He explored the idea of non-Western influences creating a new culture while working on his Mars trilogy, which involved a heavy Muslim influence in a Martian colony. The Mars trilogy gave Robinson a reputation for quality of writing and a richness of detail comparable to James Michener, as well as winning him a Nebula Award for "Red Mars" (1993) and two Hugo and Locus Awards for "Green Mars" (1994) and "Blue Mars" (1996). Robinson followed the Mars trilogy with the novel "Antarctica" (1997), which won an Alex Award, and two short story collections, "The Martians" (1999) and "Vinland the Dream" (2001), before publishing "The Years of Rice and Salt".