This one I wish I had gotten to sooner. Thank you Saga press and netgalley. What a weird wild ride like a science fiction western crossover with the best elements of both. Will definitely read more from this author

Ballingrud is a new force! I absolutely loved his novella collection "Wounds" and I was so excited that his debut novel would be a sci-fi thriller set on mars. This was absolutely fantastic and I'm excited for his next one!

"The Strange' was a sci-fi western with horror elements. As a sci-fi fan, this novel was a fresh take on the genre Americans living on Mars. Anabelle Crisp wants to aqvenge her father's death. She ran a small diner with him after her mother's death. People used to travel back and forth from earth. No one knows if earth still exists. As a result, Mars is short on supplies. People are alone and scared. After the diner is robbed and her father is killed, she seeks out to avenge his death and get what was stolen.

The story was a real page turner. I really enjoyed the mystery involving "the strange', the substance at the center of the Mars-Earth before the silence. I needed a little more from the ending. After so mcuh build-up, I felt the wnding was a bit rushed.

Truly a work that is standing alone this year STILL, I can’t stop thinking about this! Low key a best book of the year

The author totally nailed a western feel in this story of a teen girl living on Mars in 1931. When her family diner is robbed and something important is stolen, Anabelle goes to get it back and get revenge.

Anabelle is impulsive, and often hard to like. But she fit in with the strange landscape. And horrific things are happening on Mars. The people she enlists for her quest - a scared drunk pilot, a tough-as-nails woman fit perfectly with the Western feel.

There is very little detail about how people got to Mars, what has happened to isolate the colony from earth, and how people are surviving. But for people who enjoy stories like True Grit, or who like some horror mixed in with their science fiction, this book should be a winner.

Do you love True Grit (the remake, obviously. I’m not an animal) but wouldn’t be mad if it had some Ghosts of Mars flair? Hard same.

The Strange is about to be your best friend, my dude. It has all the things. A girl on a quest for vengeance. It has crotchety adults. Ghosts. IT HAS MARS.

I’m sure by now that Ballingrud is sick half to death of TG comparisons, but…also maybe not? Because there are definite shades of it here. Anabelle is basically a dead ringer for Mattie Ross. And her story isn’t too terribly different either. But what is different is the seemingly bizarre, but in reality totally perfect mix-ins of Mars and ghosts. And lessons on the way we humans treat the lands that sustain us. And the natives of that land. You know – ‘Murrica.

I don’t know what to say, folks – I think The Strange is absolutely wonderful. The pacing is damned near perfect, and the main characters feel well developed. And the story overall will grab you and not let go til the very end.

*This review goes live on my website June 7 at 10:30 AM CST.

THE STRANGE by Nathan Ballingrud

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: North American Lake Monsters, WOUNDS

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/9781534449954

Release Date: March 21st, 2023

General Genre: Science Fiction, “Space Opera”, Western, Alternative History, Horror

Sub-Genre/Themes: Family, young female protagonists, revenge, coming-of-age, grief & loss, quest/mission, robots/AI, friendhsip, community/colonies

Writing Style: Very character-driven, compelling, accessible narrative, strong voice

What You Need to Know: Establishing time & place is important. This is an alternate history story that takes place during the 1930s in and around a colony stranded on Mars. So it’s good to know this is not futuristic just because it is set in space and the technology has afforded mankind a life on Mars. The people and the vibe is still very much from a past era which lends itself perfectly to the Western flavor. So the expectation here is, a 1930s era TRUE GRIT, coming-of-age, Weird Western set on Mars. Plenty of horror elements too.

My Reading Experience: This book reads like a movie. It is effortlessly cinematic. Ballingrud is a master wordsmith crafting an entire, complex alternate history but packaging it in such a way the reader can just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Typically, I get frustrated by the laborious mechanics of science fiction. The “sciency” part can sometimes bog down the story or distract me from investing in the characters. Ballingrud takes a cue from Bradbury by downplaying technical aspects and focusing more on human interactions. This doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of questions racing through my mind. I was still wondering “how” and “why” but the story answers all of these in its own good timing. There aren’t big, annoying info-dumps or long passages of exposition. The characters, primarily the lead, fourteen-year-old, Annabelle Crisp, drives the story with one, clear objective: Something valuable was stolen from her family, her father is in jail as a result, and she will take back what is rightfully theirs no matter the cost.

