While it was published almost ten years before Robinson's acclaimed Mars trilogy and takes place in an alternate version of the future, Icehenge contains elements that should be familiar to readers of the Mars series. Extreme human longevity, Martian revolution, historical revisionism, and shifts between primary characters are all present in Icehenge.
Icehenge is part mystery, part psychological drama, and is set in three distinct time-periods. The story takes place during the time period from a failed Martian revolution of 2248, to an expedition to explore a mysterious monument on the north pole of Pluto three centuries later, and ultimately to a space station orbiting Saturn, home to a reclusive and wealthy woman who may hold the key to solving a mystery spanning centuries.
- See also : Kim Stanley Robinson