The Mars colony of Tharsis is seven generations old. It is easy to tell who is Natural, a human born on Mars, and who is Earthstrong. Naturals are taller and thinner, built to live on a planet with a third of Earth’s gravity. Genetic modifications to help cope with the extreme cold and tech implants have become another part of everyday life. Earthstrong like January Stirling, however, have to wear special full-body “cages” to keep them from accidentally launching tools, people, and themselves, because of physical and gravitational differences. Tharsis has been divided up between areas for Naturals and the Naturalized (Earthstrong who not only underwent the punishing medical procedure to acclimatize to Mars, but also survived it) and space for Earthstrong.

January isn’t enamored of the two-tier society, but he is grateful to be alive, to have a place to live and a job to pay for the necessities. Then comes Senator Gale, waltzing in for a photo-op at the factory where January is lucky to have a job. After an unfortunate altercation where Gale’s clearly anti-Earthstrong policy ideas ram up against January’s own lived-experience of forced inequality, January suddenly finds himself whisked off to prison.

Aubrey Gale isn’t exactly anti-Earthstrong. They are just staunch in their belief that anyone as powerful as an Earthstrong on Mars ought to agree to undergo the naturalization process if they intended to stay on Mars long term. With one in two hundred sixty-seven Earthstrongers accidentally committing homicide due to gravitational differences and the impact on their bodies and movements, mandatory naturalization is for everyone’s safety. That factory worker trying to argue against facts is a challenge Gale eagerly accepts and they roundly trounce the Earthstrong. Gale enjoys the verbal spar and even lets an off-color joke about murder January aims at them slide.

The government, however, does not shrug off that unfortunate joke. Instead, the government sentences January to a stay in prison that, although brief, destroys his meager life on Mars. No longer employable, with no money and nowhere to go, January’s only option is to naturalize–the benefits being immediate citizenship on Mars and more. Just when January resigns to the idea of the procedure and the almost certainty that he will be maimed forever because of it, Senator Gale sweeps in with a mind boggling offer to rehabilitate both of their public images: marriage.

I won’t say “don’t bother reading this review, just buy the book,” but I will say “just buy the book.”

Pulley has crafted a stunning story that starts with a brief introduction to ballet principal, January Stirling, in a London whose normal is to be semi submerged, and who gets rescued from the sinking city by a Chinese ship that is taking climate refugees to Mars. The bulk of the story delves deep into the world, culture, languages, and norms of life in Tharsis. The Naturals are people who have been born on Mars and evolution has been assisted by medical upgrades that make life on Mars nothing like it was on Earth. They have their own government, language, culture, and customs. One big departure from life on most of Earth is the abolition of gender–hence anyone Natural or Naturalized goes by they/them pronouns. This went beyond language and extended into some genetic modifications to make physical gender traits far less distinguished.

Much of the plot is about Gale and January agreeing to enter into a mutually beneficial marriage contract of five years. The forced proximity gives them a chance not to simply appreciate the merits of each other’s pro- and anti-naturalization arguments, but to understand the experiences that led up to each of them having these opinions. Though there are arguments in the book, much of Gale and January’s differences in opinion play out right in the plot. For example, Gale suffered a devastating accident during a protest demonstration that left them gravely injured because of an Earthstrong person. Knowing this, once January moves into Gale’s home after the wedding, he offers Gale the key to his cage. The message is clear: only Gale can decide when they feel safe enough for January to be in their home not wearing the cage. Of course, there are reverse examples where Gale proves they can trust Earthstrong in return. Note: While I think it’s terrific fun that there is a “fake marriage” element to the story, I feel like it is just one nuanced facet amidst several other equally interesting and engaging aspects of the story.

The wind down at the end connected a lot of dots and I was thrilled to get the background behind the one scandal that Gale has a hard time shaking: the disappearance of their last consort. However, I just wished this part hadn’t felt quite so info-dumpy right before the big final resolution to the book (because this is one of those books where the drama keeps spinning even after the dust settles).

Overall, if you are looking for an engrossing space fantasy that intimately explores the idea of identities and power structures, class differences, not a little hurt-comfort and glimmers of unrequited love, and books that make you sneak in an extra chapter when honestly you just woke up at 2am to go to the bathroom, then I cannot recommend The Mars House highly enough.

With Earth being flooded due to climate change, humans have set up colonies on Mars as refuge. January, the principal dancer of London’s Royal ballet, seeks to escape flooded London as he faces starvation. As a means of survival, he accepts a spot at the Chinese colony on Mars called Tharsis (which brings to mind the colony being a catharsis for Earth climate refugees).

