Pulley intriguingly embraces an entirely new direction with her latest novel, The Mars House, a futuristic blend of science fiction and romance that uses its alien setting to explore all too familiar topics that resonate with our contemporary moment, like climate change, immigration, gender ideology, and political corruption. The end result is something strange and wonderful, an utterly unique and gently beautiful love story rooted in a complicated exploration of our need for connection and a place to call home.

Reminded me a bit of what I loved in Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell. Great mix of political tensions, queer identity, and romance.

Here’s the thing, I’ve loved some of Pulley’s previous work (The Kingdoms) and while I think the writing was warm and easy to sink into, there are some problematic ideas with this story. Other reviews have gone into more detail about that, and after reading those critiques, I couldn’t ‘unsee’ it. However, every reader should decide for themselves how valid those critiques are, and if you’re a fan of Pulley’s writing, you should still pick up this book. If a person is new to this author, I recommend starting elsewhere. 2.5 stars.

4.5/5

Compelling and clever, this dystopian novel/sci-fi love story explores themes relevant to today's world. As bit too long, in my opinion, at over 450 pages, I was still immersed in the fascinating world-building and love story. January is a character who you'll be drawn to from the start. Also, the world created by author Pulley is, sadly, not too hard to imagine as a future of today's reality.

A dancer for the Royal Academy in London, January Sterling is displaced from his country by flooding, civil unrest, and a war between Russia and America. To pursue a life where he's not threatened at every turn, he travels to Mars as a refugee.

"Earthstrongers" are people on Mars who've come from Earth. They're as strong as polar bears and need to wear metal cages, so they don't unintentionally harm native Mars residents, who are taller and more delicate. Mars is an interesting place. Gender has been outlawed, residents' appearances can be altered based on the internet-capable contacts people wear, and the Martian government is intent on forcing every refugee to "naturalize." This intensely physical process guarantees that the subject will be permanently disabled from the change. Yet, if the refugee undergoes the procedure, they're guaranteed universal income, free healthcare, and unlimited electric and water. If you choose not to be naturalized, you must work a menial job with little pay, most of which January uses for sparse electric and food.

All this political and societal intrigue revolves around an effecting love story. After an accident at a protest, January becomes involved with the powerful, naturalization-proponent Senator Aubrey Gale. To mitigate the damage, January enters into a fake marriage with Gale. As these two grow closer and start to "see" the realities of each's life, preconceptions, beliefs, and emotions are altered. I loved how Pulley grounded the futuristic and sci-fi aspects of this story with this very real romance. It was a wonderful way to show how, as with all political and societal constructs, love is the agent of understanding, true meaning, and the possibility for positive change.

I did lose interest at certain parts and felt that the book was absolutely too long. Yet the story still stuck with me, especially the stellar world-building and romance.

If you're into science fiction/dystopian novels--especially those that are, at heart, a love story--give this novel a try. It's one I won't soon forget.

It's in vogue to make outlandish media comparisons in book blurbs these days… but honestly, this felt like a mashup of the film Arrival, Winter’s Orbit, and the short story ‘Harrison Bergeron’. Although I liked two of those three, this book largely failed to meet my expectations, and my experience was something less than enjoyment. Admittedly, I’m not usually a romance reader, and this book fits in easily with the current trend of ‘forced marriage’ and ‘enemies-to-lovers’ tropes, and the entire discussion of trope-targeting trends in publishing that makes me gag. Still, it promised sci-fi, Mars, and it was Natasha Pulley—whom I have not read yet, but whose penchant for casually posting about linguistics and the quirks of ancient Greek verbs made me adore her instantly. I’m still going to give her debut and other novels a shot, but this one just wasn’t it.

The protagonist, January Sterling, and his partner in the forced marriage, Aubrey Gale, are both ridiculous characters. Similar to Winter’s Orbit (hereafter the book that shall not be mentioned, for how terrible it was), both characters are supposed to be in their 30s and 40s, and yet read like they could be teenagers. Gale seemingly was also coded as an autistic character, though this was never explicit, and perhaps the idea here was going for normalization rather than pathology, which is fine.

