The years of rice and salt

About “The years of rice and salt”

The Years of Rice and Salt is a 2002 novel by Kim Stanley Robinson that explores an alternate history in which the Black Death killed 99 percent of Europe's population instead of a third. The story spans seven hundred years, imagining a world where the first ships to reach the New World come from China and travel west to east. The Industrial Revolution is sparked by scientific minds in India, and Buddhism and Islam become the dominant religions, while Christianity fades into history. The novel follows the lives of soldiers, kings, explorers, philosophers, slaves, and scholars across centuries, depicting the rise and fall of dynasties and the development of culture, power, and innovation. Robinson examines themes of religion, culture, and love in this reimagined world, stretching from the steppes of Asia to the shores of the Western Hemisphere.