Given Mars low gravity, newcomers from Earth become prejudicially known at “Earthstrongers” by the “Natural people” born to Mars and after many generations fully acclimated to life on the low gravity planet. The new arrivals are forced to wear tight and heavy metal cages to prevent them from damaging the Natural people. As immigrants, they live in substandard housing and only have the option of low paid manual labor which keeps them impoverished. Moreover, they’re pressured to undergo a dangerous medical procedure called “naturalization” to further weaken them, which renders many unable to walk and almost guarantees nerve damage. But without undergoing the procedure the Earthstrong lack access to better jobs, food and the security that comes with citizenship.

In a chance encounter, January meets Senator Aubrey Gale who’s running a fierce anti-immigration campaign against the Earthstrong, wanting them all to be naturalized. After the encounter, January ends up being jailed in a perceived threat- diminishing all of his propects of survival on Mars without undergoing naturalization- which he resists out of both prinicipal and also as all his life he’s relied on his strong muscles and body as a dancer. Gale, who’s the elite of the elite on Mars and running to win the ruling consul position, ask January into a 5-year marriage of convenience to win more Earthstrong votes. January, without viable alternatives, accepts.

What follows is an intricate plot of political machinations, a cool look at potential advanced future tech developments, ethical debates about what makes people more powerful – strength or power, and an unexpected budding romance between January and Gale.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

**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.

Time of abandonment: 30%

I rarely DNF rate books, but this is an author whose work I've enjoyed before and this was a Netgalley ARC I was excited to get approved for. The previous work was what would be called a period Romantasy today, and the writing was quite beautiful and vivid. This one is sci-fi and boy, does this betray so much about the author that I just can't look past enough to finish it. Others have gone into the barely veiled transphobia and xenophobia in this, and they're not wrong. To a point, you can defer judgement and assume it's the protagonist not the author. However, I've spent a third of the book riding around in the brain of the protagonist, who is upset by the Chinese Mars
colony for all the wrong reasons, and we're still only just setting up for an even more troubling impending romance with the literal charming conservative snake, with whom there's barely any chemistry yet. I'm having a really hard time caring about any of them, because none of the central characters actually care about people with any nuance or more than surface level outrage, easily pivoted away from when it gets remotely messy. Not to mention the whole ridiculous gender politics in this, and the completely matter-of-fact way the authorial voice undermines the plight of immigrants and refugees in the face of "polite" Tory aesthetics. It's very typical of a certain kind of white British cis-lady who wants to write about systemic oppression without ever having been at the receiving end of it. I doubt this will magically make me care about the characters anytime soon while I work too hard to distance th story from the picture of the author that is too clear between the lines.

Real Rating: 4.8* of five

<I>Comme d'habitude</I>, Author Pulley has taken multiple strands of today's hellscape and woven them into a clever, involving story. January is a ballet dancer...lean, lithe, and muscular even by Earth standards...and a refugee from the sinking of his home, London, due to climate change. No worries, it isn't a big deal in the story, just the way he gets to colonial Mars.

Where he, because he grew up on a high-gravity planet, is an "Earthstronger" and a terrible threat to the naturalized Martians. This condemns him to a life of menial labor where his freakish strength is an actual advantage not a threat.

Does this anti-immigrant rhetoric sound familiar? Start from actual differences, create threats, and stigmatize the Other with the largely imaginary threats and violent rhetoric?

The story is about all that and more. January is the only one who is referred to by the masculine pronoun. All the Martians are "they." No more information is given than that...and Gale, the senator whose careless seeking for a soundbite in their campaign to forcibly "naturalize" the Earthstrongers...a procedure with a horrific death rate, and ugly medical side-effects for those it does not kill...as the external suits that cause the Earthstrongers not to be able to exert themselves to capacity are defeatable. Gale's effort to get a political advantage blows up badly and causes them, as well as January, terrible problems.

Their solution is to offer January a five-year fake marriage contract that will give them good political optics, and him a way out of the endless drudgery and second-class citizenship of being in a suit or, far worse, beinf forcibly "naturalized." So, as always in Author Pulley's work, there is a slow...<I>slooow</I>...burn into True Love. That the relationship is so suitable is weird. January had to travel to another planet to find True Love...and the balance of power, also as always in Author Pulley's work, is even but in a completely unexpected way.

What makes me happy when I know there is a new book coming from Author Pulley is that I know what I will get...musings on interpersonal dynamics, commentary on injustices that clearly cause her outrage and pain, the somewhat unrealistic Love Conquers All resolutions...but have not clue the first how she will take me where I already know we're going.

*happy sigh*

So, I hear you wonder, since you got exactly what you wanted, and enjoyed the trip to get it, where's that fifth star? The one thing I was a lot less than thrilled with was the bizarre and offputting de-extinction of wooly mammoths as part of the Martian terraforming because it felt uncharacteristically gee-whiz neato-keeno it's my book and I'll do it because I can legerdemain. It did not make any sense to me, though clearly there is a narrative srand to explain it. I just did not buy it. I was also not entirely convinced by the time it was set in...the kinds of changes on Earth seemed to be unusually late, for what I expect to happen based on current trends and on Mars way too soon. So, not quite able to ignore and go on with my suspension of disbelief.

