As a fairly regular reader of science-fiction, I had seen many of Greg Bear’s novels on the shelves at my local library. I can be rather narrow-minded when it comes to exploring new authors. I vaguely recall having read at least one other Greg Bear novel; so long ago I don’t even remember the title. My local library has a very limited selection of science fiction available and I had pretty much exhausted all the novels by authors I regularly read. I’m glad I did choose the book; it was an enjoyable and thought provoking read.The novel centers around the life of Casseia Majumdar, at a point in future history when colonies have long been established on the Moon, and the colonies established on Mars are at a crucial turning point in their development. It is the mid 22nd century, and the Martian colonies are just beginning to flex their muscles. All of the existing technology on Mars is of Earth origin, but Mars has begun to develop it’s own new technologies; technologies that go beyond what humankind thought possible. Into this world Casseia is born. Written as if it were her memoir, the novel takes the reader through Casseia’s life, chronicling her life as she grows from timid college student to confident world leader. As her life story unfolds, the reader is exposed to Casseia’s world, a world where the Earth’s economy dominates both the Moon and Mars’ economies. Casseia finds herself at the focal point of the Martian colonies’ desire for unification and independence, devoting her entire life to what seems to many as an unobtainable dream. The plot moved slowly at first, the author taking at least the first half of the book’s 400 plus pages to fully outline and develop the solar system’s political system as well as a completely credible Martian archeological history. The solar system’s political system and economy has the earth at its center, interacting with the economies of Mars (a loosely affiliated group of fiercely independent colonies) and the Moon (whose economy the Earth almost completely controls). Mars’s archeological history is detailed and complete, a rich fossil history of plant and animal life that many scientists suspect may not be dead but simply dormant. As the plot progresses, the two histories are threaded together to create a very real backdrop on which the story can unfold. Although this extensive background history slows the progression of the plot until well into the novel, it is necessary groundwork for the story’s climax and eventual conclusion. Moving Mars took me at least half again as long to read as a book of it’s length usually does, primarily because of the sizable portion of the novel devoted to “situation development”. I didn’t find the book an easy read, but the rich deep story development and the beautifully constructed conclusion made the read well worthwhile.The science of Bear’s future was also seamless and quite plausible. The reader is drawn into a future filled with magnetic levitation trains that crisscross the Martian surface; self-aware “thinker” computers are utilized as super intelligent advisors; implanted intelligence or knowledge “enhancements” are routine. A future science called nanotechnology, utilizing molecule-sized machines to build, inspect or repair, is commonplace. All this science and more are woven into the fabric of the story in such a way that it invisibly strengthens and reinforces the plot.To me, Moving Mars was an exploration into the “growing pains” a budding planetary colony might face as it grew from mere colony to independent intity. The problems it might experience as it sought to “break the bonds” that bound it to the Earth’s political system and economy. Characters were there to humanize the drama. I didn’t often empathize with the characters. Took on more of a historical re-enactment sort of flavor. The characters did come alive for me, but I felt as if they were sort of peripheral to the future history being told. If you prefer a fast paced novel, Moving Mars may not be for you. The book takes a long time to come to its climax. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book. I felt that the time taken to lay out all the material and the rich tapestry it created when woven all together made the read much more enjoyable in the end. If you enjoy a good thought provoking novel, I heartily recommend Moving Mars.
In the front of the book, the publisher printed excerpts from several reviews. One said, "After a deceptively slow start in which Mr. Bear sows the seeds of his piquant premise..."I guess it was "deceptive" in that briefly it seemed like the story would be about a political movement on Mars, then for a significant section it seemed as it it might be a personal drama with the Martian colony as a backdrop, then is seemed... There are a few background elements which have some relevance later in the book, but which I didn't feel needed to be described at such length. The protagonist meets a man at an event which is referred to later, but the connection didn't seem to require in-depth detail of the event. We learn how the protagonists become friends, briefly are lovers, and then go their separate ways. Much later, the two must work together, but the particulars of their past relationship doesn't seem to play such a large role in the later interactions that we needed all the gory details. The result is a book of 450 to 500 pages (depending on edition). Of course, what seems like details which are unneeded by the story, will probably be seen as bonuses by more character-oriented readers.Perhaps, I've read too many space-colony-wants-independence-from-Earth stories to fully appreciate one more. To me, the part of the story which made the book more noteworthy was the part about a scientific advance which was a double-edged sword in the ways it could potentially be used, and therefore caused fear and conflict. Imagine a world where Einstein's development of the theory of special relativity in 1905 provided any affluent country on Earth the capability to build nuclear weapons in 1906. What would the world powers of 1905 have done if they started to suspect German physics experiments were putting them ahead in understanding the implications of relativity? England and France might have carried out what they viewed as a preemptive strike against Germany. Or imagine, in a few years, how other nations will respond when another country is at the threshold of creating the first full AI or nano assemblers or large scale antimatter production or... How do we advance science, yet not have such fears lead to unnecessary conflicts? Unfortunately, the book doesn't suggest solutions which could be used in the case of most scientific breakthroughs.Moving Mars has a variety of elements. It also speculates about life which existed on Mars long ago, and whether it could be revived under the right conditions. This is not a major part of the book, so it should not make or break the book.Most readers just accept what a novel tells them and don't question how realistic it is. Readers who do not take a novel's premises on faith may find a number of issues. Mars is depicted as having a number of independent colonies which were not created by nations, huge corporations or billionaires, but there's no explanation how small groups could afford and implement this. There also seemed to be inconsistencies on how we are told the physics breakthrough could be implemented. Sometimes the scientists and machines had to be on-site to do something, sometimes they could be far away. Sometimes they could do something with a small object, sometimes it had to be a huge object. Other examples might involve spoilers.
What do You think about Moving Mars (2007)?
Very good science fiction! I didn't fully grasp the notion of 'Hard Sci-fi' until this book. I had heard the term but it didn't to describe sci-fi books I had read. After reading this book, I came to understand the term and realize that most or all of the sci-fi I have read up till now would be considered 'soft sci-fi'. WHile the story is pretty good, the science is what makes it great. It is rare that I feel awed at an authors depth and breadth of knowledge, but I often found myself feeling that way about Greg Bear while reading this book. One of the best sci-fi books I have read. An inventive and scientifically informed speculation on how we might be living in the next few hundred years. I recommend this to anyone who loves sci-fi and anyone who especially enjoys thinking the details of how human beings will be living in the not too distant future.As other reviewers had mentioned, the book starts out slow, I had even stopped reading it for a while about 60 pages in but eventually picked it back up and was grateful I did. It takes at least 120 pages for the momentum to get started and even then another 50 pages or more till I was really hooked, but after that it snowballs in terms of goodness.
—Christopher
Meh. The first third of this book is near unreadable. If you can struggle through that it opens up into a fast paced political thriller with some rather insane physics assumptions baked in. The main conflict of the book revolves around the concepts of mutually assured destruction, colonialism, and game theory. The problem is that it's just about bonkers. For a hard sci-fi book it had some problematic assumptions. It didn't help that I hated one of the main characters.If you want to read a good Mars colonization/political thriller go read Red Mars. You'll have more fun and learn more.
—Chris
Sounds pretty sweet. I'm liking what I'm reading so far in his short works.You might want to give a look over at "Red Mars" and "Green Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson. It also takes on the early settlement, government and political/economic fallout of Mars, heightened as succeeding generations knowing nothing of Earth are born and develop their own code of Martian life.
—Mk