Their personalities felt like cardboard cutouts rather than real people; Pulley certainly makes an attempt to flesh them out, unlike the book that shall not be mentioned, which read like a fanfiction and therefore had zero characterization or development. Pulley at least gives some backstory, but it didn’t feel convincingly real. The character development and subsequent romance also was more telling than showing, and the result was a rather disappointing attempt of fleshing out characters. I found myself largely not caring for them, mostly being annoyed at January acting incompetently, and of course at the classic trope of countless misunderstandings from a lack of common-sense communication.

The plot was slightly more compelling, though not by much. There are a series of disasters and catastrophes for our characters to undergo together, thereby strengthening their bond, presumably; but the stakes never felt that dire. The interactions between the characters was also slightly cartoonish. The final reveal was altogether not very surprising, and more or less along the lines of what I was anticipating, anyway. And of course, everything wraps up rather conveniently by the end. The pacing could also slow down at times; the first part of the book was a bit of a slog to get through, but once we got to the mammoths, things started to pick up.

Yes, mammoths—this book is set on a terraformed Mars, one in which, for some unfathomable reason, ‘scientists’ decided to test out mammoths in the frozen environment… and then just let them roam free after the fact, for some reason. As silly as that is, I actually found the mammoths somewhat endearing. Pulley reminds me of Arrival and similar works here, invoking the concept of a mammoth linguistics; without getting too much into spoiler territory, suffice it to say I actually enjoyed this part and would have loved to read more of this, instead of… whatever the rest of the novel is supposed to be. I could read Pulley nerding out about linguistics anytime.

Pulley’s narration style was rather enjoyable, content notwithstanding. She is supposedly known for her footnotes, which were much remarked upon in her debut; I do enjoy the copious amounts of footnotes and the little tidbits about the world that Pulley drops into it. However, it sometimes veered on the absurd, as we would get a detail, and then a seemingly non sequitur of a footnote telling us what January thought about that specific topic or idea, even though we had little reason in-story to have access to such a thought in terms of logical narrative flow. Still, I can’t fault it entirely, and the novel was mostly an easy read, though the descriptions could go on at times, and occasionally the chapters dropped the reader in a completely random narrative point, treading water briefly until connecting the thread with the rest of the book.

This is nominally sci-fi, but the environs didn’t really convince me. The terraforming is given brief context, but it doesn’t feel as enmeshed in science as, say, The Martian did. There are also some fancy high-tech gadgets that are almost inconceivable, especially when highlighted against the fact that, for some reason, January has a smartphone. Yes, a freaking smartphone from several centuries ago, which is supposedly a precious family heirloom that he is just carrying around, because his family was too poor to afford the latest and greatest. I don’t know about you, but… that isn’t how smartphones work, and that isn’t how most people treat family heirlooms (certainly not to the point of accidentally breaking their fragile screens!).

I get not being able to afford the latest tech (in this case, lens implants that are connected only wirelessly, of course). But the solution is not to make January seem like he was plucked out of 2020s England. Moreover, the language at times veered on the Twitter-esque at times, too, which was awfully immersion-breaking (not that I was that immersed to begin with). There are some attempts at constructing a futuristic society—like how everyone Tharsis, the Mars colony, speaks Mandarin natively and thus has no concept of gender. (In the book, calling someone he/she is akin to calling a human being ‘it’; something reserved for animals and objects… though they make exceptions for the Earth migrants, of course.) I mean, I know Sapir-Whorf is popular in the popular consciousness, but really, shouldn’t Pulley know better?

Finally, before I get carried away much further in this rant review, I want to address some of the underlying themes of the novel, and how they were executed poorly. Given the premise—January being forced to move to Mars due to climate disasters on Earth—there is ample parallel between this and the current migration crisis. Moreover, because ‘Earthstrongers’ have the benefit of growing up in greater gravity, they are naturally stronger than those who have only lived on Mars. This creates a power imbalance of sort, and naturally results in the kind of fearmongering that we see even in our own world against migrants. This is one of the core issues of the novel—Gale is a politician whose platform is to naturalize, or essentially bioengineer, Earth-born people, almost certainly crippling them and January is an Earthstronger whose instincts rail against exactly that.