These were not terrible sins...this is a novel, not a counterfactual scientific paper...and they are in service of telling a cracking good story. Very much a good place to start reading Natasha Pulley's work if you haven't already; and a great treat for your season of reading if you have.

A notable departure from her incredible historical magical realism, THE MARS HOUSE feels a little like Natasha’s own homecoming to science fiction/speculative fiction. As ever, it reads with her signature flair for beautiful but accessible prose, complex and believable characters, and her wicked, wicked talent with crafty plots - but this time, you’ve got arranged marriage, a hefty (HEFTY) comment on social justice, xenophobia, the power imbalance of politics, refugees, oppression, and also climate change, all on Mars. Yep. Mars.

THE MARS HOUSE is genre-bending, it’s queer sci-fi with fantastical elements, and an incredible plot (which I’m still very, very smug that I guessed what the ‘reveal’ element of the twist could be thanks to a peculiarly strong Suspicion when it comes to Pulley books); characters that were real and flawed, big, Big questions, Big Themes. It’s arranged marriage between best boy ex-ballet dancer January and stoic, emotionally-constipated, intimidating but secretly nerdy Gale as they navigate a rapidly changing Mars, the pressures of thousands of ‘Earthstrongers’ (Earth-natives) immigrating to Mars to avoid a dying planet, and a plot within a plot mystery that kept me so invested until the end.

Characters/Plot

Let’s not pretend - I loved the two main characters. Incredibly flawed, January and Gale presented two dynamic and challenging lenses through which we dive into heavy themes of anti-immigration propaganda, xenophobia, class wars, oppression and social justice. They’re two opposing sides of a seemingly endless battle, and whose journey made me cry on more than one occasion.

January is a really typical gentle but incredibly strong Natasha-Pulley-male-main-chatacter, who offers a foil to Gale’s jade-statue demeanour. He offers the pro-Earthstronger rationale that goes head to head against the staunchly anti-immigrant rhetoric from the leading powers of Mars. We meet January on Earth, as it's dying, and follow him to Mars wherein an encounter with Gale puts him under threat of execution for threatening the life (apparently) of their political power. This, of course, brings us to one of my favourite tropes - arranged marriage. I love January’s dry humour, his narrative was immediately interesting and so evident on the page (we even get in-character footnotes!) he was a brilliant eye for us to witness this story through, as he works through his own presumptions, baggage and his slow fall in love with Gale. This story served the kind of arranged marriage I found in Winters Orbit, another favourite queer sci-fi, and is one of the things that pulled me to the book.

Gale was beyond compelling. Starting out as the one-tone ‘villain’ to January’s situation, the more we learn about Gale as the story progresses, the more we understand about them, their upbringing, the dangerous and toxic narratives that are pushed upon them, instilled as a young child on a colony that is fearful for its stability. We learn that they adore languages, that they’re willing - eventually - to put themselves in harm's way for the people they come to love. Gale is stoic but goofy (internally), whip-smart and powerful, they struggle with social cues, would prefer to talk to Mammoths over people, and generally are incredibly relatable. Gale is also definitely Lan Wangji from The Untamed-coded and you cannot tell me otherwise (my heart). In this way, Natasha plays an almost admirable game of unpacking the backstory of a character that if I met in the real world, I’d probably hate. But we see behind the curtain, we see the destruction of Gale the political figure, the re-wiring of their brain, and the re-calibration of dangerous and harmful propaganda in the process.

Their relationship was, of course, the BEST thing about the story. They were an absolute joy to read, for their realness, the way that they learned to navigate each other, the challenges that came with two massively conflicting ideologies and the baggage that a) drove those beliefs and clouded those minds and b) they had to try to shrug off in order to move forward. Some of the quotes that came in their quieter moments will stick with me; and Pulley, as ever, brings forward a subtle romance. One shared in meaningful looks, half-touches, careful actions and things that you must read closely to pick up. This is what she's known for, and she does not disappoint. Slow burn lovers, this one is for you. They're up there with some of my favourite Pulley characters mainly for the dynamism of their relationship in this book! I loved how they opened each other up, sometimes harshly, sometimes in the wrong way, but ultimately they moved each other into uncomfortable spaces to let a love bloom that just, it made me WEEP. They saw each other, and that's what grabbed me.

