Review: Moving Mars

Redworlder Review Rating: 4.5/5

  This is my first book review for this blog. My intention is to focus primarily on Mars books, and write everything (including the synopsis) so that it's as clear and accurate for my fellow SciFi book lovers.

    Casseia Majumdar gives us an account of the most critical time in her life and human history. She traces the course of events that lead her from being a model "govmanagement" student to a starry-eyed revolutionary to a seasoned politician, appropriately terrified for the future of her planet. 

    We see Mars and Martian society through a number of perspectives, as Casseia's understanding of Mars (and Earth) deepens and evolves tremendously throughout the book.

    She belongs to one of the more powerful family syndicates that have traditionally managed a compartmentalized society on Mars, and we discover the many individual and partisan opinions of what the political future of Mars should be. 

    Casseia's personal development runs in parallel with that of Martian society as a whole. They both must learn to take on the immense responsibility of change with maturity and courage, a challenge Mars has so far avoided by its commitment to self reliance and independence.

    Earth's answer to avoiding the danger is unity, and the clash between the societies' insoluble approaches are leading humanity to the edge. Earth simply can't trust Mars with independence anymore, and unity would effectively mean the end of Martian society.

    Meanwhile, there are those who are in awe of Mars's past and the scale of what we have left to understand about the universe. Casseia is attracted, and intimidated, by the power of Charles Franklin's vision of Mars and reality.

    However, she isn't prepared to surrender herself or her planet to change on the wrong terms. Casseia must find a way for humanity to adapt to its newly found powers without sacrificing its soul.

  Pros:

• Excellent interplanetary dichotomy. Earth versus Mars in terms of politics, society, and science is very distinct and fascinating.
• Intricate but accessible history, cultural backgrounds, and geography on Mars. The story of ancient life on Mars is not central to the story's conflict, but it features prominently in the lives of key individuals. The fact that it's not at the center of the conflict actually serves the credibility of the richly imagined ecosystem.
• Well defined characters, for the most part. With the exception of a certain group of individuals which are basically interchangeable, the key players are recognizable and likable.
• Meaningful purpose. The contrast of life on Earth versus Mars, and their conflict, illustrates a very real problem we actually have to confront. Human-changing technologies won't wait for us to be ready for them, and they won't arrive one at a time. We can't guarantee unity, and we can't guarantee trust between empowered independent groups in reach of each other. If we don't take on appropriate levels of responsibility for the extreme power that will be available to us in the coming decades and centuries - it could well mean the end for humanity.

  Cons:

• You can't just get by on the characters, this story was meant to be appreciated for its politics and setting.
• Unless you're into geography, you might get tired of all the (impressive) attention to detail concerning real world places on Mars. The descriptions of landscapes are fantastic, assuming you're enthralled by alien deserts.
• Be prepared to be pulled around quite a bit, physically and theoretically. The shift between very different locations could be jarring, as well as the mind-boggling ideas embraced late in the book.

  Final Word:

    If you're tired of swimming through mediocre books on Mars, here's an excellent find for you. The characters are endearing and do their work, but you'll be most satisfied if you've come to explore. You'll discover some impressive ideas, and a settled Mars you'll grow thoroughly at home with.

Get it from Amazon today, and enjoy!