Title: Actually tossed it out
Product review: While the science discussed in "Red Mars" is interesting in and of itself, the author goes on and on about it instead of sprinkling it throughout the text. The result reads something more like a non-fiction description of how to get to Mars, settle there, design machinery for it, etc., but doesn't present a compelling story. A compelling story is set up in Part I (Festival Night), which is all of 23 pages, but then Part II (The Voyage Out) rears its ugly, boring head.Part II introduces various characters on their way to Mars and not one of them seems especially intelligent nor highly regarded by his or her peers. One guy, a Russian, goes around spouting philosophy and calling people names like "idiot." In fact, he would have fit right in with those immature misfits relighting the sun in the movie "Sunshine." After about 80 pages of "going nowhere," I opted to pass on this version of Mars. I'll also be giving the Green and Blue versions a miss.
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