The plot is layered, and kept me engaged the entire time. We meet January and Gale as Mars is preparing for an election of its senator, and Gale is running as the favourite. They meet competition from an adversary, who also tries to rope January into working as a sort of double agent from inside Senator Gale’s home, married as he is to them (through circumstance, a sort of political move which ends up springing January from his punishment for threatening Gale during their first meeting). But there’s so much more to the story - little does January know that House Gale is haunted by it’s own secrets and mysteries; January discovers that someone closely associated to Gale’s brother vanished not too long ago, and he is convinced that it was an inside job and that the same fate awaits him should he veer to close to House Gale - a fear which drives his paranoia and suspicion of Gale themselves. So we follow them, along with incredible side characters, through a political campaign which becomes more and more influenced by January and Gale’s growing relationship; a series of seemingly unconnected actions which lead to a GREAT subplot and twist/reveal and gives THE MARS HOUSE it’s almost thriller/murder mystery vibe; and the very real threat of being unable to support the existing Mars colony and the thousands of Earthstrongers arriving on Mars to escape Earth. It’s a complex tale, vastly political, but twisty and emotionally engaging enough in that wondrous “plot within a plot” feel you only get with Pulley.

World-Building/Politics

Now, here’s the thing. I’m no expert in any of the difficult and nuanced topics that THE MARS HOUSE dips its fingers into. And I’m certainly not about to excuse a book which raises challenging discourse points on subjects which are hard to navigate, just because she’s one of my favourite authors. What I WILL say is that this book is a thinking book. Natasha, having written very complex stories in the past and diverse characters alongside that, is highly skilled at crafting characters which feel human. REAL. Nuanced in a way that every single person currently on this planet is. There are informed and amazing reviews discussing the challenges of this book much better than I can, so I suggest that readers take a look before diving in. This is a book to come to once you’ve experienced the full, rich roster of Natasha’s work, to understand her craft.

I will admit, I raised an eyebrow (both, actually) at the inclusion of an unnecessary mention of Bethlehem and the connotations this raised of the erasure of Palestine (which honestly felt like it should have been vetted…), and I will agree that this story brushes right along that ledge between uncomfortable and realistic when it comes to Big Themes like anti-immigrant discourse, xenophobia, racism and sinophobia. However, this is an ambitious book, filled to the brim with a lot more social justice than Natasha’s others, and it’s no surprise that a book of this nature is going to come under scrutiny.

It’s a story that follows, however, a FOREWARNED xenophobe, Gale, and the ‘Earthstronger’, January, who form the arranged marriage trope in this complex story. January, to me, read as incredibly quick-witted, concerned with the wellbeing of both himself and others like him - those who travelled to Mars to escape the dying Earth - as they are oppressed and villainised by the existing colony on Mars for the dangers they present. However, to me, this book did not come across as villainising one side of the argument more than the other; I found that both Gale and January were complex characters arguing complex points. But this, to me, did not read as propaganda, or a way of pushing a narrative onto the readers. It felt like a discussion, a comment, on the grander scale of the world, the imbalance of politics, the danger of ‘othering’ anyone, regardless of who they are or where they’re from, for the consequences this has. Are there cases where it seems horridly nationalistic, invoking systems once passed wherein neighbours reported neighbours due to propaganda? Yes. But is there movement towards a future where this won’t always be case, by the end of the book? Also yes. I love reading forward-thinking speculative fiction as much as anyone, and THE MARS HOUSE is queer-normative, it plays with gender politics, it gives us speculation on very real mindsets and politics that would arise when a nation of peoples feel threatened by the nature of other peoples on their planet. It’s a reflection on our real world, on the narratives we see pushed today, but to me, does not feel to be endorsing these rhetorics, does not work to suggest they’re right; they just are. Gale is our lens through which we see the play out of harmful rhetorics, and Gale is altered by the end of the book. To me, this reads as a book of hope for change, rather than anything else. Speculation in a true sense.

I also understand that while versed in physics and astronomy, this book also presents an at times less than realistic picture of what it would be like to live on Mars. But while there are those making (very correct and informed) complaints about the realism of Mars’ atmosphere, the legitimacy of Mammoths on Mars (yes, there are), and the advancement of technology, this is science fiction sure, but it is also science fiction fantasy. Of course there is a duty of responsibility to the author to build a world which makes sense in realistic terms, but it’s also fantastical. That’s the point. There are MAMMOTHS. Do I care whether it makes sense for a vegan community to have mammoths on Mars? Whether it’s viable or makes sense logistically? NO! Because turns out that technology exists which allows people to SPEAK TO THEM. Are you kidding? This is where the joy comes in - the wondrous joy that Pulley is so known for. She is renowned for conjuring whimsical elements and making them some of the most beloved elements of her books - if you’ve read Watchmaker, you know it’s all about Katsu the mechanical octopus. This is where I see Pulley most. In her ability to create a whimsical, beautiful, challenging story that messes with my preconceptions of where I think she might take the story, and flings me along for the ride while I smile, tell her ‘okay’ and go along with it. This is why I love Pulley.

I’m not suggesting I can understand someone who pushes rhetoric that harms others. I’m suggesting that this is a powerful example of the recovery of someone deep in the folds of said rhetoric, and the hope that exists on the other side - that perhaps, change CAN happen. We CAN move mountains, and create a world governed not by fear, but by compassion. This is the message that I took away from THE MARS HOUSE.