As you can tell, whenever people use speculative fiction as allegories to contemporary social issues, it can get… dicey. For one, the comparative message here is that migrants who come to a new residence must not only be forcefully integrated, but they must cripple themselves and be subservient to the whimsical feelings of the ‘native’ Martians (who, may I add, were also all from Earth at some point). It’s classic Harrison Bergeron, but with the exact opposite ending. Moreover, January, who is initially adamant about refusing such treatment, becomes startingly compliant by the end. I don’t know if this is really the kind of message Pulley ought to be sending, unless you have some seriously outdated ideas about the migrant crisis. For one—the statistics, as presented in the book and in real life, emphasize that migrants (or immigrants, if we want to speak broadly) commit fewer crimes than the native-born population.

Migrants work harder, get fewer state benefits, and are often harsher against crime in their own communities; this is all reflected in the novel, too. However, the main takeaway from this seems antithetical to common-sense. In The Mars House, wearing a cage is simply the natural response to not hurt the native-borns, and you’ll grow to like it, too! The solution to the migrant crisis is not only to welcome migrants, Pulley shows us, but also to come with enforcement as backup to make sure they comply to your rigid standards. (Even though, as I’m guessing is likely, the Martians are part of the reason why Earth has gone to shit in the first place—how many more lives could have been saved if, instead of spending money on terraforming, they spent it on carbon capture technology? And yes, I know carbon capture has its own host of issues, but that is merely one example.) There are some relevant plot-specific turns too, which I don’t want to spoil, but I didn’t find their development quite natural, and it also didn’t help my unease at how these topics were handled.

Natasha Pulley, I respect you and your love of ancient Greek verbs and mammoths, but please stick to a book about linguistics nerdery without setting yourself a needlessly high task of dealing with so many complex issues all under one title. Unfortunately, I can’t with good conscience recommend this book, though maybe if you are the type of reader who just cares about tropes and not much else of substance, you may have a good time. I’m rather sorry that I didn’t.

Disclaimer: I received this book through NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing. Thank you to both for providing an advanced copy, and thank you to the author, Natasha Pulley. My review reflects only my honest opinions.

This was one of the rare books that I just could not finish. If the author's footnotes (in a fiction book???) showing off how she studied Mandarin for a few months don't annoy you, then the rampant far-right politics will put you off. The plot hinges around an immigrant forced into in an arranged marriage with a politician who thinks immigrants are BIOLOGICALLY INFERIOR. There is no redeeming that.

Oof.

While tempting to leave this one star review at a single word, I feel compelled to expand it. The Mars House was my first Natasha Pulley novel and it will be my last. I picked this up because I was promised an emotional relationship with captivating political intrigue, and while this novel did indeed make a (clumsy, literal-wince-inducing) series of political statements, it came out swinging with a variety of with transphobic, xenophobic, racist, sinophobic, and anti-immigration rhetoric in its very thinly veiled allegory for very relevant political topics today.

To understand the critique that will follow, here’s as bare bones a summary as I can give. Protagonist January, once a principal star of the ballet back in London, is forced in a rapid-fire series of glossed-over events to flee an Earth ravaged by climate change for the stable and ‘civilized’ colony on Mars. The only problem is that, due to growing up in Earth’s stronger gravity, January (and any other person born and raised on Earth, henceforth referred to as Earthstrong in the novel’s parlance) is super strong. Like. Smashing Martians to smithereens with a careless thought. Earthstrong are essentially outcasts in society, forbidden citizenship or rights in all but the most select cases. They also have to wear cages by law that restrict their movement to prevent injury to Martians.

Literal cages. You read right. The metaphors are about as subtle as a hand grenade.

Enter Aubrey Gale, noted politician of Mars’ ‘genderless’ (more on this later) society, who—after one chance encounter with January in the dangerous factory he and other Earthstrong are forced to work in—decides they need to marry him for political clout to show they can live in harmony with the big bad Earthstrong after all. This is part of a larger (fascist) agenda to force ALL Earthstrong to go through a horribly invasive medical procedure to be ‘safe’ on Mars, a procedure which at best disables those who undergo it and at worst kills them. Somehow, this oppressor-oppressed relationship is supposed to be perceived as romantic and takes off along those lines.