Everything that happens to Annabelle along the way, the people she meets, the situations she finds herself in, all come together to serve the story…the main character’s objective. It’s this simple, Western-style agenda, that makes this book so easy to read. All I wanted to do is see Annabelle through to the end of her mission. To find out what happens. It’s an amazing journey filled with so much emotion, and suspense, and just a general feeling of awe. Ballingrud’s imagination just explodes on the page.
I especially loved Watson, the robot. I mean, I’ll confess: I’m a sucker for a young kid with a sidekick…a horse, a fog, a robot, whatever…I’m here for it.

Final Recommendation: I was already a huge Nathan Ballingrud fan. His short stories send me! Now, after reading his debut novel, I can say he is an insta-buy author. Everything he releases will have a home on my bookshelves.

Comps: True Grit by Charles Portis, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Strange is oddly evocative of Heinlein, which is one of the most potent praises I can bestow. In it we encounter Anabelle Crisp who takes us on a journey of self-discovery with some unique individuals accompanying her. We get a new perspective on a possible future Mars, one which is going through a perilous time because all contact with Earth has been cut off and the Terrans on Mars are in the process of discovering if they truly are self-sufficient. With that backdrop Ballingrud tells a poignant tale of discovery, emotional growth, and perseverance.

9 out of 10

Nathan Ballingrud proves once again why he is one of the best writers of the weird and the strange.
As a fan of his short fiction, he transitions flawlessly to the longform. One of the best reads of the year no matter what comes next.

What can we say about Ballingrud's work? He's supreme. One of the best around, period. This is a book set on Mars, about a girl named Annabelle out for revenge. Ballingrud brings us deep into this plot, a web of pure beauty as he details the bizarre fascination of mars. He delivers fear of the unknown, a brilliantly unfolding plot and sterling characterization.

It's a truly fascinating tale and Ballingrud remains a fantastic writer.

Wow. Really enjoyed this book by Nathan Ballingrud. First time, and will need to read more from him. This story had great and well developed characters. It also had a great plot, with great pacing. Kind of a mix of genres too, which I really like (when done well, and this was done well).

This is definitely one of the weirder books that I have accepted for review lately. Space-western with a splash of horror anyone? It's impossible to describe and took me a bit to get into, but I'm glad I held on.

This book is set in New Galveston - Mars! Yes, Mars the planet. Anabelle Crisp is a 14 year old trying to live her life. When shipments and communications from Earth stop, the planet seems stuck. Then Silas Mundt's gang attack.. Will the world be better, or is this the end?

It's been a while since a book took me so completely out of reality and into a completely different place. The Strange did this so well. I loved that though the main character was flawed, she wasn't the typical child brat like in many stories. The setting was amazing but I wish we had learned more about the Strange. I think that the author tried to explain everything but by the end I was still a bit confused. If you love books set in other worlds with strong characters and a mysterious plot, this book is great and I think you will love this book. Excellent read!

When I saw that THE STRANGE was available from NetGalley, I requested it right away. Ever since I read NORTH AMERICAN LAKE MONSTERS, I've been meaning to return to Nathan Ballingrud's work, and now I'm finally here!

On Mars, young Annabelle Crisp seeks to avenge her father. Together, they run a small diner- ever since Annabelle's mom returned to Earth. Then came The Silence. People would travel back and forth to Earth all the time, but now no one has heard from Earth in a long, long time. No one knows what happened or if the Earth even still exists. As a result, Mars is short on supplies; people are hungry and afraid. After her father's diner was robbed, a murder was committed and Annabelle's dad was arrested. She sets out with another loner to retrieve what was stolen and to hold accountable those responsible. Will she be successful? Will she be able to free her father? What happened to Earth? You will have to read this to find out!

Of course the first thing that popped into my mind was True Grit. I finally read the book last year and that young lady was on my mind the entire time I was reading THE STRANGE. Even though this book takes place on a different planet, this feels more like a western than science fiction. I had a lot of questions about the science and how these people were breathing on Mars, but this story doesn't get very heavy with the science at all. I think I might have preferred to know a bit more about how those settlers got there, but I also think that would have been a much longer book.