Genre: science fiction
Mars, the future

Devastation from climate change and war have made life on earth tenuous. January Stirling was a principal at the London Royal Ballet, until he is forced to evacuate. The colony of Tharsis on Mars could be a lifeline for refugees, except that the Earthstrong are considered dangerous (due to muscle mass from developing in different gravity) and resources like water are extremely limited. In a live interview, January makes an ill-perceived comment that lands him in big trouble with his job and with Senator Aubrey Gale. Gale has a staunch anti-immigrant platform, but they recognize that they may need something more in order to win the upcoming election…so they propose a 5-year marriage of convenience contract with January. With cameras on them at all times, January will have a harder time getting to know the real Gale.

Buckle up, or strap on your Martian-resistence-cage, because I have a lot of feelings about this book. I loved the romance, I loved the worldbuilding, I’m wildly uncomfortable with the political statement that Pulley may or may not be making about immigration, and the other questionable things that may be brushed aside during reading, but on deeper reflection give significant pause. Because of that, I’m very cautious about how I’d recommend this, and if this interests you, I recommend you read reviews first to set up some expectations.

The worldbuilding for The Mars House is intricate, with big worldbuilding gestures and small worldbuilding moments alike. The primary worldbuilding element is the physiological differences between the natural born Martians and the Earthstrong. The Earthstrong have bodies used to living at a much stronger gravitational force than the Martians whose bones and muscles develop at ⅓ of Earth’s. Because of this, immigrants from Earth have two choices: wear cages (like exoskeletons) that function as resistance to low-g or “naturalize” by undergoing treatment to reduce their mass. They are seen as dangerous outsiders, with the real possibility of accidentally killing natural Martians simply by bumping them. I’ve read other books that emphasize the physiological differences of people born in low gravity - The Expanse series comes to mind with the Belters and their lighter bones - but this is the first time I’ve run across a solution 7 generations deep into colonization that addresses limitations on Earthers rather than strength-building for the Martians. What makes me less comfortable is that in this case, the Earthstrong are refugees and often marked as dangerous criminals, and the easy-to-draw analogy is that refugees can cause real harm without meaning it.

Gender markers for natural born and naturalized Martians have been eliminated from Tharsis culture. The intent here is to imagine a progressive society where gender doesn’t impact opinion or presence in public society. Pulley does a remarkable job with writing this: you never lose track of who she’s talking about. January, as an Earthstrong, holds on to his pronouns, but he is also careful about using nonbinary forms of address with the Martians. Earthstrong use gender markers - usually pins to indicate their preference - which is another SF mini-trope I love seeing. Give a visual non-physical marker for gender, and you don’t worry about mis-gendering characters. Sex does not necessarily lead to procreation, and most Martian citizens choose from genetic banks when it comes time to make children… but that means they genetically engineer towards nonbinary traits, which feels like a slippery slope.

Mars is a barren wasteland with almost no water, so everyone is rationed. Electricity is primarily solar generated, but because Mars is further from the sun than Earth the amount of kw power is significantly less per panel. Gale’s family owns the solar panels, so they are prepared to address power shortage issues as a major dust storm rolls in. I enjoyed that the terraforming of Mars can only progress so far, whereas other science fiction engages in full scale martian terraforming within only a few generations (looking at you, Red Mars).

One thing that Pulley nails is the enemies to lovers romantic tension. There is a romance story at the heart of the novel, and it’s built on a marriage of convenience between diametrically opposed characters. Gale has all of the power in the relationship, literally, since they are a senator, a seventh generation Martian, and the heir to one of the wealthiest families on Mars. January has nothing now that he isn’t on earth. It’s a slow burn for them to learn to trust one another and fall in love, but when they do, it’s immensely satisfying.

The discomfort created by the socio-political implications of this book are not ones that challenge the reader to examine their own beliefs, because it’s ultimately not clear to me where Pulley falls on the side of immigration issues or genetic manipulation. But it’s a well-written book that gave me a lot to think about. If you pick it up, find someone to read it with, and go into it with an open but critical mind.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for an eARC for review. All opinions are my own. This book is out 3/19/24.

What you’ll get:
Marriage of convenience
Politics
Oncoming natural disaster
Uncertainty of space
TW/CW: Racism, Xenophobia, What may or may not be an autism joke?, Just so many things honestly.

Setting: London and Mars

I was pitched Red, White and Royal Blue in space and I was given a vaguely racist version of Station Eleven who had a baby with a vaguely racist version of The Martian.

I know it felt racist and someone smarter than me will be able to point out all of the ways I didn’t even clock because I'm not going back through this. I also will defer the gender/agender dynamics to someone smarter than me as well. Everyone born on Mars is agender - excellent, let’s roll. "All of the extreme gender traits have been bred out of them" - hol’ up.

