In Moving Mars Bear employs a firstperson narrator, Casseia. The novel traces the maturation of Casseia, paralleled by that of a politically united Mars. The identities of both converge, at the end, in a final stand for self-determination. Woven in also is a telling of the gradual and essential unification of science with politics, embodied in the characters of Casseia and Charles.

Bear manages to create a believable future Mars by accompanying dialogue and action with physical descriptions extrapolated from current scientific knowledge of the planet, and by lacing the plot by recognizable political concepts and intrigues. Important to believability, as well, are such inventions of Bear as the slang used by Orianna and her young companions, the characteristic moral observations attributed to Casseia. Bear is noted for his stunning extrapolations from current scientific theories, his intricate plots and broad, sweeping visions. As a science fiction writer, he...