What I did like was Annabelle and her growth throughout the story. Even though she lives on Mars and is currently motherless, she's actually kind of spoiled. As she insisted on pursuing the robbers, she becomes more and more aware of what she was risking and what she was causing other people to risk on her behalf. In that respect, this is more of a coming of age story than anything else.

I loved the world building and would have enjoyed more of it, however, (again), I'm sure that would have been a much longer book. There's also an alternative history here, because this all takes place in 1931. Yep, that's right-1931. On Mars.

All of this was enough to keep me reading, though I did think that the denouement felt rushed. Everything wound up quickly and many questions remain unanswered. If there is going to be another book, I'm here for it, but as a stand alone this left me feeling a bit...unsatisfied.

Overall though, I enjoyed the ideas, the world building and most of all, the characters. After mulling it over, I ended up with a rating of 3.5/5 but I've rounded it up for Goodreads because they still haven't given us the option of half stars.

Recommended!

*Thanks to Gallery/Saga Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

Humans inhabit Mars in the 1930s. Fourteen year old Anabelle is one of a group of settlers from Earth who formed a colony called New Galveston. Annabelle and her dad, Sam working in the diner is robbed by a group of men led by Silas. The robbers take a recording of Anabelle’s mother who is now earthbound can can’t be contacted as a mysterious phe­nomenon called The Silence. Pressure rises over the following days, and things spiral out of control when Sam is arrested for defending himself against miners, killing one of them. Anabelle and her docile Kitchen Engine/dishwasher/robot Watson goes with Anabelle’s journey to reclaim her mother’s recording. Danger abounds in the form of War Engines, ghosts and other strangers taken over by the Strange. The Strange has an unde­fined purpose. One thing is certain about it, however: it affects the psychological makeup of those exposed to it. The personalities of people, and even robots, have become dis­torted – their once familiar personalities now ranging between the known and the atypical. Will she get her mother’s recording? Will she survive her journey and make it home?

The author has written a novel that reminds me of old fashioned science fiction and westerns, yet it doesn’t seem outdated but fresh and new. I enjoyed this page-turner. It is a horror science fiction novel.

It's 1931 and the settlers of Mars have lost contact with Earth. This leads to upheaval among the population and most of all for Annabelle, a teen whose mother has left the planet and whose father owns the diner which has been the epicenter of the problems.

Happy THE STRANGE Day! I loved this book. I am so happy I decided to request it on netgalley without knowing much about it at all. That’s always the best when you take a chance on a random (to you) book and it pays off.

THE STRANGE takes place on a settlement on Mars in 1931 just after all contact with Earth had been suddenly severed. 14 year old Annabelle Crisp lives with her father and spends her time working in their family diner. One night, they’re robbed by Silas Mundt and his gang. After the robbery, Annabelle realizes that Silas has stolen a very precious item and embarks on a quest across the dangerous landscape of mars with a drunken space pilot, a kitchen robot, and a very tough woman who lives outside the law.

I’ve never read anything like this book before. It has elements of sci-fi, supernatural horror, the wild west meets steampunk - it’s a wild ride. This is such an entertaining and captivating story. Ballingrud writes beautifully and even though the book follows at teenager, it very much feels like a coming of age book written for adults. I would not say that this is YA at all and it’s not marketed as such.

I received an ARC of this book from Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. This review will not contain any spoilers.

While I am a big fan of Westerns on the screen, I've never felt any particular interest in seeking them out on the page. Still, when I read an excerpt of The Strange on Tor.com, I was immediately reminded of the Coen brothers' classic film True Grit (2010). When the blurb for the book mentioned it as well, I decided to get a jump-start on the release date next week and went looking for this advance copy. What I found was a compelling story that ended up drifting a little too far from its initial promise for my taste, but still kept me engaged for a weekend and brought some of the classic Western elements to a new setting.

