Review by Lorelei
Oct 21, 2024The Martian Contingency is an easy 5 stars, no question. You might call me biased because Kowal has been a favorite ever since I read her Glamourist Histories (which, if you like historical fantasy romance, are a must-read). I’d assert it’s not bias – I just have great taste in books. ;)
The Lady Astronaut series is a scientifically accurate alternate history; in 1952 a meteorite strikes Earth and causes widespread devastation. Humanity is going to have to find a new home or risk extinction as the climate is irreparably altered. Enter Dr. Elma York, calculator and pilot, who becomes “The Lady Astronaut” - the reluctant face of the space program as women become an integral part of the effort.
In the Martian Contingency we join Elma and her husband as they arrive at the Martian colony. Things SEEM to be going well, but there are troubling signs that something bad happened during the first Martian settlement, and everyone is hiding it from her. Was it sabotage? Was it something worse? (Oh, it was so much worse.)
Elma’s a perfect protagonist because she’s so far from perfect, and this book has a great plot with a quiet, building tension set against political and human drama. Kowal has a real talent for balancing hard science with societal issues and deeply human stories.
There IS a lot of jargon, I’m a fan of this and it’s obvious she did extensive research and spent time with real life astronauts to get everything correct. But even if technobabble isn’t your thing, I think the plot and the characters are engaging enough to hold your interest and you really need this series in your life.
So, yeah. Do you like hard scifi or alternate history? Do you like stories of kickass women changing the world together? The Martian Contingency is out on March 18, so you’ve got time to pick up the other 3 books (and several short stories!) starting with The Calculating Stars.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an early copy of this book for my honest opinion.
The Martian Contingency is an easy 5 stars, no question. You might call me biased because Kowal has been a favorite ever since I read her Glamourist Histories (which, if you like historical fantasy romance, are a must-read). I’d assert it’s not bias – I just have great taste in books. ;)
The Lady Astronaut series is a scientifically accurate alternate history; in 1952 a meteorite strikes Earth and causes widespread devastation. Humanity is going to have to find a new home or risk extinction as the climate is irreparably altered. Enter Dr. Elma York, calculator and pilot, who becomes “The Lady Astronaut” - the reluctant face of the space program as women become an integral part of the effort.
In the Martian Contingency we join Elma and her husband as they arrive at the Martian colony. Things SEEM to be going well, but there are troubling signs that something bad happened during the first Martian settlement, and everyone is hiding it from her. Was it sabotage? Was it something worse? (Oh, it was so much worse.)
Elma’s a perfect protagonist because she’s so far from perfect, and this book has a great plot with a quiet, building tension set against political and human drama. Kowal has a real talent for balancing hard science with societal issues and deeply human stories.
There IS a lot of jargon, I’m a fan of this and it’s obvious she did extensive research and spent time with real life astronauts to get everything correct. But even if technobabble isn’t your thing, I think the plot and the characters are engaging enough to hold your interest and you really need this series in your life.
So, yeah. Do you like hard scifi or alternate history? Do you like stories of kickass women changing the world together? The Martian Contingency is out on March 18, so you’ve got time to pick up the other 3 books (and several short stories!) starting with The Calculating Stars.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an early copy of this book for my honest opinion.
