The Years of Rice and Salt - Publication and Reception

Publication and Reception

Released in March 2002, the book was published in North America by Bantam Books and in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins. The paperback was released 2003 along with a Spanish translation. In the subsequent years, other translated versions were published, in French, Polish, Chinese, and Hungarian. It won the 2003 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and was nominated for the Hugo Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the British Science Fiction Award.

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

The novel was well-received by critics who variously called it "thoughtful", "realistic", and "rich". In Publishers Weekly, the reviewers called it "highly realistic and credible alternate history" and in the School Library Journal, Christine Menefee called it "an addictive, surprising, and suspenseful novel". The Library Journal "highly recommended" it saying it its superb storytelling and imaginative historic speculation make a priority choice for all sf and general fiction collections". The critic at Kirkus Reviews found it "overlong, but blessed with moments of wry and gentle beauty". Likewise, 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". For The Globe and Mail, Sol Chrom lauded the epic scope calling it a "magnificent achievement" and for The Belfast News Letter, the reviewer called the novel "extraordinary ambitious, poetic and powerful". Science fiction critic Paul Kincaid concluded that it is "a huge, complex and highly enjoyable book".