Essentially, China developed a few colonies on Mars and after dust storms wiped a few out, we’re down to one. The earth is basically underwater or on fire so they run refugee ships out to the new colony. When the refugees get there, they are strongly encouraged to Naturalize. Essentially, the Earth folks are 3 times stronger than the people who have grown up on Mars because of the gravity and can cause huge injury or death just by bumping into them.

They are called Earthstrongers and are basically undocumented immigrants who are trying their best not to be noticed and be forced to naturalize. Off the grid bank accounts, etc. They don’t even use Mars currency, they are paid at their jobs in power so they can heat their homes, buy food, and everything under the radar. They are desperate not to be put on lists that can be pulled from and told to naturalize. As far as I could understand, naturalization is a process where they hit your body with as many weakening conditions as possible. You'll 100% end up with nerve damage, osteoporosis, and worse so they end up at the same level of strength as the Mars citizens. But. If you naturalize, you’ll be a full citizen, become eligible for better jobs, food, medicine, etc - immediately.

January was a principal ballet dancer prior to fleeing to Mars. He ends up being a factory worker in poverty with no way out. He accidentally says something on the news to a Senator and loses his job, goes to prison for a bit, and ends up getting a marriage proposal from the same Senator within the same period of time. He does this so he won’t be forced to naturalize for at least 5 years.

January wears a resistance cage around his body (as all Earthstrongers are required to) to slow his strength down so he doesn't hurt people essentially and you’re supposed to take it off daily for at least a few hours to allow your body to rest. He gives his key to the cage to Gale and stays in his cage for at least two months. His body is bruised and a mess and a flipping talking Mammoth (I said what I said) had to tell Gale that he was being cruel in order for January to get his key back.

There was a whole twist storyline I’m not getting into either. I would have DNFed this but I wouldn’t have felt like I had the right to write this entire review if I had. I’m just so disappointed. I don’t read a ton of sci-fi but when I do, it’s usually excellent. This was not it.

If you want arranged marriage in space, do Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell and save yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Natasha Pulley’s books have been on my TBR for years but this is the first time I’ve actually picked one of her books up and now I’m considering abandoning my responsibilities for the next week so I can read her entire backlist. I came for the scifi arranged political marriage and I stayed for that plus incredible character exploration and the ideas of power dynamics and control and what it means to be human. Pulley has created a futuristic world that’s recognizable but still unique, and installed it with characters that made this book so difficult to put down. The various academic elements and sometimes more complex pieces of the world might be a little difficult to get into but I was almost immediately drawn into the world and I am so enamored with the characters that I’m a little sad to have finished the book and left them behind. If this isn’t already on your TBR, I highly recommend checking it out.

Basically, the world is falling apart and there’s been a colony on Mars to take those that Earth can no longer handle, and has then grown its own population. Our protagonist, January, is a ballet dancer in London when the flood waters rise so high that he has no choice but to board a ship to Tharsis. There, those with Earth strength are second class, seemingly because of the dangers that they pose to citizens naturalized to Mars’s gravity. A run-in with a senator on Tharsis means January can no longer go under the radar, and as they bid for the seat of Consul, they ask January to marry them. What happened after ended up with some plot twists where I genuinely had to put the book down and gape at nothing. There’s this delicately developed tension and relationship between January and Gale but also between all of the various characters, Earthstrong and Naturals. This book is in some ways completely what I expected and also nothing like I expected at the same time, both in a good way.

It’s difficult to pick out the individual elements of the story that were good because the whole thing was just so enjoyable to read. The plot is so full while still exploring each and every avenue. It read pretty easily for me but there’s also so much world-building and exploration of linguistics that were so fascinating to dig into (there’s even footnotes!). The world itself is so opposed to a lot of things on Earth and a part of me is almost defensive about it, but it’s also cool and so well-done from elements of queerness to a commitment to characters being genderless. It truly feels like Pulley invested time and effort and heart into these characters and this story and I am so glad that I read it.

The Mars House was a hard book for me to get into; it took about 40% for me to do so, but I'm SO glad I stuck with it. The problem I had, I think, was simply that there were so many different things I had to suspend disbelief on that they all added together. We have climate catastrophe on earth, but it happening so long from now that mars colonists have had generations of change and genetic updates, but without seeing significant sociocultural change on earth. We have earth people on mars being 3x stronger than those who live on mars, to the point that they can cause accidental homicide with ease. These earth people are called Earthstrongers. We have an arranged marriage. We have a ghost story. We have reality tv. Usually I don't have difficulty suspending disbelief, but the moment I started to adapt to one thing, I got hit by the next, which undid my ability to accept the first thing.

