John_Scalzi "John Scalzi") (2018)
- _[The Calculating Stars](/wiki/The_Calculating_Stars "The Calculating Stars")_ by [Mary Robinette Kowal](/wiki/Mary_Robinette_Kowal "Mary Robinette Kowal") (2019)

2020s

- _[The City in the Middle of the Night](/wiki/The_City_in_the_Middle_of_the_Night "The City in the Middle of the Night")_ by [Charlie Jane Anders](/wiki/Charlie_Jane_Anders "Charlie Jane Anders") (2020)
- _[Network Effect](/wiki/Network_Effect_(novel) "Network Effect (novel)")_ by [Martha Wells](/wiki/Martha_Wells "Martha Wells") (2021)
- _[A Desolation Called Peace](/wiki/A_Desolation_Called_Peace "A Desolation Called Peace")_ by [Arkady Martine](/wiki/Arkady_Martine "Arkady Martine") (2022)
- _[The Kaiju Preservation Society](/wiki/The_Kaiju_Preservation_Society "The Kaiju Preservation Society")_ by [John Scalzi](/wiki/John_Scalzi "John Scalzi") (2023)
- _[System Collapse](/wiki/The_Murderbot_Diaries "The Murderbot Diaries")_ by [Martha Wells](/wiki/Martha_Wells "Martha Wells") (2024)

- [Best Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Novel "Locus Award for Best Novel") (1971–1981)
- [Best SF Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Novel "Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel") (1980–present)
- [Best Fantasy Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Fantasy_Novel "Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel") (1978–present)
- [Best First Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_First_Novel "Locus Award for Best First Novel") (1981–present)
- [Best Horror Novel](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Horror_Novel "Locus Award for Best Horror Novel") (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
- [Best Young Adult Book](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Young_Adult_Book "Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book") (2003–present)
- [Best Novella](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Novella "Locus Award for Best Novella") (1973–present)
- [Best Novelette](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Novelette "Locus Award for Best Novelette") (1975–present)
- [Best Short Story](/wiki/Locus_Award_for_Best_Short_Story "Locus Award for Best Short Story") (1971–present)

[Authority control databases](/wiki/Help:Authority_control "Help:Authority control"): National [![Edit this at Wikidata](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q963586#identifiers "Edit this at Wikidata")

- [France](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39065886t)
- [BnF data](https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39065886t)

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[Categories](/wiki/Help:Category "Help:Category"):

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- [American philosophical novels](/wiki/Category:American_philosophical_novels "Category:American philosophical novels")
- [Bisexuality-related fiction](/wiki/Category:Bisexuality-related_fiction "Category:Bisexuality-related fiction")
- [Novels about the Black Death](/wiki/Category:Novels_about_the_Black_Death "Category:Novels about the Black Death")
- [Cultural depictions of Akbar](/wiki/Category:Cultural_depictions_of_Akbar "Category:Cultural depictions of Akbar")
- [HarperCollins books](/wiki/Category:HarperCollins_books "Category:HarperCollins books")
- [Mughal Empire in fiction](/wiki/Category:Mughal_Empire_in_fiction "Category:Mughal Empire in fiction")
- [Novels by Kim Stanley Robinson](/wiki/Category:Novels_by_Kim_Stanley_Robinson "Category:Novels by Kim Stanley Robinson")
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- [Novels about reincarnation](/wiki/Category:Novels_about_reincarnation "Category:Novels about reincarnation")
- [Religion in science fiction](/wiki/Category:Religion_in_science_fiction "Category:Religion in science fiction")
- [Novels set in India](/wiki/Category:Novels_set_in_India "Category:Novels set in India")

Hidden categories:

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