Home :: Books :: Science Fiction & Fantasy  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Moving Mars : A Novel

Moving Mars : A Novel

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 >>

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Disappointing, considering that this book had won some awards - must have been a slow year for SF! While the storyline itself was interesting, it could have used some additional sparks - never seemed to really take off like some of Bear's other works.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More great Bear
Review: I guess I'll add my praises for Moving Mars, or should I say, for Casseia Majumdar, the first leader of a new nation under seige. I thought characters and plot were well developed; the book built to a wonderful crescendo that had me turning the last 100 pages in one sitting. The sequence of the actual moving of Mars--the thought processes, the emotions of awe and fear, the description of the undescribable and unexplicable--was absolutely stunning. And unlike some reviewers, I thought the beginning was not slow, but a necessary development of the world, the people, the events, and the person that made the book truly enriching. I was also quite moved by the poignancy of the somewhat unexpected (and likely realistic) ending. In many respects, a perfect read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mondo Bizarro! Man, you gotta read this.
Review: Okay, so the beginning parts of the book seem like average, ordinary college life...on mars...two centuries in the future...during a period of political unrest, so okay it's not ordinary at all, except compared to the rest of the book. It starts getting really absolutely off the wall when the main character takes her new job, (won't tell you what it is, cause it might ruin it for ya), but let me just say that before I read this book, I thought 'tweak' was that powder you snorted that made you go apesh*t insane with hyperactivity. You'll be more appreciative of how bizarre this book is if I don't hint at anything too deeply, just know it's more than worth it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Above average science fiction
Review: This book was more interesting in the last 100 or so pages than elsewhere. I found the parts on Martian life and the physics of the basis of the plot to be borderline fantasy. However, nanotechnology was included and covered rather nicely as a backdrop to the times. For a book that is much 'harder' science fiction, read MARS by Ben Bova, but this novel does not include nanotech, and to me not including nanotechnology in a science fiction novel today is a major mistake! For a near term SF novel that includes nanotech read the excellent THE FIRST IMMORTAL by James Halperin.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Slow Start.....Strong Finish!
Review: Initially, Moving Mars is a ponderous story of a young woman's sojourn into adulthood and her career. However about mid-point in the story, Bear picks up the plot pace and the science, writing on the level of Robinson technically and higher in story line. Strong characters are weakened by the slow start, but they come on strong and realistically later. The wrap up is a bit convenient, but still believable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It is a masterpiece and an inspiration.
Review: Moving Mars is a masterpiece. It shows futuristic Mars like an oppressed child and Earth as the overpowering mother. Cassesia is a wonderful narrator and her adventures will keep you spellbound. In the end her adventures as first president of Mars seem tragic until you read the epilogue. This is a must read book.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Impressed....
Review: I gave this book 2 stars because Greag Bear is a fantastic writer. He is excellent with complex story lines and characters. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book at all. I found the first 300 pages boring (i can't believe i made it through the book!). I dont understand how such an interesting plot can be written in such a "blah" manner. Well, I'm glad I read Blood Music before Moving Mars or I would have never read it. LOVED that book! One more thing, the main reason I dont think I enjoyed this book is I don't feel he writes women (or at least Cassiea) very well.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read the whole damn thing
Review: The guy above who says you should skip the first 200 pages is stupid. He says this because all the heavy-duty science stuff happens in the second half of the book, but the first half of the book is wonderful. It's a refreshing change to see a SF book that is more concerned (initially) with characters and with the everyday lives of people living on another planet in the far future. Bear not only does this very well, but he also manages to create a believable female narrator who is not a stereotype (Heinlein). Bravo!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A slow start but a helluvan ending
Review: I'm a fan of Bear, and fell in love with the Eon series. This book IMO is one of the starting points for that universe. In MM we have the genesis of humans transforming themselves set amidst a political story.

The protagonist Cassiea, starts out as a confused teen and grows to become a major player in Mars politics, along the way she makes mistakes, and learns from them as we all do. To me this makes her realistic, as opposed to other authors whose characters can do no wrong and seem to be able to get out of any situation with little or no emotional damage/growth.

I have to wonder if the Mars at the end of this book is in reality the Lamarkia of Bear's other book Legacy. The Ecos is there, just not the humans that were on Mars to begin with. If so I can see another story or so here.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For a good sci-fi story, start in the middle.....
Review: "Hugo Award Nominee" and "Greg Bear" gave me very high hopes for this story. Unfortunately I was not immediately impressed.

The first half of the story is devoted too much towards development of uninteresting characters, instead of science-fiction. After forcing myself to read 200 (of 500) pages, I completely gave up and didn't resume for several months. Once I started reading again, it grabbed my attention after about another 50 pages. From that point on, the story redeemed itself with some interesting science-fiction and comments on the frailties of the human psyche.

The second half is pretty good sci-fi... but only if you can get through the first half.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates