Mercury: the only characters in this novel are white men. Everyone else is othered out of humanity and into crass props for an incredibly mediocre sci-fi tale. The casual sexism and racism make it jaw dropping that this book was published in 2006. Seriously, Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles contains female characters with more depth and believable motivations. It is not the first Ben Bova story I have read but it will likely be the last.