But like -- once I hit the point that it stopped hitting me with the one-two punches and I was able to suspend, I loved it. The characters are fascinating, fun, interesting, realistic people; I ended up shipping Gale and January SO hard by the end. The situation is plausibly complicated -- it's the old X-men story where the strong are being prejudiced against, but with the same complication that not only could they hurt 'regular' people, they DO, by accident, all the time. The problem there in the X-men is just, what do you do with it, and while the X-men largely just tries to ignore the imbalance in this, Mars House repeatedly goes, yeah, that fucking sucks, and both sides are people, so how do we get the best and safest and kindest and fairest option out of it.

Also, there's been a murder. The body hasn't been found. But it lives between them.

Once everything comes together, it just comes together so well. Like, every disparate part that didn't feel like it went together suddenly slots into place, and I found myself maybe more satisfied with it than if it had been an easy sell in the first place. The narrative and writing style were smart, witty, and honestly clever, and I plan to come back and reread it again from the beginning once I've had a chance to sit with it a bit.

The Mars House: five star reading experience with three star themes. I was invested in everything on the page and as long as I didn't think too hard about it, it was pretty perfect. First, some basics: this is hard science fiction. Earth is a flaming garbage heap, and there are climate refugees who need to escape their homelands. Some of them immigrate to Mars. Martian society was founded eight generations ago and has its own culture, adapted to the higher radiation and lower gravity of life on that planet. "Earthstrong" refugees are stronger and faster on Mars, although their life expectancy is lower; Martian "Naturals" are taller, slimmer, and have been genetically modified for the Martian climate. Earthstrongers don't know their own strength, making them a danger to their Natural neighbors.⁠ They can "naturalize," a process of acclimatizing to the Martian environment, but it's a difficult process that leaves even the luckiest with some kind of nerve damage. Without naturalizing, they can work only the most menial jobs, where their strength is an asset.⁠
⁠
It's in this setting that we meet MC January, an Earthstrong refugee. In his former life, he was the principal of the London Ballet. On Mars, he barely ekes out a living in a water factory. His dry British humor lands him in jail for threatening the life of a Senator. When he gets out, he's surprised to be offered a political marriage of convenience to that same Senator. January's only other choice as a convicted felon is forced naturalization, so he reluctantly agrees ... only to find himself falling for Senator Gale, who might be a "Naturals First" politician, but who's also ... really nice?⁠
⁠
Like I said, reading this book was a real pleasure. It might be lengthy, but I loved reading about Martian society, January's conflicted feelings about his place in it, and the slow (slooooow!) burn romance between him and Gale. It made me tear up at several points. After finishing it, though, I had to sit with my feelings and really think about what the book is trying to say. ⁠
⁠
Look, here's the thing: Gale is a right wing, immigration zero politician who marries January for the optics. I feel like Pulley is working with themes she's not sure what to do with. Speculative fiction is supposed to be fun, but it's also supposed to make you think. You know how some monster romance can end up using problematic images and themes without really meaning to? That's what it feels like here. For example, Earthstrong immigrants are truly dangerous to the Martian population. Gale is justified in being afraid of these immigrants - they lost a leg in an Earthstrong riot. If this is translated into today's world, are we meant to read this through the lens of European countries actually being at danger of losing their culture by accepting refugees from other parts of the world?

But like I said, I was soooo invested in this romance and this world. I blew through this long book in two days. I cried at the end. I just don't know if I can fully enjoy it in the way I like to enjoy my books. (I love when my critical thinking center is engaged, and if I let that happen here, it will just be critical.)

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Marketing this as similar to Winter's Orbit is, in my opinion, a big mistake. This feels like a book for an entirely different audience--its tones aren't those of a romantic space opera, but closer to political literary fiction with a heavy dose of environmental catastrophe. Maybe there's a good romance, but I didn't make it far enough in to tell since I was put off by the heavy tone and the weirdness of having a story about immigrant discrimination told from a white POV.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Natasha Pulley specializes in quiet, odd mysteries, imaginary politics, and love stories less about romance than about the human craving for connection and understanding—and that holds true here, even with "alien" humans who have designed themselves into a very different species from our current understanding. Though with these very specific focuses, and with a more fantastical than scientific basis, it's a bit like the superb Translation State (a standout from last year and possibly for all time): an exploration of the edges of what makes a person "human" and how to communicate and compromise over seemingly untraversable gaps.

I found the main mechanism for a big mystery in this way, way too obvious. It's always tough to get through in a mystery where you've figured out something on page 30 and it takes the characters at least ten times as long! So many characters were being way too oblivious to be either realistic or bearable.

This won't be for everyone. In fact, it wasn't for me. It's an odd mash up of romance novel tropes- the fake relationship that turns to love among others-and sci fi along with literary commentary on gender and other things. January and Gale make for intriguing characters but the scaffolding around them had me confused at times and annoyed at others. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Pulley's fans should give it a read.