Annabelle Crisp is not quite a ringer for True Grit's Mattie Ross (if you haven't seen True Grit, stop reading this review and go watch it! Nobody does dialogue better than the Coen brothers, and Hailee Steinfeld knocks it out of the park), but the opening chapters certainly seemed to follow in the same footsteps. But while Mattie's motivation is kept off-screen--when she is introduced, her father is dead and she's seeking revenge, while The Strange opens with the robbery of the Crisps' diner--this novel chooses instead to dwell on the consequences of that inciting incident rather than immediately sending Belle out into the frontierlands. This introspective, emotionally tense section was the highlight of the book for me, and did not shy away from the loneliness and fear that pervaded frontier life. Setting the book on Mars, further from any other human settlements than anyone in the Old West by orders of magnitude, and adding to that the loss of communication with Earth, created an internal claustrophobia that paired well with the openness of the Martian landscape. Belle's mother, returned to Earth just before contact was lost, is nevertheless an animating force for her, and even more so for her father, who clings to memories of a wife he cannot admit he will never see again. Seeing his descent into isolation after the diner robbery--becoming just as absent as Belle's mother, and even more painfully so for still being around--was a painful read, but a worthwhile one. Keeping him alive and around, a clear departure from the usual Western quest for revenge, surprised me given that I was expecting almost a straight True Grit retelling, but I was glad for the choice.

Ballingrud's Mars is a planet haunted by memories. He introduces this theme early with Belle's mother, and in particular the recordings she left on her (then presumed to be temporary) return to Earth, and unspools it further as Belle ventures into the Martian desert in search of the men who robbed her diner. The landscape descriptions in the middle section of the book shine, from the crooked streets of Dig Town which change character in Belle's eyes depending on the time of day, to the open desert haunted by specters both real and imagined. After reading the book's first section I was curious to see what impact setting this Western on Mars would have, since despite a few science-fictional elements the story seemed like it could be told in the usual Earthly setting. The journey to recover the recordings of Belle's mother and find revenge for the confidence and peace of mind that was stolen with it convinced me of the benefits of the speculative elements. Melding genres gives Ballingrud the ability to put his characters' fears and foibles in the real world, and make them precisely as tangible as he wants them to be. However, these speculative elements fell a little flat for me as the book moved towards its climax. There are some plot-driven elements there that I will refrain from spoiling, but in broad strokes, I felt the book moved too far into a kind of (cosmic?) horror that took away from the rich internality of the characters it had introduced so far. One of my favorite things about a good Western is its simplicity--few characters, clear initial goals, a small set of possible obstacles. The richness in those stories comes from the interactions between the limited set of elements, which leads to interesting subversions (again, see True Grit, and how each character proves themself to be both more and less than what the audience initially expects) and unforseen interactions. Here, I felt that simplicity fell apart as the book introduced new and surprising answers to its initial questions rather than trying to close the story using only the same characters and themes it began with. Despite these narrative choices, the ultimate conclusion felt in keeping with the first chapters, and made me glad I'd forged through a difficult last third to reach it.

Four out of five stars. A book of two halves (for me at least) that raised a lot of interesting questions but didn't always know how to answer them.

So, The Strange is set on Mars, which is endlessly cool. Of course, our characters are basically trapped on Mars, which is decidedly less cool, for them, but makes for a great story for us!

Let me start out with my one minor qualm about this story: I never fully got how people traveled to space so early? Like- sure I get that it is alt-history! But I wanted to know like... how? When in our world in the late nineteenth century, we were using literal horsepower still? I digress, this is probably more a "me problem" than an actual problem, so let's move along!

Annabelle is stuck on Mars with her dad, after her mother left on the last ship that had made it to Mars. They have no idea what happened to Earth, as communications went silent. It is now the 1930s, and as the days go by without communication, the folks left on Mars are getting restless and angry. Of course, that is nothing compared to those living on the outskirts: something very unsettling is going on out there, but Annabelle heads out there anyway, with a very ragtag group, to seek revenge from those who robbed her father's store and hurt him.

The story's atmosphere was beyond perfect. It absolutely evoked a fabulous cross between Martian and wild west, which is something I never knew how much I needed. Annabelle is such a wonderful character, and this novel spans her "coming of age" years. She is wonderfully complex, morally gray, and has to make a lot of very uncomfortable decisions, especially for a young woman who has lost far too much, and stands to lose even more. The side characters were equally wonderful, and also incredibly complex, well developed, and of course, morally gray as well. I also loved that the story makes some fun plays on the typical "little green men" Martian stereotype from the days of yore.

Bottom Line: There's tons of good stuff in these pages: wild-west type lawless gangs, a lovely coming of age story, the price of revenge, amazing side characters and Martian shenanigans, as well as a trove of thought provoking moments. It's a good one!