Bova wants to make a comparison between the two worlds by placing a village that resembles terrestrial dwelings. Bova throws in some interesting true facts about mars along the way.

Some of the characters fit the role of villain a bit too neatly, but otherwise this is an excellent, thought-provoking journey. My only criticisms of this book are that it kind of drags in the middle. A minor point is the devices used to heighten the ...  Read More

Mars is part of ben bova's grand tour series which explores most of our solar system's planets, as well as a few moons and the asteroid belt. The interpersonal melodrama is standard bova and helps carry the story.

This is the book that got me started on scifi about 8 years ago.

What really enraged me was that a character description in the book lied about one professional who is enraged and plots to make the protagonist pay for ruining his life's dream to study the martian volcanoes. The medical mystery that marks the turnin...  Read More

The only female high-ranking official is a cutthroat b! Bova knows nothing about navajo culture, so he feels free to substitute a pretty odd mix of pan-southwestern indian characteristics that are pretty well both banal and cliché.

What a pig ignorant writer. The characters are cardboard. I find it disturbing that so few readers seem to be bothered by the constant racist and misogynistic comments by and about several key characters.