Thank you to Net-Galley for the e-ARC. I really struggled understanding this book. Not only because I cannot comprehend the idea that an individual with such horrible politics as Gale would suddenly change their mind upon having essentially a forced marriage with a person who’s legislation they are oppressing with, but also because the writing was often convoluted. I constantly had to go back and reread sections because it was wholly unclear who was speaking and what was going on.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I am not much of a sci-fi/speculative fiction reader, but I have enjoyed some of Natasha Pulley's other novels. I found this one a bit heavy on the science (which I did not try to get to grips with), but also at times a bit mad - mammoths? really? I liked the protagonist January, although he came across as spectacularly accepting of all the setbacks he encountered. The climate crisis refugees element came a bit close to the bone in a week where I read 100 forest fires have burnt through the mild winter we have had here in BC.

As far as the structure of the book goes, at the point where the mystery of what happened to Max and River is revealed, much of what the reader has already deduced is then spelt out again. I found this unnecessary and it slowed down the narrative at a moment when it should have been racing to the conclusion.

1.5 stars


dnf @ 22%


This book was deeply bizarre and illogical, and not in a good way. Natasha Pulley is usually an insta-buy author for me, which is why it feels so strange to be dnf-ing a book she wrote because it left such a bad taste in my mouth. I only made it 22% because I love the author & was hoping against hope it would improve.

I think I disliked pretty much everything about this book besides the writing style. The world-building made absolutely no sense, and it was impossible to suspend my disbelief. The way the book portrays immigration and fascism made my skin crawl, because it was so poorly executed. The characters don't seem to have much depth yet, and the way January was almost immediately ok with marrying the fascist politician whose actions sent him to prison was incredibly weird. Not to mention the way gender & language were discussed here -- I'm nonbinary, & it felt incredibly yucky; the way gender is discussed shows a real lack of understanding about how gender actually works in a culture.

I am just so incredibly confused & put off by this book. Do not recommend, and I hope Pulley will have better success in the future.

4.5 stars, rounding up. Maybe a third of the way into this, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. It started very strong, with the plot hook of British man January Stirling emigrating to Mars from crapsack environmentally degraded Earth and encountering a society where "Earthstrongers" -- people born on Earth, with all the John-Carter strength and skeletons that entails, are treated as this weird extraordinarily dangerous underclass to the natural-born Martian population: necessary for manual labor for their power and durability, but at risk of accidentally maiming or killing the more fragile Martians if they so much as bump heads. It was an interesting concept that I hadn't encountered before, and I name-drop John Carter very consciously. Those stories treat an Earthborn in low gravity as something of an ubermensch, but haven't seen someone do the inverse before.

Natasha Pulley's last two books (<i>The Kingdoms</i> and <i>The Half Life of Valery K</i>) feature a very prominent romance subplot, and where the book started to wobble for me was where it started to seem that it would not so much be a sci-fi story with a romance subplot, but a full-on romance story with sci-fi trappings. Not only that, but a very silly romance -- at times, the book seemed to be screaming for AO3 tags (enemies to lovers! fake marriage!) that I find somewhat ridiculous. And the parts of the book I struggled with <i>are</i> directly tied to the romance part of things: Martian politician Aubrey Gale convinces January to agree to a high-profile and very publicity-stunt political marriage, whose in-universe sense never totally clicked for me, and then January spends a lot of time actively fawning over Gale in a weird "I hate them politically! But gosh they give me ~butterflies~!" sort of way that was really goofy.

But, just like with her "former Gulag prisoner/KGB agent" pairing from <i>Valery K</i>, Pulley did end up making that part of things more compelling than it had any business being, and the romance plot, while prominent, still shared the screen well with a great mixture of "political intrigue" + "missing persons mystery" + "engineering battle against Mars itself" type of elements. Gale is an interesting character, although it seems that some reviewers can't get over their initial presentation as a sort of xenophobic fascist (and then get up in arms over "trying to humanize the hard right-wing" or whatever). January is less interesting (in part because he is often such a damn simp) but as the story goes on and he starts to push back on Gale more that does improve.

All in all, not without its flaws, but it does a lot of interesting stuff. Another Natasha Pulley book, another instance of me going "I really <i>do</i> need to go back and read the Filigree Street books."

The Mars House was an interesting read. I am not sure I was overly swoony about the romance, But the world-building and the intricate politicking kept me invested. I appreciated how the author dealt with complicated topics, giving multiple viewpoints and two people having to communicate and learn from each other. The Mars House will not be for everyone, but I enjoyed reading it. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity to review The Mars House. All opinions are my own.

So this one feels like a “me” thing but I’ve seen some other reviews mentioning things similar so maybe not?

The premise for this story sounded AMAZING. The cover and blurb had me hooked. The execution? I’m confused and disappointed and exasperated.

There’s no genders for the Martians. They are “they.” Distinguished by this pronoun. The citizens FROM Earth use “he” and “she” and I honestly felt like anyone who may disagree with all the pronouns are being hated on HARSHLY. I am not a fan of the world building. I’m not a fan of the characters.

So a no from me but who knows?