Kim Stanley Robinson is an esteemed writer of science fiction. He is best known for his Mars trilogy. He grew up in southern California and many of his novels — particularly his early Three Californias trilogy — draw on the Orange County region for inspiration. 

"We were outside the world, we didn't even own things — some clothes... This arrangement resembles the prehistoric way to live, and it therefore feels right to us, because our brains recognize it from 3 millions of years practicing it. In essence our brains grew to their current configuration in response to the realities of that life. So as a result people grow powerfully attached to that kind of life, when they get the chance to live it. It allows you to concentrate your attention on the real work, which means everything that is done to stay alive, to make things, or satisfy one's curiosity, or play. That is utopia."

– Kim Stanley Robinson, Red Mars