Moving Mars treats highly topical questions of genetic engineering and biotechnological intrusion into human life which should provoke very stimulating discussions. The novel describes a proliferation, especially on Earth, of such technological and bioengineered aids as arbeiters, sims, the self-aware computers called thinkers; also nano medicine, nano architecture and various forms of personal enhancement. In this light, discussion might focus on comparisons between Earth's young people in the novel and today's youth.

Another aspect of the novel worth attention is the kind of political structure Martian Statists choose. There is an obvious resemblance in Bear's depictions to the colonial period in American history, when a relatively new, frontier society developed a constitutional government patterned on reason and enlightened democratic thought.

Consideration of Martian choices of government and morals can stimulate discussion about American values, whether they have been lost.

1. How effective is Bear in portraying Mars...