Other reviewers have covered the xenophobic and racist elements more articulately and robustly than I am able to, so please go through and see other reviews for a more in-depth look at these topics.

For my review, I want to focus on the baffling gender choices made in this novel. In 2024, it’s certainly a take to flip the script on a current real-world political crisis and make one’s fictional nonbinary/agender society a bunch of fascist oppressors. With things like having the Earthstrong protagonist protest their right to be called ‘he’ or ‘she’, Earthstrong being referred to as gender extremists, and repeated commentary about how ‘gendered traits’ were ‘edited out’ of Martian DNA, this reads like stunningly bad satire attacking the current trans rights movement. Who knows, maybe it is!

What I do know is that these choices display stunning insensitivity and ignorance. There’s absolutely the possibility to have interesting conversations about gender through speculative fiction, and then there’s… whatever The Mars House is doing. There wasn’t a talking mammoth to tell the protagonists that transphobia and gender essentialism is bad, but hey, at least there was one to sort of do that for racism!

Speaking of gender, there are also no women of note in this novel. Apparently, this is a theme in Pulley’s novels so perhaps readers of her other work would not be as annoyed or surprised as I was, but I’m extra appalled with the double whammy of misogyny on top of the weird demonizing-gender-abolition takes.

On top of the piping hot train wreck that was any and every political statement this novel tried to make, the central protagonists did not appeal to me in any way, shape, or form. January is a complete wet blanket who capitulates to any and every demand of Gale, which again, COULD say something interesting about people experiencing oppression and how it is often systemically impossible to have any real agency in such situations, but is instead framed as a ‘from opposite sides’ political romance worth aspiring to. January also spends the entire novel fat-shaming some barely-there side character who is mentioned once, which was the cherry on top of all this hot mess.

As for Gale… I am all for rooting for villains. I love morally complicated or bankrupt fictional characters as it gives us an avenue to explore challenging parts of the human experience. Unfortunately, Gale had little to no redeeming qualities; it takes more than a talking mammoth to make a redemption arc for a flagrant eugenicist. A flagrant anti-immigration, xenophobic eugenicist who we are supposed to root for and romanticize? All because they almost died one time thanks to an uncaged Earthstrong so now they want to shove all of them in cages forever? No thank you. Miss me with that garbage.

To say it flatly: I don’t think The Mars House is a story the author was ready and/or qualified to tell. But again, maybe this is exactly the story Pulley wanted to tell. Who’s to say for sure? Certainly not me.

What I can say is that if you’re going to engage with the themes this novel addresses, they should be used as more than a prop for an ill-considered ‘star-crossed’ romance from across the political divide, especially if you’re drawing heavily upon themes and subject that heavily impact multiple communities your readers may be a part of. If you’re looking for politically engaging, complex, queer science fiction, you can do much, much better than The Mars House.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reps: achillean MC, Asian-coded agender love interest, agender-normative world


REVIEW

Natasha Pulley did it again. From haunted Tokyo to remote Peru to alternate French-colony-England to a Russian nuclear plant, and now a colony on Mars, you can always expect Pulley to deliver on this front—settings that are not only infused with clever, well-researched details, but also a breath of fresh air, something not unlike a touch of magic that is at once realistic and whimsical. Pulley's Mars and sunken London are utterly bizzare and peculiar and yet so eerily... real. Reading about how everyone is agender and evolved to be unusually tall and that the first language in Mars is now Mandarin, and mammoths! Those just put a smile on my face. I also absolutely loved the footnotes, and I say this as someone who started off as a footnote-hater. Here, it's a fun way to add depths to the worldbuilding without being so obnoxiously telling-instead-of-showing, in ways that make you feel like someone with a decent level of intelligence.

That's another thing I really like about Pulley. From her previous works, I can tell she's a clever author with tons of ideas and creativity, and while her plots could get convoluted at some points, I like that she trusts her reader enough to figure it out by themselves along the journey. Her writing is elegantly precise, peppered with dry humour and graceful lines even when she was talking about the more science-y stuff.

