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From the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a queer sci-fi novel about an Earth refugee and a Mars politician who fake marry to save their reputations—and their planet. In the wake of environmental catastrophe, January, once a principal in London’s Royal Ballet, has become a refugee on Tharsis, the terraformed colony on Mars. In Tharsis, January’s life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger—a person whose body is not adjusted to Mars’s lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January’s job choices, housing, and even transportation options are dictated by this second-class status, and now a xenophobic politician named Aubrey Gale is running on a platform that would make it all worse: Gale wants all Earthstrongers to be surgically naturalized, a process that can be anything from disabling to deadly. When Gale chooses January for an on-the-spot press junket interview that goes horribly awry, January’s life is thrown into chaos, but Gale’s political fortunes are damaged, too. Gale proposes a solution to both their problems: a five-year made-for-the-press marriage that would secure January’s financial future without naturalization and ensure Gale’s political future. But when January accepts the offer, he discovers that Gale is not at all like they appear in the press. And worse, soon, January finds himself entangled in political and personal events well beyond his imagining. Gale has an enemy, someone willing to destroy all of Tharsis to make them pay—and January may be the only person standing in the way.
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0**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**
Actual rating: 4.5
Natasha Pulley's newest novel, The Mars House, is a scifi novel that imagines Earth post climate catastrophe whereupon settlers built a colony on Mars. Our story takes place several generations after initial settlement of Mars. Readers follow ballet dancer January as he becomes a refugee bound for Tharsis, the Martian colony. Because of the gravitational difference, it is dangerous for someone to be Earthstrong. When January has a public disagreement with Martian Senator Aubrey Gale about how to address the problems with Earthstrong-related accidental deaths, a series of events is set in motion culminating in a political arranged marriage between the pair.
I fully understand why this book is getting mixed reception. It's scifi by way of literary fiction with similar vibes to KM Szpara's Docile, but the arranged marriage tropes and political maneuvering of Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit. For me, this is a thing that worked. The messaging, like the messaging in Docile, was heavy handed. But it wasn't less effective for me based on the parallels with real life being obvious. Likewise, there are bread crumbs laid out for the reader leading to each twist. But I also don't feel the moves the plot makes are less effective for being transparent.
I loved the representations of queerness in the Martian agender society with Gale themself being agender. I loved the arguments presented about the varieties of strength that people need to be conscious of in their actions. The linguistic details were a big win for me as well. Due to the nature of Gale as a person and the situation they and January are in, the reader is kept a bit emotionally distant from them which did keep me from giving the full 5 stars.
Overall, I very much enjoyed my time with The Mars House and look forward to exploring Pulley's backlist.
0Thank you to goodreads for sending me an advanced copy!
Wow, what a wild journey in such a good way. After a bit of a slow start I was hooked all the way through.
I did guess most pieces of the big twist but that was because the author did a good job of foreshadowing without being too heavy handed. That being said though, you have to just go on trust and vibes about some of the world building.
The characters were fascinating. I am not sure I really liked any of them but they all had very strong personalities and opinions. And tbh I don’t really care about likable characters, as long as they are interesting.
Also loved the footnotes, one of the footnotes even had another footnote.
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