The Mars House
A Novel
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4.4 • 11 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A compulsively readable queer sci-fi novel about a marriage of convenience between a Mars politician and an Earth refugee.
Named a Best Book of 2024 by The Washington Post * Amazon * Book Riot * LitHub * Paste Magazine * HuffPost
In the wake of an environmental catastrophe, January, once a principal in London's Royal Ballet, has become a refugee in Tharsis, the terraformed colony on Mars. There, January's life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger-a person whose body is not adjusted to lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January's job choices, housing, and even transportation 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 naturalize, a process that is always disabling and sometimes 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 future without naturalization and ensure Gale's political success. But when January accepts the offer, he discovers that Gale is not at all like they appear in the press. They're kind, compassionate, and much more difficult to hate than January would prefer. As their romantic relationship develops, the political situation worsens, and January discovers 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.
Un-put-downably immersive and utterly timely, Natasha Pulley's new novel is a gripping story about privilege, strength, and life across class divisions, perfect for readers of Sarah Gailey and Tamsyn Muir.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Real-life contemporary issues like devastating environmental change, refugee policies, xenophobia, and contentious elections take on a dusty red tinge in this literary science-fiction thriller set on a colonized Mars. In a slightly distant future, the catastrophic flooding of London puts an end to January Stirling’s career as a principal dancer for the Royal Ballet. Desperate and without resources, he emigrates to Mars, where an inadvertent public insult to a powerful Senator plunges January into a maelstrom of political intrigue. You may need a scorecard to keep up with all the old-school plot twists as the senator runs for higher political office, terrorists and assassins attack, a dust storm threatens the planet’s precarious resources, and shiploads of desperate refugees from an increasingly climate-devastated Earth approach. Author Natasha Pulley puts a modern queer twist on vintage SF tropes, creating a story that’s darkly funny and absurd—but that also feels shockingly plausible and relevant.
Customer Reviews
Lovely Writing, but…
Felt rather close to Ursula K Le Guins “The Left Hand of Darkness.”