The plot here is more dominant compared to her previous works. Even though we started off with a marriage of convenience, I feel like the romance here is more subtle, and is definitely a subplot rather than something that drives the whole story. The plot, though, is amazing. I absolutely loved how Pulley had interwoven everything—the characterisations, the worldbuilding, and even details that seemed trivial—to play an integral part to the whole story. There were conversations that made me laugh, mysteries to keep me entertained, conflicts that kept me at the edge of my seat, and moments that made my jaw drop, which are more than I could ask for in a sci-fi book.

I especially really like Gale as a person, and I really enjoy the characters' dynamic. They're the typical lonely, devoted love interest written by Pulley, but I would've liked more to see from their perspective, and I really hope Pulley will write a sequel just to see more of January/Gale. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars is completely subjective on my part, because I just didn't feel as unhinged about January/Gale as I did about Thaniel/Mori or Raphael/Merrick or even Joe/Kite. The plot and political manoeuvres are simply more powerful than the romance here, and that's definitely not a bad thing, it's just a matter of preference. I just tend to like finding new queer yearning that is so heart-wrenchingly romantic to obsess over, and probably because I think Gale and January are not such oblivious fools in love like Pulley's other characters were. That is not to say that they don't have their shining moments, though, because there were still parts that shattered me, parts where the sad, lonely character just gives all of them.

Overall, definitely one of my best reads in 2023. I absolutely can't wait to devour whatever Pulley will write next.
Honorary mentions: the footnote about Mori and Daughter shop, little Yuan, the queer-couple-accidentally-adopts-a-child trope, Kasha the dog.

We start the book following January, a principal ballet dancer in London. It is the future and Most of London is underwater, and when another flood comes it it leaves January with nowhere to go. Other countries are not accepting refugees, and he is given the choice to go to Mars. But life on Mars is not all rainbows, he is an Earth stronger, someone who has not naturalized to the lower gravity and who poses a threat to those who are naturalized or born on Mars.

He lives as a second class citizen, limited oh hos job, where he lives, and where he can go. Now there is a politician, Aubrey Gale running on a very xenophobic platform, wanting to force all those coming from Earth to be forced to naturalize. They end up publicly having an argument and it turns January's life upside down and hurting Aubrey's campaign. So Aubrey proposes a fake marriage between them that will help them both. Things heat up in many aspects between them and in the political race that will leave the reader unable to put it down.

I first want to acknowledge this great review by Charlotte (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5622771203) that points out a lot of the flaws and problematic elements in this story far better than I ever could. That being said I did have a good time. I think there was a lot of good discussion of many topic in this book and although it isn't always clear, or fully thought out, I do appreciate the author did put effort into trying to explore very relevant topics. The mentions of Israel did make me feel icky. I did have a good time in this novel though, I am not a very critical reader and just read for enjoyment so without that review I linked I would have missed a lot in this book. I thought the romance was really sweet, I enjoyed the slow burn of it. Aubrey was such a nerd and I found his intelligence so fascinating. I learned a lot about linguistics and was really gripped by the explanations. The mammoths was a real highlight for me, and they way communicating with them came about was fascinating. Overall I had a great time while also acknowledging the places the author missed the mark and her intentions got misplaced.

Though I was excited to read another SciFi arranged marriage story in the same vein as Winter's Orbit, The Mars House was incredibly disappointing. The concept of an agender society on Mars with complex politics has a lot of promise. However, the oversimplifications and weak world-building result in a story that is xenophobic, zionist, and sinophobic.

The world is heavily inspired by Chinese culture and the Mandarin language. The agender society in The Mars House is built on a fundamental misunderstanding of pronouns in Mandarin. Reducing the concept of gender to pronoun use is laughably simplistic.

Immigration and in-world racism are a major focus of the plot. However, the way the book handles these topics is borderline irresponsible. The behavior of the characters and the world-building essentially justify the xenophobia and racism in the world. Any effort to have Gale question his anti-immigration opinions is weak and unserious.

The incredibly vague and sporadic world-building throughout the novel only makes these issues more pronounced. None of the technological SciFi concepts made any sense. How am I as the reader supposed to take the book seriously when it doesn't even feel like the author knows what they're talking about?

The Mars House attempts to represent incredibly complex social issues, but the complete lack of tact, research, and nuance undermines any potential the story had.

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.